2.2 Art of Composition

​Agenda 10/1:

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• Wednesday Check In

• 2.2 Notes

• Knowledge Check

The Art of Composition 1: Techniques to Elevate Your Photography

​Learners can:
- Distinguish between various composition techniques
- Describe how different compositional techniques enhance the overall impact of a photograph
- Identify photographs using a specific compositional technique

​Vocabulary: filling the frame, focal point, leading lines, rule of thirds

Engage

Have you ever wondered how a flower field would look if viewed from above?

Engage

Have you ever wondered how a flower field would look if viewed from above?

It looks something like the photograph below! The photograph below shows a vast expanse of tulip fields on a tulip farm in the Netherlands. Observe the photograph closely and consider the following questions:

Which type of orientation is used to compose the photograph?

What is the subject of the photograph?

On what part of the image do your eyes tend to focus?

Open Ended

What do you notice about the orientation (vertical or horizontal), the subject (what you see), and the main focus (what stands out) in the photograph of the flower field?

Engage

Take another look at the photograph. Notice how the straight rows of tulips bring the viewer's attention directly to the background of the frame where the wind turbine stands against the stormy sky. The photographer chose to have about two-thirds of the frame devoted to the colorful flowers, but only one-third devoted to the stormy sky. This is an example of a composition technique.

Engage

Remember, in photography, composition refers to the way the subject or subjects in a photograph are arranged. Photographers use composition to enhance or draw attention to a specific element. They carefully position themselves and their cameras and use other elements at the photo site.

Composition Techniques

The composition of a photograph brings individual elements in a frame together in a visually appealing and intentional way. Composition techniques are methods photographers use to compose an image and direct attention to the photograph's main subject.

Composition techniques can improve your photography skills, but they can also be applied to almost all art forms. It is important to note that they are a starting point for your creativity.

Composition Techniques

Three composition techniques you will explore in today's lesson:

🔥 Rule of thirds

🔥 Leading lines

🔥 Filling the frame

🔥 The Rule of Thirds

When using the rule of thirds technique, the photographer divides the image frame vertically and horizontally into thirds and places the subject in one of several specific spaces within the frame.

​For example, the photographer placed the hot air balloon just off the center and to the left in the photograph below.

🔥 Leading Lines

When using the leading lines technique, the photographer uses natural or human-made lines to bring attention to the subject.

For example, the photographer used the lines formed along the edge of the cranberries to draw attention to the vast spread of cranberries being picked by the workers in the photograph below.

🔥 Filling the Frame

When using the filling the frame technique, the photographer fills the entire frame with a subject.

For example, the photographer filled the frame of the photograph below with just the Clematis flower.

Labelling

Which image matches with the correct composition technique?

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

Fill the Frame

Leading Lines

Rule of Thirds

🔥 The Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a composition technique that can be used to lead a viewer's eye to a particular place, or focal point, within a frame. When using the rule of thirds, the frame is first divided horizontally and vertically into thirds, creating nine equal parts. Subjects are then placed along the lines or intersections of the imaginary grid to create a focal point.

Changing the focal point’s position in a photograph can transform its feel, change how the subject is interpreted, and create different emotions for the viewer.

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Focal Points

​Examples of Rule of Thirds

The main subject in the photo to the right is the person on the right side of the frame. Notice how the eye closest to the viewer is placed where two lines meet, following the rule of thirds.

In photos of people, the eyes are often the main focal point.

Focal Points

​Examples of Rule of Thirds

Look at the photo on the right. The house, the main subject of this photograph, is positioned on the left side.

The photographer used open space, filling about two-thirds of the frame, to draw the viewer’s eye to the house.

Focal Points

​Examples of Rule of Thirds

Hotspot

Where is the focal point of this image?

🔥 Leading Lines

Recall that a line is defined as a point that moves forward, suggesting motion. Lines draw the viewer's attention to the image's subject or to a particularly eye-catching part of it. The leading lines composition technique can be used to emphasize a focal point and lead the viewer's eyes to a particular place on the photo.

🔥 Leading Lines

Leading lines, such as the lines on the street in the photograph:

• are used within the frame of an image;

• can be naturally occurring or human-made; and

• help to identify the focal point of the image.

There are two types of leading lines: natural lines and human-made lines.

🔥 Leading Lines

In photography, natural lines are lines created by things found in nature, such as trees, rivers, horizons, or rows of plants. Remember the photograph of the rows of tulip fields you saw earlier? That is an example of a natural leading line.

In the photograph on the right, the sunbeams create natural lines. The photographer chose a position carefully so that the sunbeams lead the viewer's eye directly to the people on the river.

​Natural Lines

🔥 Leading Lines

Human-made lines are created by objects that people make, like bridges, roads, and doors.

In the photograph on the left, the photographer uses the lines of the sidewalk in the foreground to guide your attention to the building in the background.

​Human-Made Lines

🔥 Leading Lines

Leading lines can be gentle and soft or strong and obvious.

In the photograph to the left, the tops of the buildings and the street create human-made leading lines that guide the viewer's eyes directly to the center of the frame.

​In the photograph to the right, the lines created by the oars are used to focus the viewer's attention on the people in the boat. While the people are bright against the water, the oars help direct attention to them as the main subject.

Hotspot

Where are the leading lines in the image of the empty train station?

🔥 Filling the Frame

The filling the frame technique emphasizes the subject by eliminating distracting elements. Recall that the frame is everything in an image, including elements in the foreground and background.

🔥 Filling the Frame

In the image to the right, the entire frame is filled by various parts of a flower, but not all parts of the flower are included in the frame.

Because the photographer left some parts of the flower outside of the image frame, the viewer's eyes are drawn to the center of the flower.

🔥 Filling the Frame

Now, compare the two photographs below which feature the same subject.

🔥 Filling the Frame

Notice that in the image to the left, it is difficult to determine the subject of the photograph because the frame is filled with competing elements of flowers and leaves.

In the image to the right, the flower fills the frame, making it more defined. Distracting elements have been pushed out of the frame through cropping or by zooming in.

🔥 Filling the Frame

In this photograph, the old streetcar extends off of the right side of the frame. By filling the frame, the photographer focuses the viewer's attention on a portion of the streetcar instead of the entire car and reduces the information the viewer has to process.

🔥 Filling the Frame

In this photograph, the photographer focuses the viewer on the dog's gentle eyes by filling the frame with its face. This technique invites the viewer to focus on the dog's expression rather than on the whole dog and its surroundings

Multiple Select

Which images use filling the frame as a composition technique?

Select 2 that apply.

In today's lesson, we:

• distinguished between various composition techniques;

• described how different compositional techniques enhance the overall impact of a photograph; and

• identified the specific compositional techniques used in photographs.

Knowledge Check...

Multiple Choice

Which photographs use leading lines to draw the viewer's attention to the subject?

Select 2 that apply.

Multiple Select

What are ways a photographer can fill the frame to compose a photograph?

Select 2 that apply.

• enlarge the subject so that distracting elements are not seen

• enlarge the subject so that it extends out of the image frame

• have a lot of different elements that fill up the whole image frame

• fill the frame with competing patterns

Categorize

Options (6)

draws the viewer's eyes to the subject of the image and can be human-made or formed naturally

eliminates distracting elements, possibly by letting the positive space of the subject take up

divides the image frame into three equal portions vertically and horizontally

Match each definition with its term and photo.

Leading Lines

Filling the Frame

Rule of Thirds

​Questions?