Basic concepts that beginners of photography must learn.

Lead: Holding the same camera and shooting the same thing with the same settings, why can some photographers shoot better works? One of the keys may be different ingredients. Excellent composition can make the work more eye-catching and interesting. This article will talk about the basic concepts of composition.

Beginners of photography must learn the basic concepts and significance of composition.

When ordinary people take pictures, they all pick up the camera and press the shutter directly for what they like. In short, it is enough that the pictures contain what they want to shoot. However, we will find that some photos can highlight the main body better, or the pictures are pleasing to the eye, and even at first glance, the audience can feel the theme that the photos want to emphasize. This is the power of good composition. If you want your work to convey your ideas effectively, you need to work hard on composition.

Composition is actually how to arrange the composition of the picture, what to put in the photo and what not to put in the picture. The "composition rule" in photography is to apply traditional artistic rules to photography and highlight the subject/theme you want to shoot, which will be a good guide for beginners.

Interesting center

"A photograph should have an obviously interesting center."

Before shooting, ask yourself if your photo has a striking protagonist. What kind of theme can make people pay attention to your photos? This is a very important composition foundation.

Secondly, don't be too greedy and put too many elements in the same photo to avoid distracting the audience. The principle of "fun center" is to highlight the subject you want to shoot through various methods. For example, the above three pictures highlight the unique subject through shallow depth of field, darkness of light and color contrast.

Pay attention to this concept of composition, not to put the subject in the middle of the picture, but to have an attractive protagonist in the photo, and pay attention before taking pictures.

(2) trigonometry

Divide the photo into three equal parts, put the subject on the dividing line or point, or divide the photo into three parts.

This is the most basic and safest composition technique, which is generally applicable. Even many digital cameras and smart phones will automatically provide the "nine squares" shown in the above picture, which is convenient for people to compose pictures.

First of all, if you put the subject at one of the intersections, you will take photos that feel natural and pleasing to the eye. As shown on the left of the above picture, the cat is placed at the lower left point, and then suspended in other places, so that the main body is prominent, retaining a proper sense of space and making people feel very comfortable. Of course, in addition to one point, you can also put the subject at two or even four points, which will also have a very prominent and eye-catching effect.

In addition, if you divide the space into three parts, you will get very comfortable results. On the right of the above picture, the sky and the sea account for 2/3 and 1/3, respectively, which is relatively average and pleasing to the eye. In addition to the up-and-down distribution, it can also be distributed left and right, which is a common composition ratio in general landscape photography or architectural photography.

(3) Comparison

"By juxtaposing things with strong contrast, the shooting effect and subject are highlighted."

This technique is very common, and it is also an effective composition technique.

At the far left of the above picture, use "size" as a comparison. Trees and people under them form rich visual effects, and it is also a common method to measure people. Contrast with color in the middle, "cold and warm tones" will make the picture more attractive; On the far right is the contrast between "dynamic and static". The dynamic background and the stationary car create a sudden sense of alienation.

These are just some examples, and there are various ways to compare them, such as light and dark, black and white, emotional contrast, gender and so on. Watch more when shooting.

(4) Others

In fact, there are many ways of composition. For example, the right side of the work "Approaching the Shadow" by Ho Fan, a famous Hong Kong photographer, is a classic work composed of geometric patterns and guiding lines. The picture is divided into two triangles by light, which is very concise and shocking; As for the diagonal, it effectively guides the audience to see the women in the lower left corner, and the overall picture feels natural and beautiful.

The banner of this article is also a kind of guiding line, focusing the audience on the middle point, which has the feeling of extension and good visual effect.

To sum up, as a novice photographer, you can practice all kinds of composition skills here first, and you can also show more people how to compose, especially to develop the habit of observing all kinds of interesting compositions in life, taking more pictures and learning more; Further, try to break these rules and shoot more creative works. Of course, this is another story.