Photography 101: Photo Composition Part 1
The Tin Can Bay Camera Club’s A Grade Silver Award won by Julie Hartwig, titled Making Tracks
By Julie Hartwig, Tin Can Bay Camera Club
There is a compositional concept in photography called the “Rule of Thirds” – an overlay grid that assists the photographer to position subjects and compositional elements where they appear most attractive to the viewer’s eye.
To facilitate this process, the first step in composing a photograph is to look for the most striking elements in the scene, then position your camera so they can be captured to best effect. This may also involve using other photography techniques, but we’ll cover those in future 101 articles.
When first tackling composition, concentrate on the scene’s basic structure rather than specific details. Here are some things to look for:
- Symmetry: This type of composition features centrally placed subjects/points of interest. It may include the horizon straight through the centre of the scene and the main subject right in the middle. Symmetrical compositions are generally quite simple but they can be powerful. They work best with uncluttered scenes that have a prominent main subject which delivers impact.
- Diagonals: Diagonal lines lead the eye from one part of the image to another and create more impact than horizontal or vertical lines. Diagonal features can be corner to corner, side to side, top to bottom, foreground to background.
- Overlapping: Overlapping subject elements introduce depth by creating a perception of distance between the elements. Overlaps often work in conjunction with contrast, lights and darks, shapes and colour.
More 101 composition tips next issue!
The Tin Can Bay Camera Club’s next meeting: Wednesday February 19, 7pm at TCB Library. Visit the Club website at tincanbaycameraclub.wix.com/tcb-camera-club.
