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Composition: Part I

© Wendy Folse

There are three important guidelines to keep in mind when composing a photograph. Theme, Emphasis, Simplicity. All three things help to focus the attention on the subject. The subject is what the photographer intended to take a picture of, right? So now that the photographer knows what his subject is, how does he go about expressing his vision of the subject? The photographer accomplishes this by determining the theme, placing emphasis on the subject, and simplifying the background.

Theme: What is the universal message of this photograph? What does it imply? What does it say? What kind of statement is the photographer making? Is it about love, or childhood, or parents, or growing old? Is it about the beauty in nature, or the ugliness of poverty? Is about the tremendous power of the weather or the gentleness of a lamb? What makes this photo worth taking? Why do you want to take this image? We covered theme in a previous article but it is important to mention it again. Theme is what makes a photograph different from a snapshot. Theme is what makes a timeless image. It is what moves and inspires the viewer to look at the photograph again and again. Theme is what makes a person want to hang a photograph on the wall, not bury it in a shoe-box.

Emphasis: What is the subject? Where is the subject? Where should the viewer look? What is important? There are many techniques used to show emphasis. The photographer can show emphasis through framing choice, whether he uses a vertical or horizontal format. Or he might show emphasis by the placement of the subject, governed by the rule of thirds. Or he might use selective focus to simplify the background. Or by drawing the viewers attention to a certain spot within the frame using perspective.

Simplify: The photographer works to simplify the composition by assuring that nothing in the viewfinder competes or distracts from the subject. He looks to see that nothing in the photograph weakens the theme. Everything visible in the photograph helps to support the theme and the background does not distract from the subject but adds to the composition. He simplifies the composition.

The use of selective focus and depth of field are two great ways of simplifying the image. If the background is not important, using a large aperture will render it out of focus. This technique is great for getting rid of busy or cluttered backgrounds. How much out of focus? That depends on the theme and what the background does to support it. If the background is totally irrelevant, then it should be out of focus as much as possible. If the background helps to reinforce the theme, then it should be out of focus to a degree that it does not distract from the subject but adds to the scene.

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