5 Tips to Draw Attention to Your Subject

If you want people to like your photos, you need to know how to draw attention to your subject. The world is full of photos. Some of them are good. Some come close to being good. Most really suck.

This isn't another recommendation to use Rule of Thirds or Leading Lines in your compositions. Instead, we're going to discuss the things that cause the human eye to react.

5: Unexpected Compositions

Most people will shoot a subject head on, and probably from a standing position. That means most photos are predictable and incredibly boring. You can give your photos a tremendous advantage by putting your camera in an interesting spot.

Move around your subject. Go left, right, up or down. Look at the light and think about how you can use it from different angles. Maybe you can get a silhouette or some edge lighting by stepping a few feet to the side of your subject.

Is there a place where you can get above your subject and shoot down, or just kneel and shoot from a child's perspective? Some of these tips may not work for every subject, but the idea is to try them out and see what works.

People are interested in something different. Move around and show them something unexpected.

4: Improve Your Sense of Timing

There is a concept known as the “peak of action”. It's that perfect moment to capture action. If someone is jumping, get the moment that the person is at the peak of the jump – When there is no more rise to the jump and before gravity pulls down.

The same thing is important in a hair flip. There's a moment when it looks just right, and other moments when it looks painfully awkward. You definitely want to work on your sense of timing with this kind of shot before your model's neck gets strained from flipping hair several times in a row.

3:  Opposites Attract: Use Contrast

Contrast comes in more than one form. You can use black & white, highlights and shadows, or opposite colors. Your subjects can also contrast one another. Use something old with something new. Tell a story about differences.

One easy way to use color contrast is to find a pool or a blue sky. It's a great contrast to skin tone.

2: Make Your Subject Sharper than Other Objects in Your Photo

There is a reason why photographers spend big bucks on lenses that provide beautiful bokeh. It's an excellent way of isolating your subject. Bokeh is a pleasing blur in the background, yet your subject stays sharp. It's a good way to draw attention to your subject, whether you're photographing a model or a bird in the wild.

Another way to make sure your subject is sharper than other objects in your photo is to eliminate other objects. Pay attention to your backgrounds. Eliminate complicated and distracting elements. Distill your photo to only include what you need and eliminate the rest.

It's much easier to draw attention to your subject when it's the only thing in the photograph.

1:  Your Eye Goes to the Brightest Part of the Photo

Light is the most important element to draw the human eye. When we're in darkness, we're attracted to the light. The same thing happens in our photographs.

You can use available light, off-camera flash, or even a vignette in post processing. Don't get too heavy handed (though that is a creative choice). The brightest part of your photo is where your viewer will look. Keep that in mind while examining your background.

If you see a hot spot or bright area that isn't helping, recompose your photograph.

Grab Your Viewer's Attention

These 5 tips to draw attention to your subject aren't the only tools you can use, but I think they are the most important. Leading lines, rule of thirds and Golden ratio all take a back seat if your subject is poorly exposed and blurry.

Use these essentials and grow with other composition techniques.