The rules of composition are not rules. The rules of composition are guidelines, ideas, things that we can use to help us. But you need to know what the rules of composition are so you know which rules you are going to use, if any. You don’t have to use the rules of composition, and you will never use all of them. Certainly not in the same photo, but you will see why, so don’t worry. Find the ones that work for you, and they can help you get better compositions. And better compositions make better photos.
In this episode, I will tell you more about the rules of composition, list all the ones I can think of, and then tell you which ones I use, and why.
How utterly splendid.
You can listen to the episode here
Or keep on reading – entirely up to you.
Hi, and a very warm welcome to Episode 202 of the Photography Explained podcast. I’m your host, Rick, and in each episode, I will try to explain one photographic thing to you in plain English in less than 27 minutes (ish) without the irrelevant details. Yes really.
I’m a professionally qualified photographer based in England with a lifetime of photographic experience, which I share with you in my splendid podcast.
First – a quick recap
What is composition?
Composition is what you include in a photo. And what you do not include in a photo. The subject matter, the other things in the composition, and how they relate to each other.
And, of course, what the light is doing.
What are the fundamentals of composition (in my opinion)?
- Subject matter.
- Other elements in the composition.
- Light.
That is composition to me.
OK – let’s look at these rules.
Are these rules of composition actual rules?
No they are not. These are not rules to be followed; these are ideas, thoughts, guidelines, principles. Call them what you want, but they are not rules.
I hate the term and am the kind of person who, if I am told there are rules, will start from the viewpoint – no one’s telling me what to do!!
No, these are simply things that we can use if we want to help us with our compositions. That is all.
What are the rules of composition?
This is the list of rules of composition that I could find, and I put them in alphabetical order.
Here’s the list.
- Add human interest
- Background context
- Balance
- Black and white
- Break the pattern
- Centred composition
- Colour theory
- Colour combinations
- Complementary elements
- Contrasting colours
- Cropping
- Depth of field
- Diagonals and triangles
- Don’t cut off limbs (but the top of the head is fine!)
- Fill the frame
- Foreground interest and depth or as I’ve written it, foreground internet and depth.
- Framing
- Golden Ratio
- Golden Spiral
- Golden Triangle
- High or low
- Juxtaposition
- Leading lines
- Left to right
- Let the eye wander
- Minimalism
- Negative space
- Patterns
- Reduce clutter
- Reflections
- Repeat elements
- Rule of odds (never heard of that one)
- Rule of space
- Rule of thirds
- Scale and hierarchy
- Shoot from below
- Shoot from above
- Simplicity
- Space to move
- Symmetry
- Textures
- The decisive moment
- Viewpoint
Yes, there are 43 of them. I have come up with this little lot by ploughing through a load of articles on the rules of composition.
This is problem 1 – if there are 43 rules, or things, what possible chance do we stand of using them?
You could add these to a list and have them on your phone for reference. But do we want to go through 43 things before we take a photo? Of course we don’t.
I am not going to explain what they all are, you know what they are now, so now you can find out what they mean and if they could help you. And if you have any specific questions, just get in touch with me and I will help you.
What rules of composition do I use?
Rule of thirds
This is my go-to rule. Sorry, I hate the term rule; it is so misleading, but I will stick with it.
I use the rule of thirds a lot. Well all the time.
And I have to start by explaining in words what is a very visual thing.
Look at any photo, or look through your viewfinder.
Imagine two horizontal lines, the lower one one third up from the bottom, the upper one two-thirds up from the bottom.
Next, imagine two vertical lines, the first one-third from the left-hand edge and the second two-thirds from the left-hand edge.
Ok – you have four lines dividing the frame into nine areas, with four intersecting points.
That is the grid for the rule of thirds. That is it. It is that simple.
And if you check out the episode page on the Photography Explained Podcast website, you will find a photo that I have marked up to show what I am talking about.
Here are lots of examples
These four lines and four intersecting points are what I use to create compositions.
If you use this rule and only this rule, you will hopefully see improvements in your compositions.
And this is not an exact science, you don’t have to be bang on, and you probably won’t be, so don’t worry about being precise. But use these lines and points to help place things. Use the principles of where these things are.
These four lines and intersecting points are very powerful.
How do I use the rule of thirds?
I use the intersecting points if I’ve got something I want to emphasise, because those four intersecting points are points the eyes are initially drawn to.
I use the horizontal lines on a landscape photo to place the horizon on either the lower or upper lines.
This will vary with what I am photographing and what is more interesting in the photo, the foreground or the background. I also want to include what I want to include in a photo.
If there’s loads of interest in the sky I will include more of it. If there’s more interest in the foreground, or that’s what I’m photographing, I will use the lower line.
And what this does immediately is this.
Do this and you’re not putting the horizon in the middle of your frame, which is basically cutting your photo in half, which is aesthetically very unpleasing.
And bad composition.
With my photos of buildings, architectural photography, construction photography, and real estate photography, I use the rule of thirds in a couple of ways.
Firstly, I use horizontal and vertical lines to help me get the building level and vertical as I set my camera and composition.
I start with the top and bottom of the building on the two horizontal lines, with the corners of the building near the intersecting points.
I say near to the intersecting points as every building is different, and there are different things in front of and behind buildings that I need to capture.
But that is my starting point. And if I need to zoom in a bit, pushing the intersecting points out, I know by how much and can do the same on the other photos, making the photos a cohesive set.
And it is that simple.
These four lines and intersecting points are the starting point for pretty much every photo I take.
And here is the good news – you can add these to your camera.
You can add the 3×3 grid view to your LCD screen with Canon cameras. Yes, the rule of thirds is so significant that Canon have included it as an option on the LCD screen. That tells us a lot doesn’t it?
I hope that your camera has this feature.
Let’s think about this briefly. This very simple but effective rule of composition, the rule of thirds, is built into cameras. You can have the rule of thirds on your LCD screen every time you take a photo.
How utterly splendid.
Is this not boring?
Some might think so, and if you don’t like the sound of these restrictions, I get it, but remember this.
If you are serious about your photography, you should be looking for a degree of consistency with your photos. Your end point is that someone looks at a photo you have taken and knows you took it, because your look and style are so distinctive.
I have not got to that point. Far from it. But my photos have a look and feel, look at the photos on my website (rickmcevoyphotography.com) and you will see what I am talking about.
These four lines and four points work, and give compositions that are pleasing to the eye. The intersecting points give natural, visually pleasing locations for points of interest in a photo.
And they help me to get compositions technically correct in camera.
Get it right in camera
If something helps me get a composition correct in camera, I am all for it. Photographing buildings is a technical exercise, and those guidelines on the LCD screen help me get things right. I refine this with the horizontal level, but the grid helps me get the composition.
Get as much as you can right in camera rather than relying on “fixing it in Photoshop” – which is to be avoided.
I am going to stop banging on about the rule of thirds and move on.
What other rules or guidelines do I use. See, I hate the term so much?
I was going to talk about these but will mention them here – I don’t have time to go through them all.
- Depth of field
- Diagonals and triangles
- Foreground interest and depth
- High or low, different viewpoints
- Leading lines
- Reducing clutter
- Scale and hierarchy
- Simplicity and minimalism
And let’s not forget, of course, my one-photo rule. Try to get the best one photo that you can. And the rule of thirds can help you with this.
Right – here are some things that you can do
I introduced this last episode, and I love it!
Check out the rule of thirds, see if you can add a 3×3 grid to your camera screen. And even better if you can add it to your viewfinder.
And try to use the four lines and four intersecting points. And then let me know how you get on.
What if I use a phone to take photos?
I have an iPhone. The rule of thirds grid is right there in the default camera app. So Canon and Apple both agree that this is useful, this rule of thirds. So if you did not know what those lines were, now you do and you can use them!
What do I do?
I use the rule of thirds as a starting point for pretty much every photo I take. I use the principle of the rule of thirds to help me get the best compositions I can. I might vary slightly from the preciseness of the four lines and points, but these will be the starting point for every photo.
I use these lines and points to place a building in a composition.
And for my landscape photos, I use these lines and points to place the horizon and points of interest in a photo.
And I use the rule of thirds for thumbnails for videos on my YouTube channel!
This rule is everywhere, and I love it.
That is what I do.
Some thoughts from the last episode
At risk of repeating myself, composition is the most important thing in photography—end of. Your composition is what you include in a photo. And all someone else sees and indeed cares about, who is looking at your photo.
And at the moment that you are taking a photo, no one else is taking the same photo in the same way with the same settings as you. The photo you are taking is unique.
Next episode
How focal length affects composition. Nice and specific.
A quick plug for me and what I do.
Well, why not? If I can’t plug myself on my podcast, where can I?
You have found this podcast, so why not check out the podcast website photographyexplainedpodcast.com? I have another photography website, rickmcevoyphotography.com, where I write blog posts about my photographs of buildings and other good stuff. On my courses page, you will find my course, How To Become A Real Estate Photographer. You can also find me on YouTube talking about my podcast and my blog – type my name in, and you will soon find me.
Get an email from me.
If you want a weekly email from me, fill in the box on any of my websites, and every Friday, you will read what I am thinking about photography-related.
That’s enough of the self-promotion.
Ask me a question
If you have a question you would like me to answer or you just want to say hi, email me at sales@rickmcevoyphotography.co.uk, visit the podcast website, or text me from the podcast feed.
It is always lovely to hear from you, dear listeners.
This episode was brought to you by a cheese and pickle sandwich and a bag of salt and vinegar crisps. Yes, I consumed it before settling in my homemade, acoustically cushioned recording emporium.
I’ve been Rick McEvoy. Thanks again for listening to my small but perfectly formed podcast (it says here) and for giving me 27 minutes of your valuable time. I reckon this episode will be about 15 minutes long after I have edited out the mistakes and other bad stuff.
Thanks for listening
Take care and stay safe.
Cheers from me, Rick
That was the podcast episode.
Want to know more?
Head over to the Start page on the Photography Explained Podcast website to find out more.
And here is the list of episodes published to date – you can listen to any episode straight from this page which is nice.
Let me know if there is a photography thing that you want me to explain and I will add it to my list. Just head over to the This is my list of things to explain page of this website to see what is on there already.
Let me send you stuff
I send out a weekly email to my subscribers. It is my take on one photography thing, plus what I have been writing and talking about. Just fill in the box and you can get my weekly photographic musings straight to your inbox. Which is nice.
And finally a little bit about me
Finally, yes this paragraph is all about me – check out my Rick McEvoy Photography website to find out more about me and my architectural, construction, real estate and travel photography work. I also write about general photography stuff, all in plain English without the irrelevant detail.
Thank you
Thanks for listening to my podcast (if you did) and reading this blog post (which I assume you have done as you are reading this).
Cheers from me Rick
