How to see compositions everywhere
Are you looking to take better pictures? In all likelihood, the element of photography you find most difficult is composition, as this is the final mountain most photographers struggle to climb. Composition is what separates an average photographer from a truly great one. In this blogpost, I’ll share one of the most important ways methods I used to start seeing compositions everywhere, and how you can copy me.
“Composition is king,” as the saying goes. Getting it right is not so easy though - Llyn Efyrnwy, Wales
The easy mistake
"Do you find yourself saying “That’ll make a nice picture,” only for it to be struggle to actually turn into something that looks good. This is the problem with composition: you can probably see opportunities for good pictures, but not necessarily how to make them good compositions. This is generally because of one common mistake: trying to include too much.
When we first stumble upon a potential photo scene, we might see a lot of things that we could include: an interesting branch, a beautiful cloud, a colourful flower etc. This issue with this, is, that the main subject gets lost. If you find an interesting subject worthy of photographing, then the temptation can be to “complement” it with what surrounds it. What results is, generally, a very busy, messy scene.
For example:
Secret location, Wales
This image has all the elements you’d expect in a “good” photo: an interesting subject, dynamic light, atmospheric cloud inversion, colour. However, all of these elements have been crammed into the scene, and as a result, has created a complicated image. Don’t get me wrong, its not a bad photo. It’s just not composed as well as it could be.
How to solve it
Having established the problem, then, what can you do about it? Simplify.
Simplification is something we are all trying to improve no matter how long we’ve been taking photos. The ability to take a scene and render it down to it’s bare minimum components is what makes a photographer truly great. Look at all of the greats: no matter their style, no matter their niche, every one of them created simple, elegant images.
Secret location, Wales
This is the exact same subject as the previous image. This time, however, it has been stripped to its simplest form. It still has a lot of the same elements: interesting subject, dynamic light, atmosphere. But all of these elements have been composed in a way that complement rather than distracting from each other.
Here’s what you should take away: when you find an interesting subject to photograph, make it your aim to present that subject in its simplest, purest form. That’s likely the best image you can take of it.
