Composition
Every other tree is about capturing light; composition is about what you do with the frame once you have it. It's the deliberate choices — where the subject sits, what you leave out, how you lead the eye through the picture — that separate a photograph from a snapshot. Best of all, it costs nothing: no gear, no settings, no golden light, just attention and a willingness to move your feet. Five shoots you can make anywhere, even from your kitchen window — and the patterns, once learned, show up everywhere: films, paintings, other people's photos.
5 lessons, easy to ambitious — free to read, free to shoot.
- 1Rule of ThirdsCompose a photo with your main subject off-center — sitting where the lines of an imaginary tic-tac-toe grid cross — instead of dead in the middle.
- 2Leading LinesFind lines in a scene — a path, a fence, a railing, a row of trees — and use them to lead the eye toward your subject.
- 3SymmetryFind a symmetrical scene — a reflection, an archway, a building's facade — and center it so the two halves mirror each other.
- 4FramingUse something in the scene — a doorway, a window, an arch, overhanging branches — to frame your subject within the photo.
- 5Negative SpaceMake a photo where your subject is small and surrounded by lots of empty space — sky, a wall, water, fog — letting the emptiness do the work.
Shoot this tree, assignment by assignment.
A free account turns reading into doing — place your proof shots, earn the XP, and master Composition for the The Composed Eye badge.