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Sasha M Photography | Photographer Dublin Photographer Event Kids Family Portrait | Irish Photographer Ireland

10 Quick Tips for Better Composition (Part 1)

7th February 2015

10 Tips for Better Composition (Part 1)

In this post I’ll talk about 10 tips to improve your photos’ composition. To put it simply, composition refers to the way different elements in a painting, sculpture or a photograph are arranged. Hundreds of years before photography has been invented, composition has been the subject of interest by visual artists around the world. They have observed that the human eye tends to prefer certain arrangements over others. The subject has been studied at length and most concepts I talk about below can be found in many classic works of art.

This post is about the basic ‘rules’ of photographic composition. I’ll be using my own photographs to illustrate the guidelines covered below. Experiment and see what works for you.

1. Rule of Thirds:

10 Tips for Better Composition and Rule of Thirds by Sasha M Photography

This is perhaps the most well-known composition technique, whereby the subject of your photograph is positioned off-centre. When you look through the viewfinder, imagine that the screen is divided into a grid (some LCD screens have the grid feature activated), as in the below example. If you apply the rule of thirds, your subject will be positioned at the intersecting lines, as in the example on the right. The idea behind the rule of thirds is that it will make your photographs more balanced.

2. Leading lines:

10 Tips for Better Composition (Part 1)

Another common compositional practice is to incorporate leading lines into your photographs. In essence, lines can be used to control the way the viewer’s eyes move around the frame. These lines can be straight, curvy, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal and are a great way to enhance your photos’ composition.

3. Perspective and Angles:

Apart from shooting at eye-level, also photograph at various other angles and perspectives. Thus, try shooting from ground level, from above, from the side, from far away, from close up and so on. 10 Tips for Better Composition and Perspective by Sasha M Photography

4. Space to Move Into:

When we look at photographs of moving subjects, our eyes naturally tend to follow the direction in which they’re moving. Keep this in mind and leave enough space inside the frame, i.e. in front of you subject. Likewise, if your subject is looking at something, leave some space for them to look into. This will make your images more balanced. 10 Tips for Better Composition and Space to Move Into by Sasha M Photography

5. Background:

What’s behind your subject is also important. Opt for a plain and uncluttered background to ensure that nothing distracts from your subject. If you cannot take other objects out of your photo, then blur them out by widening your aperture (use a small f number if your lens permits it, i.e. f1.4, f1.8, f2.2, etc). 10 Tips for Better Composition and Background by Sasha M Photography

6. Colour:

Using colour in your composition is a good way to grab the viewer’s attention and/or convey a particular mood in an image. There’re plenty on colours in everyday scenes (both bold and subtle), so why not use them for creative effect. Have a look at this example in which I used colour to aid composition. 10 Tips for Better Composition and Colour by Sasha M Photography

7. Fill Your Frame:

One simple composition technique is to fill your entire frame with your subject. By doing this, all of the surrounding background is eliminated. 10 Tips for Better Composition and Fill the Frame by Sasha M Photography

8. Natural Frames:

Consider placing your subject within a natural ‘frame’. Tree branches, archways, and windows are all good examples of objects that can be used to frame your subject. The result is a more focused image which draws your eye naturally to the main point of interest. 10 Tips for Better Composition and Natural Frame by Sasha M Photography

9. Patterns:

You can create some beautiful images by incorporating patterns into your composition. Patterns are visually pleasing because they suggest harmony and rhythm, which create a sense of order. Also, you can create equally eye-catching shots by breaking the patterns and breaking the rhythm. 10 Tips for Better Composition and Patterns by Sasha M Photography

10. Break these Rules:

It helps to know the rules, but it is also good to break them. After all, photography is not an exact science, so experiment.

Hope the above guidelines are useful and help you create some beautiful images. Check-in in a few weeks, when I post 10 more guidelines for better composition.

 

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sasham

About Author / sasham

Hello, my name is Sasha. I’m a photographer based in Dublin. I specialise in portrait photography and primarily work with individuals and couples. My aim is to capture moments and create engaging images that tell a story.

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1 Comment

  • 10 Tips for Taking Great Portraits | Sasha M Photography | Photographer Dublin Photographer Event Kids Family Portrait | Irish Photographer Ireland 13th May 2016 at 12:15 am

    […] Composition: A lot of composition techniques that I have covered in my previous post on composition would also apply to portraits. Placing your subject off-centre as well as using frame within a […]

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    More about Me

    Hello, my name is Sasha. I’m a photographer based in Dublin (and occasionally in Vilnius where I’m originally from). I specialise in portrait photography and primarily work with individuals and couples.  My aim is to capture moments and create engaging images that tell a story.

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