Principles of Composition

Elements of Art Principles of Design

Line Balance
Shape Unity
Color Movement / Rhythm
Value Emphasis
Texture Pattern
Space Contrast
Rule of Thirds
Rule of Thirds
Goal of the rule of thirds is to keep
your subject out of the direct center
of your composition

Most common form of composition

Most of the time, your subject will be

on top of one of the intersections
A. Aubrey Bodine - She Leans
A. Aubrey Bodine - She Leans
A. Aubrey Bodine - She Leans
Kent Reno - Greenwich Village 1973
Kent Reno - Greenwich Village 1973
Kyle Younge
Kyle Younge
Hanson - Sarah and Lauren at Lands End
A. Aubrey Bodine
Davidge Hall
 Hanson
York Fairgrounds, 2006
Leading Lines
Actual - Lines that physically exist

Implied - Lines that do not physically exist but are imag-

ined to be there.
- Line of sight (where someone is looking)
- Someone pointing
- Negative Space
Joselene Martin - A pedestrian bridge over the N2 Highway
Joselene Martin - A pedestrian bridge over the N2 Highway
Louis Stettner
Louis Stettner
 Hanson
Path through the Hill of Crosses, July 2006
 Lindsay G.
At least I called into question / Why we walk this route / What’s in it for me?
 Hanson
Seal Tank, National Zoo 2006
 Margaret Bourke-White
Bremen Cruise Ship, 1930
 Nathan Lerner
The Round House 1936
Fill The Frame
One subject in the entire composition

No negative Space

Telephoto lens or vey close to your subject matter

Loomis Dean Bill Engdahl
 Izzie G.
7th Grade, TLC 2009
 Ashley M.
8th Grade, TLC 2008
Abelardo Morell
Edges of the Frame
Purposefully using an edge / multiple edges to crop part
of your image.

This can be done to balance a print, frame in part of the

subject or just add curiosity to the viewer.
Thomas Micheal Alleman
Harry Callahan - chicago 1950
Connor C.
Hanson Sami C
Hay Bails, 2005 TLC 2010
 Hanson
Portland Headlight
Bill Hedrich Louis Stettner
Air Force Academy, 1959
Frame within a Frame
A subject within a frame

can be naturally created or man made

David Muench - Limestone Window, South Rim
 Marc Ribound
A Street in Old Beijing
Louis Stettner Kent Reno
John Loengard
Brassai
 Abelardo Morell
My Broken Glasses and Me
 Abelardo Morell
Old Travel Scrapbook, 2000
 Hanson
Kennebunkport, ME - June 2010
 Julia P.
High School Freshman, TLC 2009
Ernst Hass
Kyle Young
Light and Shadow
Creating dynamic compositions using strong light

Angle of the light will change the shadows

First hour - sunrise

Golden Hour / Magic Hour / Last Hour

- Refers to the last hour of sun, 15 minutes after
Jaromir Funke
Benedict Fernandez
Graham Nash Benedict Fernandez
Veterans’ Anti War Demonstration 1969
Christine D.
Alex N.
Haircut
Hanson
Cigar
Harry Callahan
Pattern / Texture
Pattern - Anything that repeats
- can be people, buildings, etc.

Texture - the way something feels

- In photography it is always implied texture
Abelardo Morell
Sana M.
 Kent Reno
San Francisco International Airport
Edwin Smith
Edwin Smith
Point of view
The angle and position of the camera in relation to the
ground

- Who’s viewpoint the image is being seen from

 Charles C. Ebbets
Lunch atop a skyscrapper
Abelardo Morell
Ernst Haas
Thomas Michael Alleman
Caroline C.
 Jonas Dovydenas
Iron Worker, Chicago 1969