4 Rules of Composition for Landscape Photography:
While I’m not always a fan of sticking strictly to the ‘rules’ or‘guidelines’ of photography I think they can be well worth knowing and keepingin the back of your mind as you shoot (whether it’s so you can follow them orbreak them for effect). Here’s four ‘rules’ for landscape photography thatmight be helpful for those just starting out (ie they’re not meant as adefinitive guide but rather a starting point) :
1. Diagonal Lines
Using diagonal lines can be a very effective way of drawing the eye of thoseviewing an image into it and to the main focal point.
The ‘lines’ need not be actual lines – they could be the shape of a path, aline of trees, a fence, river or any other feature in an image.
Converginglines (two or more lines coming from different parts of an image to asingle point) can be all the more effective.
Read more about using Diagonal Lines in your digital photography.
2. Geometric Shapes
By positioning key aspects of a landscape on points of a geometric shape youcan help create a balanced composition. Perhaps the most common and easiest wayto do this is to use a ‘triangle’ shape between objects in an image with threeobjects in a frame positioned with one to each side and one more central.
Using Geometric Shapes in this way isn’t something that I’ve done a lot of –but it is one technique to get balance in a shot and if you’re clever, to leadthe eye into it (in a similar way to the diagonal lines rule above).
You can see this illustrated (to a point) in the photomontage image to theright.
3. The Rule of Thirds
The Rule of Thirds gets trotted out more often than any other in all typesof photography and is one of the first rules of composition taught to mostphotography students. While sometimes it can feel a little cliche it can alsobe a very effective technique in landscapes (although keep in mind thatbreaking this (and other rules) can also produce dramatic and interestingshots).
Position key points of interest in a landscape on the intersecting pointbetween imaginary ‘third’ points in an image and you’ll help give your imagebalance and help those focal points to really capture attention.
Read more about using the Rule of Thirdsin composing your shots.
4. Framing Images
While addingpoints of interest to a foreground is an important technique for addinginterest to landscape shots – a similar technique is to ‘frame’ the shot byadding interest to other parts of the edges of an image.
Perhaps the most common way of framing a landscape shot is to include anoverhanging branch in the upper section of a shot. Similarly framing a shotwith a bridge might work.
Read more about Framing Images
Rules are Made to Be Broken?
Of course while knowing the rules can be important – knowing when to usethem and when to break them is a talent that great photographers generallyhave.
Practice these techniques – but don’t get so worked up about them that theykill the creativity that you have.
Let me finish with a quote about Rules of Photography from PhotographerEdward Weston to help give us a little balance on the topic:
“To consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a littlelike consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk. Such rules andlaws are deduced from the accomplished fact; they are the products ofreflection.”
