With all of the gorgeous new gadgetry coming out this season, it’s easy to get caught up in the shiny, techy part of photography. (New Nikon D810, anyone? Or a Canon 7D Mark II? Or the sweet new GoPro Hero4 Black?) Lest you fall into the terrible hole of DSLR expectations vs. reality, though, we’ve got a video for you today from CG artist Andrew Price, who’s here to talk about the basics of understanding composition:
Composition: Basic Elements
Price defines composition here as “arranging elements in a scene in a pleasing and easy-to-read manner.” He explains that there are three parts of successful composition: focal element, structure, and balance.
I. Focal Element
The focal element of an image is simply something that the viewer is drawn to immediately upon seeing the image. Oftentimes, an image is difficult to read or distracting because it either lacks a focal element, which bores the viewer. Or, it has too many focal elements, which leaves the eye bouncing around the image without a point of focus.

Example of an image with no clear focal element. Created by Andrew Price.
Example of an image with too many focal elements.
There are several ways to successfully create and influence focal elements in imagery:
Natural Focal Elements
- High Contrast
- Saturation
- Camera Focus/Depth of Field
- Motion
- Faces or Figures
Focal Element Influencers
- Guiding Lines
- Framing
- Geometry
The same image from above, with saturation used to create a clear focal element.
An image created by Tamas Medve illustrating successful use of natural focal elements and focal element influencers.
II. Structure
Another basic element of composition is structure. Structure is the organization of elements based on a rule. There are various types used in imagery: the rule of thirds, the golden ratio, pyramid composition, symmetry, and full frame.
1. The Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is simple a method by which an image is divided into thirds along the horizontal and vertical axes. Important elements in the composition are then placed along the intersection points or axis lines. This method is a simplification of the golden ratio. Price notes that it’s important not to become a slave to using the rule of thirds, and that having important elements relatively close to point intersections is generally sufficient to get an aesthetically pleasing composition.
The Rule of Thirds in action. Photo by “The U.S. Army” (Flickr).
2. The Golden Ratio
Oh, the golden ratio. We’ve written about it here before, and you are probably somewhat familiar with it. I could nerd out on the golden ratio all day, but briefly described, it’s a mathematical division of space found throughout nature that happens to work well in creating images. It’s worth noting that there are crop options in Photoshop for both the rule of thirds and the golden ratio, if you’re not great at seeing them when composing an image.
Successful use of the golden ratio. Image created by James Gardner.
3. Pyramid Composition
Based on a pyramid within the image, this type of structure is good for creating striking figures in portraiture.
Use of pyramid composition. Created by Reinier Reynhout.
4. Symmetry
Another relatively basic concept here: symmetry involves mirroring a subject along horizontal and/or vertical axes in the image. Price notes that this is often used to create strong architectural compositions.
Mirror image composition. Photograph of the Taj Mahal by Francisco Martins.
5. Full Frame
The most basic structural idea here: a single subject fills the entire frame. There aren’t any other compositional elements.
Full frame composition. Photograph by Andrew Morrell.
Balance
Successful use of balance means that the visual weight of the image is evenly distributed. Several factors can influence visual weight:
- Size
- High Contrast
- Saturation
- Faces
- Figures
Price notes that a good way to check for balance within an image is to do a “squint test”–either turn up the contrast and blur in an image editing program to see if any elements really stand out, or simply squint your eyes to achieve the same effect.
Example of an unbalanced composition by Andrew Price. The eye is drawn to the lighted figure, while other compositional details are ignored.
The “squint test” shows where the weight of the image lies. Created by Andrew Price.
An example of a balanced composition, created by Stefan Morrell: balanced contrast on top and bottom of image create an even visual weight, while a silhouetted figure in the foreground counterbalances the strong presence of the robot in the background.
We’ve discussed a couple of basic compositional elements and their sub-elements here. Try to keep these concepts in your head when you go out on your next photographic adventure; we wish you good luck and great success!
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