Photographic Composition

Composition:

"the nature of something's ingredients or constituents; the way in which a whole or mixture is made up."

"a creative work, especially a poem or piece of music."

The composition of a photograph is the framing of the subject matter. It's an important part of photography as if the subject is poorly framed, it can make the subject matter less visually intriguing which then loses the viewers engagement.

Within photography there are a few rules that can be followed to instantly improve the composition of a photograph.

These rules consist of:

Rule of Thirds

The rule of third technique involves dividing the image into 9 sections and using the sections to help place the subject matter. This can be done in the photographers head, especially if they are more experienced with this rule; through the viewfinder of a digital camera or even on most smartphones.

The reasoning behind this rule is that the human eye will naturally be drawn to the intersections of the photograph, and not necessarily the central points, which means the viewer can easily interact or relate to the photograph rather than having to figure the image out.

Leading Lines

Leading lines is a method similar to the Rule of Thirds as it works by using perspective to manipulate the eye into engagement with the subject matter. For this technique the photographer will use lines within the image as if they were arrows pointing to the subject.

Again, the human eye will naturally follow the lines to the focal point of the photograph.

Frame Within a Frame

Using a frame within a frame is a way of producing a more attractive image. Rather than giving away the subject, the photographer uses natural frames (e.g a window, a hole, etc) that surround the subject to create visual boundaries.

This technique also somewhat persuades the eye to look where the photographer wants it to, without giving it away completely, this allows the nature of the human eye to find the subject matter itself, resulting in a more captivating image.

Filling the Frame

Filling the Frame is making the subject matter the majority of the composition as

well as eliminating most of the background. This forces the eye to view the subject matter as there's nothing else within the frame to distract the eye from the content.