Taking photos without considering composition will get you quite far in your early days of photography. However, you’re missing out on better pictures if you don’t compose them properly. Understanding different rules and how to use them is crucial for this.
9Leading Lines
Leading linesis one of the first composition techniques that photographers learn, and for good reason. It’s a simple way to draw the user’s eye to something interesting. Roads, rivers, and valleys are all great options to use leading lines.
Leading lines are particularly excellent for landscape photography, especially if you’re in a mountainous region. However, they also work well in urban areas. Cities like New York are particularly fantastic for this as there’s always something of interest at the end of the street.
What you include as the focus point in leading lines is up to you. The rising or setting sun can work, but you might also want to include people.
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Symmetry is one of the many ways toturn rainy days into smartphone photography wins. These conditions are great for photographing reflections in puddles, for example.
You don’t, however, need a rainy day to take excellent symmetry photos. Some buildings make this easy, especially if they’re more triangular. Moreover, you can use reflections in lakes and other bodies of water.
Use the grids on your camera to frame your shot appropriately. Ensure that both sides of the picture consume roughly the same amount of space.
7Focus on One Subject
Intentionality is one of the most important aspects of making a photo interesting, and the best way to achieve this is to focus on one subject. Use the rest of the scene as your frame to tell your story more effectively, but focus on one key aspect.
Your main subject can be anything. Portraits of people always work well, and if you’re shooting street photography with your smartphone, you can pick something like an umbrella or a bicycle.
Planning your photoshoots will help you determine what the main subject should be. However, you’re able to also take some time to observe your surroundings before picking something of interest.
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6Use People and Objects for Scale
When photographing landscapes or other grand locations, consider showing just how epic these places are with scale. For example, you’re able to use a person in your scene when photographing a mountain. Rather than taking portraits, though, make them look smaller by zooming out or standing further away.
Animals can also be a great way to show the scale of a scene. Rather than using Portrait Mode, you’re better off using your smartphone’s main picture-taking setting. Doing this will help you get more of the scene in focus, further emphasizing the scale of your image.
5Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirdsis another photography composition classic. As the name suggests, you break your image into three sections. Each area should tell a unique story but still support what you’re trying to say overall.
you may use the rule of thirds in all kinds of scenarios, such as landscape photos, portraits, and street shots. It works just as well in black-and-white photography as it does with color images. Separate your image from left to right or top to bottom; it’s your call.
Turn on your phone’s camera grid to frame your pictures more accurately. Though simple to implement, you might need to practice before you truly have interesting subjects in your images.
4High-Contrast Shadows and Background
Though overdoing the contrast in your pictures is easy, high-contrast shadows and backgrounds can work well if you’re tactful. You can control your contrast through external lighting or via post-production software.
If you’re going to take pictures in this style, you’re better off going out around sunrise or sunset. Alternatively, you can capture your images in the middle of the day. However, you need tomake the harsh lighting work for youand not against you.
you’re able to emphasize the contrast by moving your Shadows and Contrast sliders later. Anyphoto editing app, including your smartphone’s native one, works fine.
3Putting Your Subject in the Middle of the Picture
Many people say you shouldn’t place your subject in the middle of your picture, but I respectfully disagree. In many cases, doing this can make your image look more interesting. The key, however, is ensuring that they work with the scene and not against it.
Putting your main subject in the middle of your picture can work well as part of the rule of thirds. It’s also an easy way to create a focal point. ensure that others can determine what is going on; you might need to hold the camera a bit higher, for example.
2Photographing From Above
It’s often better to capture skylines and other scenes from above with a DSLR or mirrorless camera, but you may achieve great results with your smartphone. You just need to understand your smartphone’s limitations. While not good for zooming in, you can get nice wide-angle shots.
The scene needs to be interesting, too, and you should pick something to focus on. For example, a particular building might stand out.
Photographing from above can also involve pointing down at something on the street or below hip level. For example, if you’re a photographer, you can hold your camera in your hand and take a picture with your smartphone.
1Diagonal Lines
Diagonal lines like staircases are photographed less often than leading lines. However, they’re still worth considering. When used with light, you can achieve superb results.
Diagonal lines can make your photos look more multi-dimensional than leading lines. Getting this right is significantly more challenging than other types of composition, and you’ll need to practice more.
Besides staircases, look for lines in roads, buildings, and even grass patterns.
Learning how to compose your smartphone images is crucial to becoming a better photographer. You’ll elevate your pictures from “good” to “great” over time and find what interests you the most. What’s more, these skills are interchangeable with video and other visual fields.
