Modern smartphones have put a powerful digital camera in everyone’s pocket capable of taking spectacular photos almost on their own. These days you don’t even need to know what an aperture setting is to get it right because the camera will figure it out for you. Conversely, however, having the right white balance and speed settings is only half the battle when it comes to taking a great photo. The other half is composition and that still all rests with you. Here are 3 tips for getting great photo composition – and why you want to.
Play with perspective
Most people are used to standing level with their subject and taking a photo straight on. While this may give you a perfectly serviceable photo, it doesn’t necessarily create a really interesting photo. If you just want to take pictures for yourself, they don’t need to be interesting. If you actually want others to look at your photos, however, you might want to make them interesting. Getting low and looking up at your subject is one way to play with perspective, as is getting high above them and looking down.
Learn the rule of thirds
One of the most basic concepts of photo composition is the rule of thirds. Essentially, if you were to divide the frame into three horizontal sections and three vertical sections, you would end up with nine “boxes.” Many modern cameras and camera apps offer a grid feature that will divide the frame for you. The goal is to place the subject in one of the thirds (either vertically or horizontally) or within one of the four intersections. This creates the most interesting composition.
Eliminate background noise
Generally, you have one subject in a photo and that is where you want the eye to be drawn. You can accomplish this in many ways. One way is to fill the frame with the subject so that is all you see, but the other is to blur out the background so the subject stands out in sharp relief. Another way is to “frame” the subject in the background or place them in an “empty” background, such as against a wall or in a field of flowers. When the background is to chaotic, however, it draws attention away from the subject, so you want to make the background “white noise” in comparison to the subject.