Going broader now, we dive into composition. This is a huge topic that is all about how the various visual bits and pieces in a scene have been organized. It’s broader than perspective, and encompasses things like light, lines, shapes, forms, colors, frames, textures, patterns, movement, reflections and more.
You may have heard of the “rules” of composition: The Rule of Thirds, Negative Space, Balance or Visual Paths. Rules sound scary, and boring, and the idea that you have to sit down and memorize them before you’re allowed to be a photographer likely prevents many shooters from really diving into the wonderful world of composition.
But I’m here to tell you that the “rules” aren’t actually rules. They’re more like guidelines. These are ways to arrange elements in your frame that help tell a story, convey an emotion, or catch your viewers’ attention. All fun things, and all very essential things if you want to be a great photographer.
For instance, that “Rule of Thirds” you always hear about it. Well, it suggests that by placing your subject along one of these magical thirds lines, or at an intersection of the lines (what I like to call an Awesome Spot), you will automatically give that element a boost of importance in your frame. And that’s a great thing to know, because it can help you direct your viewer to look where you want them to!
But, if you’re feeling feisty, you could intentionally break that rule (gasp!), and put your subject absolutely dead center. Perhaps you want to highlight the symmetry of your subject. Perhaps it’s a very serious looking object, and putting it dead center enhances that feeling. Or perhaps it’s something totally goofy, and a boring centered composition creates some tension between the two.
It’s up to you, master photographer. When you know about composition, you get to make all sorts of fun choices like this with each and every image you take.
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