After going over visual perception, we’ll now see how those principles guide composition techniques within the frame of a photograph.
Photo Composition
Photo composition is an important part of making and selecting high-quality photos. Although composition “rules” aren’t really rigid rules, it is helpful to have a shared vocabulary for discussing the compositional merits of individual photographs.
Key ideas:
- To take a photo, you inherently make choices about framing and composition.
- Composition techniques are guidelines and tools for making appealing photos.
- Photography is physical — you have to be there to get the photo.
✓ Here are two stylized photos depicting libraries. Which one makes use of leading lines?
🗨 Suppose you are taking promotional photos at a small, local restaurant that is reopening after a renovation. What is one specific composition technique you could use to take an interesting photo, and how would you use that technique?
Composition is related to visual balance within a single image. Similar to how objects balance on a scale, visual elements balance each other within the frame. Compositions that use straight lines and angles, strict symmetry, and parallel balance have formal balance. Compositions that make use of movement, layers and space often have dynamic balance.
Here are two examples from the 2023 World Sports Photography Awards:
Example of formal balance. Photo by Simon Stacpoole.
Example of dynamic balance. Photo by Phil Noble.
Here two examples from the same photographer, Jonas Kakó, from a photo essay about the Colorado River:
Example of formal balance.
Example of dynamic balance.
✓ Which of the two photos from the Colorado River photo essay makes use of the rule of thirds?