Photography HowTo - Some ideas on composition.

Hi there my Steemit friends.

I thought for this photography how-to I would go through some of the supposed “rules” of photographic composition. I say “rules” (in inverted commas) as they are more of a set of guidelines that will, most of the time, help you get you an image that is pleasing to the eye. However, as the saying goes, “rules are there to be broken”, and especially in photography, there is no absolute best way to compose the view through the lens. Often, the best photos are the ones that break the rules.

All of the pictures in this post are my own

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Rule of thirds / golden ratio

The most talked about rule in photography is probably the rule of thirds. The rule itself has a pretty basic premise; it is there to prevent you putting the subject matter at the edge or in the middle of the frame. A lot of modern digital cameras have a view option that splits the screen into nine equal rectangles, two horizontal lines and 2 vertical lines. This, in turn, gives you 4 points of intersection of those lines and these are the points at which you should try to place the focal point of your image.

The golden ratio is a little more complicated - it is based around a spiral pattern overlayed over your image which is generated using a mathematical formula (known as a Fibonnaci sequence). I won’t go into the details of that formula here, needless to say, you end up with a focal point very close to one in the rule of thirds, and a spiral falling into that point. It is said that the eye finds it pleasing to follow this spiral, so any other points of interest should fall on it. I tend to find that thinking about this is too complicated so more often go with my instinct and a gut feeling loosely based around the standard rule of thirds.

Balloon at the intersection of rule of thirds

Natural framing,

Natural framing is the use of something within your photograph to provide a natural frame around the main focal point. This could be a fully surrounding frame, or something that only partially frames the image. Things like trees, archways and columns can be great providers of natural frames.

The pillars in this church frame the organ

Leading lines

Leading lines draw the eye from one part of an image to another. They don’t have to be “lines” per se, they can be any kind of subject that the eye can temporarily focus on while it finds the main focal point of the image. The obvious kind of leading lines are train tracks, roads and water courses. The eye will naturally look at where these lines go in your image. If you position something at the end of these, it gives the viewer the sense that your photo leads somewhere, maybe to a waterfall, mountain range or interesting architectural piece.

Obvious leading line of coloured path to store

Distracting backgrounds and Subject Isolation

This is more of a “what not to do” rule as opposed to a “what to do” rule. Distracting background should be avoided if possible. Stopping down your aperture to provide a smaller depth of field is one way to avoid this, but even in doing this, you can still get contrasting colours in the background that pulls your eye away from the main subject. One trick i learned from Thomas Heaton’s excellent video tutorials (which he in turn learned from the photographer, Chris Packham) is the “Squint test”. If you are assessing a shot and you squint your eyes, all of the details disappear but you are left with a blurry view of everything that could be distracting in the scene. Give it a try on a photo you already have taken. I was quite surprised by it’s effectiveness. You could also do a search for images that have good “bokeh”. This is where the subject is nicely in focus but the background is really blurred. The amount of blurring is determined by the aperture of the lens and the focal distance (which in turn determines the depth of field). For example, if you are lucky enough to have a 400mm lens with a wide open aperture of f2.8, you will literally have a hair’s width in sharp focus and some really heavy blurring on any other focal plane.

Horse in the background shows that this horse isn't alone, but is not as distracting as it would be if it was in focus

Symmetry/Centered composition

So here is a rule that completely goes against the rule of thirds and the golden ratio rule. Positioning your subject centrally can, in some cases, provide a great composition. This is normally the case if there is a symmetry about your image. There is symmetry in many things; animal faces and building interiors are a couple of examples. A close up of an animals face really tighly cropped can make a great photo.

Cutty Sark in the fog - symmetry example

Foreground interest to provide depth

Quite often a staple of landscape photography, providing something of interest in the foreground helps to prevent the image appearing flat. This often ties into leading lines; maybe you have a few large rocks in your foreground that form a line to the setting sun over the ocean. If you position the sun at one of the points determined by the rule of thirds, you will have a well composed image for sure :)

Small rocks in the foreground give a sense of distance and scale

Patterns and textures

Be on the lookout for patterns and textures. You will find them everywhere when you start looking. I find that i dont tend to include them in a composition with another focal point; I tend to isolate them and make them the focal point. Normally I would fill the frame with the pattern or texture. Mind you, sometimes the pattern or texture can form leading lines into something else. Take for instance the ripples in the sand on a beach which can lead your eye into the distance.

St Pancras Station - roof lines lead the eye to the poppy

Negative space

Negative space describes an area of a photo that has no or little content. It is often used to portray a sense of travelling or movement. An empty space in front of someone or something implies that the subject is going to move into that space. If the negative space is behind them then it implies moving out of that space.

Turtle swimming through the frame from left to right

Different points of view

Do not always stay standing when you are taking photos, different angles coupled with different lenses can give you an interesting view of the world. A wide angle lens close up can give an almost "fish-eye" effect. Look at ceilings in buildings (as per the ballon image above - this was shot inside the Harpa building in Reykjavik, looking straight up. Being lower down gives the impression of height in the subject. Being higher up does the opposite and gives the impression of being smaller.

A low viewpoint and a wide angle lens gives a fisheye effect on this horse's face

I hope these tips might help you take some wonderful photos.

Thanks for reading