Easy Photography Composition Tips for Beginners
Embarking on a photography journey can feel overwhelming at the best of times with all the technical terms and complexities of camera equipment. However, one of the quickest ways to see immediate results for improvement in your photos is by understanding elemental composition, regardless of whether you’re taking pictures with your phone, tablet, or camera.
What is Composition?
Composition refers to how you arrange the elements in your photo.
Consider reviewing some of your photos or looking at other examples, and pay attention to the composition. When I did this exercise for the first time years ago, I was happy about the emotion I captured. However, I discovered recurring themes such as:
My main subject was in the center of the frame most of the time.
The horizon line dissected a landscape scene in half.
The horizon line, or any aspect of the photo, was sometimes crooked.
The background was often cluttered, or there was distracting “stuff” in the photo.
The image was a typical point-and-shoot, more often than not, and lacked intentional composing.
Bird composition with the subject in the center of the frame.
A landscape composition example with an off-level horizon line.
A casual attitude toward photography composition resulted in streetlights and trees creating a cluttered foreground.
A typical point-and-shoot landscape composition before incorporating one of the easy photography composition tips for photographers. Although it captures the scene, it feels cluttered, the background is not simplified, and there is no singling out to highlight one prairie crocus.
The good news is you don’t need to be a pro to begin creating stunning photos!
I’ll share five essential photography composition tips designed to help you make the most of your camera, simplify your shots, and focus on what truly matters - the story you want to tell with your pictures.
Are you ready to improve your photos?
Let’s explore these game-changing, quick, and easy photography tips for beginners. With just a few adjustments, you’ll be on your way to elevating your photos to the next level and capturing memories that truly stand out!
5 Easy Photography Composition Tips for Beginners:
#1. Rule of Thirds.
Rule of thirds is a common photography term relating to composition. However, it’s not a hard and fast rule as it is a guideline to strengthen your skills for more compelling and pleasing compositions.
If you divide your frame into nine equal parts using two horizontal and two vertical lines, and position your subject along these lines or at their intersections, you are implementing the rule of thirds.
The result helps create balance and naturally draws the viewer’s gaze to your subject.
When experimenting with the rule of thirds in photography, begin by positioning your subject off-center, either side to side, top to bottom, or a combination of both.
An example of bird composition using the rule of thirds as a guideline. Additionally, the space on the left utilizes the photography tip of giving your subject breathing space as there’s “room to move” within the scene
An example of using the rule of thirds for bird composition includes a sense of anticipation to capture action and the unique behavior when feeding on the berries.
Following the rule of thirds guidelines, a bighorn sheep has “room to move” as he gazes to the left side of the scene where there is intentional empty, or negative, space.
#2. Leading Lines.
The use of leading lines helps to:
Easily and intentionally direct the viewer’s gaze to a specific focal point.
Leading lines add depth and even movement to the image.
Lines can be found in nature by utilizing a river, branch, or pathway, for example.
Architecture often provides an abundance of leading lines in photography.
Using train tracks as a leading line to lead to the horizon in the distance visually.
A photography composition tip using a soft-flowing waterfall as a leading line throughout the landscape scene. The feathery appearance is created by incorporating shutter speed for slow motion.
A path serves as a leading line, guiding the viewer’s gaze through the scene from the foreground to the background.
See how many leading lines you can find as you go about your day or when exploring and having fun with your camera. They may be as close as your garden or backyard, a walk in the neighborhood, or when you’re on your dream vacation.
#3. Framing to Isolate Your Subject.
Consider how you can use elements within a scene to frame your subject.
Implementing structures such as windows and arches and being alert when in nature will help you discover and find elements to frame your subject.
Look for opportunities to use framing and draw attention to your subject.
When out in nature, experiment and have fun finding ways to use framing.
A Canada Jay is compositionally framed using tree boughs to draw attention to it as the subject.
A section of a fence provides framing for composition in a frost-laden scene. Additionally, Tip#2, Leading Lines, applies, as the fence on the left acts somewhat as a block to guide the gaze to follow it.
An example of compositionally framing a landscape scene as the tress guide the view to immerse into the scene.
Consider framing to isolate your subject, strengthen your compositions for a more immersive experience, and add context and variety to your photos.
#4. Negative Space.
Negative space is accomplished by leaving an empty space around your subject, which:
Helps to create a feeling of openness.
Creates a sense of balance.
Adds a sense of calm and simplicity to your image.
Makes your subject stand out.
A simplified surrounding with only a coyote in the field creates a sense of simplicity and makes the subject stand out by implementing the negative space photography composition tip.
A Franklin’s Gull surrounded by negative space. Birds can be an excellent subject for beginner photography composition practice when photographed in flight with no competing additional elements, such as trees, shrubs, and large flocks.
Incorporating the frozen lake for negative space composition creates a strong visual impact while invoking a sense of peacefulness, calm, and wonder. The placement almost contradicts the rule of thirds but provides an example of how you, as the photographer, choose how you want to compose your scene or subject.
Practicing with empty space around your subject is another way to elevate your composition photography skills, invoke emotion, leave no doubt about your subject's identity, and make your pictures stand out from the crowd.
#5. Simplify the Background.
Simplify the Background is one of my favorite easy photography composition tips for beginners because it can be quick to implement immediately. It may be as easy as:
Clearing dirty dishes or glasses off a table.
Paying attention to and avoiding cluttered backgrounds.
Moving people a few feet in one direction or the other to a clean-looking space.
Being aware of random tree branches, thick foliage, and “busy” backgrounds that cause distractions.
Using the camera aperture setting to creatively blur (bokeh)and soften background distractions in nature and wildlife photography to have your subject stand out.
A pair of Canada Geese take flight against a simplified background that could have been distracting and camouflage the main subject.
A moose on the marsh’s edge is highlighted in its environment with a creative bokeh (blur). While seeing the willows and trees in detailed autumn splendor is beautiful, they could contribute to a cluttered-feeling result.
Delicate strands of a spider web in the foliage stand out because of the use of simplified background tips for beginner photography composition.
As you begin improving your beginner photography composition skills, look for areas with the fewest distractions to make your subject stand out as the obvious focus point of your story. Additionally, understanding and creatively using the aperture setting to create a shallow depth of field is an excellent way to simplify the background. For an introduction, please see Aperture Basics for Photographers.
In photography, a shallow depth of field refers to intentionally blurring areas within a scene. All image examples in the Simplify the Background composition tip incorporate a shallow depth of field with blur, which creates more compelling photos and stronger compositions by making the subject stand out.
As you review each of the easy composition tips for beginners, you’ll discover how some overlap. For example, negative space overlaps with simplify the background, and the rule of thirds applies to all five easy photography composition tips.