Four Simple Tips for Better Composition

Photographs that are not composed well do not have staying power, and are quickly discarded by our brain. In this article I want to discuss four very basic compositional tips. Four Simple Tips for Better Composition!

1) Horizontals and Verticals

When our brain sees something that it knows should be horizontal, like a distant horizon, but it isn’t, warning bells go off. Instinct tells us that there is something wrong. This usually translates into “I don’t like this photo very much”. The same thing happens when objects that should be vertical, like a building, are not.

Horizontals are a relatively simple thing to fix. It just takes practice and being aware of the horizon before you click your shutter. In most cameras you can turn on a grid display in the viewfinder. Try to make a conscious effort to level the horizon so that it is parallel with one of the gridlines. I have a tendency to drop my left elbow when I am holding my camera. I have to work hard to remember to lift it up so the Gulf of Mexico doesn’t drain off to the east!

This first shot of a windsurfer doesn’t look right because the horizon is tilted.

2) Border Patrol

One of the most common distractions I see when critiquing photos are bits and pieces protruding into the edges of the frame. These distractions cause your eye to wander away from the main subject. Yes, you can “fix” them in post-processing by cropping or cloning, but why not deal with them at the source? These edge distractions often take the form of branches, bright spots, or a small bit of something that just clearly doesn’t belong in the photo. When you are framing an image, before you take the shot, look around the borders of your frame. Are there any distracting elements? If there are, adjust your composition just a bit. Usually a simple step to one side, or a slight change in camera angle can fix the problem before it is a problem! When I take a photo, besides checking the histogram for exposure, I quickly glance around the edge of my frame to make sure that I haven’t got any of those nasty little distractions that try to take the spotlight away from my subject.

When I took this image I noticed the distracting branch at the upper right edge. If I tried to crop this in post, I would have lost some of the red tree in the background. By shifting to the left, I was able to remove the distracting branch. As an added bonus, I was now able to get the entire group of red trees in the background.

3) Intersecting Objects

When two unrelated visual elements touch or overlap, they often draw unintended attention to their intersection. In this series of photos I was trying to capture a little blue heron on a piling. In the first picture you can see that his head is merging with the dark grasses across the bayou. By taking a few steps to the left and climbing a small incline, I was able to get a much better image.

4) Simplifying

It is easy to have your subject become lost in a busy or cluttered image. Whenever possible, try composing so nothing competes with the subject. This can be done a couple of ways.

Try shooting the subject from different angles. Sometimes changing your perspective, even slightly can be the difference between a good photo and a great one. Here are two images of the same yellow lotus flower taken a few seconds apart. Although the background is nicely blurred in this shot, it is very busy. There are several highlights at the top right that distract the viewer from the bloom.

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