Composition in Photography: Design Elements

Part 1: Introduction ~•~ Part 2: Choose the Subject ~•~ Part 3: Choose the Environment ~•~ Part 4: Position the Subject

Part 5: Breaking the Rules

This last element might seem quite counterintuitive, and actually that’s the key to mastering any form of art. Some of the most stunning pictures break the above ‘rules’. And you must be totally familiar with the above rules in order to identify the opportunity where you can break them elegantly. No rules can guarantee a well-designed photograph. If “nice looking” photos do not come to you intuitively, the above “rules” will definitely help you improve the results by increasing the visual appeal of your photos. But we must remember that we must not become a servant and blind follower to the above rules which will lead to “boring” predictability which I had discussed in the Introduction of this series.

Here’s an example where I have centered the subject but still the photo manages to keep interest in the viewers. Actually I tried to crop the photo to place the couple at the thirds but it looked somewhat contrived that way.

Evening Walk

There’s one exception to the rule of the third’s though. In case of reflections, do let the horizontal line divide the photo into equal halves to emphasize the quality of reflection by mirroring.

Reflections Underground

Miscellaneous Tips

Here’s few standalone tips that will help you enhance the scene on your photo.

When you are shooting something with great height like canyons, valleys or cliffs and you want to emphasize the height, shoot vertically.

Gigantic Structures

You can repeat visual elements of the subject throughout the photo. Repetition can be in form of color, texture or shapes.

Stalactite formations

References

I would suggest to read AT LEAST one book on Composition in Photography and take the basics to the next level and produce stunning photographs.

Full Disclosure: If you visit Amazon through the above links and buy any book, you get the same price and I get a coffee treat from you. Thank you.

That concludes my series on Composition in Photography. To summarize, I discussed on the following 4 elements -

My last words in this concluding part of the series are directly taken from Ansel Adams:

Sudipta Shaw Photography