More About Composition-New Examples

More About Composition-New Examples

by William Lulow

Note: Here’s a short piece that might just help you improve your compositions of scenic images.

I think that what makes any composition good is that first, it has to hold the viewer’s attention. There have to be elements present that kind of make the piece interesting to view. I have spoken before, many times about making compositions interesting. You can accomplish this in several ways:

1. Vary the positions of objects in the frame
2. Keep the horizon either above or below the mid point of the frame for landscape shots
3. Try to find an unusual lighting/time of day.

In this picture, note the placement of the horizon line and the reflections on the chairs. Since light is really the thing we are capturing when we make pictures, you have to be aware of what the light is doing, almost all the time. One way you can do this is actually to study lighting and the various types there are. As I have said to many students, once you are aware of the kind of light you are seeing, you will never look at a scene or image again without noticing it!

Remembering that light colors stand out and dark ones recede is an important consideration for any composition. Many times, because of aerial haze or other ambient lighting features, these things can affect the impact of a particular image. Here is an example:

Look how the light posts add contrast to this scene. Background elements almost don’t matter. But the contrast and the monochrome elements add to the overall composition.

Here is another B&W image of a building, but I have included a puddle with a partial reflection of the building. I have sometimes been known to water down parking lots when photographing buildings to get the reflection. Here is one shot where I did just that. They often “clean up” a shot and make it sparkle:

Reflections are powerful, visual elements in any composition.

Here’s another shot, this one in color. Again, note the horizon line and the expanse of clouds! So, in any composition, these things are of paramount importance:

1. Physical placement of objects within the frame
2. Interesting lighting that attracts the viewer’s eye
3. Visually arresting content

Once you have these items working for you, your compositions will be much more dramatic and visually arresting. That should be the goal: to make people LOOK at your images. Their reactions should be “wow!”