3 Easy Composition Techniques to Snap More Impressive Photos

In photography the ‘composition’ of a photo is the manner in which elements are placed and arranged within the frame. Composition can affect photos in many ways, and play a big role in how they eventually appear.

While there are lots of different techniques to improve the composition of photos, many require a fair level of experience. That being said if you want to start snapping more impressive photos sooner rather than later, there are 3 easy composition techniques that you could cut your teeth on:

• Rule of thirds

The rule of thirds is probably the most popular composition technique due to how easy it is to use as well as how effectively it can help produce well-balanced and off-center photos. To use it you should enable the ‘grid’ feature in your camera, then position the subject and other elements using it.

Typically the elements are positioned along the gridlines or at their intersection points. By doing that they should be more evenly spaced out, and their visual impact will be improved.

• Fill the frame

Another easy composition technique, this one is fairly self-explanatory and involves filling the frame with the subject. All that it requires is that you get close enough that the subject take up the entire frame, putting the focus squarely on it and revealing details that may not be visible otherwise.

It is worth noting that this technique can be used in conjunction with other techniques to position visual features on the subject itself.

• Lines

One important technique that can be hard to master but relatively easy to get started with is using ‘lines’ within the composition. By positioning any lines horizontally or vertically it can make the photo look more stable, whereas positioning lines diagonally can add visual tension.

Another factor to consider is the lines in photos can ‘lead’ viewers’ eyes where you want them to go. In short you could use lines to direct attention to important elements or to guide viewers through a series of elements in the photo.

Make no mistake there are lots of other composition techniques that you can try as well, but the three listed above are the easiest when you’re first starting out. It will take a bit of practice for you to fully understand the affect that they can have on your photos.

To help make it easier to improve the composition of your photos, you may want to find a good editor that you can use. By cropping the frame or learning how to remove a person from a photo along with other unwanted objects – you could directly adjust the composition. For an example of an editor that can do that, try Movavi Photo Editor.

Just remember that while these composition techniques are helpful, their ‘rules’ are by no means set in stone. As such while you can use the techniques as guidelines, you should never feel that you are restricted or compelled to follow them – and should break them if and when you feel it is better to do so.