Pixiq

“What the human eye observes casually and incuriously, the eye of the camera notes with relentless fidelity.” – Berenice Abbott

When it comes to the essence of creativity and the art of photography, all rules are out the window. There are many different elements of composition and an infinite number of ways they can be arranged in nature. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts for making interesting and dynamic images that portray nature in all its beauty.

The Basics

Composition is the arrangement of visual elements in a work of art; in our case, the photographic image. In art terms, you can think of composition as the visual order—or design—of the image.

Artists talk about visual elements in terms of “elements of design,” which can be easily translated into “elements of composition” employed by photographers. Although there is no formula in art or photography, there are certain fundamentals that provide guidelines for how the elements of composition are arranged. This is critical when thinking about an image; how you arrange the visual elements helps determine the impact of the image on the viewer.

Beginning nature photographers often try to include too much in a single photo. Three of the common pitfalls I see in student’s photos are having too many compositional elements with no clear subject or emphasis, distracting foregrounds or backgrounds that confuse the eye, and the primary subject being too small or centered in the frame.

Learn the rules so you can learn how to break them.

Basic Elements of Composition

Lines: Lines are important because they give the eye a visual path to follow through the frame. The sinuous crest of a sand dune is a perfect example.

Shapes: Shapes are defined by edges providing form and symmetry within an image. Different shapes can apply different feeling tones to an image. Sharp angles appear agitated and uneasy, whereas smooth and rounded forms feel more calm and peaceful, like rounded boulders or meandering streams.

Color: The characteristics of color—hue, intensity (or saturation), and color temperature—work together to create different moods, adding an emotional content to an image. Warm, saturated colors are invigorating and exciting, while blues are cool and refreshing. Vibrant color combinations, especially among primary colors (reds, yellows, and blues) demand attention and add impact, making the eye jump between bright colors. Gentler more pastel combinations are more soothing and somewhat romantic.

Texture: Think of texture as the surface qualities that give an image a visual feel or tactile dimension. Surfaces can be smooth, or rough and gritty. Sidelight can emphasize uneven and gritty textures, as angled light catches shapes and shows imperfections in surfaces. In contrast, diffused light can help smooth out the textural feel of an image.

Size: Size is the proportion and dimension of shapes and objects relative to one another. Object size can vary in photography, and the true size of something can be manipulated. We can make objects appear larger than life depending on what lens we use and how we frame them. Abstract photos often work best without any hint of real scale.

Perspective: Simply stated, perspective is the arrangement of objects as they appear to our eye based on their spatial relationships and relative size. Perspective is a key compositional element because it can add depth and the appearance of a third dimension to an otherwise two-dimensional image.

Space: How much you choose to include, or not include, in your compositions impart a feeling of openness or closeness. Negative space—or the space between objects—is as important as the objects themselves.