What is composition?

Composition refers to the way a photo is constructed or planned to make the biggest possible impact.

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Composition rules are ingredients that a photographer may use. But just like a chef wouldn’t use all of the ingredients in his pantry in one meal, a photographer won’t use every composition technique in one photograph.

• RULE OF THIRDS
• REPETITION
• ANGLE
• STRONG SUBJECT / FILLING THE FRAME
• FRAMING
• LEADING LINES
• SELECTIVE FOCUS

Rule of Thirds

• If you divide your picture into a tic-tac-toe board, your subject should NOT be located in the center square

Bushra Ghafoor, R.B. Hayes High School

Daisy Marquez, Maize (Kan.) High School

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The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas

Rule of Thirds

Take five interesting, well-focused photographs in auto mode that demonstrate rule of thirds.

Repetition

• A repeating pattern works well to emphasize your subject.
• A little bit of variance (changing it up) within the repetition is even better.

Aysen Tan, Foothill Dragon Press

The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas

Shawnee Mission West High School Publications

Repetition

Take eight (or more) interesting, well-focused photographs in auto mode that demonstrate REPETITION.

Shoot all photos LANDSCAPE.

Indoors or outdoors at Strath Haven High School

No gym access

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Review of Rule of Thirds + Repetition

Select one photograph from the Rule of Thirds album and one photograph from the Repetition album. Copy and paste these two photographs into Google Docs.

For one photograph, write a creative story in no more than a paragraph about what might be happening in the photograph.

For one photograph, discuss the composition and subject matter decisions that the photographer made in no more than a paragraph. What made you choose the photograph, and why?

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Angle

• If you can change the angle or viewpoint of your photograph, you automatically make it more interesting.

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• Changing the angle does NOT mean tilting the camera. Zoom + focus with your feet and position!

Bird’s eye view

Bryant High School Publications

Worm’s eye view

Bryant High School Publications

Bryant High School Publications

Angle

Take eight (or more) interesting, well-focused photographs in auto mode that demonstrate creative use of ANGLE.

Four or more of your photos should include one or more person(s).

Shoot all photos LANDSCAPE.

Indoors or outdoors at Strath Haven High School.

Use our naming convention to submit.

No gym access. No access to areas where students or teachers would have presumed confidentiality. Remember your photography agreement!

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Strong subject

(or “filling the frame”)

• Photos that emphasize this compositional skill should have a strong, dominant focal point and/or center of interest.
• Keep your background simple to avoid distractions.
• Whenever possible—aim for candid, not posed, when people are your subject matter.

Samantha Terrell, Maize (Kan.) High School

Bryant High School Publications

The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas

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Strong subject

(or “filling the frame”)

• With no repetition from the Angles prompt, take FOUR interesting, well-focused photographs in auto mode that demonstrate the concept of STRONG SUBJECT.
• Shoot all photos LANDSCAPE.
• Indoors or outdoors at SHHS
• Use our naming convention to submit.

No gym access. No access to areas where students or teachers would have presumed confidentiality. Remember your photography agreement!

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• RULE OF THIRDS
• REPETITION
• ANGLE
• STRONG SUBJECT / FILLING THE FRAME
• FRAMING
• LEADING LINES
• SELECTIVE FOCUS

Framing

• Use natural, unstaged elements to create a frame or border around the subject of the photo, so your audience knows exactly what your focus is.

Aysen Tan, Foothill Dragon Press

Molly Johnson, Blue Valley High School

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The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas

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Framing

Take (3) photographs that demonstrate the composition skill of framing.

Submit these photographs with a document that explains how and why you chose to frame your subject, as well as any other composition skills in play. (1-2 sentences for each photograph.)

Use our naming convention to submit.

No gym access. NO THEATRE ACCESS. No access to areas where students or teachers would have presumed confidentiality. Remember your photography agreement!

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Leading lines

• Natural / environmental lines in a photo can direct a viewer’s focus to the photo’s subject.

The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas

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Bryant High School Publications

Leading lines

• Take (3) photographs that demonstrate the composition skill of leading lines.
• Submit these photographs with a document that explains how and why you composed your subject with leading lines, as well as any other composition skills in play. (1-2 sentences for each photograph.)
• Use our naming convention to submit.

• RULE OF THIRDS
• REPETITION
• ANGLE
• STRONG SUBJECT
• FRAMING
• LEADING LINES
• SELECTIVE FOCUS

Use the PEOPLE and PLASTIC BALLS to create one DEMONSTRATION SAMPLE PHOTOGRAPH of each one of the photography composition rules.

Each photograph should be CRISP, CLEARLY FOCUSED, WELL LIT, and a VERY CLEAR DEMONSTRATION of each compositional element.

Submit your photographs as:

1.LASTNAME-[COMPOSITIONAL ELEMENT]-NUMBER.jpg

2. As a SLIDESHOW with each compositional element DEFINED.

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Selective focus

• When a photographer narrows a picture’s depth of field so that only part of the picture is in focus, it draws attention to that particular area.
• Photographers use APERTURE to control the depth of field
• This concept works well with ANY of the other compositional elements!

Aysen Tan, Foothill Dragon Press

Brittani Casement, Maize (Kan.) High School

The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas

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Selective focus

• Use selective focus / shallow depth of field to capture a sense of EMOTION in four photographs. These can be in a sequence or individual.
• Shoot in AV mode and use the adjustment wheel to adjust lighting if needed.
• Use our naming convention to submit.

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BE READY FOR A COMPOSITION RULES QUIZ ON TUESDAY!

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From TIME Top 100 Photos of the Year, 2017

A boy rides his bike past destroyed cars and houses in a neighborhood recently liberated by Iraqi security forces on the western side of Mosul on March 19.

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Buffalo Bills players take a knee prior to a game against the Oakland Raiders in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Oct. 29.

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Afghan boys sleep in an abandoned train wagon next to the main rail station in Belgrade, Serbia, on Jan. 12.

3

Barron Trump looks out from President Trump's motorcade during his father's inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20.

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From National Scholastic Press Association’s 2018 Photo of the Year Contest

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(These were shot by high school students.)

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