A presentation for all levels of photographers help understand photo composition and use it effectively.

2.  Composition – What is it?
 Rule of Thirds
 Balancing Elements
 Leading Lines
 Symmetry and Patterns
 View Point/Worm’s Eye View
 Background
 Depth or Depth of Field
 Motion
 Framing
 Cropping
 Experimentation

3. The term composition means 'putting together,' and can apply to any work
of art, from music to writing, that is arranged or put together using
conscious thought. In the visual arts, composition is often used
interchangeably with various terms such as design, form, visual ordering,
or formal structure, depending on the context. In graphic design and
desktop publishing, composition is commonly referred to as page layout.

4.  Snap shots are just that- no thinking involved.
 Is it interesting to look at…is the focal point in an
interesting part of the picture?
 Move around your subject to get different vantage
points and choose the best.
 Physically zoom in and out from your subject.
 SEE everything in your viewfinder and if possible,
eliminate distracting elements in your photo.

5. Imagine that your image is divided into 9 equal segments by 2 vertical and 2 horizontal
lines. The rule of thirds says that you should position the most important elements in your
scene along these lines, or at the points where they intersect.
Doing so will add balance and interest to your photo. Some cameras even offer an option to
superimpose a rule of thirds grid over the LCD screen, making it even easier to use.

7. Place your subject so more open space is in the direction it is facing

8. Placing your main subject off-center, as with the rule of thirds, creates a more
interesting photo, but it can leave a void in the scene which can make it feel empty.
You should balance the "weight" of your subject by including another object of
lesser importance to fill the space.

10. When we look at a photo our eye is naturally drawn along lines. By thinking about
how you place lines in your composition, you can affect the way we view the image,
pulling us into the picture, towards the subject, or on a journey "through" the
scene. There are many different types of line - straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag,
radial etc. - and each can be used to enhance our photo's composition.

15. We are surrounded by symmetry and patterns, both natural and man-made.,
They can make for very eye-catching compositions, particularly in situations
where they are not expected. Another great way to use them is to break the
symmetry or pattern in some way, introducing tension and a focal point to the
scene.

19. Before photographing your subject, take time to think about where you will shoot
it from. Our viewpoint has a massive impact on the composition of our photo,
and as a result it can greatly affect the message that the shot conveys. Rather than
just shooting from eye level, consider photographing from high above, down at
ground level, from the side, from the back, from a long way away, from very close
up, and so on.
From Above

20. From Below

21. Eye Level

23.  A worm’s eye view is an angle where you are looking
up!…or what a worm would see!
 Make the photo more interesting to view- give it a new
perspective.
 Can make things appear out of proportion or larger
than life.

26.  An angle where you are looking down on something –
as a bird would see.
 An aerial view
 Can make things appear smaller than life.

28. How many times have you taken what you thought would be a great shot, only
to find that the final image lacks impact because the subject blends into a busy
background? The human eye is excellent at distinguishing between different
elements in a scene, whereas a camera has a tendency to flatten the foreground
and background, and this can often ruin an otherwise great photo. Thankfully
this problem is usually easy to overcome at the time of shooting - look around
for a plain and unobtrusive background and compose your shot so that it
doesn't distract or detract from the subject.

32. Because photography is a two-dimensional medium, we have to choose our
composition carefully to conveys the sense of depth that was present in the actual
scene. You can create depth in a photo by including objects in the foreground,
middle ground and background.
The area of focus in front of and behind your subject.

33.  Achieved by having the aperture set to a larger
opening. The smaller the f-stop number,(f/2.8) the
shallower the depth of field.

34.  It is a way to show the main idea or focal point
in focus and the foreground and/or
background blurred.
 This shows off the emphasis and simplifies
distractions.

36.  Achieved by having the aperture set to a smaller
opening. The larger the f-stop number, (f/22) the
greater the depth of field.

41.  Faster shutter speeds
 Remember – shutter speed is in fractions of seconds.
 2000 or 1/2000 is the fastest shutter speed and will
freeze a race car in it’s tracks.

43.  Slower shutter speeds will blur, or record motion.
 Shutter speed will have to be 30, or 1/30 of a second
and below to record motion.
 Remember – shutter speeds below 1/60 need a tri-pod!
 Has an interesting effect on water – makes it appear
soft and flowing.

45.  A "frame" in a photograph is something in the
foreground that leads you into the picture.
 The frame can be natural (ex. branches) or man-
made (ex. window)
 Framing gives you a sense of where the viewer
is, and borders the area of interest.

50. Often a photo will lack impact because the main subject is so small it becomes
lost among the clutter of its surroundings. By cropping tight around the subject
you eliminate the background "noise", ensuring the subject gets the viewer's
undivided attention.

53. Before Camera Crop
After Camera Crop

54. With the dawn of the digital age in photography we no longer have to worry
about film processing costs or running out of shots. As a result, experimenting
with our photos' composition has become a real possibility; we can fire off tons
of shots and delete the unwanted ones later at absolutely no extra cost. Take
advantage of this fact and experiment with your composition - you never know
whether an idea will work until you try it.