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Four composition mistake every photographer should avoid

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There are lots of “rules” when it comes to composition. Guidelines that are great starting points for those just starting out. Adhering to these rules does not mean you will create a masterpiece every time, though. Nor does breaking them mean your photos will suck. But there are some aesthetic things that these “rules” often tend to not mention.

In this video, photographer Evan Ranft talks us through 4 common composition mistakes that every photographer makes. He’s made them, I’ve certainly made them. You, too, either have or will make them at some point in your photography journey. But they can be avoided, if you can spot when you’re doing them.

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3 composition tips to instantly improve your photos

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Good composition is one of the key elements of what we’d call a good photo. Sometimes, it’s what turns a decent photo into a great photo. In this video, Peter McKinnon shares three composition tips that will help you improve your photos instantly. Other than newbies, I believe all those who feel they need to work on composition will find it useful

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Breaking down masterful composition of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photos

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We can learn a lot about photography by observing and analyzing the works of the masters. Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of my favorite photographers of all times, the master of the decisive moment.  Although he thought of photography as “immediate reaction,” he managed to combine prompt reaction with great composition.

In his two-part video series, photographer Tavis Leaf Glover was focused particularly on composition in Cartier-Bresson’s photos. He decomposes some of his images to show how masterfully used the principles of dynamic symmetry and geometry. If you want to learn from the master, these two videos are certainly something to watch.

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How To Compose Your Street Photography Like A Painter

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You may have heard that photography is also referred to as “painting with light”. However, would you consider yourself a light painter so far? If not, let’s change that real quick to massively improve your street photography composition!

The difference between photographers and painters is that painters add elementsand photographers reduce them. When you hit the streets, your “canvas” is already filled with all sorts of elements on the street: subjects, sceneries, cars, trash bins, billboards, street lights, people in the background and so on. Your challenge is to kick as many unimportant elements out of your frame as possible.

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10 beginner tips to up your photo game and improve your work

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No matter how experienced we may get as photographers, there are always ways to improve. Sometimes it’s learning something new. At other times it’s simply seeing something in a new way. Occasionally, it’s just getting reminders to help us lose bad habits that might make us screw up.

The folks at Mango Street have been putting out some quite cool videos recently, with some great advice to help with this. In their new video, they offer up 10 tips to take your photos “from BASIC to BOSS”. They pooled some of their professional photographer friends to see what tips they had to offer. I don’t quite agree with all of them, though.

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How to use complementary backgrounds to make subjects pop

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In the studio, making your subjects stand out from their background is relatively straightforward. Because you have control over everything. You choose what goes behind them, what lights you use, and where they go. Outdoors, though, these options aren’t always available to us. We have to work with what our environment provides. So, how can we get some separation between our subject and their background on location?

In this video from photographer Moose Winans, we hear what’s going through his mind when photographing things outdoors. What he’s looking for, and how he finds it. Some of it is backgrounds that complement the primary subject from a compositional standpoint. Other tips include using brightness and contrast to your advantage to make your subjects stand out.

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How focal length AND subject distance affect your headshots

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We’ve all seen the animations showing “how focal length affects your subject“. Whenever one gets posted, the smart ones chime in with “It’s nothing to do with your focal length, it’s all about subject distance”. And, they’re right. The confusion really all comes down to equivalent framing of the subject. If you stay where you are and just change focal length, nothing happens to the distortion in your subject’s face. They just get smaller or larger in the frame.

But, if you want to keep your subject the same size regardless of lens used, you have to move. With a longer lens you go further away. With a shorter one, you have to get closer. To illustrate this, the folks at Fstoppers have put a video together showing how the two work in combination with each other. The correlation between changing focal length and subject distance.

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Change your perspective: how to add drama and power to your shots using low angle

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Composition is one of the crucial elements of photography. It’s a powerful tool to express the idea and communicate your message. In this video, Ted Forbes focuses on low angle photography, how it works and what it communicates. He also presents useful ideas for combining points of view and getting dramatic, powerful and unique shots.

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Geometric Shots: a fun way to explore composition patterns from famous movies and TV shows

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Photographers can learn about composition from movies and TV shows, and a Twitter account Comp Cam: Geometric is a wonderful example of this. They have recently released Geometric Shots: a searchable database of composition breakdowns from movies and TV shows. You’ll love it if you like exploring composition, no matter if you are a photographer, videographer, or just a fan of movies and TV series.

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