6 Digital Photography Compositional Tips

It’s no secret that the composition of a photo can make or break the image and its impact on the viewer.

You can have the most beautiful photo ever, but if the composition is wrong, the photo fails.  On the other hand, you can have some mundane image but with the right composition the photo will be powerful.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when composing your photos:

Framing & Foreground

Tree branches, beams, and other foreground elements can be used to frame the subject and draw the viewer’s eye into the photo.  A foreground element can also be used to add context to a picture.

Patterns & Textures

It’s not always necessary to have one dominant element in a photo.  Sometimes just a cool looking texture or pattern can be used to create an abstract image.  Look around you the next time you’re out shooting and you might be surprised at how many different textures and patterns can be found.

Lines & Diagonals

One of the most powerful compositional tools are curved lines and diagonal lines.  They can create tension in the photo or a sense of calmness.  They can also be the main emphasis in the photo or be used as a more subtle element.

Angles

A lot of people shoot all of their photos standing up, looking at their subject at eye-level.  Sometimes this works, but there are many different angles that will bring life to the image.  Get down low and shoot up, or stand on a chair and shoot down.  You can even rotate your camera just a bit to get a completely different angle.  Don’t be afraid to experiment!

The Rule of Thirds

Without going too indepth with this one, don’t put your subject right in the middle of the frame.  Many times this creates too much space at the top of the photo or on the sides.  Just imagine a tic-tac-toe grid, and put your subject on one of the intersecting points.  This will make your images more dynamic and less stagnant.

Symetry

Sometimes you can break the Rule of Thirds and place your horizon line in the center of the frame.  An example of this would be an image of a lake with the reflection of the distant mountains.  This will give equal symetry to the photo, where the top and bottom of the image compliment each other.

Here was just a few compositional tips for you to try out the next time you go on your photowalk.  By incorperating a few of these into your photography, your photos will be more dynamic and less static.

Have fun!