Along with lighting, subject,
perspective, composition is one of the fundamental tools to creating better
images. It’s one of the easier ones to begin applying to your own photography
as well. Here are a few tips on improving your composition, with examples from
a recent fitness photo shoot.
1. Rule of Thirds
You’ve probably heard this one
beat to death, but the rule of thirds is one of the fundamental keys in
creating stronger compositions. It involves dividing an image into nine equal
grids at the thirds. By placing your subject on the line of a third, or at the
intersection of two thirds you’re following your eyes’ natural focus. We find
photographs with the subject on one of these thirds simply more pleasing.
Take the below image for example,
where this woman is placed on the left third line with the focus of her head
near the top left third as well. It creates a more pleasing composition and
gives the eye plenty of space to wander in the frame.
The rule of thirds isn’t a hard
and fast rule and it’s often broken to great success, but that’s a topic you
can find in many other posts. It’s a great starting point though to create
stronger compositions.
2. Second Point of Interest
Applying the rule of thirds, you
can now try adding a second point of interest into your images. Adding a secondary
point, whether it’s out of focus in the background or in focus with a deep
aperture landscape, gives your image a natural viewing progression. Your eye
starts at the first focal subject and then moves along to the second. Not
only does this create more interest in your image, it can help reinforce a
theme or perspective.
In this fitness image, the woman
tying her shoe and preparing for a run is the clear focus of the image.
Introducing a second runner in the background now creates another place for the
eye to follow through the image. At the same time the “running” theme has been
reinforced. Additional factors in leading the eye are; her gaze into the open
space of the image, and the leading lines of the banister and concrete blocks.
3. Room for Copy Space
If you ever have aspirations to
shoot for advertising agencies and many editorials, learning to leave room for
copy space is a must. Copy space is the negative area in an image where a brand
will place their tag line, logo or product/information. Generally you want this
negative space to not be too busy, so that the copy pops out. The effect can be
achieved often by using a shallow focus in your images, or by simple ensuring
there is a space without too much “busy-ness” in it. A nice open sky often
works great in this regard.
In this shot there’s some clear
head space in front of the two runners that works great for copy. An important
thing to keep in mind though if you do end up applying these principles for a client
is how the images will be placed in publication. Will they be on a poster or
against a store wall? Or across the pages of a magazine? This particular image
might not work well across a double page spread, as it places the subjects’
heads right where the crease would be. Against a store wall it would work just
fine. These are important placement ideas to keep in mind with copy space.
Bringing It All Together
When you bring all three of these
compositional elements into mind you can create a great image that not only
holds interest, but appeals to the creative people who hire photographers
(always a big plus). The image below is an example when all three work
together. The subject is at one of the third grid lines, there’s a secondary
point of interest in the background and room has been left below for copy
space. When you keep all three elements in mind you’ll be on your way to
creating stronger compositions.
Courtesy: digital-photography-school
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