Composition

I'd like to share a few tips about photo composition. The simplest technique or "rule" used in photography is called the "Rule of Thirds" and this is VERY closely related to "The Golden Mean" from which the rule of Thirds is really derived. Basically, mathematicians have studied what is naturally aesthetically pleasing in the world around us. Through this they have discovered that we often find that things are arranged in such a way as to be approximately placed in distances from each other to reach a ratio of 1:1.618.... Many people simplify this to the "rule of thirds" by saying in a given picture, if the interesting things are placed 1/3rd of the way from side to side or top to bottom (and vice versa), the photo hold much more interest than when the object of interest is placed dead center. An article that simplifies and gives examples is:
http://photoinf.com/Golden_Mean/Eugene_Ilchenko/GoldenSection.html

Another good discussion on the Golden Mean is:
 http://photoinf.com/Golden_Mean/Stuart_Low/The_Golden_Mean.htm

Here is an example where I placed my daughter (not literally) in the left third of the picture. With her there the sense of action is enhanced with you following her direction to the right where we see the water, her arms outstretched, the line of the creek following back then into her. Our eyes are kept moving around the picture.

 Here is an example of a photo I took of my daughter's feet in the water. The first shows her feet placed in the center. The second shows them placed to the left. Notice how when we view the first photo, our eyes see the feet and then don't know where to go next in the photo. In the second, with the placement of them on the left, our eyes are drawn right into the water, to the rock, up the right side of the frame to the out-of-focus ground on the top left, then across left to her hands holding the stick and then back to her feet. The photo holds more interest then the first one.

One more example of a combination of this and how we show action in a photo. If a person is moving, they need space to move into. Here my son is splashing in the water. He is moving to the left and we see the space, and it is filled with splashed water droplets. It is dynamic; he has somewhere to go and is going that way. I wish I hadn't gotten my daughter's arm in the photo on the right, but sometimes when you're catching action, you catch others in action too! I can photoshop it out of the photo, but haven't yet done that.

 

One more thing: It is hard to look at a photo where someone is looking out of the frame, but the edge of the frame is right next to their face. It is much more pleasing for them to have space to be looking or moving into.

Or one I took several years ago:

And here we see the eyes in the left third again, with our eyes being drawn around her arms and back.

As always, feel free to ask any questions. I'll try to answer :-) Take care.