Photography Composition Tips: Part Two

Here's part two of my photography composition tips. Have you found the first post helpful?
If so, I really want to encourage you to actually get out there and put the tips into practise, because that's the only way you will learn and improve your photos. Seriously, reading these tips is great, but you'll get most out of it if you take action. :)

So, here are some more tips to help you improve your composition:

1. Focus & Background
Focus on what’s important for you. What makes you want to take the picture? What is it that caught your eye? Once you know what it is that you want to take a photo of, look at the surroundings, see what else is around, what does the background look like, what is going on around your subject? Before you take your photo make sure you’ve found the best position and angle to really focus on your chosen subject, so you can eliminate anything distracting next to it or in the background, unless it adds to your subject and what you want to say (see photo above, which is shot from above to keep the background simple).

2. Shoot verticals as well as horizontals
I’ve been told this over and over again, so many times that it seems like THE number one tip out of all photography tips. The reason I’ve learnt this is because magazines and newspapers need a selection of photos to choose from, so they are flexible in terms of layout (just think of a magazine cover for example - the image needs to be vertical). But even if you’re not shooting for a magazine, turning your camera can really help to completely change the look and feel of your photo. Always try both to find out what works best (see photo below: vertical + leading line). (And by the way, if you haven’t heard this yet: verticals work better on Pinterest as well).

7. Leading lines
If you really want to draw someone into your image, use leading lines, such as roads, fences, walls, buildings etc. (see image above and below).
Leading lines control and guide the eye through the picture, pointing towards something. They also create depth and a three-dimensional look, and add perspective because they often connect the foreground and the background. So think about what lines you can find in your frame, and how they can lead the eye towards the main subject, or just through the image in a specific way.

Let me know how turning these tips into reality goes! :)

P.S. The next Photo Brunch is this coming Saturday - you can still book if you want to join in and get on-hand help with your photography.