I taught a private lesson today and it made me re-visit the photography basics. Fundamentals are needed in every regime. Sports teams athletes drill the fundamentals almost on a daily basis. So, why shouldn’t photographers?

Let’s take a look at composition.

In the first image I’ve carved the canvas into thirds(give or take)both vertically and horizontally. Unfortunately, most photographers place their subjects dead center and composition takes a back seat. But, remember that a viewers eyes are drawn to the areas where the lines converge. So, look at the composition of the next two images. The subject’s head is placed in the upper left area of convergence in the 2nd image. The viewer’s eyes naturally are led to the subject’s face. The slight tilting also creates a diagonal that leads the eye from the bottom right area back up to the face, too.

The third image places the subject’s right eye in the upper right area of convergence. It’s a much more interesting composition than the dead on composition of most photographers.

Don’t forget to capture moments along with great composition and lighting(future blogs).

In the fourth image I composed with the subject’s head in the upper left area of convergence with the subject’s body in the left vertical third. It’s my oldest son and I threatened to reveal a horribly embarrassing story. The threat worked and he gave a reaction that I was looking for. I have pretty good lighting, good strong composition and a nice moment. Voila, a strong photo!

Finally, I have a simple photo of the full moon. I just placed the moon in the upper right area of convergence and the result is a strong composition rather than a center-weighted image that isn’t quite there. Enjoy!