Understanding Composition in Photography (Part-2)

After my last post, I had to think a lot on how to advance on this particular topic. Composition is such an important aspect of photography and there is so much to discuss that its very easy to get digressed from the main topic. In fact, without the ability to compose the shots well, one can never take take good images no matter how good or advanced the equipment may be. A crappy image will look crappy no matter what is the gear used to shot that. 

There are some set rules or guidelines when it comes to composition, but as I have already mentioned in my previous post that photography is a form of art and there can't be any definitive rules. So, it is a very common scenario that the frame you composed very carefully keeping in mind a particular "rule" is violating two other "rules". So my advice would be not to get too bogged down by all the rules. Keep them at the back of your mind and compose your shots as per your heart. I can only speak what works for me and this is how I compose.

So, lets take a look at the following commonly used composition techniques-

Rule of Thirds

The first and perhaps the most commonly used rule in photography is the rule of thirds. If you take a look at most of the photography masterpieces, or portraits, you will find application of this rule. And perhaps this is the easiest rule to follow as well. To apply this rule, all you have to do is to mentally divide your frame in 9 equal parts by imagining two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and place your point of interest on the intersections of the lines. Take a look at the following picture demonstrating the rule of thirds-

Notice how the tomb of the Victoria Memorial is placed aligning with the top left intersecting point, instead of placing it bang in the middle. That's what rule of thirds is all about. Don't place your subject bang in the middle of your frame. Don't ask me why. Wikipedia provides an explanation which you can check if you want to.

Now, a very important question here is which one of the four points you should place your subject of interest. A very valid question indeed and unfortunately there are no straight answers. It really depends upon your imagination and how you want your picture to look like. But there are a few guidelines which you may follow if you wish.

1. Breathing Space/ NoseRoom-  Give your subject breathing space. By breathing space, I mean leave some area open at the direction the subject is facing. For example look at the above picture of the Victoria Memorial. If the memorial was placed on the right side of the frame, do you thing it would have looked good?

2. Placement of Horizon- If you are shooting landscapes, it is a good idea to align your horizon with the lower or upper horizontal line, instead of keeping it bang in the middle of your photograph.

3. Head Room-  Head Room is the open space above your subject. So it should be carefully recorded. Too much or too less of head room can ruin an otherwise good shot. So, if you want more head room, place your subject in the two lower points and if you want less head room, place your subject in the two upper points.

Central Composition

This is the exact opposite of rule of third. In this technique, the subject of interest is placed bang in the middle of the frame. This particular technique works well only in certain condition. When your main subject is filling a large area of the frame, this technique helps to bring the viewers attention directly on the subject, the reason being there is simply no other point of interest in the image. Portrait photographers use this technique extensively. A tightly composed portrait looks good with  central framing. One example of such composition is given below for reference-

In this particular image, if I composed using the rule of thirds, The emphasis on the subject (i.e the bird snatching the biscuit) would have been lost in the chaotic scene.

Leading Lines

Landscape photographers use this particular technique all the time. And this is very easy to implement as well. In nature, there are always some lines that attract us. The line may be a river or a road or anything that follows a definite pattern. Such lines always attract our eyes first and they can be used creatively to draw the viewers attention towards a particular object or to draw the viewers attention outside the frame or drawing the viewers attention inside or in some cases, a zig-zag line may also be used to confuse the viewer deliberately. The most common use of this technique can be seen in photos of hilly places with a river flowing between the hills. Typically our eyes get attracted to the motion of the river and then to the hills. An example to illustrate the point-

Negative Space

This technique uses nothing but empty space to create point of interest. But in order to fully exploit this technique, it should be used in conjunction with other techniques. Basically the idea behind this technique is, making the subject stand out by removing almost every other element in a frame. In such a case, the viewer will be forced to draw his attention to the subject only. The following example will elucidate this further-

Here the subject of interest is definitely the setting sun. But notice how there is absolutely nothing else in the frame that may draw the viewers attention. Also the sun is placed according to the rule of third and a lot of negative space (in the form of evening sky) is left above the subject.

When this this technique, use some caution though. Not every situation suits this style. Mostly images with powerful subject look good because they have the ability to overpower the negative space. If used incorrectly, the images will lack character and the negative space will actually divert the viewers attention and make him uncomfortable with the framing.

Balancing Element

Balancing element is just the opposite of negative space. Here the main subject is "balanced" by placing another object at the negative space. As already stated, the negative space works in very selected cases and in every other scenario, this technique will give better result. Lets discuss on the example-

Here the bicycle is a very strong subject, occupying a major portion of the frame. But at the same time, it is not centrally placed (I felt a central composition was not working in this particular case). I could have composed the shot using nothing but negative space as there was enough room for me to maneuver and shoot accordingly. But then I realized, the negative space is not working in this case and the frame was becoming way too right heavy. Hence I moved a little bit and included those distant shrubs in the frame. Now the resultant frame looks balanced. The weight on the right is balanced by the shrubs on the left, removing any imbalance.

Play of light

Now this one is a bit tricky but if applied correctly with other techniques, the images will look stunning and beautiful. The main idea behind this technique is to use the light available to your advantage. The light can be both natural and man made. If we think a little deep, we will find that all that we photograph is possible only because of the light. So, it also helps to create the viewers perception about a particular image. As a rule of thumb, if two images taken at the same place, one with a flat, boring light and another with a contrasty, beautiful light, the one with dramatic light will look better. Specially in case of landscape photographers, this plays a very important role. If the light is not right, no matter how beautiful the scene is, it will look flat and dull. That is why landscape photographers almost exclusively shoot during the "Golden Hour" (Just before and after sunrise and sunset). Lets take the following example-

Here, the main subject is obviously the flower, but imagine this same scene without the setting sun and gorgeous light. Pretty dull and boring, isn't it?

As a general guideline, I would say, look for contrast in a frame. The more contrast is there in a a frame the more it attracts a viewers attention. (don't increase the contrast outrageously in the Processing though!! By contrast I mean natural contrast that was there when you took the shot)

Using Color to build mood

 This is kind of a no brainer and perhaps the easiest to follow. As a newbie, I think this technique can enable us to make compelling frames without much effort. We just have to keep our eyes open. Basically the main idea behind this technique is using various color in our frame to build the viewers mood. Cool colors like shades of blue and green normally make the viewer feel calm, composed and tranquil, while warm colors like shades of red and yellow can invoke feelings of excitement, euphoria and joy. Creating deliberate contrast between the two (like placing a warm colored subject in a predominantly cool environment) is bound to attract the viewers attention. Take the following example-

Here the frame is predominantly filled by shades of blue. But the girl is wearing a warm colored dress and that is making her to stand out of the frame. The viewers eye automatically gets drawn towards her.

Viewpoint

This is one technique that can change your images dramatically. It is natural to shoot everything from our eye level while we are starting out. But try to break that habit and shoot from some unconventional levels. The results will come out refreshingly different. Think of it like this- you are photographing a child, and you shoot her pointing your lens down. The image will portray her as a small figure, looking up to your camera. Now photograph the same child from a lower angle, preferably from her waist level, with her looking in the lens. This time the same child will appear as a large/ imposing figure. 

This is not only limited to shooting levels though. The viewpoint changes with the focal length of the lens used. An ultra wide angle lens will distort things and make the background appear further away from a subject. This can be used creatively in a landscape to show the vastness of the scene before you. While a telephoto lens contracts the Field of view and brings the background closer. Lets take a look at the following example-

These two images were taken standing at the exact same spot. But the one on the left was clicked at 55mm focal length and the one  on the right was taken at 10mm focal length. The difference is evident. The first one looks as if the man is just standing in front of us in a small field while the second feels as if the man is standing at a great distance from us and on an endless swatch of land. So, just by changing the focal length, the scene changed entirely. If used correctly, this becomes a very powerful tool of composition. 

Symmetry

A symmetrical image may be defined as one which looks the same on both side if the image is divided in half. The logic behind this is our brain is programmed at such a way that we spot symmetry better than other patterns. Now symmetry can be both man made as well as natural, though finding a natural symmetry is rare (If you find one, do not miss the opportunity). The following is a symmetrical image. This is also the most prominent way of breaking the rule of third, but getting beautiful images. The following is a symmetrical image-

Using natural frame

Natural frame may be anything with a definite shape. It may be a doorway, an arch, a branch of a tree or a window. Placing the subject inside such frames is a sure shot way of isolating the subject and drawing the viewers attention straight to the point you want. Here is an example-

Notice how the man is framed inside the yellow door? Also, the color of the shirt of the person is contrasting that of the door. As a result the first think that strikes our eyes is the person.

Breaking the rules

This is the last one of today's post and I have deliberately placed it at the end. These techniques or so called "rules" are not binding at all. They are general guidelines that have been proven to be effective over a long period of time. There is no binding on you to follow these and you may break the rules very easily. But breaking a particular rule should not be just for the heck of it, but there should be a reason behind the same. For example, if you break the rule of third, probably you are centering the subject or you are capturing the symmetry , which in itself is a rule. For every rule that you break, probably there are three other rules that you are following. These rules of composition are not there to bind your creativity, rather they are there to assist you to improve your creativity. Don't ignore these just under the pretext of "breaking the rules" (I have seen some newbies going that route and yet to see someone successful), but learn these, experiment with these and when you think you have gained enough experience and confidence, go ahead and break them to create interesting images. 

So, that concludes my two part post regarding composition. You are welcome to ask anything related to this subject or photography as a whole in the comments section below. The rules I mentioned are not exhaustive by any means. In fact there are so much to discuss and debate on this particular subject that there is hardly any comprehensive article on this subject online. But I feel, newbies like us will benefit from following these guidelines and there is no point in bombarding a learner with difficult rules like the Fibonacci Ratio and Golden triangle when we can't even follow rule of third properly. So lets go and shoot some beautiful images. Happy shooting.