Composition & Design: a Primer for the Viewfinder

When it comes to the creation of images, photographers are using increasingly sophisticated equipment. People are turning to new technology to improve their images. To an extent, this technical approach does help, but it encourages a very one-sided view of photography. There is much more involved in the creation of a good photograph than being able to dress it up in Photoshop. If this is the case, then the best way to achieve our goals and perceptions is to change our approach to the way we capture the image in the camera’s viewfinder.

Most people assess what they see intuitively, liking or disliking without stopping to think exactly why. As photographers, most of us compose our pictures in the same way, and the reason for this intuitive approach to photography lies in the way photographic images are made. Whatever level of thought goes into a photograph, the image is created the instant the shutter release is depressed. This means that a picture can always be taken casually and without thought, and because it can, it often is. In other graphic arts, design is taught as a matter of course. It is only in the field of photography that the process of designing the image has received so little attention.

Creating Striking Images
Why is it that some pictures soon become boring, while others can grow on you? What makes pictures of master photographers stand out? Could it be that what separates the memorable pictures from the mundane is that the photographer was successful in balancing shapes and tone to create an effective composition? Is composition an art or is it a science?

Most of us are moved by a beautiful landscape scene or by a striking image of an individual. But when you ask what makes a particular picture good you will likely get a variety of answers: “a nice sunset” or “the spectacular scenery” or “a beautiful smile.” People think about pictures in terms of their subject matter; viewers are mostly unaware of how the visual language of pictures enhances what they are seeing.

For centuries painters created pictures that were both compelling and absorbing. This didn’t happen by accident. Master artists were able to realize their arrangements through the use of shapes, tones, perspective and lines. These not only controlled how the viewer’s eyes moved around the picture, but also affected the viewer’s emotional response to it. This is why understanding the rules of composition and design are important.

Objective Principles of Design
The principles of photographic design are, to a certain extent, different from those in paintings and illustrations. By applying photographic principles we can understand why certain photographs create the impressions they do, and by using a technical approach in the organizing of our images we can produce very predictable effects.

The basic fundamental principles of design are contrast and balance. Contrast stresses the differences between the graphic elements within a picture—whether they are a contrast of tone, color, form or other elements. Balance, though intimately related to contrast, is the active relationship between opposed elements. If the balance is resolved, there is a sense of equilibrium in the image. If unresolved, the image seems out of balance and a visual tension remains.

While good design is not committed to producing gentle images in familiar proportions, it is usually visually satisfying, and it is ultimately functional. Good design begins with the photographer having a clear idea of what the image is about and what affect the image should have on its audience. Also, good design has to take into account what the audience already knows about photography. While this audience may know nothing of design techniques, it does have a fundamental understanding of certain design conventions, based on its familiarity with seeing countless images. Therefore, it behooves the professional photographer to understand standard conventions and compose their images in accordance with them.

With all that said, it is a mistake to call these conventions “rules.” These design techniques should not be interpreted as an instruction manual, but rather as explanations about why and how certain images succeed and why others fall short. One should view compositional techniques more like controls than rules. It’s like learning to drive a car; you can be shown where to find the brakes and accelerator and how to change gears, but it’s up to you to decide where you want to go. To make your pictures work, you have to see what’s actually there—the lines, shapes and the relationships between them.

Compositional Techniques
Compositional techniques can be broken down into three broad areas—the positioning of the subject, the arrangement of elements around it and the controlling of the movement of the viewer’s eyes within the frame of the photograph. All pictures need a center of interest or focal point. Without that, nothing else can be made to fall into place. Second, it’s important to establish a good relationship and balance between all the elements within the frame—between elements in the foreground and background, and between contrasting areas of shape and tone that are in different parts of the image.

Lines are very important, and not just for drawing the viewer’s eye toward the center of interest. Lines are used to create natural frames that enclose the subject, and thus prevent the viewer’s gaze from wandering out of the picture. People don’t just look at a single point in the picture; they instead move from one part to another, i.e., they take a journey. Therefore, it’s the photographic artist’s job to make that journey longer and more interesting, creating a greater long-term appeal for any image. The longer and more interesting the journey; the more involved the viewer will be. The more involved the viewer, the fundamentally better the picture.

What Does It Take
Remember this: Each element becomes stronger with the presence of other elements. When all the elements are strongly evident and harmonize with each other within the image, artistic power is achieved.

Art is a way of expressing one’s feelings and releasing one’s deepest thoughts. It is a communication between the artist and the viewer. The artist uses the elements of design to communicate a vision to the viewer. It is the successful use of these elements that sets one artist apart from another and lets us, as spectators, appreciate one piece of art above another. All pieces of art contain important elements that make them powerful. Photography is no exception. I have seen several lists of the 10 or 12 key elements and have condensed those lists down to just three: impact, technical excellence and presentation. Below I’ve listed what I believe defines each:

Impact
Creativity: Does the image display imagination or originality? Is this a fresh approach? Does it express new and different ideas? Is it a new expression of color? Does the image have a strong appeal? Is it inventive? Is the style of the image traditional, experimental, contemporary or abstract?

Storytelling: Does the image tell a complete story, or make a strong statement, or elicit a strong emotion?

Subject Matter: Is the subject strong or outstanding? Is it realistic, imaginative or creative? Is it traditional or is it inventive? Is it moody or daring?

Technical Excellence
Technique: Is the technique being used unusual, imaginative or expressive? Is the technique being used appropriate for the subject matter?
Composition: Is the arrangement of the visual elements in accordance with the rules of composition? Is the arrangement exciting, powerful or dynamic? Does the construction exhibit good rhythm or follow the rule of harmonious proportions?
Color Balance: Has the artist exhibited an imaginative use of color? Is the color realistic or interpretive? Are the colors chosen bold, abstract or moody?
Center of Interest: Is the subject singular or a group of objects? Does the overall pattern hold the viewer’s eye on the subject(s) or are there distractions?
Lighting: Is the light appropriate for the subject? Is the lighting dynamic or creative, or is it average? Does the image have good contrast (highlights vs. shadows)?

Presentation
Print Presentation: Is the print correctly mounted? Does the choice of matting enhance the presentation of the print? Is the overall matting of the print with the mounting creative or inventive? Is the overall presentation dynamic or daring? Does it exhibit a strong overall design?

Print Quality
Does the printing of the print exhibit good tonal values and are they in balance? Does the color tone enhance the subject?

The above compositional elements should be viewed more as a smorgasbord of artistic techniques than as a set of rigid rules that every good print must follow. In any one image you may choose to use only one or two of the above techniques if you consciously use any at all. The danger lies in attempting to rely too heavily on these compositional elements and their associated techniques, resulting in an image that has become too stilted, formal or just not interesting to look at.

Instead, compositional elements may be better absorbed retrospectively. Look back at your pictures and see what works and what doesn’t, and use the compositional elements to try to work out why. This process will build up a sense of composition that will help you take better-composed shots instinctively. Hopefully, these pointers will help to make some sense of the process.

Earl Echelberry has been a staff writer for Smoke and Fire News and Company Dispatch in Southern California. After learning his craft as a writer of historical events, he moved on to contribute multiple historical articles to several historical publications. He has been a professional photographer for eight years and has developed his own unique photojournalistic style. In 2006 one of his images took 2nd place in WPPI’s spring competition. He received his Accolade of Photographic Mastery (APM) from WPPI and his Fellowship from Professional Photographers of California.

Sherron Sheppard has extended her artistic talent in traditional watercolor to the field of photographic images and digital paintings. She taught traditional oil and watercolor techniques for 15 years and was a seasonal instructor for eight years teaching watercolor painting at Yosemite National Park in the park’s Summer Artist Program. Sherron’s paintings have been displayed in the Yosemite Art Center. Also, her photographs have been featured on the covers of ProPhoto West Magazine. In addition, Sherron has had five images selected for the Professional Photographers of America’s Loan Collection.