Composition in Photography: Design Elements

Part 1: Introduction ~•~ Part 2: Choose the Subject

Part 3: Choose the environment to compliment the subject

You can have multiple or all of the themes (from Part 2) in a scene. It’s a photographer’s task to identify what needs more attention and what doesn’t. Keep one, eliminate others. The process of elimination can be either completely removing them out of the frame of your photo or optionally making them “out-of-focus” or blurring out the unwanted elements.

Colors

You can also have a frame to enhance the focus on the subject. A frame can be the outer edges of your viewfinder or anything from the ACTUAL scene, like an arch or tree branches or a window. Find something in the scene itself that can provide a frame to your subject.

Draw attention of the viewers to the detail of the subject. Don’t let distractions dominate the composition. Remember: Less is more. Define your subject so strongly among it’s backgorund that the eyes of the viewers get locked on it.

Fishing

Have (or make) a contrasting background, either Dark on Light or Light on Dark. Also place other objects in the environment keeping in mind the relationship with the main subject.

Snowboarding

Beach at Sunset

Remember the concept of a subject does not always apply to conventional “subject” notion that comes to our mind like a person, a structure or a mountain. It can be even be a part of the conventional subject like a dress on a person, eyes of a person, a corner of a structure or a rock on a mountain. Choosing a specific details of a subject generally tells a story and keeps interest among the viewers.

Fall color

I would strongly recommend reading AT LEAST one good book on composition to know the “thinking style” of famous Photographers which will benefit you big time. You can find my recommended books on composition in the concluding part of this series.

Now to the final “technique”: Positioning the subject »