Framing the shot in still photography is as important as composing the scene. While composition refers to the arrangement of visual elements to fill the photographic frame in an attractive manner, framing the shot means adding an element of interest to your images — the frame itself.

Shooting through the window, doors, archways, spiral staircases are some of the tried and tested ways for framing the shots. You can however employ your creative ideas to compose the shots with a difference. Look out for natural frames, compose around the water splashes, shoot through the crowd of people, use the hands, legs or shoulders or simply compose the shots around the design principles (like selective focus, differential contrast, negative space, etc).

Framing does add an extra dimension to your photograph. It attracts the viewers attention towards the center of the interest and saves the viewers eyes from wandering out of the frame. But that doesn’t mean that we always need to have a complete frame around the subject. Incomplete frames are more intriguing and leave space for viewers to weave the story around the capture. It all depends on your perspective to make a difference to your images by introducing the frames. Here are some common as well as not so common ways of framing the shots.

1. Employ blur as a frame

Employing shallow depth of field to give the selective focus effect can also work great to add a frame to your image. This technique leads the viewer’s eye to the elements that are in sharp focus and the blur acts as the frame.

2. Balance

Balancing the scene can also be a great way to frame the shot. Placing the subject in the center with symmetric background helps in leading the eyes to the center of interest.

3. Negative Space

Negative space can also be used as the most thought out idea for framing the shot. The human mind negates the space around the subject which works best in pulling the eyes towards the positive space —  the space occupied by the subject itself. So in this case even when there is no physical frame around the subject, the subject still stands as framed.

4. Colors and Textures

Ever tried using the colors and textures to act as the frame. Take the inspiration from the following image.

5. Use Your Hands

You can also use your hands to frame yourself. That gives a sort of caring appeal and hence reflects romanticism.

6. Shoot Through Windows

Try to shoot through the windows (not Microsoft Windows) to add frames to your photos.

7. Shoot Through The Doors

Try to shoot through the doors to add frames to your photos. This directs the viewers’ eye to the focal point.

8. Shoot Through Branches

Shoot through the overhanging branches and see how framing effect adds to your shots.

9. Look Around For Naturally Existing Frames

Look for natural frames before you take a shot. The elements to frame the subject are present all around us, we simply need to look and think out of the box.

10. Photoshop It

One traditional way of framing is to put the photo in a wooden frame. Now a days such effects can be added by software itself, which adds a frame (textured or plane) of different colors all around the perimeter of the photo. You don’t need to add four sided frames always, many a times two sided frames work great.

11. Be Experimental

Use your creativity to create frames in the shot. Try to implement every idea that pops up in your mind, because ideas are worth spreading — what better way than communicating it through your image.

Framing effectively helps in cropping the unwanted elements. Try different angles, shoot through overhanging branches, through windows and doors, use people, shoulders, head, legs. But before taking a shot ask yourself whether framing will add to your image or will distract the viewer from the center of interest?

Here the thing to remember is that framing is as important as the composition is. So pick up your camera and get ready to frame the shots and don’t forget to share them with us…

Composition is the key element of the photography. Apart from practicing technical controls of the camera to achieve various effects, one has to learn to compose a scene before taking shots. Composing a scene means arranging different visual elements in the field of view for the shooting purpose, so that we have the desired placement of various elements in the final photograph. Experts who practiced arts centuries ago, realized few factors as strong guidelines for the composition of visual art. Let us take a trip to an inspirational journey of “Rule of thirds” and “Golden Ratio” since their birth till date via their different states of evolution throughout history.

Its better to know the basics of “Rule of Thirds” and “Golden Ratio” here before knowing why are they so pleasing to human eyes.

How Was The Golden Ratio Discovered?

Golden ratio is a mathematical constant equals to 1.618 discovered by an Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci around 1200 AD. It is the ratio of two division of one sole unit in such a proportion that the ratio of larger part to the smaller is accurately equal to the ratio of the sum of larger and smaller part of the unit concerned to the larger part. He found that the golden ratio has existed in nature since the beginning; that is why it is also known as the “divine proportion”. It’s all around us, let us find the golden ratio or the divine proportion in human body for instance.

Golden Ratio In Nature

Why is the golden ratio aesthetically pleasing to human eye? Because the golden ratio is so abundantly visible in nature. The rhythmic pumping of ventricles in the human heart is at the golden ratio to one complete pumping cycle of all four chambers of the heart.

You must have noticed many times that the length of the legs (waist to foot) to the whole human body is at golden ratio. Even the length of your fingers and palm is in golden ratio. The length of face to the width of face, length of front left handed teeth (incisor) is to the left handed canine teeth, from waist to knee and knee to foot, are all in golden ratio. Moreover snail shell (golden spiral), division of pitch of DNA spiral diameter are all proportionate in the golden ratio. Golden spirals, triangles and other such geometrical shapes are all the derivations of golden ratio.

Application Of Golden Ratio

It is very significant and highly applicable in modern technological construction today. It is greatly implemented in architectures, web designing, logo designing, etc. Many great companies like Apple, and other Fortune 500, even sales companies are implementing the concept of golden ratio. Because it has existed in the nature in a divine manner, we the humans have subconsciously gotten used to it.

Rule Of Thirds? Or Is It An Expanded Form of Golden Ratio?

Rule of thirds is the another important rule of photography composition, which cannot be left in sands. When we expand the golden ratio division of the frame from all of its four sides, what we come up with is somewhat similar to rule of third known as Fibonacci grid. Is there really a noticeable difference between the two? How does it matter if you place the subject in either of the two? In the image below golden ratio from all four sides are shown in green lines and rule of thirds in red lines, where as the blue rectangle reflects the difference between the two. Thus, it can be seen as a natural advancement of golden ratio, however it has its own incredible history.

In the book “Remarks on Rural Scenery”, author John Thomas Smith in 1797 quoted a work by Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1783, and discussed the balance of shadows and highlights in the painting. Joshua believed the distribution of warm colors to cold colors in the painting or any other work of art, should be done in the proportion of two-third or one-third of the entire frame. Smith then expanded the idea and named it “the rule of thirds”. Both rules divide the frame into 9 parts, the only difference is that in the rule of thirds, the frame is divided into 9 equal parts. Thus it may be considered another ratio derived from the golden ratio.

Which Is The Best Rule?

• Portrait Photography: The application of golden rule in composing a photography scene is best implemented when shooting portraits. Place the subject (or the most interested area) on the lines dividing the frame into golden ratio either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. You will see this in many portrait photos. The face of the subject in a portrait is usually placed in the golden spiral which is again a derivative of golden ratio.

• Landscape Photography: When shooting landscapes/natural scenery, it is preferable to fill one-third of the full frame with land, one-third with water and remaining one-third with the sky. When placing a subject in landscape photography, power points (intersection points) can be used to place most interested area of the photo, and vertical lines can be used to have 2nd most interesting realm of the scene. If there are only two elements (or planes like sky and land), place the more important (or the subject) in the 2/3 and the rest in 1/3rd of the frame.

Sun at Center (Cropped Image)

Sun Placed at Golden Ratio

While we are talking about these two rules let’s remember the thumb-rule: the rules are meant to be broken. A rule lets you play safe but ultimately it’s your own experience and creativity that will set your work apart.

In-spite of having an eternal history of existence of golden ratio in the nature justifying that the implementation of these rules are attractive to the human eyes, you can yourself check the two photographs above and submit your comments as to why the second one is more alluring to your sub-conscious. Or is it at all? Rule-of-thirds or the golden ratio? Is one even distinguishable from the other?

Composition is one of the crucial elements of photography. No matter how expensive and high-tech camera you have, it is ultimately the way you compose the photos that wins the hearts. In short, composition makes or breaks the photograph. If your images lack the “strong underlying structure” called the composition, they will well lack the viewer’s gaze.

Photography masters and experts have suggested  several rules and guidelines for composing interesting frames and rule of thirds, golden ratio, leading lines, natural frames, symmetry, balance, rhythm, etc are some of the most significant ones. And while following these guidelines, photographers have come across various other interesting techniques and thought provoking actions for breaking the rules of photography.

This reminds of quite an impressive rule of thirds by Trey Ratcliff which says The top third of your photo should be interesting. The middle third of your photo should be interesting. The bottom third of your photo should be interesting. And so it is written.

And here are few more pearls of wisdom learned by photographers (and me) over the time.

Throw The Frame Out Of Focus

Including natural frames adds a visual story to the image. How about playing around natural frames? Instead of getting everything in focus, i.e. the frame and the subject, try to partially blur the frame. This will effectively lead the viewers eye towards the area of interest in the photograph that too without the distractions caused by the frame. And one more thing, composing the frame in such a way leaves the space for viewers to imagine ‘Alice in the Wonderland’.

Follow The Gaze [With Empty Space]

When shooting people looking in a particular direction, leave some empty space in the direction they are looking. This generates curiosity among the viewers and directs the viewer’s eye into the frame. However, leaving the empty space behind the subject, makes space for more of a guesswork.

So, as a rule of thumb, when shooting moving objects or walking people, leave empty space in the direction the gaze of the subject follows. BTW how does it look when you photograph the subject moving out of the frame (as in the image below)?

Look At The World With A Different Eye

Your perspective is all that makes the difference. It is just like unique ideas that sell well. So don’t restrict yourself to shooting at eye level. Get down on your knees or try the hipster shots. Photograph by varying the angle of view and you will definitely come out with some interesting shots — shoot from behind a person’s head, shoulder, from between stretching legs or over hanging branches and the likes.

Let The Lines Meet Or Vanish

Lines draw the viewer’s attention towards the center of interest. But don’t let them act as a distraction. Follow the lines and let the lines meet at the destination. It gives the sense of accomplishment. For instance, when capturing rivers or roads longitudinally, vanish the lines into the corners, this makes for a strong composition and a perfect finish to the photograph. However this advice is not for vertical lines like buildings — converging lines in this case look more of a mistake.

Add Depth To The Scene

Photographs look dull, boring and mundane unless they have the third dimension that makes the photograph more interesting. Playing around with the depth of field, experiment with various light effects and add your perspective to give your images a more realistic aspect — the three dimensional aspect.

Photograph Incompleteness

Capturing just the reflections without the subject in the scene or framing just the pollen grains — photographing incompleteness in this sense makes complete sense for abstract photography. If you are bored of giving visual definitions to the objects around you, it’s time to shoot the details without worrying about covering the entirety.

Break The Rules!

This is not the last resort though, but many a times breaking the rules is all you have to do — not only for interesting captures but also for winning over the creative rut. For instance, one of the compositional guidelines suggest not to place the subject in dead center. It makes up for a boring composition. But at times placing the subject in the center works wonders. So first learn the rules and then try to break them often. After all rules are meant to be broken :)

Are you still following the traditional rules of composition? Feel free to share new ideas, experiments and composing techniques with us.

Of late I have been reading a few professional photographers. As much as it reveals the secrets of making good pictures, it also gives you an insight on how pros make the images that simply click; the pictures that simply resonate with viewers. One thing that is common among the masters of photography is the art of composing the frame; the art of thinking in terms of composition. The way they position and place various elements in the frame makes all the difference. I got a chance to sneak peak at the various compositional techniques used by professional photographers and thereby I decided to compile a list of exercises to help you create the images that naturally draw the human eye.

Exercise 1 — Learn To See Purely In Terms Of Composition

Learning to see is fundamental to developing the photographer’s eye. Look around yourself, observe the various elements in the scene and discern the inherent details of the scene. View and review the scene. As you do so you discover a lot of passive things which never seemed to exist in the first place. Train your eyes to look at the scene in totality. Think lines, patterns, balance, guiding the viewers’ eye, point-of-interest and simplicity. Look at the book shelf aligned to your work space for instance. Pick up one book from the bunch and see it in respect of other books, view it in respect of the beautifully carved shelves or see it in respect of the wooden texture. Looking at things around you in this manner eventually lead you in discovering an interesting image from the ordinary scene.

Exercise 2: Establish A Relation Between The Subject, The Background & Other Elements

Now that you have picked up the scene, choose the subject and view it in relation to the other elements in the scene. Let’s take the example of bookshelf a little further. I would love to highlight Nicholas Sparks’s A Walk To Remember as the subject while blurring the rest of the books on the shelf to form a beautiful bokeh. This forms a story in itself. It suggests that while I love to read the books, this book is special to me. Take another example. This time lets try to photograph a musician performing at the concert. While the musician will be your subject, the entire band (the instruments and the players) acts as the background and the low lit stage forms the ambiance for the scene. You can compose the scene in many different ways; either simply compose the scene with the entire stage in sharp focus or slightly blur the background to add context to the subject. Anyways, its your call how would you like to capture the scene.

Exercise 3: Practice Geometry

I came across this quote by Henry Cartier Bresson on one of the photography forums. It reads:

The only joy in photography is geometry. All the rest is sentiment.

And well it is quite to true. You can easily relate to the pictures of your friends, family, pets — the cute subjects or else it is the geometry involved in the image that plays upon the trick of attracting the viewer’s attention. Think about it! Lines lead the eye from one part of the picture to another, symmetry works at its best to create harmony, arcs and curves add dynamism to the scene. Then there are bold geometric shapes like squares, triangles, spirals which act as the point of interest in the photograph. Not to forget the S-curves here. All these elements work well for pulling the viewers eye to the point of interest, giving the sense of direction and to a greater extent work well as the subject themselves. So get on it and nail the composition by practicing geometry.

Exercise 4: Intentional Off-Center

Quite many times, placing the subject in dead center makes the image look dull and boring. Try placing it off the center and yes, it works! But there is a small caveat to it. If you place the subject slightly off-center it looks like the photographer’s fault. So when you are at it, make it a deliberate act, i.e, place the subject either along the golden mean or in the thirds. (More about divine golden mean and aesthetic rule of thirds here). This will naturally draw the viewers eye towards the center of interest.

Exercise 5: Try To Replicate The Art Of Masters

Ansel Adams, Henry Cartier Bresson, Jay Maisel have made beautiful photographs. Pick some of the pictures shot by them and try to replicate the compositional ideas implemented by them. It’s perfectly all right to copy the ideas of the masters. When you do so, you learn a lot of new things about how composition matters in making good images.

Exercise 6: Think In Terms Of Black And White

Don’t let the colors deceive you. While peppy, lively colors do form a part of strong composition, it is more about arrangement of various elements, shapes and forms in the frame. All these things start making sense when you learn to visualize in black and white. Visualizing in black and white helps you in composing the scene in terms of beautiful tones, highlighting textures, pronounced shapes and an extra depth in the scene. Time for a pro tip: Don’t shoot in black and white. Instead shoot in color and see the image shaping itself into marvelous piece of art in your image editor.

Exercise 7: Chant Those Composition Mantras To Yourself

While there are no hard and fast rules to it, there are a number of compositional elements and guidelines that work in most of the cases. Placing the subject off-center for instance or balancing the visual weight of various elements makes your images come to life. When you position and place the elements in the frame by following the composition guidelines, it automatically attaches a visual appeal to the final image. That is why, chanting or reminding yourself of the various compositional elements can greatly help you in improving the way you compose your shots.

Exercise 8: Work The Shot

I’ve mentioned this earlier as well — the professionals get the images they want by working the shot. Working the shot is the technique of discovering the image. Compose and re-compose the shot perhaps by changing the angle of view, by zooming into the scene, getting closer, subtracting the elements or re-arranging the elements in the scene till you arrive at an image that satiates the artist within you. How about trying it out? Check out the article on how to work the shot here.

Exercise 9: Practice It Alone

Any form of art, be it the writing skills or the painter’s imagination, requires a lot of concentration to give shape to the final piece of artistry. This focus and concentration comes by your way when you practice the art and that too alone. You cannot socialize and practice your art all at the same time. Keep the distractions off the place to keep focus on what matters — the art of composing the elements in the frame.

Exercise 10: Trace Your Eyes Around The Edges

When you look through the viewfinder, trace your eyes around the edges of the frame before taking the final shot. Make sure that all the important elements of the scene are precisely defined within the edges of the photograph. Sometimes the minute details alongside the edges of the photograph may act as the distraction. Do away with it if that’s the case with some of your pictures. While you cannot go and re-shoot the scene, you can always crop the final image to give it more finished and refined look in your digital darkroom.

Exercise 11: Give Yourself Assignments

Practice makes the perfect, an age old adage holds true here as well. The more you practice, the better you are at your stuff. And the simple exercise to get along with composing good photos is to giving yourself the photography assignments for practicing various compositional elements like lines, textures, color, repetitions, symmetry, rhythm, rules of thirds, golden mean and the likes. Start with practicing these ideas discretely and later combine the ideas to come up with interesting and unique compositions.

How do you nail the composition?

What makes some photographs simply stand out of the crowd? Composition is the answer to it. The way you frame the scene, place the subject and arrange the other elements in the frame is what makes all the difference. And how do photographers arrive at a good composition. This is what brings us to today’s topic of discussion; in fact a pro tip for all the photographers — work your shots to get the composition you want.

Working A Shot

So, what does working a shot mean? Working a shot is the photographers’ way of refining the shot; to make an extraordinary imagery from the ordinary scene. It is just like a writer wandering about for the plot of story or a painter re-working his canvas for a finished outcome. While writers and painters re-work on paper, photographers re-work their photographs by taking the shots; by varying the angle of shooting or by moving closer or away from the subject. The idea is to re-frame the scene to compose the interesting shot.

This is what professional photographers are into full time — working a shot. They take a lot of shots by looking at the scene with the photographers’ eye. They take multiple shots of the subject by changing the angle of view; sometimes taking tight crops and other times changing the orientation.

This simple activity of looking around the scene or the subject by varying the angle of shooting and angle of view helps in discovering the image in otherwise mundane or boring scene.

How To Work A Shot

Working the shot is actually a process where you start with a bigger picture and deduce it to get clearly defined subject that expresses your viewpoint. When you go out for a photo-walk or perhaps are out there to make some good shots, you have to put in some serious effort to make a difference with your photographs. It’s not about shooting left, right and center; it is about composing or ordering the elements in a pleasing manner. Zoom in, zoom out, simplify the scene, get the light right, change your perspective and see how your subject stands in relation to the other elements in the scene. All this actively engages you in matter of the fact — working a shot.

Here are a few tips to help you compose like pros:

• Get Rid Of Zoom Lenses: Zoom lens is a lazy man’s way of exploring the photographic opportunities. Instead of carrying a zoom lens, try photographing with fixed focal length lenses. Get on your feet and work your composition by either getting close to the subject or by moving far enough to include some interesting elements which didn’t appear to be the part of the frame at the first place. In fact, you’d be surprised that walking out or into the scene changes the way elements interact with each other. Make them work together!
• Try Different Angles: Photographing the same scene by varying the angle of shooting drastically changes the mood and order of elements in the photograph. It helps in adding a missing dimension to the images.
• Simplify The Shot: Covering the scene or the subject in entirety is kind of boring. Narrow your choice of elements and focus on what matters the most. Simplify the shot, maybe framing just the water droplets on the leave pays you off with beautiful imagery.
  
• Change The Perspective: Change the angle of view by increasing or decreasing your distance from the subject. When you get moving around the scene you discover new elements to be part of the scene or simply get some creative ideas to compose the scene in a better way.

How much do you work your shots?

What makes the photograph great? Colors, tones, mood, dramatic light, special image effects, impressive subject and the list goes on. There are a number of things that come to mind while speaking of the elements that make spell bounding images. But one thing that goes a long way in making a mark with your photographs is the underlying structure or the composition — the way various elements are placed or arranged on the photographic frame.

Colors, lighting effects, an impressive subject do create the mood of an image; but the strength of an image lies in the way you compose your shots. The photographer’s foresight and effort all shows up in the his art — the photograph. It is not always about capturing the right moment at the right time, it is about assessing the scene, taking the test shots, working the shot and getting the final images that simply grabs the viewer’s attention.

So, what do you need for making the great shots happen. It is a matter of practicing four simple compositional tips listed below.

1. Clearly Defined Subject & Clearly Defined Background

   The main point of interest in the photograph is the subject. So the first thing to focus on when capturing the image is the subject. Once you identify the subject of your image, try emphasizing the subject. And use the background as a backdrop — to add the context to your image. When you look at the scene, frame the shot such that the subject surpasses the scene, while background compliments the subject well. Check out this example for instance, the focus is on one student who is different from the crowd. Thus student is the subject and crowd acts as the complimentary backdrop.

   

   Different from the crowd

2. Strike A Sense Of Balance

   Ever watched a kid playing on the see-saw? The weight of two kids work in tandem with each other, neither of the two outdo the other. These keeps the thing swinging. The same principle plays an important role in striking the balance between the various elements of an image. Evely element in an image has a visual weight; this visual weight draws the attention of the eye. If this visual weight is not properly spread (or placed) across the frame, it tends to throw the visual harmony off-balance. Silhouetted object amidst the blue hues of sky for instance balance the graphic weight of darkened object and reflection of setting sun in the calm waters balance the intensity of the light of the setting sun. In all, balance is about playing around with the visual weights of elements in an image. For instance, in the example image check out how subtle wooden texture and horizontal lines balance the high contrast vertical stripes of zebra.

   

   The vertical strips are balanced with horizontal lines

3. Playing With The Point Of View

   Photographing at the eye level is what we practice most of the times. This often results in mundane, boring images. A better idea is to explore the various angles of shooting. Introduce the fresh angles (shoot from above, shoot from below or shoot from hips as lomographers do), change the perspective and you will see how drastically the mood of the photograph alters. For instance shooting huge trees from below makes them iconic and while shooting them from a vantage point make them appear inferior. Similarly shooting from back recites the story subject is exposed to and shooting from the front documents the story and expressions of the subject.

   

   Vary the angle of shooting

4. Strive For Simplicity

   Simplicity and minimalism help in keeping the distracting elements off the scene and thus attract the viewer’s attention to the subject of your image. But achieving simplicity is in itself an art. Don’t worry, here is a quick tip to help you exclude unwanted elements in the photograph — Work your shot. Take a shot, assess the image in terms of main subject & distractions. Take another shot, this time move a little closer or change the angle of shooting to eliminate the distractions. Re-work on your shot and see how your effort pays off in the final image.

   

   The background clutter is blurred to grab the user’s attention to the sharp flowering

Remember, the composition is the single-most critical element that will differentiate your photography style from thousands of other photographers out there. So here’s a bonus tip: focus on developing your composition. And to do that shoot in black and white. Once you have mastered the basic composition techniques, check out the compositional rules and elements for excelling at the art of photography.

Learning and practicing the photographic compositions acts as the foundation for great photographs. Either in the form of design principles or as composition elements, following the rules of composition always contributes in making the photographs impressive and attractive. As you advance a little further, the urge of refinement and perfectionism revitalizes in you the spirit for trying something out of the league — something which takes your creativity to zenith and introduces depth in your artworks. This is what is formally referred to as the stage of creating masterpieces — spell binding the audience and engaging the viewers in interpreting the finer nuances of your art-piece. Here are 5 advanced composition tips which will help you in breaking the barriers for delivering astonishing results.

1. Specificity

   Specificity or being specific is answering the basic questions before picking up the camera like what should I photograph. When you pick up the camera as the beginner your primary motive is to master the camera settings but whence you are comfortable with the equipment, your creative juices start flowing in the direction of what matters the most. Photography for advanced photographers is no more about clicking the photographs and looking back at LCD to ensure that everything is fine. Photography for them is the medium of communicating a message, portraying the reality or putting forth their viewpoint and perspective. It is more about unleashing the imagination and rendering specific meaning to the captures than just making the photograph great.

   

   Capture what matters the most to you

2. Visual Ambiguity

   Visual ambiguity contradicts with the principle of specificity. While being specific gives you an opportunity to emotionally align those viewing your photographs with you and your art, visual ambiguity immerse the viewers in comprehending the photographer’s thoughts on the scene or about the subject. Visual ambiguity is the practice of intentionally introducing such elements in your photographs that can be interpreted in multiple ways and convey different message to different viewers. This can be achieved either by photographing the pronounced details or by leaving out the essential details of the object else wise covered in entirety.

   

   Visual Ambiguity

3. Abstractions

   Leaving behind the essence, beauty and details of the subject, the focus of abstract photography is on the visual properties of the subject. Just like abstract painting the focus of the photographer is not on the visual appeal or the aesthetics of the subject as a whole. The photographer tries to use the visual language in form of color, lines, shapes and forms to render meaning to the photographs. Abstractions reveal the artists creativity of presenting the daily life objects in unusual and unique way.

   

   Using the visual properties

4. Including The Element Of Intrigue

   Photographing the essence of the subject in entirety is quite common. The viewers being accustomed to such photographs appreciate the strong structure and visual appeal of the photograph and without giving much thought move to the next photograph in the queue. On the other hand, the images which maintain some secrecy like hiding some details or disclosing only the partial scene makes room for imaginations on the part of the viewers and thus engage the viewers in  exploring creative possibilities. It thus becomes difficult for viewers to pull their eyes off such photographs.

   

   Exaggerating details but hiding the structure

5. Photographing The Variations

   Photographing the variations refers to including varying scales & proportions, contrasting colors and rhythmic balance of highlighted and subtle details. It is about reproducing the variety onto the photographic frame which gives the viewer a chance to think in terms of accentuation and relaxation. For instance the jumbled irregularities of hilly region or portraiture of subtle clouds amidst forceful sea waters and soothing backgrounds with pronounced subject in the foreground essentially arrest the viewers interest.

   

   The variations

How do you make your photographs stunningly interesting?

In Part-I of the series photography principles from design, we discussed 8 photographic design principles to create professionally composed photographs. Before proceeding with this one, check out Photography Principles From Design-I to see how rhythm, harmony, symmetry, balance, proportion, emphasis, contrast and unity contribute in making great photographs.

In this series, we review the remaining seven principles which will take your photographic composition skills to an advanced level.

1. Variety

   The design principle of variety refers to use of diverse elements in the photograph. This may include a variety of colors, shapes, textures or subjects as well. These varied elements portray unity in diversity thus making the photograph interesting. For instance the cloudy skies shot during the magic hour present the unison of blue, orange, pink and white which makes the scene all the more dramatic and the outcome is an impressive image. While a lack of variety can make the photographic composition dull, a lot of variety on the other hand may create an effect of chaos where the viewer might get confused about the intention of the photographer and the point of focus. Therefore, a well balanced variety is a must for a pleasing photograph.

   

2. Movement

   Technically movement refers to something which signifies motion or action in the photograph. In this respect it means to capture the motion and movement by choosing appropriate shutter speed to portray motion blur, render panning effect or simply freeze the action. When speaking in terms of design principles, movement refers to the ability of the visual image to guide the human eye in some particular direction by effectively using lines, curves, shapes and form. Vertical lines for instance leads the eyes upward, horizontal lines direct the eyes inwards while shapes and form guide the eye in deciphering the structure of the subject.

   

3. Form

   Form refers to the closed contour of element / subject in the photograph. The properties of light play an important role in depicting the form on the two dimensional photographic surface. The side-lighting plays a prominent role in rendering form in fine art photography. When an object in the case of table top photography and the subject in case of fine art photography is emphasized with the help of sidelight, a shadow is rendered and the element seems more dynamic and its depth becomes more pronounced; giving it a three-dimensional effect. Form is immensely useful in heightening the sense of three dimensional reality (as in the following image the water droplets look more real and natural owing to the use of side light).

   

4. Gradation

   Gradation refers to a gradual change in the linear perspective, shapes or color shades in the scene. The change in color may be with regards to its hue, saturation or the tonal values (warm to cool or dark to light) while the shapes may ascend or descend from big to small. For a gradation in the linear perspective, direction and size of an element is used. The size of the element, if gradually decreased in a particular direction gives an illusion of increasing distance (because of the constant reduction in scaling).

   

5. Perspective

   Another design principle or design element to be precise is the perspective. Perspective signifies the utilization of your photographing skills to present a creative outlook of the scene or the subject. Perspective portrays your unique viewpoint in the photograph. Perspective helps you in making the photograph interesting by adding the missing third-dimension to it. Adding your perspective to the composition weaves a story around the captured scene; elaborating your unique style of observing and photographing. Learn more about perspective here.

   

6. Negative Space

   Negative space is the free / empty space around the subject of an image. It simply refers to the space which is not utilized by the main subject (as opposed to the positive space of the image). Negative space renders a soothing effect to the photograph by providing the place for resting the eyes. The effective use of negative space helps in leading the viewer’s eyes towards the main subject. Employing the negative space makes your photographs desirable for advertisers and designers thus increases your prospects of making money with photography (by selling the photographs online). Check out the article on negative space to learn more about using the negative space creatively.

   

7. Simplicity & Minimalism

   Simplicity is one of the main components of the good photograph. It is the technique of enhancing the visual appeal of the scene by keeping distracting elements off the photographic frame. Simplicity enables you to portray the aesthetics of the subject effectively. This design principle thus helps you in conveying a clear and strong viewpoint. Simplicity depends a lot on the way you present the subject. For example eliminating the background clutter, limiting the number of elements in the photograph, employing negative space and using complimentary colors help in intensifying the simplicity which ultimately helps you in drawing the viewer’s attention to the main subject. (Learn more about simplicity here)

   

The design principles have an elaborate impact on the way an image is read and appreciated by the critics. An image portraying the visual symmetry, unity, balance, simplicity, gradation and so on definitely look good even when the underlying principles are not noticed by the common man. However it is rare that one single image employs all the principles. Sometimes just focusing on one principle alone can also create a strong point of interest in the photograph. By the way, are you practicing the design principles?

Photography design principles are simply some widely accepted guidelines for composing a photograph that add to its impact and make it all the more pleasing and interesting to the human eye. By employing these principles and using your creative imagination, you can make some highly professional compositions. The photographic design principles are equally important for professional as well as amateur photographers because they are the foundation to help you learn photographic composition and enhance interest in the photograph. Let’s take a look at the 15 design principles of photography and how they impact your photographs.

1. Rhythm

   The primary characteristic of rhythm is its predictability and order. For example, day and night and the pattern of seasons are predictable and follow a particular movement along a connected path to exhibit a sense of rhythm. Rhythm is as important in photography as it is in music. Music when not in rhythm can be categorized as noise. But when it attains a timed beat at regular intervals, it turns pleasant to the ears.

   Similarly, rhythm in photography renders a pleasant sensation to the eyes. Rhythm can be classified into attention rhythm (elements regularly alternating with each other), progressive rhythm (change in shape of elements at regular intervals) or rhythm sensation (change in elements’ color, size and shape at regular intervals) depending on the way and rate at which the photographic elements undergo repetition.

   

2. Harmony

   Harmony is a pleasing co-existence of photographic elements where none of the element is dominant. This arrangement of similar elements in a photographic composition render a visual satisfaction because the uniform relationship between the elements provide a sense of unity. In order to make every element indulge in a complimentary relationship with each other, the principle of harmony takes help of patterns, lines, textures and shapes that either repeat rhythmically or randomly to attain an interesting arrangement. All these elements in the same image fall together in the composition to represent harmony in the photograph.

   

3. Symmetry

   Symmetry in a photograph simply means that the visual weight of the photographic elements are equally distributed on both the sides of the imaginary central axis in a photograph (bilateral symmetry). Optionally, you can arrange the weight of the elements around a central point to create a radial symmetry. Symmetry can be further classified into two categories — reflective symmetry and approximate symmetry.

   Reflective symmetry (also called pure symmetry) occurs when you capture an image with it’s mirror reflection, having identical elements on both sides of the central axis. To obtain an approximate symmetry, capture a subject which has different, yet approximately similar elements on each side of the central axis.

   

4. Balance

   Balance here means that the placement of the photographic elements are done in such a way that they create a visual equilibrium. Balance can be symmetrical (main subject in the absolute center) or asymmetrical (as in the case of golden ratio or rule of thirds where the subject is not in the center).

   

5. Proportion

   Photographic proportion refers to the relative difference between the sizes of the elements in a photograph. Proportion provides different levels of interest to the photograph. For example, a huge architectural building is a lot more in scale than a human figure. Thus, both the elements (the building and the person ) are unequally proportioned, yet render an interest to the photograph. On the other hand, elements that are in equal scale with each other seem even and friendly.

   

6. Emphasis

   Emphasis simply is the dominating object or any object which acts as the center of attraction in a photograph. It refers to that particular point / element in a photographic composition which grabs more attention as compared to the other parts. Emphasis in a photograph is usually limited to one but sometimes may incorporate an additional, secondary emphasis as well. It acts as a break to the regular pattern of movement and rhythm, resulting in a visual surprise that instantly attracts the viewer’s eyes.

   Emphasis varies from image to image. In an image having repetitive elements arranged in symmetry, each element calls for attention and the emphasis is distributed evenly. On the other hand, in an image with high level of contrast, the emphasis will lie on the element that stands out from the crowd (for example, in the image given below, the red door draws emphasis because it is visually standing out).

   

7. Contrast

   Technically contrast is the difference between the highlights and the shadows. But here, contrast has been used in a metaphorical sense. It may refer to the contrast between colors, contrast between two abstracts like spirituality and fierceness etc. Contrast is a very important principle in the photographic design because it adds a high level of interest to the photograph and render different moods to it.

   Contrast can be achieved by juxtaposing any two or more elements having distinct visual properties. Lines (thick and bold against thin and delicate), size (big against small), color ( use of opposing colors), value(difference in the shades and tones), texture (smooth surface against a textured part) and direction (aligned elements pointing in different directions) are some examples of elements that can help to achieve a contrast.

   

8. Unity

   Unity is the overall arrangement of all the photographic elements in a regular and consistent manner; so that they compliment each other and work in unison to portray that everything falls into its place. The most important factor that unity relies on, is the uniformity in the fundamental structure of the photograph — the pattern, form, size and color. To sum up, when all the above given principles of design work in perfect synchronization, unity is achieved. If anything looks out of place or “does not belong” to the picture then unity is missing.

   

Every photographic composition requires precise planning and cogitation to attract and sustain a viewer’s interest. Photographic design principles make this task of photographic planning a lot easier for the photographers. Though many photographer’s break these principles and still come out with extraordinary pictures, the first step would be to clearly understand and practice these laws. Keep watching this space for Part II of this post for the seven remaining tips.

Update: Check out remaining seven design principles for photography in Photography Principles From Design II, Part II of this series.

One of the photography composition techniques for drawing the viewer’s attention is perhaps simplicity. Instead of including the entire scene with conflicting subjects, try minimalism, the art of framing the subject that stands out distinct in its own space. This is where negative space comes into the picture.

Negative space is the free / empty space around the subject of an image, perhaps occupied by smooth, blurred or soothing background which does not compete with the subject. This space can be creatively used for emphasizing the aesthetics of the subject. The negative space is used by artists; be it photographers, painters or designers to balance the composition and to present the frame in such a way that the viewer’s interest is drawn towards the center of interest. The inclusion of negative space in the photographs provides a place for your eyes to rest. It is as important as the positive space, the space occupied by the subject and the frame (arrangement of elements) itself.

If the primary purpose of photography for you is to make money with photography by offering the photographs for various artworks and to offer them as stock photographs, using this technique effectively becomes far more important. The designers and advertisers prefer to pick and choose the photographs which convey the emotions, sentiments and provide space for spreading a message. The negative space used by the photographers offer the space for inserting textual elements, which help in rendering value to the photograph and heightens the impact of the text message ta the same time.

Skelatal Silhouette by tanakawho

Negative space is an effective technique if used properly. You have to ascertain the balance and overall framing before applying negative space to ensure that the photograph looks pleasing. You have to introduce the empty space in the photograph in such a way that it compliments the subject aesthetically and adds value to the subject. For example, capturing a portrait looking towards the sky and including only the portrait and the skies in the photograph portrays hope or perhaps loneliness depending on the expression of the portrait, colors, tones and angle of the shot. In any form, the space which you include in the above scenario helps you in emphasizing the emotions of the subject thus, providing you an opportunity to draw the viewer’s attention towards the subject. The essence of using the negative space thus lies in creatively using the space around the subject to give it a distinct meaning. Here’s a quick list of tips which can help you in using the negative space effectively and creatively.

• Keen observation.
• Exclude the distracting elements in the scene to maintain simplicity.
  

  Peru by ClickFlashPhotos

• Attaining shallow depth of field to blur the background clutter and thus present the subject against the complimenting hues.
  

  Finale by helen sotiriadis

• Avoid including conflicting subjects, in fact try to be minimalist in your approach and focus on only one subject.
• Convey the emotions or sentiments.
  

  Catching The Light by Tamara van Molken

Have you tried including negative space? Share your results with us.

Perspective portrays your unique viewpoint in the photograph. It enables you to convey your creative outlook; by portraying things around you with a difference. In addition perspective helps depict depth which is usually missing from the 2-dimensional photo-plane. Perspective makes a difference to the composition by adding the missing third-dimension and creating extra interest. It makes the photograph interesting and draws viewer’s attention towards the dynamics of the subject. Adding your perspective to the composition weaves a story around the captured scene; elaborating your unique style of observing and photographing. Employing creative perspectives helps you groom your creative art of photography. Some of the elements which help you convey your perspective are:

1. Including Foreground elements

   Foreground elements help in gaining the sense of perspective. Including the elements in the foreground offer an insight into the subjects surroundings. For instance, the sunset portrayed against the rocks or a house shot with the fencing in the foreground heightens the sense of perspective and draws the viewer’s attention into the depth of the plain and flat surface.

   

   Question Of Perspective

2. Converging Lines

   Lines help determine direction and heighten the sense of movement. Carefully examine two lines running parallel to each other, they tend to converge at a certain distance. The railway tracks, street / natural path ways, roads or the horizon — all depict this characteristics. And when you portray the lines as the subject (or use them for complimenting the subject), they clearly depict your view of the scene. These converging lines tell the story of your excursions and draw the viewer’s attention to your center of interest.

   

   Perspective In A Landscape Shot

3. Natural Framing

   Natural framing is an effective way of putting forth your unique viewpoint of the subject. It narrates your creative outlook of the subject. It adds an element of interest and emphasizes the subject. It adds new dimension to otherwise dull and flat composition.

4. Angle Of Shooting

   Experiment with varying viewpoints and angles of shooting to convey your perspective. The angle of shooting convey a certain qualities in the photograph — strength, intimacy, authority,etc.

   • Shooting at low viewpoint represents the dominance of the subject. It helps in exaggerating the strength and power of the subject.
   • Shooting at the same level as the subject induces the sense of intimacy and a feeling of involvement in the activities, events and subjects being framed.
   • Shooting from a high view point skews up the perspective. It exaggerates the view and induces extra interest by portraying an unusual viewpoint.

Perspective of a photograph is your unique viewpoint and thus your unique style of photographing the subject. Thus improving your compositions while employing some creative perspectives will make your photographs stand out.

Lines are visual elements of a photograph which draw the viewers sight into the photograph. Lines lead the eye to the subject of the image and thus add a visual appeal to the otherwise static and still photographs. Lines compliment the compositions with interesting dimensions and offer distinct characteristics. It draws the viewer’s eyes into the frame (when portrayed as the subject itself), to the center of interest (when complimenting the subject) and also adds an element of direction. Lines play an important role in landscape and architectural photography. While portraits convey moods with the help of expressions which add liveliness to the compositions; lines assist in enhancing the composition for landscapes and architecture. Lines portray movement and a sense of orientation towards the area of interest; and implicitly express vivacity. Different lines have different characteristics.

1. Vertical Lines

   

   Siga La Linea Blanca

   Vertical lines draw the viewers eye either upward the frame or to the depth portrayed in the photograph. Huge architectures, strong trees, etc stand erect commanding authority and respect owing to its vertical dimension. Similarly, when you include pillars in your composition; it heightens power, courage and hope.

2. Horizontal Lines and Horizons

   

   Lines And Loneliness

   Horizontal lines are apt for portraying horizons. The horizontal lines are directional; they guide the eyes to a certain direction and add third dimension to the image; encouraging intrusion in the photograph. Horizontal lines add resilience to the calm serenity of landscapes. They depict evenness and symmetry and create a mood of calmness, relaxation and sometimes loneliness.

3. Diagonal Lines

   

   Poetry Of The Clothes Line

   Diagonal lines heighten the activity and movement. Diagonal lines divulge and diverge quick attention to the viewers perspective of a long leading path. It perfectly portrays the sense of movement. Diagonal lines may serve the purpose of placing your subjects diagonally in the rule of thirds. At times diagonal lines can also heighten abstractness and at other times it may induce variations.

4. Straight, Curved And Parallel Lines

   

   At The Market

   Straight lines have nothing unusual about themselves; they induce a directional element to the scene; whereas the curved lines add elegance and style to the photograph. Curved lines portray the landscapes gracefully. Portray curved and straight lines in your frames judiciously to strike balance between the boldness of straight lines and elegance of curves.
   You may additionally observe lines creating patterns; crossing lines, converging lines and the parallel lines. These lines add interest, activity and dynamic aspect to the subtlety of surroundings. Portray these lines as subject to voice their destinations.

Lines add interesting patterns to your compositions. Discover and portray the lines to lead the eye. Look around yourself to spot interesting (and prominent)  lines. Portray railway tracks, tunnels, horizons, trees, architectures, beam of light, fences, etc as the subject or use them to draw the viewer’s eye to the center of focus.

Nature offers ample of opportunities to capture the patterns. Patterns contribute to a composition aesthetically. Human beings aren’t usually accustomed to these patterns and arrangements in their day-to-day lives; and when these arrangements are presented graphically with blend of colors, shades, tones and heightened effects of lines, curves and textures; they naturally draw the human eye. Patterns are integral element of capturing interesting photographs. They can implicitly be portrayed as the subject itself or can complement the subject as well. Here are 10 tips to compliment your compositions with gorgeous patterns.

1. Voluminous Repetitions

   

   Tessellation by Stormwarning

   Anything which repeats itself forms pattern. You can observe patterns in each and every aspect of nature — from clump of trees standing at the countryside to the rowing hills and mountains and from man-made landscapes to the skins and textures of flora & fauna. Even a small number of repetitions gain focus; as the number of repetitions grows it creates an illusionary effect.

2. Include Textures

   

   Whale Oil Tanks By Wili_Hybrid

   Capturing the textures of the objects being photographed adds a tactual aspect to it. All types of textures, be it smooth, soft, harsh or rough, generate interesting patterns when observed carefully. You can observe textures on the surface of plants, barks of trees, old and ruined architectures and so. Consider light as the major factor while portraying textures as the subject. Use harsh and hard light to bring about the effect of rough and irregular surfaces and prefer to capture regular and smooth textures in soft light.

3. Symmetry

   

   Life by Oimax

   Symmetry can be adjudged as the essence of patterns. It can make or break the photographic composition. Symmetry offers organized and well balanced proportions to an image and thus heightens the sense of perfect synchronization among the elements present in the scene.

4. Include Lines And Curves

   

   Stone Art By Josef.stuefer

   The arrangement of multiple lines and curves on the frames lead the viewer’s eye to your center of interest. These lines and curves offer an additional dimension to the otherwise plain looking 2-D image. The vertical lines emphasize the depth and draws the eye upward whereas the horizontal lines lead your eyes into the photograph to the center of focus.

5. Emphasize Patterns

   

   Green Metal by Miuenski

   When you are portraying patterns as the subject, try to fill the entire frame with the patterns to emphasize its effect. Exclude the background clutter; zoom-in the lines, curves or textures and isolate them from the rest of the scene. Consider using a telephoto lens or crop the final image to highlight the final result — the patterns.

6. Depict Varying Tones

   

   Repetition by Karamanis

   Repetitions at times can be monotonous. Introduce attractiveness to your captures by playing with the effects of lights and shadows. Some patterns are at their best when the bright light falls on them; with some of the areas getting highlighted with the soft and subtle shades while some areas immersing in the brighter tones. Try to portray contrasting colors to bring about the mesmerizing effect.

7. Cropping

   Try to focus on the patterns and fill the entire frame with zoomed-in patterns — leaving behind the cluttered background and defining edges to give an impression of infinite repetitions. The cropped images are devoid of distractions  and thus hold viewers attention.

8. Highlight One And Blur The Rest

   

   I Say A Little Prayer For You by tochis

   To break the monotony of patterns you can always try something creative and interesting. When capturing crop fields (or floral fields), try to focus on one of the flowers and blur the rest of the cluster to add your perspective to the frame. This way you can represent the voluminous aspect of the patterns merged with close-up view — a perfect way to exaggerate the distinction of one instance from rest of cluster.

9. Zoom-in

   

   Going Down By SantiMB

   To capture the patterns you need to exercise some of the tips of macro photography. Take the close-ups and zoom-in your subject to bring out beholding patterns and textures. A zoomed-in frame ultimately catches the eye to the things which remain unnoticed in our day-to-day lives.

10. Creative Outlook

    Observe carefully and discover the patterns around you. Have an imaginative and creative outlook to the world around you. Notice the minute details attached to the subject or otherwise. You can creatively capture lined up pillars and trees, patterned windows of a huge office building, scattered clouds, textured ground and walls around you or drifting sands, delicate skins of flowers and elegant texture of leaves — to highlight the patterns.

Do you use patterns to make your composition more interesting?

Natural framing is a composition technique through which you draw the eye and create interest and mood in a photograph. Natural objects in your surroundings can be effectively used as frames. All you need is some observation and an imaginative eye. Here are a few tips to give your photographs the beauty of  natural frames.

1. Use Foregrounds

   Foregrounds add a view-point to the photograph. They tell the story through the perspective of the photographer. Use foregrounds to point the viewer’s eyes to the subject. Avoid distracting foregrounds to keep the compositions focus on the subject rather than away from it.

2. Use Of Natural Bodies

   Use natural bodies like windows, doors, low hanging branches, fences, bridges, cave like openings. Natural things always give a special effect to the subject. It draws the viewer’s attention to the subject.

3. Depth of field

   A high DOF brings a larger part of the image into focus. Thus, consider using an small aperture setting to get a high depth of field. Don’t be afraid to experiment with narrow DOF.
   

4. Use Other Composition Techniques

   Contrast, patterns and shapes add interest to your photograph. Intelligent composition and use of patterns and symmetrical frames naturally add symmetry and interest through patterns. Make sure that the subject gets exposed properly and that the frame does not affect the metering. Try to follow the rule of thirds or experiment with the golden ratio.

5. Tell A Story

   Framing guides the eye to the subject, it portrays perspective and adds to the mood of the photograph. It draws the viewer’s eyes to focus inside the photograph rather than outside it. Use a natural frame to tell a story through your photograph. Experiment with silhouettes for additional effects.

6. Incomplete Frames

   It is not mandatory to use complete natural frames. Sometimes we can use the half or a part of the frame also to emphasize the subject. There are many ways to capture an incomplete frame and you can frame with tree trunks on each side, two walls coming towards each other,  etc.
   

Natural frames are everywhere as soon as your eye starts looking for them. Effective use of natural framing shall enhance interest in your photographs, add to the mood and naturally draws the viewer’s eye to the subject while adding a context to your story — the photograph.

There are so many compositions, and then so many styles of composition. How do you like your photographs in print, framed or unframed? It is interesting to see that a simple photograph when framed within a white margin on all sides generally appears more elegant and pleasing than its original. A frame helps draws the viewers’ attention to the subject. One style of photographic composition is natural framing.

Framing is a lesser known and practiced technique because of its very nature. Framing your subject in a natural frame not only draws viewer’s attention to the photograph, it also makes it more interesting while inviting different reaction from the viewer. It adds depth to the picture and places the subject in perspective of the foreground frame. Framing increases the interest while adding the missing dimension to the two dimensional image – the depth.

Framing is tricky is more than one ways. First it needs to be used judiciously, not every foreground element frames the subject. Second not every subject is complemented by a frame. However implemented correctly framing brings out some very interesting pictures. Try it out and tell us about it.

Check out the article on natural framing tips for getting creative ideas on using the natural frames.