Composition Techniques

The four main composition techniques are rule of thirds, framing, unusual angles and leading lines. The rule of thirds is when you break down the shot into nine equal parts that form a grid with three horizontal and three vertical lines. You then find the most interesting part of your subject that you want to focus on and position the camera so the part you want to focus on is at one of four points on your grid. Framing is when you draw attention to your subject by blocking other parts of the picture with things in the scene creating the effect of a frame. Framing gives your image sense of context, depth and layers. It also tends to lead your viewers eyes to the main focal point. One other thing framing does is it intrigues your viewer. Unusual angles are when you make the image more interesting by changing the angle you're shooting the picture from. A variety of perspective is always a good thing. Some ideas for new perspectives are lying or crouching in front of the subject, or going for a birds-eye-view. Leading lines are lines that can be found in the image that can add a dynamic impact and change the overall mood of the image. Leading lines, like framing, tend to draw your viewers eye to the main focal subject, if the subject is at the end of the lines.