5 Easy Tips to Improve Photographic Composition

Two of the most common tips new photographers get to improve photographic composition are the Rule of Thirds and Leading Lines. While not bad suggestions, have you ever noticed that they contradict each other.

The rule of thirds teaches us to avoid placing your subject in the center of the photo, yet leading lines generally direct your eye to the center of the photo. It's like some kind of banal plot.

The biggest problem with these rules is that people treat them as laws. Commandments. They're more like guidelines. Feel free to break them.

Here are my recommendations, in no particular order.

1: Who Says You Can't Center Your Subject?

Yes, I placed the Lincoln Memorial right in the center of the frame. Sue me.

There's a reason I went with this composition. Placing your subject in the center of the frame indicates power and dominance. The Lincoln Memorial is a massive tribute to Abraham Lincoln, who also sits dead center in my frame.

While I was at the site, I walked around and searched other compositions that worked within the rule of thirds. The problem is that those compositions didn't suit the Lincoln Memorial or tell the story I wanted to share.

The reason you treat the rule of thirds like guidelines is because it's more important to serve your subject and your story than to obey some rule.

2: Balance and Symmetry are Your Friends

Balance is easy to understand. When both sides have equal visual weight, you're in balance. Symmetry is related, but with a bit more detail. You have symmetry when equal parts are facing each other or are surrounding an axis.

The photo above is a great example of columns facing each other. Oddly enough, the photo also uses leading lines directing your eye to the center of the frame.

It's that banal plot again!

I'm not worried about adhering to the rule of thirds here, yet the composition works.

3: A Pattern Interrupted Catches the Eye

The human eye loves patterns. They make us feel comfortable. The columns above easily form a pattern to direct your eye to the center, and we don't mind. Even if there were a gaping maw of the Kraken waiting to devour us, we'd blissfully follow the pattern.

If you want to catch someone's attention, interrupt that pattern.

We see that happening in the photo of the Lincoln Memorial, in more ways than one:

* The two center columns have a different color background than the other columns

* The statue of Lincoln sits between the very center columns

* A lone man sits at the top of the stairs, between a pair of columns

My subject has balance and symmetry, but small changes interrupt the pattern and add a bit of tension and interest to the photo.

4: Give Your Subjects Breathing Room

There are some parts of your subject that you can push to the edge. Then there are parts that just need some empty space. This boxer is a good example.

The important thing here is direction. His eyes and fists are facing the left of the frame. You need to give the viewer some room on the edge where we anticipate forward motion, even in a still frame.

I can crop the top of his head or his left shoulder without any worry. We don't expect him to move in those directions. We expect him to move forward. Your composition needs to allow the viewer to imagine that motion taking place.

5: Too Much Negative Space Diminishes Your Subject

Here's a prime example of how I screwed up a shot by using too much breathing room.