Lesson 3:Composition

Composition is one of the most important aspects of a great photograph. What you include in the image (and what you don’t), and how you arrange the elements within the frame, contribute significantly to the overall success of the image. Will it have impact? Will it convey your message? There’s no right or wrong, but the elements included, and the perspective taken, should serve to strengthen the story being told — your story. The same general principles of composition apply to close-up photography as to any other kind of photography.

Here are a few tips to help you choose a composition that reinforces what you’re trying to say.

Colour and Tone:

When we refer to “colour” we are usually referring to the hue – red, or green, or brown, for example.  “Tone” refers to the degree of brightness.

Colour and tone can express emotion. As you might expect, light tones tend to lift the spirits, while dark tones are perceived as "moody." Red is a color of passion. Blue – well, we’ve all heard the expression about "feeling blue." Use color and tone to reflect the mood you are trying to create in your image.

Lines:

A line in an image may be an actual object, like a road or the stem of a plant, or even the human form.  It may also be the boundary between two different colours or tones in the image. Like colour and tone, lines also express emotion.

Whatever the statement you want to make with your image, consider positioning the main line of your subject to reinforce the appropriate feeling. You may even find that you are subconsciously drawn to subject matter whose lines "align" with your mood!

Some Rules of Composition:

How you assemble your picture elements together determines whether the final image "works" or not. In fact, the rules of composition are not hard and fast rules; rather, they are guidelines that you can use to combine your picture elements so that you tell your story most effectively. Here are a few rules for you:

Simplify

How many novice vacation photographs have you seen where the photographer had obviously been so excited by the vista in front of them, that they had tried to include absolutely everything in the frame "to give you an idea of what it was like there." The result is usually a chaotic and overwhelming jumble.

You might think that close-up photography could not possibly suffer from this problem, since you are dealing with the photography of a very tiny area. Of course you can’t stuff "too much" into the image! After all, you’re only photographing a couple of square inches. Well, I have news for you. You can put too much into a close-up image just as easily as you can put too much into an image of a sweeping vista. You need to think of close-up photography as shooting "landscapes," only on a miniature scale.

Many close-up images are spoiled because they are too busy. Less is more!  It’s just as important what you leave out of an image as what you include in it.  Keep your image clutter free, and include only those elements that contribute to the story or enhance your message.

Remember that you are trying to communicate.

1. Photography is comprised of a creative side, which involves the artistic expression of ideas, as well as a technical side, which encompasses the skills that the practitioner requires to execute a well-exposed and carefully composed image.

2. Photography is both an art and a craft.

Which of those two sentences is easier to understand? When you write or speak, you aim for clarity in your language. Do the same visually!

How to simplify

The Classic Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is probably the most often referenced rule of composition.  It is all about subject placement within the frame.
First of all, imagine that your picture space is divided into thirds both horizontally and vertically, like a tic tac toe grid.

Rule of Thirds grid
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

Note: All rules are meant to be broken. The lessons here are meant to make you think about why you are placing the subject where you are, and not just to blindly follow the rules. Central placement of objects is considered "dull" because it’s very static. There’s no tension if an object is in the "middle" — it’s not being pulled more to one side than the other. But if your message is about stability, constancy, and equilibrium, then central placement might be exactly the right thing to do. Use your judgment, and learn when to override the rules!

Horizontal or Vertical Framing?

Most novice photographers tend to always shoot with their camera held horizontally, producing pictures in landscape format. Sometimes it’s better to hold the camera vertically, and shoot in portrait format. How do you know when to use which format?  The bottom line is that the frame should compliment the form. In other words, when positioning your camera, match the orientation of the frame to the orientation of the subject.

Since close-up photography often results in abstract images, there isn’t always an obvious "up" and "down" in the picture space. Take advantage of this flexibility to turn your camera to achieve the best placement of shapes and lines.

Hints and Tips

Technique 1: Because the subjects are so small in close-up photography, I find it difficult to pre-visualise my composition by looking directly at the subject. I find it much easier to find my initial composition by looking through the viewfinder. I tend to go "exploring" with my lens. I have it mounted on the tripod, but loosen all controls so that I have the flexibility to move the camera in any direction. While looking through the lens, I move the camera around until something catches my eye. I then begin to lock down the camera movement, and make small refinements to the camera position to achieve exactly the composition I want.

Technique 2: I really "work" my subject. I can spend hours making compositions of the same flower or bunch of flowers. Don’t settle for the first composition you find! There are many in there to be had. Keep experimenting, and you may stumble upon something magical. That’s not (just!) luck — it’s a result of your persistence.