Photography Composition Lessons
A technically perfect photo is nothing without composition…
Composition is the foundation of good photography. You can take a technically perfect photograph (not so hard with today’s cameras), with amazing details, stellar contrast, rich dynamic range and color…. and still the image is not worth a hill of beans without good composition. It’s not interesting, it’s not engaging and nobody likes it. On the other hand, one can take a photograph full of grain, terrible light, lack of detail and yet it’s lovely. It captures the imagination. It pulls the viewer in and takes them on a journey. How can this be? It’s the power of Composition!
When someone views your photographs they have not had the privileged information that you had when you took the photo. They cannot see the surroundings, smell the air, hear the noises and feel all the things that made that moment mean something to you. So it’s your job as the artist to convey that sense of wonder, hate, joy, beauty or sadness through you image. Mostly this is done through good composition. Good composition is the process of arranging forms and tones in a way that is pleasing and that guides the viewer’s eye to bring attention to your subject. In a good composition, you will know precisely what the subject of the image is. In a poor composition your eye will wander and search.