Chapter 6

Composition

W

hencomposinganimageincamera,thephotographer
has manydifferent aspectsto consider.How they
choosetofilltheframewillenabletheviewertoreadthe
imageinaparticularway.Byusingthevariouselementsof
compositionyouhavethepowertoaddmoremeaningand
feeling into your work.

Theimpactoftheimagetakenwillbegreatlyinfluencedby
how the photographer pre-visualizes and delivers the
image. Knowing what you want to achieve before the
shutterispressediskeytoproducingstrongimageswith
identity and narrative.

Compositionandtheplacingofthemainsubjectiskeyto
thesuccessofthefinalimage,withtheviewerbeingableto
easilyreadandunderstandit.Therearemanyaspectsthat
can influence the composition of the image; the
photographerultimatelyhas todecide what elementsare
important and necessary for a strong image.

Mostlywestriveforacleanstructuredcompositionthatis
easy for the viewer to interpret, with the eye moving
aroundtheimageunhinderedtowardsthepointoffocusthe
photographer intended. However,on some occasionsthe
photographermaywant theviewerto feela certainway
when looking atthe portrait, and again this is where a