Composition is the aspect of photography that many photographers strive to master. Mastering composition, however, remains a challenge for many photographers. Composition principles can help you design an image, but in the end, your personal aesthetic is the final judge. After all, for every rule of composition, there are galleries filled with pictures that break the rules, and they succeed famously.

Composition can range from strikingly simple to complex, filled with layers of content and meaning. Most photographers would agree that simple compositions are best. Simple compositions offer the advantage of being easy for the viewer to "read," a characteristic that often makes images stronger than more complex compositions.

As a photographer, your eyes, your thoughts, and your sensibilities reveal and interpret each scene for the viewer. It's your job to combine your visual and emotional perceptions of a scene with the objective viewpoint of the camera. For practice, begin by standing back and evaluating all elements in the scene. Gradually narrow your view to see as the camera sees. With this exercise, you'll see isolated vignettes within the scene. Then continue this exercise by looking closely within the vignette to identify dominant elements, colors, patterns, and textures and think about how you can use them organize the visual information in the picture.

And before you begin shooting, ask and answer for yourself these questions:

If you don't ask and answer these questions, you run the risk of taking a picture that is visually difficult to read, and that has no message or content. Distilling the image to the message that you want to convey is the first and most important step in creating a well-composed image.

When you know the message or story of the image, some of the traditional composition guidelines detailed in this chapter can help you complete the picture.

Figure 5.2. This child's toy is an excellent example of simplicity in composition. Taken at ISO 100, f/22, 1/125 sec. using a Canon EF 180mm, f/3.5L Macro USM lens.

Perfectly symmetrical compositions, images that are the balanced side to side or top to bottom, create a sense of balance and stability, but they also are often viewed as boring compositions. The human eye seeks symmetry and balance, and when it finds that symmetry, the interest in the composition diminishes. Further, symmetrical compositions usually offer less visual impact and intrigue than asymmetrical photos. There are several ways to achieve good symmetry in your photography.

Figure 5.3. The symmetry of this image, while intriguing, becomes too predictable to hold the viewer's interest.

Working with balance and tension

Balance is a sense of "rightness" in a photo. A balanced photo doesn't appear to be too heavy (lopsided) nor too off center. To create balance, you should evaluate the visual weight of colors and tones (dark is heavier than light), and placement (objects placed toward an edge appear heavier than objects placed at the center of the frame) in the scene. Then arrange the elements to create a visual balance — or a harmony when objects have equal visual strength.

Figure 5.4. The design of this city hall building provides strong lines and contrasting planes that give the image visual interest. Taken at ISO 100, f/11, 1/80 sec. using a Canon EF 16–35mm, f/2.8L, USM lens set to 17mm.

Contrasting balance is tension, or a state of imbalance or visual contrasts. Tension is created by having dissimilar objects of different sizes in the image. For example, having two people on one side of the frame and a tree on the other side creates visual contrast by its dissimilarity in size and shape. The tension can be resolved through the use of color and brightness in subjects and objects so that because of a bright or dark color one element gains attention.

Checking the background

In any picture, the elements behind and around the subject become as much a part of the photograph as the subject, and occasionally more so because the lens tends to compress visual elements. As you compose the picture, check all areas in the viewfinder or LCD for background and surrounding objects that, in the final image, seem to merge with the subject, or that compete with or distract from the subject.

The classic example of failing to use this technique is the picture of a person who appears to have a telephone pole or tree growing out of the back of his head. To avoid this type of background distraction, move the subject or change your position.

Figure 5.5. This image demonstrates how filling the frame focuses attention on the subject without surrounding elements for distraction. Taken at ISO 100, f/4 at 1/40 sec. using a Canon EF 100mm, f/2.8 Macro USM lens.

Using the rule of thirds

A standard composition technique in photography is the rule of thirds. Imagine that a tic-tac-toe grid is superimposed on the viewfinder. The grid divides the scene into thirds vertically and horizontally. Often, the most interesting compositions are those that place the subject at one of the points of intersection or along one of the lines on the grid.

If you're taking a portrait, you might place a subject's eyes at the upper-left intersection point. In an outdoor photo, you can place the horizon along the top line to emphasize the foreground detail, or along the bottom line to emphasize a dramatic cloud formation. Using this type of grid also helps create a sense of dynamic imbalance and visual interest in the picture.

In practice, you can use the following suggestions when composing different image types:

• If your main point of interest is a static spot, try placing the main point of interest at any one of the intersecting dividing lines.

• If the main point of interest is horizontal, or it is a horizon, try placing it along one of the horizontal dividing lines.

• If the main point of interest is vertical, try placing it along one of the vertical dividing lines.

Figure 5.6. This image roughly shows the grid you might envision when using the rule of thirds.

A similar approach is the Greek golden mean. Begin by drawing a line diagonally from the top-left corner of the frame to the bottom-right corner. Then draw a perpendicular line from the bottom-left corner to where it intersects with the diagonal line. Then draw a perpendicular line from the top-right corner of the frame to where it intersects with the diagonal line. These two points of intersection show where the center of interest should lie, particularly in portraits.

Depending on how colors are used in a photo, they can create a sense of harmony and balance, or they can make bold, stimulating visual statements. To use colors in composition, remember that complementary colors are colors opposite each other on a color wheel, such as green and red or blue and yellow. Harmonizing colors are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, such as green and yellow or yellow and orange.

If you want a picture with strong visual punch, use complementary colors of approximately equal intensity in the composition. If you want a picture that conveys peace and tranquility, use harmonizing colors.

The more that the color of an object contrasts with its surroundings, the more likely it is that the object will become the main point of interest. Conversely, the more uniform the overall color of the image, the more likely it is that the color will dictate the overall mood of the image.

Figure 5.7. Bold colors create the visual interest and strength of this image. Taken at ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/800 sec. using a Canon EF 100mm, f/2.8 USM lens.

The type and intensity of light both affect the intensity of colors and, consequently, the composition. Overcast weather conditions, haze, mist, and fog reduce the vibrancy of colors. These conditions are ideal for creating pictures with harmonizing, subtle colors. Vice versa, on a bright, sunny day, color is intensified and is ideal for composing pictures with bold color contrasts.

Photographers often borrow a technique from painters — putting a subject within a naturally occurring frame, such as a tree framed by a barn door or a distant building framed by an archway in the foreground. The frame may or may not be in focus, but to be most effective, it should add context or visual interest to the image.

Figure 5.8. In this image, the red tulips form a visual frame for the yellow tulip in the midground. Taken at ISO 100, f/8, 1/400 sec. using a Canon 100mm, f/2.8 Macro USM lens.

Because the human eye is drawn first to the sharpest part of the photo, be sure that the sharpest point of focus is on the subject, or part of the subject you want to emphasize, for example, a person's eyes. This focus establishes the relative importance of the elements within the image.

Differential focusing controls the depth of field or the zone (or area) of the image that is acceptably sharp. In a nutshell, differential focusing works like this: The longer the focal length is (in other words, a telephoto lens or zoom setting) and the wider the aperture (the smaller the f-stop number), the less the depth of field (or the softer the background). Conversely, the wider the focal length and the narrower the aperture are, the greater the depth of field.

You can use this principle to control what the viewer focuses on in a picture. For example, in a picture with a shallow depth of field, the subject stands in sharp focus against a blurred background. The viewer's eyes take in the blurred background, but they return quickly to the much sharper area of the subject. You can virtually eliminate distractions behind the subject by using a very shallow depth of field.

To control depth of field, you can use the techniques listed in Table 5.1 separately or in combination with each other.

Figure 5.9. Changing your point of view can mean getting a new perspective by moving above the subject, shifting to a very low position, or moving to a side angle position. Taken at ISO 100, f/25, 1/125 using a Canon EF 100mm, f/2.8, Macro, USM lens.

In addition to the traditional guidelines, you can compose images using strong textures, repeated patterns and geometric shapes, and color repetition or contrasts to compose images. These elements can create a picture themselves, or you can use them to create visual motion that directs the eye or supports the subject.

Other techniques to keep in mind include:

Knowing the rules provides a good grounding for well-composed pictures, but Henri Cartier-Bresson summed it up best when he said, "Composition must be one of our constant preoccupations, but at the moment of shooting it can stem only from our intuition, for we are out to capture the fugitive moment, and all the interrelationships involved are on the move. In applying the Golden Rule, the only pair of compasses at the photographer's disposal is his own pair of eyes" (from The Mind's Eye by Henri Cartier-Bresson).