Composition in Photography

ITC Digital Photography: Composition in Photography

Mr. Newell

Overview: Composition in photography is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in the photograph, as distinct from the subject of a work. 

Directions: Over the course of the week. (Monday, January 11th - Friday, January 15th) explore taking photos applying each of these rules of composition. Class instruction throughout the project will cover these rules in detail.

Due Friday, January 15th: Five photographs per rule of composition: 5 photos displaying Symmetry, 5 photos displaying Framing, 5 photos displaying Leading Lines, 5 photos displaying Rule of Thirds, 5 photos displaying Balancing Elements, 5 photos displaying Viewpoint, and 5 photos displaying Depth. 

You must save a main folder titled a folder titled "Your Name - Composition". Within that folder there should be a folder for EACH RULE of composition: "Your Name - Symmetry". Your 5 photos from each rule should be placed in these folders. 

Below are explanations and examples of each rule of composition to be explored:

Symmetry: Things that have symmetry are balanced with each side reflected one another. 

Photograph by Jeffrey Newell

Framing: Framing is simply using other objects in your photograph to frame the main subject. This is probably one of the easier composition techniques in photography. Framing brings more depth to the picture and a better focus on what the main subject is.

Photograph by Jeffrey Newell

Leading Lines: Leading lines are lines within an image that leads the eye to another point in the image, or occasionally, out of the image. 

Photograph by Jeffrey Newell

Photograph by Jeffrey Newell

Rule of Thirds: Imagine that your image is divided into 9 equal segments by 2 vertical and 2 horizontal lines. The rule of thirds says that you should position the most important elements in your scene along these lines, or at the points where they intersect.

Photograph by Jeffrey Newell

Photograph by Jeffrey Newell

Balancing Elements: Placing your main subject off-centre, as with the rule of thirds, creates a more interesting photo, but it can leave a void in the scene which can make it feel empty. You should balance the "weight" of your subject by including another object of lesser importance to fill the space.

Photograph by Jeffrey Newell

Viewpoint: Before photographing your subject, take time to think about where you will shoot it from. Our viewpoint has a massive impact on the composition of our photo, and as a result it can greatly alter the message that the shot conveys. Rather than just shooting from eye level, consider photographing from high above, down at ground level, from the side, from the back, from a long way away, from very close up, and so on.

Photograph by Jeffrey Newell

Photograph by Jeffrey Newell

Depth: Because photography is a two-dimensional medium, we have to choose our composition carefully to convey the sense of depth that was present in the actual scene. You can create depth in a photo by including objects in the foreground, middle ground and background. 

Photograph by Jeffrey Newell