ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Change Your Composition for Better Pictures

Updated on September 8, 2015
LuisEGonzalez profile image

I enjoy photography and have been doing so professionally and independently for over 30 years.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ | Source
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ | Source

Most photographers from amateurs to professionals often get settled into a routine and rarely leave their comfort zone. But every photographer can improve their photography and even improve their creativity by simply changing the way they compose shots.

One of the basic rules of photography composition is the rule of thirds:The rule of thirds is a "rule of thumb" or guideline which applies to the process of composing visual images such as designs, films, paintings, and photographs.The guideline proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections. WIkipedia

By simply changing the rule of thirds and trying on purpose to break the rule you can start to see different possibilities in how you compose your shots.

There are many possibilities can occur when you try new things or rather try new ways of doing things and photography is no different.

For example we typically look at things on a page whether they're letters, numbers or photos from left to right. What is we were to change how we compose a shot to place the emphasis on the right side and force the eye to look at the right side first and proceed to "read" the image from right to left.

This can offer new possibilities not only of composing an image within a scene but of looking at other images as well.

One of the best compositional approaches that I personally like is to lead the eye towards a specific subject or point in the photo by using depth of field and using smaller elements in the scene as guideposts to the central point.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ | Source
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/ | Source

Almost every single image features ome shapes and lines. Some you can actually see but others are not that readily visible.

Try composing your shots to include shapes and lines. Green fields of nothing but grass can represent a rectangle.

Sand dunes can stand for triangles. Man made things like buildings blocks are great for representing squares and rivers can stand in for lines.

Look for shapes and try to include them in your final compositions. Don't forget already made and readily available shapes like doors and windows.

Use odd numbers. We are often locked into capturing images of subjects that come in pairs or other even numbers. That is what makes us comfortable. Well try capturing images featuring odd numbers of subjects.

Instead of photographing four flower petals try three flower petals. Instead of recording an image of one or two animals together, make it an image that features three or five just so long as the number of visible subjects is an odd number.

This works really well when taking pictures of groups of people. Instead of posing them in standard formation with even numbers in the back and in the front, reverse the order and pose odd numbers in the back and in the front.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ | Source
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ | Source
CC0 Public Domain
CC0 Public Domain | Source

Using negative space to enhance your main subject. Negative space is just a photographic jargon for blank space.

A shot that features a person walking along the beach may contain parts of the sky and this would be the negative space.

Negative space is usually used to draw attention to the main subject because it does not detract the eye form the main subject yets it allows you to tackle a regular magnification shot as opposed to shots that fill the entire photo with the subject like a close up of a model's face.

But negative space can also be used to add information about the scene. The shot of the person walking along the shoreline can tell the viewer how the weather was, and the time of day.

Framing the subject is an excellent way to focus all the attention to a subject. Natural frames or man made ones work really well because the not only draw the eye to the subject but usually keep it there.

Depending on the frame itself, like if it is a colorful window or door frame, they can also be used to enhance the overall photograph. Above all framing a subject causes the viewer to recognize immediately where to look.

For example silhouettes can be interesting and often intriguing but can also be "boring". By framing the subject it can often make these shots more interesting to look at.

Some naturally occurring frames can be trees, mountains,rocks, shadows and so on.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en | Source
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ | Source

When composing a shot try different angles, different perspectives. You may see that by changing the way you compose you may also increase your creativity.

In a world where almost everything has been photographed countless times being creative is often the key that separates you from the rest of your fellow shutterbugs.

Creativity is the most versatile arsenal at your disposal. It does not depends on what gear you have. You just need to think about the scene, move around and try different things or better yet, try new ways of looking at the same thing.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ | Source

Found this interesting?

See results

© 2015 Luis E Gonzalez

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)