Last week, I discussed how lighting can make or break a shot. This week I will discuss composition.

Background Clutter

When shooting portraits remember to check the background for clutter. There’s nothing worse than a tree growing out of someone’s head!

Leading Lines

Use leading lines to draw viewers into your photograph, whether it’s leading them to an object, person or horizon.

Leading lines don’t have to be straight either.

Rule of Thirds

All cameras have a grid you can use as an overlay on the viewfinder (or phone screen) which lets you use the ‘Rule of thirds’ for a more pleasing composition. Basically it means using the top or bottom line on the grid for your horizon and placing interesting features at an intersection of the horizontal and vertical lines.

Foreground Interest

In landscape photography using an image with something in the foreground makes for a more interesting photograph and captures viewers attention and leads their eye into the photograph.

But remember, rules are made to be broken!.

“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” – Ansel Adams