Light is not everything in a photograph. I’ve seen plenty of photos with great light that still look awkward because the composition is off. One of the most common problems with beginning photos is that they’re busy; there’s too much in them. But composition is the underlying structure to every good photograph. It helps the viewer know where to look and it gives the image balance. If you can master this, you’re well on your way to taking great photos, but like any skill, it takes practice.
The best way to get a handle on composition is to slow down when you take your photos. When you raise that camera to your eye, pay attention to what’s in the frame and what’s not in the frame. Look for shapes and lines and negative space and think about how they can help your photo. Step to the left. Step to the right. See what happens when you include different things in the photo. Sometimes all it takes is one step to the left to make a photo go from confusing to concise.
One of the most common composition mistakes that I see is that the subject is in the dead center of the frame in almost every photo. There’s nothing wrong with putting your subject in the center of the frame every now and then, but when you do it with every photo it just starts to look boring. Usually placing your subject a little off from center gives your image more power. Imagine dividing the frame into a grid of equal rectangles and experiment with positioning the subject along those invisible lines.
If you want to get a little practice, try this assignment. Spend about fifteen minutes and then head out to photograph something around the house or in your yard. Instead of looking for a variety of different things to photograph, just pick one thing, like a door way or a bicycle or a chair, and photograph it as many times as you can during your allotted time period. Get down low and look up. Walk across the street and shoot from there. Walk over and fill the frame with your subject. Afterward, compare the images and notice how the placement of elements changes the feeling of the photograph.
As you practice with your camera, you will start to see the composition of a photo before you even bring your camera up to your eye. You will start to see leading lines everywhere you go. You will appreciate the negative space around a subject and use it to your advantage. And you will start to feel more like an artist and less like someone who simply reacts and snaps a quick photo.