Questions tagged [composition]
Composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art, as distinct from the subject of a work. It can also be thought of as the organization of the elements of art according to the principles of art.
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What is the "Rule of Thirds"?
Please can someone explain the "Rule of Thirds"?
What is it?
What does it tell me?
Why is it important?
What can I do with it?
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What is the 'Golden Ratio' and why is it better than the 'Rule of Thirds?'
Somebody recently told me that I will be able to compose more pleasing pictures if I use the Golden Ratio instead of the Rule of Thirds, and that the Rule of Thirds was an inferior way to compose ...
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Can anyone suggest books/resources on the artistic side of photography?
I am a relatively new photographer. I have no problem understanding the technical side of photography (I am an engineer by trade), but I do struggle with the more 'artistic' side of photography (...
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What makes a strong wide-angle composition?
A simple, effective way to improve most compositions is to crop (or zoom) more tightly. Cut out the "distractions", and boom, powerful composition. I usually shoot with a slightly-long lens in the ...
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When is it OK to place the subject in the middle of a picture?
When is it OK to place the subject in the middle of a picture?
I took this picture and feel very compelled to put the subject in the centre rather than on the sides.
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How can I get photos showing the "shaft of light" effect?
I would like to be able to capture a photo which shows light shafts coming through the window. A famous example is this:
I'm guessing this involves a tripod, a long exposure and strong sunlight, but ...
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What is the 'Diagonal Method' and should I use it instead of 'The Rule of Thirds?'
I recently was in a discussion with a photography mentor who asserted that over the years he has composed most of his award-winning and/or 'most popular' photographs using the 'Diagonal Method,' and ...
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What is the best approch to photographing a mirror or other highly reflective surface?
I have been asked by a client to take some product photographs of some vintage mirrors that they would like to sell and I am struggling with getting good clear shots of the mirrors. As such, what is ...
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What does it mean when something is "distracting"?
I asked for opinions on a photograph I took, and someone told me that an object in the background is "distracting". I wasn't sure exactly what this means, so I did some searching. I found many ...
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How do I compose photos with prime lenses?
I own a Sony NEX-5R, with two prime lenses: 19mm F2.8 Sigma, and 35mm F1.8 Sony. How do I best compose photos with prime lenses like these?
I can think of a few:
Walk towards or away from the ...
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Why do breathtaking views turn into "boring" photos, and how can I do better?
I recently purchased a Canon 700D with a 18-135 IS lens to get into photography. I'm trying to improve, but my photos seem 'boring'. Let me give some examples:
I took these today. The scenery looks ...
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My attention gets repeatedly distracted by the elements needed for the context in this picture. Where am I going wrong?
I am posting this photo as example but I suggest the answerers to remain generalized.
I took this photo yesterday. Intension was to show the bonding between the father and the daughter as well as the ...
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What are the advantages of shooting a particular aspect ratio?
My camera can shoot in 4 different aspect ratios (4:3, 3:2, 16:9, and 1:1). Aside from personal preference of composition are there any advantages to choosing one over the other? Is there an industry ...
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Why doesn't auto-focus work with an all-white subject (like a wall)?
I am trying to compose a shot using my Nikon D60 and 18-55mm lens towards a white wall in a auto-focus mode.
It looks like I am not able to take the photo. I feel the camera is not able to find any ...
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Good books to learn photographic composition from?
One of the tough things to learn in photographie is composition.
What good books (or other sources) can you recommend to learn and hone your compositional skills?
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What is a point of interest in a photograph and where is it lacking in this candle picture?
I've been told that this picture has no point of interest.
Does this mean that there are too many elements in focus here?
I would like to understand the meaning and the reasons behind it and how to ...
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How do quirks of the human vision system affect photography?
When looking out at the world through our eyes, it's easy to take for granted that our perceptions are an absolute rendering of How Things Are. But in fact, it's not quite as simple as that.
Most of ...
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How to capture the scale of a scene?
My framing in the following photo completely failed to capture the sheer height of the waterfall. If you don't know I was standing at the top of the waterfall, and the "splinters" at the bottom are ...
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How can I best pose myself for a headshot self-portrait?
I need to do some headshots of myself for a gig I have coming up. My initial thought was to use a plain light background (as you see in many studio shots), but I've had some advice to use a dark ...
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How does histogram shape affect the aesthetics of a picture?
For having more contrast in an image, it's good to have a wide range (i.e. difference between highest and lowest) of light intensities in a picture; and for keeping details, neither highlights nor ...
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When should I break the rule of thirds?
When photographers talk about the rule of thirds, they say sometimes they will break the rule and still the photo will have great composition. When should I stick with the rule of thirds and when ...
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What and how to crop?
When I take a photo of something like a building, I tend to shoot the whole building, because later I want to get the feeling and impression I had when I took this photo. I want to transfer these ...
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When taking a picture, where should the horizon be?
I know and understand the rule of thirds, but I would like to know, when taking a picture of something such as a tree, should the horizon be positioned on the top or bottom third line?
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When would one choose a 50mm f/1.4 over 85mm f/1.8 (or vice versa) for portraits?
Say you are using a crop body, and you have both 50mm/1.4 USM and 85mm/1.8 USM lens in your bag. Now, you want to take a portrait where there is adequate light and space, and you have decided to take ...
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What is the Rule of Odds?
In furthering my reading on photographic composition I came across a compositional technique called the "Rule of Odds."
What is the "Rule of Odds"?
Why is it important?
How do I apply it to my ...
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Why take diagonal photos?
In the "old days" I sometimes composed my photos diagonally, but I've not had success doing that in the "modern" era, because there's not really any nice way to present it digitally.
Is there a ...
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What things should one take into account when looking at cropping a photo?
When looking at cropping a photo:
How do you decide whether to crop it or not (for starters)?
What things should you take into account - both practical and artistic?
I guess that this question is ...
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How can I get people to take an expression which fits the scene?
I have heard that there are specific indirect questions that can be used to get people to be more natural in front of a camera. Many people, who have many expressions to offer, when put in front of a ...
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Still-life reconstruction considered plagiarism?
I am really bad at still lifes. That is, I never even attempted making one. So I decided to try and make a photo of freshly baked bread. I stumbled across a few amazing shots on the Internet which I ...
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What is a negative space in a photograph?
From here: http://1x.com/forum/photo-critique/31871
you have far too much negative space so the eye goes toward the back...of the picture, and there is not much to see there...either.
What ...
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How to use the Fibonacci spiral to create better photos?
How do I use the golden ratio/the fibonacci spiral to create better photos? What should be where?
As I understand it, the main focus should be where the spiral gets smaller. But what about other ...
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What style of composition for food photography triggers people's appetite?
What kind of style and position triggers more the appetite of people?
What are the best ways to position food and combine with other objects?
What kind of objects are better combined with food?
Does ...
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How to crop this photo of water drops on a leaf to improve the composition?
I'm not a professional photographer. Neither I want to pursue a career in same. But I like Photography as a hobby. But I don't know how should I crop, what area should be excluded, how to make ...
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Subject alongside, at the intersection or inside lines in composition rules?
I have been reading different articles on photo composition. These discuss rules of thirds, triangles, and golden ratio, each suggesting different and contradicting approaches. Some of them say to ...
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How to show the theme "What happened??"
I wanted to show the theme "What happened??" here. I showed this to some non-photographers, they couldn't make out anything out of this.
What can I do here to improve the composition?
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How to make female chest look bigger?
When photographing women they often want the chest to appear as big as possible. I tried with light coming from different positions but was not satisfied with the results. Are there any tricks to ...
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Why do people like square photos?
Cameras used to make rectangle photos all the time, but now I see as a trend square photos. Is that because of mobile phone screens, or is it something else?
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What is Bakker's Saddle?
I was perusing a book called "Success in Print Competition for Professional Photographers" and one section referred to a composition technique called Bakker's Saddle. Three related questions:
What is ...
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Is it better to have light come from the left side?
In this comment to a question about composing landscape photographs, Esa Paulasto says
About the direction of light, whenever you have a choice in it, have the light come from left side.
I have ...
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Does every interesting photograph have a story to tell?
Should a photograph with an interesting composition necessarily have a story to tell? I have been told that if you can't tell a story behind a photograph, it is not worth pressing the shutter button. ...
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How to create an eye-path?
Reading about photography, I have now and then stumbled on recommendations to "create a path for viewer's eye", or to "lead it through the picture" without any specific guidelines how to achieve that.
...
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How to reposition subject in the same place and pose in a series of images over time
I am going on a lengthy road trip this summer, and I wanted to have some fun with the pictures I take.
I thought it would be cool to take pictures of my girlfriend in various locations, but have her ...
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Is composition after capture against any traditional photography rules?
I use my mobile phone for photography. Normally when I notice anything interesting, I take a picture with the point of interest somewhere near the region I want it to be. But I do this with the clear ...
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How to compose such that the context does not overpower the subject?
Intention was to shoot a kid from a upper class family playing with bricks and sand in a not so clean area.
I have purposely not blurred the background. I think adding context is important in this ...
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How can I improve my photographs taken on overcast or cloudy days?
I'm interested in filters, flash & lighting options, composition, and post processing.
Is it possible to get really vibrant colors or should I give up on that and focus on dreary, muted, or black ...
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What is headroom as it relates to photographic composition?
With photographic composition I often hear people talk about 'leaving enough headroom' for portrait photographs.
What is headroom?
How can I properly apply it to my photographs?
What are the ...
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Where could I find a detailed reference on all composition rules?
I am looking for a good advanced reference about photographic/cinematographic composition rules. I have already checked this post:
Good books to learn photographic composition from?
but it doesn't ...
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What are the main things to avoid in photographic composition?
Considering only the frame and it's content, putting the issues of color rendering, sharpness, exposition, brightness, contrast, optical aberration, unpleasant flash/noise aside.
I think of:
...
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What are other popular composition techniques in addition to The Rule of Thirds?
I always hear a lot about The Rule of Thirds. I'd like to know more about other 'tried-and-true' composition techniques (not special effects) that can make a photo more interesting.
In particular, I'...
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What are the key things that distinguish stock photography from other types?
What are the key features of stock photography that distinguishes it from other types of photography, or is there a fair amount of overlap between them (i.e. a good photograph can be fine art and ...
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