Photography Mini-Lesson 4 – Composition 2

Elements of good composition

In Lesson 3, we covered the basics of good composition – the Golden Rectangle and the Rule of Thirds. There are obviously more elements which if not treated correctly will detract from your composition even if you stick to the basics. In this lesson we will tackle the most important of these:

Centre of Interest and Subject

Most good pictures will have a Centre of Interest, not to be confused with the Subject of the picture. The centre of interest is the point in the photograph which will attract the eye. A good composition will lead the eye to the centre of interest.

The subject of the picture will convey a mood or a message. For example a beautiful sunset will convey a feeling of beauty in nature and a family picture will convey a feeling of happiness and togetherness – these are the subjects of the composition.

The centres of interest may be the golden orb of the sun as it sets with the reflection over the sea leading the eye into the picture.

Colour

Colour plays a major role in any picture. Your eye will automatically be drawn to bright colours. When a large colourful object occupies a large area of the picture and the rest of the picture is neutral, it can often unbalance the composition. In such a case you will need to either position a smaller, colourful object or a significant object on the opposing side of the picture. It is important that the subsidiary object is smaller or less colourful than the main object so as to ensure that they do not compete for attention.

Again, there are no hard and fast rules. It is probably self-evident that if you place a vividly coloured object on one side of a picture, it will be unbalanced. The key, though, is to be aware of this when you take the shot.

Lines

Lines can be used to evoke different emotional responses or to lead one’s eye to the centre of interest. Curved lines will elicit feelings of beauty, peace, relaxation and rhythm. Diagonal lines tend to be harsh or dynamic or they can be used to lead the eye into the picture. Parallel lines signify order and control such as in architecture. Horizontal lines will make the scene static and peaceful – the objects will be at rest.

The curved lines create a peaceful feeling, the parallel lines of the building create a feeling of order and control and the diagonals lead your eye into the picture.

Use of foreground

A very effective technique is to use a foreground object to frame the picture. For example you may use a window to frame a portrait or tree branches to frame a landscape, a porthole to frame a picture of a yacht. The foreground will “contain” the image in much the same way as a framed picture on your wall will do. The foreground can also be used to emphasize the juxtaposition of elements. In the picture on the left, the tulips emhasize the looming grey building and the angle of the shot leads the eye through the tulips to the building.

The foreground can also be used to convey the scale of the point of interest. For example a person standing in front of a tall tree will convey information as to the size of the tree. In landscape pictures it is particularly important to use the foreground to create an understanding of the scale of the composition. A mountain may look like a hill if there is no point of reference indicating its size. One must be careful, however, not to allow the foreground subject to detract from the point of interest.

Depth of Field

You have no doubt seen pictures where the entire composition is in focus and others where parts of the picture are blurry. The former picture is said to have more depth of field than the latter. Depth of field is a very important element of composition – the point of interest should always be in sharp focus unless it is deliberately blurred or grainy to create a mood or a feeling of movement.

The amount of light that is exposed to the camera’s sensor is determined by the combination of the speed and aperture of the camera’s shutter. Once the light conditions have been metered by the camera, it will calculate the most appropriate combination. A smaller aperture will require a slower speed and vice versa, in order to allow the same amount of light into the camera.

Small aperture, slow speed. Maximum Depth of Field.

Large aperture, high speed. Only the 3rd piece in focus.

The smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field and vice versa and although most point and shoot cameras do not have a manual function, many of them do have “scene” settings, for example “portrait”, “action”, “landscape” etc. Make sure that your camera is set correctly to give you the most suitable speed/aperture combination for the shot.

Portrait – large aperture so that the background is blurry and the face (particularly the eyes) are sharp. The background will not compete with the point of interest.

Landscape – smaller aperture so that the entire picture is sharp.

Action – large aperture so that the speed is high in order to freeze the motion and to keep the point of interest sharp.

To summarize:

• The Centre of Interest is not the same as the Subject
• Colour combinations play an imortant role in composition
• Lines have many uses in leading the eye to the Centre of Interest or to create a feeling of order or relaxation
• The foreground can be used to create scale or to frame a picture
• Depth of Field is a very important tool in creating a good composition

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