Successful Composition

We must avoid . . . snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.

Definition:

Arrangement of artistic parts so as to form a unified whole.

What makes a successful composition?

• your knowledge of the topic
• your personality, background, and sensitivity
• your purpose you wish communicate
• your ability to express yourself with clarity, accuracy, vigor, individuality, and originality

There are no rules that can't be broken.

Landscape, family, holiday, portrait, social comment.

Where will the photo be used? What size of image will I take? Who is the photo for?

Print, web, email all demand different resolutions as do publication, family, the web (general public). When in doubt, shoot the highest quality.

What is the subject matter?

One of the most difficult things - choosing the subject matter. Often the situation offers too much information e.g. parades, parties, sports events, cityscapes and other times what seems like very little e.g. seascapes, backyards, the house.

What is the centre of interest?

The eye should be drawn to the centre of interest. An unsuccessful photo can leave the eye moving around the photo looking for the meaning of the photo. e.g. the smile of a sitter, the shadows on snow, birds at a feeder, hands of a musician

What picture orientation will I use?

Follow the action of the subject. City scenes can suggest vertical (portrait) orientation e.g. tall buildings, street detail etc or horizontal (landscape) orientation e.g. roads, bridges, lines of cars, etc. Single portraits usually work best in portrait orientation but may work as well when incorporating complimentary elements i.e. props.

What distance or point of view should I take the photo from?

Sometimes you have no control over your your location i.e. Christmas parade, sports event. Zoom lenses can change the 'distance' but be careful of digital zoom anomalies. Move into a good position. Sometimes you only get one chance i.e. graduation, gymnastic competition, human tragedy, weddings

A successful composition:

• arranges the subject within and against it’s background

• eliminates distractions so that the focus stays on the subject and not the details

• places the subject in a location that enhances

• place the point of interest in one of the 4 'rule of thirds' quadrants

• uses elements to enhance each other and not interfere with each other.

• creates an emotional response

• stands on its own