How to Compose Your Center of Interest

How to Compose Your Center of Interest: 13 Steps (with Pictures)/**/var WH = WH || {};WH.lang = WH.lang || {};button_swap = button_unswap = function(){};WH.exitTimerStartTime = (new Date()).getTime();WH.mergeLang = function(A){for(i in A){v=A[i];if(typeof v==='string'){WH.lang[i]=v;}}}; Sign Up or Log In or Log In via

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Pin ItArticle EditDiscussComposition makes photography both challenging and fun. By following the checklist in this article and by being observant of what you see in the camera's preview, you'll soon be turning your photos into works of art.

Edit Steps

Background and Composition1Be mindful of the background. Notice the objects, shapes and lines in the background when taking pictures and when editing your pictures. Avoid including any distractions above the person's head. Steer clear of things like tree trunks, posts, narrow buildings, vertical lines, etc.

For example, in this image, the chair at the tip of the girl's nose is distracting; it should have been avoided.2To add some depth, take your photos at an angle to the poser. At the same time, aim to have an interesting background. Read up on landscape art composition; this will help you to appreciate the art of composing more. There are many good books and websites available on the topic of landscape art composition.3When looking at photos, notice the visual path that you naturally follow, based on how the photographer composed the picture. In the photo shown here, the photographer has carefully composed everything:

The poser in the foreground is what you notice first.We then notice the other people in the photo. The path also guides on along the visual path.In the background, a distance away, you finally see a nice landscape with the high building.4Have one center of interest, where possible. If you have two centers of interest, you must compose your photo carefully. For example, in this image, you can see that the boat blends in with the building in the background––the photo could have been composed better.

What is the center of interest the boat or the building?Selective focus with the background remaining blurry is an option where there is more than one center of interest. A different camera angle horizontal or vertical could help too; take many photos and choose from the best among them.5Do not clutter your photo. Anything involving a scene, such as a beach scene, can be all too easy to clutter, especially if you're a novice at composition.This scene has a lot of potential. The beach is obviously the center of interest but the white building in the upper left corner and the other building draws attention away from the beach. Crop this type of distraction by including just a portion of the white building.

This photo could be improved if the foreground was the center of interest and the background was less dominant.Notice the simplicity of professional photos and frames of scenes in well made movies, and imitate this simplicity in your photos. Learn from the graphic design of products like beer ads. When composing your photo, think how a professional photographer would take the picture, and take your photo like a professional photographer. Move a bit, move a lot and use the different setting in your camera to arrange the elements in your photo.

Taking this photo as a restaurant ad could be an option.

Simplifying or Adjusting Images1Edit your photos later. First straighten your photo, then make it look attractive with exposure adjustments, starting with contrast. Crop to simplify. Use Windows Live Photo Gallery or Microsoft Office Picture Manager (Windows Live Photo Gallery is free), or whatever photo program you usually use.

Cropping improve the beach scene to make it look like a postcard picture. Crop your pictures to simplify them.2Determine the midpoint of your center of interests. When you have two people in a photo, eyeball a center between them, and place this center according to the golden mean.Look at the photo below and notice the dead space at the bottom. The interesting part of this photo is the area where the two men are looking (besides what is in their mouth and their facial expressions) and there should be more space there.

Have more space in the direction that they are facing.3Create balance in the elements of your photo. In this image, notice how the space to the lady's right, even with the lines, does not balance the rest of the photo. Asymmetry is many times vertical in Asian art and in this photo the asymmetry is horizontal.

Put some thought into your cropping.Again, take many photos and ask the person to pose differently. Your photo must be pleasing to look at––trust your instincts on what is pleasing, even if you cannot explain why exactly.4Arrange the center of interest to form a dynamic diagonal line. For a peaceful composition, use a horizontal line. With objects of the same size, arrange them so they appear different, such as in this photo:

Asymmetry works well here.5For harmony, place your subject matter based on the golden mean, vertically and horizontally. The approximate ratio of the golden mean is 6/10, so a vertical placement of a subject would be 6/10 in height on your frame.

The center of the three subject matters is close to the golden mean.If your subject matter is the moon, imagine a dot at the center of the moon, and place it there, according to the golden mean.When you have two or more objects, find the center of those objects and place this center according to the golden mean.6Use frames. In the image shown here, the people in the bottom section and the plants frame this photo; this enhances the speaker who is the center of interest. The bottom, left corner should be cropped a bit in this graduation picture, and the bottom left corner in the previous step's picture could do with having a bit more space.

7Use a different setting, such as wide angle and telephoto to arrange the subject matter in your photo. The visual path is from left to right, just as we read from left to right. The lines from the building converge at the sunset.

A colorful picture taken at sunset.8Provide contrast. Contrast will ensure that the viewer's attention is on the center of interest. Take pictures from different heights––you do not have to be looking at the preview directly. Take some pictures with the camera held above your head and held low, below eye level.The contrast in this photo is with light. In this scene, if the camera was held lower (perhaps the top part of the photo), it would look less compacted. The top part of the photo has a science fiction look–-okay if that is what you want, but not if you want a professional-looking photo.

Capturing the moment.

Edit TipsVideo is different from taking photos and you will see great composition in them; however, do not apply all that you see from videos and movies to taking photographs. Movies are a different medium, so still use art to learn from.The golden mean if measured vertically can be 6/10 or 4/10 from the bottom and 6/10 or 4/10 from the side.Study the composition of all arts––art is everywhere. The product designs on items in your cupboard are great materials to learn from.Photography is not a fine art, but you can arrange the elements of your photo. Mimic the compositions of the great artists whose paintings are in museums.Search "art composition, photography composition or graphic design" and study from a website that instructs you on your specialty.

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