12 Creative Photography Composition Tips

Introduction: Composition is to appropriately organize the images to be expressed to form a coordinated and complete picture. But in the process of photography, people's thoughts are always the most critical element. No matter exposure, lighting, composition or other shooting methods, they are nothing more than expressing their thoughts through photos. So it is very important to structure the picture before shooting. Of course, many landscape photos are out of human control and require more on-the-spot performance.

The compositional framework in the following works is marked with red lines. For the original picture, please click on the relevant works for reference and study.

1. Tic-Tac-Toe Composition

When learning to take pictures, many people will tell you to use the Tic-Tac-Toe composition method and place the subject at the intersection of three equal lines. This composition method can be said to be the safest one. The four intersection points of the tic-tac-toe composition can be regarded as the golden section of the picture. This composition can ensure the overall harmony of the picture. It has always been widely used, but because of its versatility, it is difficult to get stunning photos with this composition.

2. Rule of thirds composition

Divide the picture into three equal parts. When shooting landscapes, choose 1/3 to place the sky or 1/3 to place the ground. This is a landscape photographer. Commonly used composition methods. The 1:2 screen ratio can focus on highlighting the parts that need to be strengthened. If the sky is pretty, you can keep most of the sky elements. The overall picture also appears more harmonious.

3. Dichotomy composition

Dichotomy composition is to divide the picture into two equal parts, which is often used in landscape photography. Dividing the picture into two equal parts can easily create a spacious atmosphere. In the landscape photo, half is the sky and half is the ground, and the contents of the two parts appear calm and harmonious. Such photos are stable and easy to produce, but the impact of the picture is slightly lacking.

4. Diagonal composition

Diagonal composition can create interesting landscape pictures. In the past, landscape photos dominated by horizontal lines appear more lively and lively under diagonal composition. , the picture is cut by a diagonal composition to present two parts of the photo content. Diagonal shooting of portraits is also a common method, making rigid portrait photos more imaginative and the picture more lively.

5. Central composition

The characteristic of central composition is that it allows people’s eyes to quickly focus on the subject. Central composition can quickly separate the subject from the background. By composing the subject in the middle of the picture, using various colors of the background and shooting at a wide angle, you can also get impactful photos. Compared with ordinary landscape photos, they have more connotation. The central composition is more widely used in portrait photography, whether it is a landscape portrait or a close-up of a character.

6. Radial composition

Radial composition shows impactful momentum by extending the content of the picture to the surroundings. It can effectively enhance the tension of the picture. In landscape photography, clouds and sunlight are easy to create strong radial compositions. When composing the picture, you can place these elements in the center of the picture.

7. Checkerboard composition

Checkerboard composition refers to the random arrangement of repeated elements in the picture. Because of the unity of the repeated elements, the checkerboard composition can obtain a unique effect. A special coordination, the picture has an unusual rhythm. And because of the randomness, it can easily arouse the curiosity of the viewer.

8. Symmetrical composition

Symmetrical things have the characteristics of stability and harmony. Therefore, many buildings are designed in a symmetrical style to give people a sense of peace. The same goes for taking photos. Photos with symmetrical composition are more attractive than other photos with impact. When taking landscape photos, use the ground plane as the dividing line and effectively use the reflection of water to get an excellent symmetrical composition photo. .

9. S-shaped composition

Natural rivers and various man-made curved buildings are good materials for shooting S-shaped compositions. The difference between curves and straight lines is that the picture is softer and mellow. Different depths of field are connected through S-shaped elements, which can create a good sense of space. Give people room for imagination. This is also applicable when shooting portraits. Pictures with curved elements make the characters' shapes richer and avoid being dull and boring.

10. Parallel line composition

Parallel lines can be photographed in nature or man-made settings. The characteristics of this type of picture are regularity and repetition of elements, which can create a special look in the picture. flavor. In particular, repeated elements in nature can better highlight the theme.

11. Vanishing point composition

The rules of perspective tell us the rules of near and far perspective, so in the distance, we can see parallel lines converging at one point, which is called As the vanishing point, choosing more of this type of picture for composition will not only make the picture more impactful, but also the parallel lines will guide the viewer of the photo to move their eyes to the vanishing point, making the picture have a stronger sense of space. If you are taking creative portraits, you can also place the character at the vanishing point so that the viewer’s final focus is on the character. You can get landscape portraits with good visual effects.

12. Z-shaped composition

The purpose of Z-shaped composition is the same as that of S-shaped composition. It can effectively increase the sense of space in the picture and at the same time make the picture more interesting. The difference is that the curves are replaced by straight lines, and the picture becomes angular. Straight lines make it easier to divide a picture. Let the relationship between the various elements of the picture become subtle.