Don't Make These Photography Composition Mistakes!

Every photo is different and there are a lot of important factors that influence the composition. Just positioning your subject according to the Rule of Thirds or Golden Ratio doesn’t always work!

So, here are five composition tips to follow and mistakes you should try to avoid. If you don’t want to read. Just check out the video on my YouTube channel.

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1. Composition tells the story

There are two kinds of composition: Dynamic and static. Photos with a static composition communicate tranquility or sadness. Photos lots of diagonal lines are dynamic compositions and the lines emphasise movement. It's important to know when to use either one because composition helps to express your vision and tell the story of the photo.

You've probably heard many times not to put the subject in the centre of the frame but it all depends on what you want to communicate. What do you want the viewer to feel? Maybe you want to strip a scene from that dynamic feeling because the subject or story asks for it.

2. You can’t let go of the rules

I don’t apply the Rule of Thirds or the Golden Ratio consciously. I try to compose everything to create balance. Sometimes, you can only create that balance by moving your subject to the left or right and not exactly according to the rules.

It’s something you have to learn by doing. At some point, you’re not going to think about the rules anymore when photographing. It doesn’t mean you have to forget the rules of composition. Just use them as guidelines.

3. Simplify you composition

A mistake beginners make, is wanting to include too many elements. There has to be something of interest in the foreground. There has to be subject with an interesting event in the background. Let’s add some other objects and items in the frame to make it even more complicated. Stop doing that and just simplify your composition. It will result it better photos that tell the story better.

4. Move your feet

This is simple. Always be aware of what you’re photographing. Make sure the background is perfect and that you subject is positioned perfectly. If not, don’t be afraid to move. Just taking a few steps to the left or right could improve the composition of your photos.

5. Crop your photos!

It’s OK to crop your photos. You don’t have to make a perfect shot on location every time. If cropping a photo improves the composition, then go for it. Don’t think that it will make you a bad photographer. Sometimes, you don’t have time to think about composition when your photographing an action and you have to react in a split second.