Framing Photos

When it comes to framing your photos, there is one thing you must learn...

Composition!

Composition is the KEY to not only great looking shots, but also great paintings, video shots, drawings, etc. If you can master the art of composition, you can easily transfer it to many different mediums. It's like learning the notes in music. It is transferable to any other instrument.

There are many compositional techniques. The first thing to remember is that not all techniques work for certain situations. In some situations one technique will work great. In others it may not.

Rule of Thirds

Most people take shots dead center. It's a habit we have. Look around your area. Everything you look at is centered by your eyes. Either that or you move your head to center it. It's the way we operate. Taking pictures that way isn't the same.

If you took all your shots dead center you'd have a lot of boring shots.

To add spice, try moving your subject of interest off center. Move it to the left, right, top or bottom.

Leading Lines

Lines are everywhere. Knowing how to use them properly can make for much better shots. One such way is to have them lead to your subject of interest.

The photo above uses the leading lines to lead to the eggs in the front. The lines are made from the rows of eggs. Not all lines will be obvious lines. Sometimes you may need to be more creative.

Balance

Creating a balanced shot can be great for photography. There are two types of balance you can make:

Symmetrical and Asymmetrical.

Symmetrical balance is like this, when you cut the shot down the middle it looks identical on both sides. This doesn't have to be exactly identical. Interesting pictures that use this are shots with two people doing the exact stance. They have different features and faces but they are symmetrical.

Asymmetrical balance is more complex. It's a balance of the photo overall. For example, look at the shot below. The Eiffel Tower is balanced with the orange colored sky on its left.