Composition

Frame Construction 101

Pick out a photograph that you like. Take a good long

look at it, why do you like it so much? It might be that
it's of a beloved person, it might be about a subject that
invokes emotions or old memories in you, it might just
be a “great picture”. But what makes a photo great,
beyond the right exposure and beyond the
pretty/interesting subject? In this article I will unfold the
basic secrets of composition and will show you how to
take better photos. Due to a lack of time (and limited
patience to read dozens of pages), I will only briefly
scan the basic principles of composition. What about
the rest? Some other time, or if you get the chance to
come to my lectures ;)

This article’s composition:

1. What is composition?
2. Subject, predicate and background
3. The rule of thirds and the speaker’s distance
4. The rule of diagonals
5. Converging composition
6. Leading the eye
 7. Shooting angles
8. What does the eye like?
9. Additional terms and advanced techniques
10. Some examples
11. Breaking the rules
12. Composition tests
13. Summary

1. Composition – Composition is about creating the

picture, we decide what is in it and what is left out.
Think of the photo as prized real estate, and we need
to decide how to put it to the best use possible.
Through the rules of composition we can create and
image that the eye likes and “convince” it to glance at it
a moment longer. The term "composition" means
"Putting Together", and that's exactly what we'll do.

2. Subject, predicate and background – We can

divide the objects in out photograph in to three groups
(guess what they are…):
A. Subject – This is the most important element of
the photo and it should be clear to the viewer
what it is. I have run into many photos that lacked
a subject… Repeat after me: A photo without a
 subject is not a photo. (I hope the message is
clear).
B. Predicate – This is a completing or competing
element to the subject. We should try to make
sure that the predicate doesn’t “steal the show”
from the subject, and it should contribute details
about the subject to provide a different angle or
perspective on the subject.
C. Background – It’s important to remember, the
background is just as important as the subject of
the photo. It’s true that many people don’t notice
what’s behind the subject when they are taking
the picture, but the background can take an
ordinary photo and make it great. The background
should complement the subject while not stealing
attention from it.
3. The rule of thirds – Imagine the division of a frame
(the photo) into three vertical thirds and three horizontal
thirds, you know what? Lets just demonstrate it:
Placing the object on the thirds of the photo creates a
much more interesting composition that placing it in the
center of the frame. How shall we decide in which third
the subject should be placed? According to the
speaker’s distance. What is the speaker’s distance?
(Excellent question) The "Speaker" is the subject and it
means that an object should be placed in the picture in
a way that will leave it space to “look” to. For example,
if I take a picture of a model looking to the left, I would
prefer to place her in the right third and vice versa.
What about the horizon? First of all, it is important to
keep a straight horizon, and it should be placed either
on the top or bottom third, depending which part of the
photo is more interesting (the sky or the
ocean/field/mountains/etc). The converging points of
the thirds ,AKA meeting points (There are four in every
photo), are powerful places to locate objects.
4. The rule of diagonals – Our eyes reallllly love
diagonals, but not just any diagonals, it loves best a
diagonal that leads from the bottom-left corner to the
top-right corner (look at the illustration). This is why we
should try and create such diagonals in a variety of
ways.

5. Converging composition – This is a composition

that leads the viewer’s eye into the depth of the photo.
Usually we place the converging point in the center and
create a symmetrical composition leading to the center.
6. Leading the eye – With the aid of the knowledge
you are acquiring right now, we will be able to lead or
guide the eye through the frame and “dictate” to it what
will it look at first, where it will wonder next and where it
will finally stop. How can this be accomplished? With
diagonals, lines, curves, people’s hand gestures and
other elements that can be incorporated into the
picture. The place where the eye finally settles is called
the “anchor”. Every good photo must have an anchor,
otherwise the eye will wonder endlessly without a place
to settle down. The anchor point will, hopefully, contain
the subject of the photograph. I want you from now on,
to pay attention where your eye wonders in every
picture you look at, from the beginning to the end of
viewing it. For example, take a look at this picture:
Let's go through it together the first time: Your eye
begins by looking at the man’s eye, from there it
wonders down towards the moustache and looks at the
smile, continues down the hand and back up again
guided by his finger back to the man’s eyes. A circular
motion is created that always ends up on the eyes.
Your eye won’t “wonder” to the bottom left side or the
top right side either, but it will move in the circular
motion I described.

7. Shooting angles – It’s recommended to try new

angles; they will display a point of view that people
don’t normally see in every-day life. Try photographing
from ground level (yep, get down and dirty), from a
window looking down, be original. When taking pictures
of live objects (people, children, birds, insects, etc), try
to be at eye’s level with the subject. If we are higher – it
diminishes them, if we are lower – it augments them.

8. What does the eye like? This is the million-dollar

question (though Euro is better now-a-days…). The
eye is drawn to three things (A, B, C):
A. Acutely sharp elements – If the whole picture is
blurry and there is one sharp object.
B. Bright elements – If the whole picture is dark
except one bright object.
C. Colorful elements – If the whole picture is black
and white or monochrome and there is one color
saturated object.
9. Other terms and techniques – The field of
composition is much wider than described here, terms
such as the “golden ratio” and other techniques of
creative thinking, the use of light to create depth, using
different lenses to create perspective, making and
breaking abstracts, photographing portraits (there are
about 42 different rules…) and other topics. But all this
is for another time…

10. Some examples – I will give some examples from

photos I’ve taken, and I invite you to examine (you
don’t have to report back…) the photos, see what
composition I’ve chosen to create and to which
composition rules they abide. Finished running through
them and want to practice some more? You are
welcome to my galleries here on my website to analyze
some more photos. Criticism is one of the
photographer’s most valuable tools – thanks to it you
will take better pictures in the future.
11. Breaking the rules – Great photographers took
great shots by breaking some of the rules (and even all
of them). Sometimes breaking the rules creates that
unexpected shot that the viewer doesn’t quite know
how to take in and this is what fascinates him/her even
more. Sometimes we will position an old woman in
contrast to the speaker’s distance rule if we want to
make a statement of “on the way out” or we will choose
to position a marathon runner at the edge of the photo
to create impression of him “outrunning” the frame. But
my suggestion is, before you break the rules, learn
them well and then you’ll know how and when to break
them. Learn it before you Break it.

12. Test of a good picture – One of the best tests for

a good picture is how long the viewer stalls to look at it.
If he/she continues to the next photo in less than two
seconds – the photo we’ve taken isn’t really great. But
if the viewer stays to look at it, and produces the
“WOW” effects, as I call it, then we know that we’ve
succeeded. A fascinating subject helps, of course, but
a good composition will take it to a whole other level.

Summary – The composition makes the picture. With

its help we can determine what the viewer looks at first,
later and where his/her eyes will finally rest. A good
composition will fascinate the viewer and will squeeze
the “WOW” out of him. This has been an introduction to
composition, naturally there are many more topics to
discuss and many more concepts to implement. Make
sure to give the eye its ABC’s (Acutely sharp, Bright,
Colorful images), follow the rule of thirds, the rule of
diagonals, and build a correct frame structure with
interesting leading of the eye, develop a sense of
criticism in a way that you can criticize yourself while
taking the photo and by that accomplishing better
photography.

I hope you enjoyed and learned. Composition is one of

the subjects I enjoy teaching the most. Imply the rules
you have just learned, take your best shots and
present them to friends and family, and look for the
“WOW” until you get it (then go and get it again).