break the rules:

It’s fundamental to know and understand the basic principles of composition and how to apply them. However do not to think that these rules must always be followed. Being creative and developing your own style will turn you into a much better photographer. Live view compact cameras and DLSR cameras liberate your thinking.  This WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) approach to shooting combined with more traditional, disciplined skills such as mastering the ‘rules of thirds’ will really propel your images from being just good into a ‘wow’ factor

UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE:

To make your photo stand out from all the others, try taking the photo from an unusual or unique perspective. Compact cameras and DLSR cameras with live view are perfect for this. Get down low in relation to your subject will but the body against a clean background such as the sky. A higher viewpoint gives a more layered Structure to the image such as this fishing port on the Island of Kefalonia. A low down, camera close to the ground and by using a wide angle gives greater emphasis to the sand dune ripples. This is also a good example of leading lines.

Experiment with different focal lengths – telephoto and wide- angles. Telephoto lenses compress perspective giving a more 2 dimensional image. The shot tasken in Kysner elephant park in South Africa aptly demonstrates this compression effect. A 300mm telephoto lens has flattened the perspective making it appear as if Amanda and Ella are on the same plane or directly opposite the elephant. In reality they are 10 meters closer to the camera.

use of lines:

Lines that lead the viewer’s eye to the centre of interest are referred to as “leading lines” and are an important element of composition. A good example would be a trail or path that invites the viewer to step into your photo. A leading line will draw the eye around the picture and this line can often be curving in a lazy S shape.  Or it can be a straight line such a a railing or a railway track when the line leads to a vanishing point to create 3D perspective or to a subject.  Pay attention to the interplay of lines, forms and shapes. One technique for leading lines is to blur out the immediate foreground or both the foreground and background Once all the detail is blurred out it is easier to view the scene in terms of lines and shapes.

rule of thirds:

Some cameras now have a ‘rules of thirds’ grid line in the viewfinder and on the rear display screen. This is a really useful feature allowing you to use this compositional tip to its best effect. If you do not have this on your camera.... on an A4 sheet of paper fold it vertically into 3 panels and do the same horizontally. Or just draw to rough noughts and crosses game to create 9 squares. The points where the folded or drawn lines cross show where your centre of interest is best placed. Placing the subject in one of the locations where the lines cross will generally give a pleasing composition. A subject placed in the centre of your scene is less so. A common error is for beginner photographers to always have the subject dead centre as this is usually where the auto focusing on the camera is set.

subject movement:

If your subject implies movement, such as a person walking or a bird flying, place the subject near the 1/3 point facing (moving) into the centre of the composition. A subject moving into a scene allows the eye to move into this. You can show motion or movement in a number of ways...the easiest is to select a higher aperture number (if your camera have aperture priority) which gives you slow shutter speeds. Also move the ISO on the camera to the lowest possible setting such as ISO 100. With experimentations you can achieve the desired amount of blur in the image. A shutter speed of around 1/2 second will show the motion of a walking person but you can still recognize them. You must use as tripod or rest the camera on a firm surface so that the rest of the image elements are sharp.

panning:

Another way to show motion is by ‘panning”. This is a similar technique to skeet shooting where the shot gun follows the clay pigeon.  Smoothly move the the camera in an arching horizontal motion and squeeze the trigger. Again you need to experiment!

level horizons:

Its worthwhile buying a camera with the grid line pattern in the viewfinder. If you do not have this feature, use a bubble level mounted in the camera hot shoe to assure the horizon is level in the composition. Dynamic compositions can be achieved by deliberately tipping the horizon, however horizons slightly askew are normally very distracting. Tipped horizons can be straightened Photoshop and other programs such as Abode Lightroom and Apple iphoto... However if you have not shot in RAW then you will degrade the image as you straighten the horizon up.

tilting & skewing the point of view:

Tilting the camera is a way to introduce a feeling of speed, movement and action to your compositions. Diagonal lines tend to be dynamic and suggest movement. A common mistake is to tilt the camera too much and to have the subjects falling out of the shot. Try tilting both ways as well as you can confuse the direction of the tilt looking through a viewfinder. Live view cameras eliminate this confusion.

Just like a good repetitive beat in a song, a regular repetition of shapes or colours is pleasing to the eye. Try filling the frame with a repeating design. Use sidelight or backlight to emphasize textural patterns.