How to create great pictures using 10 basic rules.

1. Photography and
Graphic Manipulation
By Laurie Gagne
Survey of Instructional Technology

2. Photographic rules of
composition and framing
The following photographs are
examples of the 10 rules for creating
well photographed pictures.

3. Centered with Headroom
This is my beautiful step daughter Jessica (who loves to
fish with her dad). Notice that she is centered (with her
fish) in the center of the frame.

4. The Rule of Thirds
Imagine that your image is divided into
9 equal segments by 2 vertical and 2
horizontal lines. The rule of thirds says
that you should position the most
important elements in your scene
along these lines, or at the points
where they intersect.
Doing so will add balance and interest
to your photo. Some cameras even
offer an option to superimpose a rule
of thirds grid over the LCD
screen, making it even easier to use.
The basketball and the lay-up is the
focus of this shot. My son’s hand and
the basketball are the focus.

5. Another “Rule of Thirds” Photo
This photo exhibits
the practice of
framing a shot using
the “rule of thirds”
concept to give the
subjects “talking
room

6. VIEWPOINT
Before photographing your subject, take time to think about
where you will shoot it from. Our viewpoint has a massive
impact on the composition of our photo, and as a result it
can greatly affect the message that the shot conveys. Rather
than just shooting from eye level, consider photographing
from high above, down at ground level, from the side, from
the back, from a long way away, from very close up, and so
on.

7. Extreme Wide Shot (AKA = EWS)
The view is so far from the subject
that he isn't even visible.
Often used as an establishing shot.

8. Very Wide Shot
(AKA = VWS)
The subject is
visible but the
emphasis is still
on placing him in
his environment

9. Wide Shot
AKA =Long Shot
The subject takes
up the full frame,
or at least as much
as comfortably
possible. This is
know as a Long
Shot.
My son (Colton) is
the subject in this
photo. Notice he is
closer now but you
can still see his
whole body in the
picture.

10. Mid Shot
Shows some part
of the subject in
more detail while
still giving an
impression of the
whole subject.
Notice that now
you can only see
half of his body

11. Medium
Close Up
This shot falls
halfway between a
Mid Shot and a
Close Up. You can
see even more
detail in the
subject with very
little of the
background area.

12. Close Up
A certain
feature or
part of the
subject
takes up the
whole frame

13. The Extreme
Close Up
This shot gets
extremely
close to the
subject and
focuses on
“one” feature.

14. The Eye
Level Shot
Eye-Level: This is
the most common
view, being the
real-world angle
that we are all
used to. It shows
subjects as we
would expect to
see them in real
life. It is a fairly
neutral shot.

15. Low
Angle
This shows the
subject from
below, giving
them the
impression of
being more
powerful or
dominant.

16. High
Angle
A high angle
shows the
subject from
above, i.e. the
camera is
angled down
towards the
subject.

17. Using LINES
When considering the
composition of an image
one of the elements that
can produce good
pictures is using “lines”.
The lines that can be
found in images are very
powerful elements that
with a little practice can
add dynamic impact to a
photograph in terms of
mood as well as how
they lead an image’s
viewer into a photo.
Lines lead the viewer
into the scene.

18. Using
LINES
When we look at a photo
our eye is naturally
drawn along lines. By
thinking about how you
place lines in your
composition, you can
affect the way we view
the image, pulling us
into the picture, towards
the subject, or on a
journey "through" the
scene. There are many
different types of line -
straight, diagonal, curvy,
zigzag, radial etc - and
each can be used to
enhance our photo's
composition.

19. Using Natural Framing
The world is full of
objects which make
perfect natural frames,
such as trees, archways
and holes. By placing
these around the edge of
the composition you help
to isolate the main
subject from the outside
world. The result is a
more focused image
which draws your eye
naturally to the main
point of interest.
Petit Jean

20. Creating
Depth
Because photography is a
two-dimensional
medium, we have to choose
our composition carefully to
conveys the sense of depth
that was present in the
actual scene. You can
create depth in a photo by
including objects in the
foreground, middle ground
and background. Another
useful composition
technique is
overlapping, where you
deliberately partially
obscure one object with
Petit Jean Gravesite
another. The human eye
naturally recognizes these
layers and mentally
separates them
out, creating an image with
more depth.

21. Using Symmetry and Patterns
We are surrounded by
symmetry and
patterns, both natural
and man-made., They
can make for very eye-
catching
compositions, particularl
y in situations where
they are not expected.
Another great way to use
them is to break the
symmetry or pattern in
some way, introducing
tension and a focal point
to the scene.

22. Don’t lose your picture in the background
How many times have you
taken what you thought
would be a great shot, only to
find that the final image lacks
impact because the subject
blends into a busy
background? The human eye
is excellent at distinguishing
between different elements in
a scene, whereas a camera
has a tendency to flatten the
foreground and background,
and this can often ruin an
otherwise great photo.
Thankfully this problem is
usually easy to overcome at
the time of shooting - look
around for a plain and
unobtrusive background and This snake on the walking trail gets lost in the
compose your shot so that it background. The hiker can see him but the viewer
doesn't distract or detract of the picture has difficulty picking him out.
from the subject.

23. Cropping out the
non-important content
Often a photo will lack
impact because the
main subject is so
small it becomes lost
among the clutter of
its surroundings. By
cropping tight around
the subject you
eliminate the
background "noise",
ensuring the subject
gets the viewer's
undivided attention.

24. Feel Free to Experiment…
You can always hit “DELETE”
Since the invention of the digital camera, we no
longer have to worry about film processing costs
or running out of shots. As a result,
experimenting with our photos' composition has
become a real possibility; we can fire off tons of
shots and delete the unwanted ones later at
absolutely no extra cost. Take advantage of this
fact and experiment with your composition - you
never know whether an idea will work until you
try it.