Photographers should always be pushing themselves to create their best work.
In the travel photography genre, this challenge is amplified due to constantly changing surroundings and subject matter.
There’s always a mix of landscapes, cityscapes, architecture, and street scenes in any place you visit. These sub-genres make for great photos, but they also differ wildly in how you shoot them.
But that’s also why I enjoy travel photography so much.
It keeps me on my toes, learning as I go.
And while equipping yourself with technical knowledge (ie. aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc.) is vital, I would argue that mastering photography composition is the most important component in creating beautiful photos.
What Is Photography Composition?
Any image can be manipulated with saavy editing.
But once that shutter release button is pressed, the composition of your photo is set in stone.
Composition is how you arrange the elements of a scene inside your frame.
Photography composition rules and techniques can be easily learned and implemented.
Additionally, you also have natural intuition – what feels and looks good to your eye.
Arguments can be made for and against both of these approaches.
But really, your best work will be produced when you successfully combine technical knowledge with natural instincts.
“There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. ”
– Henri Cartier-Bresson
Quick story…
When I first started photography I was backpacking Europe with a pocket-sized point-and-shoot, randomly snapping photos I thought looked interesting. It was only after getting positive feedback that I began to question if I should take photography more serious.
Back then, I shot on pure intuition.
Since then, I’ve learned composition techniques to take my work up a notch.
What has this knowledge equipped me with?
- more tools in my arsenal
- more confidence in my shot selection
- increased creativity
- increased audience engagement
So let’s take a look at what you can do to quickly enhance the quality of your photos.
1. Define Your Subject
Great photos start with a clear subject.
It doesn’t matter if you’re shooting the Eiffel Tower, pregnancy photos, or a plate of food. You want to make sure your subject is the main focus.
If done correctly, your subject will draw the audience’s attention so they can connect to the image.
If done incorrectly, you will have an image that feels mediocre, is uninteresting, and lacks focus.
So, once you have a clear subject, how do you compose it in the frame for maximum impact?
2. The Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is a great starting point, and the most common technique to get photography composition right.
It divides the frame into 3 equal parts, both horizontally and vertically. This provides you with 9 separate sections, all the same size.
Where the lines intersect is where you should position your subject.
This balanced grid translates subconsciously to the audience.
As humans predominantly scan left to right, a higher percentage will first look at the left side of your photo than the right side.
The rule of thirds is a great technique to convey a pleasing feel.
You can see how it works in the photo below, which I’ve edited on-axis, and off-axis.
Edit 1:
This first image flows nicely and is well-balanced.
It has a center point where the road begins, a stark half-and-half contrast between dark and light, and the subject is placed on the crosshairs for the eye to easily catch.
The photo is also shot at an angle that makes you feel the biker winding his way through the forest.
Edit 2:
This second edit is adequate, but doesn’t feel quite right.
The road is now taking up the bottom two-thirds of the photo, giving it a bulbous quality.
The biker isn’t balanced in the frame – he’s positioned too high, and not on the cross hairs.
With this edit, the road has more of a “head on” look to it, making the tilt of the biker seem unnatural.
Also, compared to the first edit, there is a lack of dark/light contrast.
While vertical line placement is most common, the rule of thirds can also be applied to your photo using the horizontal lines.
In this photo, the upper third features the sky, while the remaining two-thirds contain the landscape.
This rice terrace is also divided into 3 sections: the bottom third showcases the land, the middle third has a line of distant palm trees , and the top third contains the sky.
When you examine these two photos using the rule of thirds, they are essentially the same idea.
But due to differences in landscapes, shot angles, and edits, they seem like two totally different images.
With enough practice, you’ll be able to implement the rule of thirds without needing the grid for reference.
TIP: Many cameras contain a grid to help you compose your shots. Check your settings to see if your camera includes this feature.
Additionally, photo editing programs like Lightroom can provide you with a grid, making it easy to crop with precision placement.
3. Leading Lines
Some argue that leading line photos are boring, but they’re one of my favourite techniques to use.
They’re also one of the easiest ways to compose and can be effective for creating memorable images.
This technique uses naturally-occurring lines to lead you to a certain point in the photo. This draws the viewer in, creating the feeling of moving through the image.
4. Layering
There’s nothing wrong with a sparsely populated photo, and some of the most striking images are just that.
However, if you can find ways to layer your images, the depth will help transport your audience into the scene.
Layering also tends to make your photos highly engaging, as there’s more to be taken in by the eye.
When editing, you can shadow and/or highlight each layer to accentuate them and give the photo more contour.
1st Layer: Lanterns
2nd Layer: Illuminated storefront sign
3rd Layer: Hallway
1st Layer: Fountain
2nd Layer: Suria KLCC Building
3rd Layer: Skyscrapers
1st Layer: Man on red motorbike
2nd Layer: Crouching woman & tree
3rd Layer: Locals walking their bicycles
4th Layer: Motorbikes across the street
5. Negative Space
On the flip side of layering items, is the removal of them.
What you keep in your frame is just as important as what you remove from it.
The technique of negative space works because of the dynamic contrast in the balance of the photo. It tricks your brain into paying more attention to the subject of the photo.
6. Triangles
Some photographers like to compose using shapes, and triangles are the most common. For many shooters, they use triangles subconsciously and probably don’t even realize a large percentage of their work has used this technique.
You can shoot with shapes by angling your camera, or identifying points in the frame that form the perimeter of the shape.
7. Symmetry
Nature loves symmetry.
A very easy photography composition technique, all you have to do is look for subjects that are mirrored when you split them down the center.
Things like architecture, large bodies of water, bridges, and faces are all prime candidates for this type of photo.
8. Fill The Frame
Filling the frame with your subject allows the viewer an up close experience. It’s also a great technique to use when you are looking to switch up your shooting.
For instance, if you normally shoot large, wide open spaces, constraining your shot to a 3-foot width forces you to get a bit more creative.
Shooting up close will also provide a unique perspective on your subject that you normally wouldn’t see.
While these two images have been shot to fill the frame, they also follow additional photography composition techniques.
The double dragons pic is actually a relatively small, intricate door sculpture that I shot up close with simple symmetry in mind.
The rock heads were also shot up close. But they use light and dark contrast to make the the heads “pop” compared to the rest of the scene. And while it doesn’t quite follow any technical rules (ie. rule of thirds), I feel there’s lots of interesting things in the frame. This still makes it engaging, even if it’s more of an intuitively-shot image.
I’ve taken many a diligently composed photos I thought would turn out great.
Most of the time, I was wrong.
My best photos are usually the ones that I’ve instinctually snapped.
As with any art form, you shouldn’t feel restricted by rules. Art is about self-expression, and creating something that others can enjoy.
Learn about photography composition. Use it when it’s called for.
But don’t feel like you’re bound to it for every photo you take.
This will only stifle your creativity and leave your work feeling overly-calculated and robotic, rather than accessible and inspirational.
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