Composition tips/tricks?

[Bhoert]

What are some good ways that I could improve my composition? I want to practice it more but I dont necessarily know what the best way to go about it would be. I understand the basic concepts of it but not really how to put it into action.

 

[table1349]

Sorry, can't see re-inventing the wheel twice on the same day.
Learning Photographic Composition

 

[weepete]

Good composition is about balance in an image and a "flow" to how a piece is viewed. You want the viewers eye to move around a shot but not be dragged out of the frame. Composition in photography is often filled with quick tips which you can quickly learn but barely scratch the surface. So I'd say look to art to get a good idea of composition. But there is also a simple way of learning this: pick a classical piece of art and just look at it paying attention to what grabs your attention and where your eye leads you. It'll happen subconsiously and quite often your eye will be drawn to the brightest thing in the frame as a start point, then the artist will use hidden lines (a pointing finger or converegence etc) to draw the eye in and then various methods for round the frame and eventually back to the beginning. It's a bit more complex than that but thats the basic idea.

In practice I use the depth of field button to darken the viewfinder and look at the shapes and structures that can be hidden by detail.

 

[TamingRoman]

^^^ this! Also, you want the most light at the object. Whatever draws your eye first. Don't let it be the corners. Weepete is so right. I study classical paintings all the time, and there is so much to be learned there. Good luck in your endevours!

 

[limr]

Don't be afraid to take a bunch of shots of the same thing from different angles and perspectives, with different settings (to alter depth of field for example.) When looking at those images, some of them may just "feel" better or be more attractive to you. Stop at the ones that hit more more than the others and start studying the elements of those images and how they are arranged in relation to each other. Don't forget proportion when considering the arrangement of the elements.

 

[dennybeall]

First consider your audience. Is it just you? Is it for someone you want to buy the item/house/car or is it to be artistic? Perhaps consider the demographics - young - old - older people? Consider that older eyes usually see some colors better than others.
All small things but fit in with the composition considerations.

 

[HughGuessWho]

It would be impossible for anyone to give you worthwhile instruction on composition in a few paragraphs on this forum. I would suggest studying up on The Rule of Thirds, Leading Lines, S Curves, on and on and on. Then, practice what you've studied, post some pictures, then repeat. The best composition skills come from doing and seeing once you know the basics. Just my opinion, anyway.

 

[TCampbell]

Pick up a copy of "The Photographer's Eye" (subtitled "Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos") by Michael Freeman.

It's an excellent book for learning photographic composition.

 

[SquarePeg]

I found this really easy to follow: Video: A CGI Artist's Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Composition

The site has a lot of tutorials. Just search "composition" and see what you like.

 

[randymckown]

Try giving these a read to get you started ...

How to Use Rhythm and Pattern to Create Stronger Compositions
Perspective Distortion in Photographic Composition
Complimentary Colors in Photography
Using Diagonal Lines in Photography
Rule of Thirds Composition
Composing with Curves
Converging Lines Composition
Fill Frame Composition

 

[HughGuessWho]

Pick up a copy of "The Photographer's Eye" (subtitled "Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos") by Michael Freeman.

It's an excellent book for learning photographic composition.

Though some sections of this book require reading over a few times, it explains composition concepts better than any book I have ever read, and I've read many.

 

[PersistentNomad]

It's really hard to learn these things when they don't come naturally, and even for those of us that it does we still have to take time out to practice and shake it up. I don't know if you have a particular genre of photography you focus on, but I largely shoot nature, and quite often the setting and subject chooses my composition for me. When I want to stretch my artistic legs and tackle a concept to get better at it, I pick a fairly mundane object and I spend an hour or so photographing it in as many which ways as I can to accomplish the task at hand, be it composition, lighting, posing, whatever. I base all of this off of a painting assignment I had in my Painting II course in college. We had to pick an object (mine was a nifty swan soap dish) and every painting we did that semester (upwards of 20) had to incorporate that object somehow. We used it to study color, composition, pattern, texture, a whole load of things. I learned more from that swan in that semester than from my previous three semesters of painting, and I continue the project to this day with photography.

 

[DriedStrawbery]

^^^ this! Also, you want the most light at the object. Whatever draws your eye first. Don't let it be the corners. Weepete is so right. I study classical paintings all the time, and there is so much to be learned there. Good luck in your endevours!

Can you share how you do this? Where do get the list of classical paintings to study? I want to do this but i'm not sure where to start... paintings span so many countries, artists, eras...

 

[john.margetts]

^^^ this! Also, you want the most light at the object. Whatever draws your eye first. Don't let it be the corners. Weepete is so right. I study classical paintings all the time, and there is so much to be learned there. Good luck in your endevours!

Can you share how you do this? Where do get the list of classical paintings to study? I want to do this but i'm not sure where to start... paintings span so many countries, artists, eras...

Go to your nearest art gallery. They will have a good selection of pictures of many genres.

 

[DriedStrawbery]

@john.margetts Good point. I was looking for a lazy way , like a good website. I'll be googling for this, will share any i find.

I did goto a gallery of photos (not paintings) in Luxor Casino in las vegas. It had stunning photos and I was asking my son to identify what he saw. He learnt the basic elements of design/art in his school. I should goto my local museum of art...