Breaking the Rules of Perfect Composition

Horizons can be kept perfectly plum because the human eye can readily pick up even minute slant and usually pursues it is a  flaw. Most of the time you will want to follow this rule, particularly when shooting landscapes, but it’s also well worth  breaking it and experimenting with shooting at an oblique angle. As well as being a fresh way to show familiar subject, a quirky angle can add energy and excitement, heighten psychological  tension or even give scenes of voyeuristic or threatening feel.

Twisting your digital camera can also help you to accommodate wider subjects within the frame. You can apply this tactic to  virtually any subject for instant impact. Any lens will do, but a wide angle tends to produce the most dramatic results. Try this  simple exercise next time you are in town shopping. Take a shot of some pedestrians walking towards the camera so that the  horizon meets the bottom corner of the frame. Compare the different mood and energy off the two photographs. You don’t have  to make the tilt so extreme every time, but the subtler then more likely people are to view it as an error rather than a  conscious artistic statements. Just like with the rule of thirds, it’s also important not to overuse this approach as it  starts to look like a gimmick.

Another compositional standard is that you should always leave some space in front of moving subjects for them to travel  into the picture. This not only gives the impression that the action on journey is just beginning rather than just about to  end, it’s also avoids that disconcerting sensation that the subject is going to crash headlong into the frame. It also  explains to the viewer where the subject is headed.

There are, however, several situations that strongly warrant ignoring this rule. First is when you want to make the  subject’s journey an integral part of the story. You can do this by showing the terrain that has been traveled through, or  by showing what’s been left behind and, more intriguingly, why each has been left behind. Another case is one of the trail  left behind the subject is of particular interest. For instance, a surfer riding a colossal wave; a fox leaving a trail of  footprints in the snow; a swimmer stepping out about perfectly tranquil pool; a smoke trail behind the plane… leaving  space behind the subject can also convey the impression that the subject is moving much faster than you.

With still portraits of people or animals the conventions are similar-allow ample space around the side over the subject  into which they are facing. This usually works well because the space not only helps to satisfy the viewers natural  curiosity as to what the subject might be looking at, but it also produces a more balanced composition.

By framing tightly and leaving little or no space for your subject to look you can subvert the convention and create an  uneasy, ambiguous mood. Have your subject fix their gaze on a mystery focal point outside of the frame and you can raise the  level of intrigue still further.

Another interesting way to unsettle things is to care subjects looking and/or moving across the frame from right to left  rather than from left to right-i.e. contrary to the way we instinctively read. The viewer may not be consciously aware of  this subtle shift, but it can operate on a subliminal level.

Don’t stop there, however, have fun flaunting other photographic rules. For example, using extreme wide-angle and shoot  close-up to distort facial features for comic or creepy effects; shoot into the sun to deliberately produce dazzling, hazy  flair; shoot looking up at tall buildings using a wide angle lens to emphasize converging verticals.

Tagged with: Artistic Statements • Bottom Corner • composition • digital camera • Horizons • Human Eye • Landscapes • Oblique Angle • Rule Of Thirds • Wide Angle

Filed under: Photography Tips

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!

Possibly related posts