Nothing Goes by Luck in Composition


While I love making posts for my client readers, I wanted to make some more guides for my photographer friends, beginning photographers, or anyone looking to elevate their own photos. I decided that one of the most important places to expand on is composition. Composition is a powerful tool in photography- it's what transforms a simple picture into a compelling story. By gaining further understanding of composition, you'll be able to guide your viewers eye, create balance, and evoke stronger emotions. There are a million different aspects surrounding composition, but I decided to compile ten.


1| Color theory & Mood

Colors are a well known influence on emotions. Warm colors like reds, oranges, and tans evoke a strong energy and punchiness. On the other side, cool tones like blues greens and purples create a calmer aura. Understanding how colors come together and harmonize will help you control the mood of an image, as well as give you more creative freedom.


2| Rule of Thirds

This is a well-known composition strategy. The rule of thirds divides the frame using two horizontal and two vertical lines to create nine equal sections. Placing focal or key elements on these lines or near where they cross, creates a visually balanced frame.

  • More advanced The golden ration (Fibonacci Spiral): A spiral shape guides the eye through an image. This is found everywhere in nature and within art.


3| Negative Space

Intentionally leaving empty space surrounding the subject can call for a dramatic effect. By introducing negative space, it forces the viewer to the focal point. It keeps things simple yet far more effective.


4| Symmetry & Balance

Symmetry is powerful when used intentionally. People are drawn naturally to patterns and it is something we find very satisfying to view. On the contrary, asymmetry can be used to create harmony by purposefully disturbing the visual perfection that symmetry causes. Either an create a sense of balance.


5| Juxtaposition

Forcefully contrast tow opposing elements- Light and dark, round and smooth, tall and short- to create more intricate compositions. This technique may work well in storytelling for photographs, or jsut make it more visually appealing.


6| Scale, Angle & Perspective Play

Having every photo from the same scale will make a gallery feel repetitive. Experiment with scale instead. Place a subject against a vast landscape and photograph form far away, or shoot an extreme close up on a particular feature like the eyes. These perspective shifts may feel silly in the moment, but they truly alter how an overall gallery may look and feel. Low angles, high angles, or other viewpoints, can also add a dynamic view.


7| Rule of Odds

Despite enjoying symmetry, the human mind finds odd numbers more appealing in images. Whether it's an odd number of props, odd number of subjects, off number of flowers, etc. Try to see where you can make things feel odd.


8| Depth and Layering

Foreground, mid ground, background are your different layers. Always look where you're able to add dimension to your photographs. Instead of only focusing in on the subject, take a peak at how these layers could give a sense of space a realism.


9| Leading Lines

Lines, whether they be roads, trees, buildings, or something else, draws the eye to the focal point of the image. By using leading lines in your photograph, there is added depth and movement. This causes the image to be far more immersive.


10| Intentional Imperfection

No one likes to hear to aim for imperfection, but its true. Following strict rules will make things feel unnatural and end up looking stiff. Sometimes by breaking conventions you create more uniqueness in your photos. Embrace motion blur, light flare, off balance subjects, abstractness, and more!


I had so much fun writing out these tips, and I hope you found at least some of them helpful. Hopefully, I'm able to do more of these in the future! If you have any questions as always, feel free to reach out. Until next time!