Improve the composition of your photos

One of the beautiful things about photography is the scope it offers for creative freedom and emotional expression. So it may seem slightly constrictive to talk about following a set of rules for photographic composition. However, knowing some simple photography composition principles can help you get the best out of your subject matter, and bring scenes to life the way you truly want them to be seen.

Once you learn the basics of composing and arranging shots, you'll start applying them without thinking and can find your own style – and perhaps even break the 'rules' from time to time.

Here, we'll explain 10 photography composition techniques, discussing how each helps you balance the way elements are arranged in your images and enabling you to lead your viewer's eye around the frame.

• The rule of thirds
• Level up
• Framing
• Leading lines
• Shooting from different angles
• Triangles
• The Golden Ratio
• Minimalism and negative space
• Orient for your platform
• Break the rules

Placing your subjects in the centre of the frame can be effective in some situations – simple subjects such as portraits, where just the face is lit and the background is much darker, work well with a central composition. However, asymmetrical compositions will feel more lively and dynamic. Applying the rule of thirds to your photography by positioning your subject in the right-hand or left-hand third of your frame will usually make a more interesting and attractive image.

Many cameras, including Canon EOS R System cameras such as the EOS R50, EOS R10 and EOS R7, have the option to display a 3x3 grid either in the viewfinder or on the rear LCD screen. A useful composition technique is to position the point of interest at one of the points where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect.

Gridlines are also a useful way to check that the horizon is level. Many cameras can display an Electronic Level on the screen, which changes from red to green when the camera is straight. Some Canon cameras with In-Body Image Stabilisation (IBIS), such as the EOS R7, also have an auto levelling feature. When enabled, this adjusts the position of the sensor automatically to account for any slight tilt, giving you level photographs.

The EOS R50 and EOS R7 also have an Auto Level function in Movie IS mode which can automatically level horizontally tilted video footage.

Of course, you can also physically rotate the camera to an angle for interesting compositions. This intentional tilt is often called a Dutch or German angle and is used in feature films to create tension or disorientation – so use sparingly, and choose enough of an angle to ensure it doesn't look accidental. If you tilt one shot to the left, then try to capture the next with a tilt to the right. You can use this to convey the tension and excitement of exploring a new city, for example. It's a great way of introducing more variety into your images, and will look fantastic when printed. You could also change the aspect ratio in-camera to square to mix things up even more – which leads us on to framing and cropping.

When you take a photo, consider how you frame your subject. Using a doorway or window is a good choice, as this forms a natural border and helps to focus attention on the scene within. You could use the doorway of a hotel or apartment to frame your view of a city, for example. It's best if the window or door is open, to avoid reflections on the glass.

You can also create an effective frame by cropping into a photo to isolate elements. You can use the Canon Camera Connect app to transfer images from your camera to your phone for editing, or edit on your computer in software such as Canon's Digital Photo Professional, or crop when printing using one of Canon's printing apps.

Take time to experiment with different crops. For landscape photography, try a panoramic crop to create a wide image. Even printing multiple images in a line will give the panoramic effect if they line up well.

Lines are a very powerful compositional tool, simply because we instinctively want to find out where they lead. When you're out and about, you'll see lines everywhere – paths, rivers, walls, fences, train tracks or road markings, all of which can be incorporated into your pictures.

Using the physical lines as compositional elements to lead the eye through the scene towards your focal point is probably the most effective way of incorporating leading lines into your imagery. You'll need to position your camera at a suitable vantage point to capture the natural lines in a scene, and that may mean getting up high or down low to maximise the effect. A camera with a fully-articulating vari-angle LCD screen will help you to frame the image when shooting from unusual angles.

It's also worth considering the direction in which the lines travel, and what you are trying to achieve. Converging lines are an effective tool for conveying distance and scale. Horizontal lines mirror the horizon and so can have a calming effect, whereas vertical lines can create tension. Diagonal lines, ideally from bottom left to top right, carry the eye across a scene, because that matches the accustomed reading direction in most Western cultures. Activate your camera's 3x3+diagonals display, if available, to help you line up diagonal lines and guide the viewer's eye through the frame.

Leading lines are often found when shooting outdoors, in both natural and built environments, making them one of the best composition tips for cityscapes and landscapes.

All too often, photographs are taken at eye level, but more creative viewpoints are available if you position your camera either lower or higher. When children take pictures, the results show a different view of the world – buildings, trees, plants and people look much larger from a lower camera position. If your camera has a vari-angle screen or can connect to your smartphone via Wi-Fi, this makes it easier to shoot with the camera on the ground for an unusual perspective.

In a city full of tall buildings, try using a wide-angle lens and look up towards the sky. Use Aperture priority (Av) mode and select an aperture of f/8 or f/11. Then, with the camera pointed towards the sky, frame the scene so that the buildings converge. Since such pictures often have a wide range of shadows and highlights, you may need to adjust the brightness using exposure compensation or experiment with different metering modes – expose for the foreground using spot metering, for example, or get a balance by using evaluative metering. It may also help to use the in-camera HDR function.

Similarly, the higher viewpoint from the top of buildings, or with the camera held above your head, works well too, giving more of an overview (literally) of a scene or situation.

Composing your scene with triangles in mind can create more visually interesting photos. Try shooting street edges disappearing into the distance, with the resulting triangular sections in the side of the frame.

With its two diagonal lines and one horizontal line, a triangle can add visual movement to a portrait. Even with a relatively static portrait of a person at a table, try asking the subject to move their arms to create a triangular shape – with the elbows spread wider, and the hands supporting the chin. The composition will look much more aesthetically pleasing.

The Golden Ratio (or Fibonacci Spiral) is widely used in art, architecture and design to create aesthetically pleasing proportions and compositions. The ratio is named after an Italian mathematician also known as Leonardo Bonacci, who, in about 1200AD, identified a sequence of ascending numbers, the ratio of which is widely found in nature – in the spiral patterns of seashells, the growth patterns of plants and the proportions of the human body.

The idea is that you can make a composition stronger and more pleasing to the human eye if you can compose the frame to include a line that guides the viewer along a spiral path to the main subject. Try positioning the start of the spiral in a corner of the frame, and include as much of the curve as possible so that the eye will follow it all the way around the picture. The principle can work across a range of images – from landscapes to portraits and more. Use a wide-angle lens to capture the entire sweep of large, architectural features such as staircases, or use a macro lens to focus on small spiral shapes in nature.

It might seem counter-intuitive but using a minimal composition can maximise the impact of an image. Minimal compositions focus on simplicity, featuring very few elements, but still deliver deep and thought-provoking images by cutting out unnecessary details and focusing the viewer's attention to a certain part of the frame.

Creating minimal, simplistic compositions may sound easy, but can be harder than a busier composition, as you have to find a way to remove unwanted elements and visual distractions without making an image boring.

A great way to get started with minimal compositions is to set subjects against 'negative' or 'empty' space. Photographing a beach hut against both a sky and a beach, for example, would use visual contrast to set the building against two negative open spaces — the beach and the sea — and focus the eye on the beach hut. An out-of-focus background in a portrait – created using a wide aperture (low f-number) setting, or shooting with a telephoto lens, or both – also creates negative space that helps the subject stand out.

Another way to achieve a minimal composition is to focus on shapes. Identify one or two shapes or geometric patterns within your frame and try to isolate these, potentially using negative space.

Empty space can also add a feeling of movement. If there's space in front of a subject, the subject looks like it's moving into that space or about to do so. Space behind can give the impression that the subject is moving so quickly that it's about the burst out of the frame.

It's important to think about how your images and videos will be displayed. If you're shooting for specific social media platforms, for example, your final image might need to be a 4:5 or 9:16 vertical aspect ratio, depending on the platform. If you're capturing video for YouTube, you'll want a 16:9 landscape orientation for a cinematic look.

Some Canon EOS R System cameras – such as the EOS R6 Mark II, EOS R50 and EOS R8 – can display aspect markers for your chosen ratio, so that you can frame your scene correctly. The whole frame is still visible, but the guides show where it will be cropped so you can ensure that image elements you want to show will be included both horizontally and vertically.

Rules are made to be broken, so once you've got to grips with the composition techniques above, try experimenting. If you're photographing a runner, for example, the conventional composition rule would be to leave space in front of the runner. However, leaving space behind the runner instead could imply for example that the runner is escaping something rather than running towards something. Positioning the subject in different parts of the frame can change the story you're conveying in the image.

Look for photos with unconventional compositions, such as vertical cityscapes, think about why they work, and try out some variations for yourself. It will help you develop your own personal style and achieve the creative effect you desire. Plus, it's great fun!

Written by Peter Wolinski