Probably one of the most well known ‘rules’ of composition, the basic principle behind this is to break the image into thirds both horizontally and vertically. Then, the goal would be to have the subject of focus land somewhere in the the intersections of those lines.

After you’ve mastered the Rule of Thirds, you can try experimenting with breaking it intentionally for some striking shots. But, it takes a lot of practice to be successful with that.

Leading lines is a composition technique that uses lines and shapes to lead the viewer’s eye to the intended subject. Our natural inclination as humans are to look at lines and follow where they go, so this is a great technique to capture attention.

Some examples of leading lines:

• Roads
• Rivers
• Bridges
• Pathways
• Shorelines
• Trees
• Dunes
• Waves
• Long Hallways

A symmetrical image really grabs the viewers attention, while a break in the symmetry finishes the deal. Some types of symmetry include vertical (long hallways, roads), horizontal (architecture, reflections), and radial (flowers, circles).

You can include patterns as a type of symmetry as well, especially if they repeat. The human eye loves both symmetry and patterns!

Another great way to draw your viewers in is by adding depth and contrast by way of framing your subject with another frame.

By using doorways, arches, and trees/plants you can do something called foreground framing where your subject is framed.

Another interesting technique called background framing is to have something in the background frame your subject. This is a bit harder to pull off but after some practice, it can produce some magical shots!

Horizontal lines are everywhere in our photos and are useful tool in creating spectacular images. Some examples of horizontal lines are the actual horizon, lines from architecture, and street lines.

You can use the sky horizon as a stabilizing element of the photo, but just try to place the horizon above or below center (rule of thirds) for a more interesting shot.

You can also try using other techniques like leading lines into a horizon (rows of lavender fields into a blue sky), breaking the horizon with perpendicular lines, using horizontal lines to frame (frame within a frame), and horizontal line as a reflection (symmetry).

Playing with perspective is a fun way to deliver a sense of scale or depth to the viewer.

Moving Up and Down

Try taking a photo of your subject from above or below to create an exaggerated scale. But if the distortion is too much, you can try going up vertically to take a straight on shot, like of a building for example.

Moving Left and Right

Try take a couple steps left or right to find different perspectives. For example, maybe there’s some tree branches to the left of you that you could use as framing for the subject (frame within a frame).

A powerful way of storytelling is to shoot the subject from the point of view of the photographer. The viewer then is able to ‘walk in your shoes’ and feel like they’re in the moment with you.