Composition - The act of combining parts or elements to form a whole.
1. Include A Focal Point
2. Follow The Rule of Thirds
3. Balance The Image Diagonally
4. Shoot From A Lower Angle
5. Include Foreground Interest
6. Use Leading Lines
8. Leave Space For Movement
9. Frame Your Subject
- A photo should include a main subject or point of interest. This focal point gives your photo meaning and offers the viewer a place for their eye to rest. Without a focal point your image is unlikely to hold the viewer’s attention for long.
2. Follow The Rule of Thirds
- The rule of thirds is all about where you position the main elements in a scene. The rule (which is really just a guideline) suggests that an image will look more balanced and aesthetically pleasing if you position important parts of the scene off-center.
3. Balance The Image Diagonally
- Using the rule of thirds to place your main subject off-center creates a more interesting and harmonious composition, but it may leave an empty space in the scene resulting in an unbalanced image. You can balance the “weight” of your subject by including another object to fill the space.
- You can use the “diagonal principle” to help balance multiple subjects in a photo. The diagonal principle states that the most important parts of the image (the main subjects) should be placed along the diagonal.
- If all the important areas of an image are located either at the top or the bottom, or on the left or the right, the image will look unbalanced. When taking photos, imagine a diagonal line drawn from one corner of the image to the opposite corner, and then place the main subjects along this line
4. Shoot From A Lower Angle
- Rather than taking pictures from eye level, you’ll often find me crouching down with my iPhone or even lying on the ground so I can shoot from a really low angle. This technique can help simplify the composition and also gives a unique viewpoint that most people don’t usually see
5. Include Foreground Interest
- Including foreground objects is a great way of adding interest to your iPhone photos. It also gives an image more depth, helping to lead the eye from the front to the back of the photo. Shooting from a lower angle often makes it easier to include objects in the foreground.
6. Use Leading Lines
- Including lines in your composition is a great way of leading the eye into the image. Ideally the lines should lead towards the main subject, and they usually work better if they run diagonally rather than horizontally or vertically.
- Your photos will lack impact if the main subject doesn’t stand out clearly enough against its surroundings. One simple composition technique is to fill the entire frame with your subject. This means getting closer to your subject so all of the surrounding background is eliminated.
- Filling the frame gives your photos a more intimate and significant impact. Cutting out unnecessary background detail ensures the subject gets the full attention of the viewer. It also captures more detail and can create some really unique and abstract images.
8. Leave Space For Movement
- Whenever you look at a photo containing a moving subject, such as a person walking or cycling, your eye naturally tends to look ahead and follow the direction in which they are moving.
- So if you’re shooting a scene where your subject is moving, it’s best to leave enough space inside the frame for the eye to follow that movement. This generally means leaving more space in front of them than behind them.
9. Frame Your Subject
- Framing involves using objects in the foreground of a scene to create a “frame” around the main subject. Archways, doorways, windows, tree branches and holes make perfect frames.
- Placing these kind of objects around the edge of your composition helps isolate the main subject, drawing your eye towards it. As well as creating more visual interest, frames add meaning to a picture as it puts the main subject in context with its surroundings.