Photography: A Beginner's Guide to Composition

What makes a great shot? As well as your settings, you also have to think about how you construct your image in the frame. Visual storytellers often talk about having ‘an eye’ for photography, referring to the creative vision involved in composing a frame before pressing the shutter button. Perfecting the art of composition can seem elusive, but you can learn skills to train your eye and develop your understanding of what makes a great image. Keep reading to discover just some of the techniques you can use, including the rule of thirds, space, leading lines and framing, to develop your visual storytelling style. This is composition 101.

Rule of thirds

If you’re a beginner, the rule of thirds is a good guideline to develop a basic understanding of composition. Imagine your frame is equidistantly divided by two vertical and two horizontal lines, creating four cross-sections. Background elements—sky, sea, rooftops—are often best aligned on these lines, while subjects—people, objects, points of interest—tend to look best placed over one of the cross-sections. While this is called the ‘rule’ of thirds, this is by no means a golden rule. You can enable a setting within your camera to display these lines via live view on DSLR cameras or your electronic viewfinder on mirrorless cameras. But it’s easy enough to imagine them yourself so you don’t obscure the elements within your frame. If you’re not sure where to start, the rule of thirds can be treated as a basic starting point for composing a frame. Chances are, your frame will look pretty good. But trust your instincts.

Surround your subject with space

Often, a single subject is what draws us to take a photo. But it’s easy to overlook how much of what we are enjoying about the scene is actually the space surrounding the subject. Sometimes it’s worth paying attention to the environment your subject is in. So, it’s worth stepping back from your subject and zooming out—either with your feet or using the zoom function on the lens. You can often improve your image by the way you place your subject within its environment. A dash of colour, an interplay of interesting light or use of a secondary subject can add dynamism to the image. Using the space around the subject can also add to the story, balancing your shot and giving it more context—turning a good image into a great one.

Add leading lines

A leading line is a technique using elements within your environment to create a visual pathway to your subject. The viewer’s brain interprets these lines as instructions on where their eyes should look, drawing attention to the subject. Leading lines can be straight or curved, singular lines or parallels, they can lead directly to the subject or meander. It’s up to you.

Use a frame within a frame

Within your composition, you can line up elements to form a shape surrounding your subject—this creates a frame within a frame, which helps draw attention to your main subject. This technique is a little harder to pull off, but it can lead to striking results. When used correctly, it can add visual interest, context and depth.

Street photographer Robert Frank perfected this technique, using objects—car doors, curtains, windows, buildings—to frame his subjects and draw the audience’s eye to the subject. This gives the viewer more insight into the immediate surroundings and evokes emotions that connect to your image, thereby creating emotional photography.

Learn the rules before you break them

Creating a photograph isn’t just an objective skill, it’s a series of subjective choices made to create an art form. There’s no right or wrong answer, and the rules don’t really exist—they’re just guides, tips and techniques that can help you find the right recipe for your storytelling. But it’s a good idea to understand these, even—perhaps especially—if you mean to break them.

What techniques do you use for your compositions?

Image credits: with thanks to Ben Carias @baxcarias, Nicholas Roemmelt @nicholasroemmelt, Jorge Alvarado @urbanentdecker_, Robert Frank and Paul Moore @mooro.

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