Rules for Composition

When you first pick up a camera and point it at your subject, your natural instinct is to place the subject right smack-dab in the middle of the viewfinder. When someone views your photo, there generally isn’t a lot to interpret. The viewer’s eye centers on the image and the experience is over. What if, however, there was a way to take the viewer on a visual journey through the whole frame? Make them contemplate the scene in front of them and want to ask questions? Wouldn’t that make for a much more interesting photo? A shot that tells a story?
Understanding how your camera works and being able to take “technically correct” photographs is important. Being able to compose the scene before you in a way that is visually interesting is even more important. This is where the “Rule of Thirds” comes into play. For an excellent overview of the “Rule of Thirds”, check out this article over at Digital Photography School.
Next week we’ll discuss some general ways I’ve found to apply the “Rule of Thirds” to help tell stories through photography.
Until next time, keep click’n.
-Ken