Creative Composition Tony Eve Ling Photography

The ultimate guide to
creating beautiful
compositions of the
world around us
CREATIVE
COMPOSITION
TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY Table of contents
Table of contents
Introduction 2 Exercise/Assignment 56
What is composition 5 Geometry and lines 58
Rules, rules and no more rules! 6 Lines and vanishing points 65
So, what are the rules 8 Symmetry 68
The four rules, ahem 12 Layers 71

techniques
People in the landscape 75
Placement 13
Scale 79
Separation 16
Frame within a frame 85
Balance 19
Compostional styles 93
Rule of thirds 24
Open landscape 94
Summing up with examples 27
Closed landscape 96
Exercise/assignment 31
Detail 98
Fishermen and jetty’s 34
Movement 99
Arundel Castle 40
Exercise/Assignment 106
Charles Bridge at dusk 44
Bonus
Methods of visualizing a 47
photograph
Dungeness at dusk, Kent, UK

Composition is the foundation stone of all good
photography, on which every HDR or black and
white photograph is built.
This book will help teach you how to turn your

unique, natural and creative vision into
interesting and original compositions.
If you want to take photos like these...
Then this eBook will tell you exactly how.
Kick start your adventures in photography right here

My promise to you:
Every photograph you see in this
ebook and anywhere else on my
website and in my e-courses has
been taken by me.
I don’t use stock photos, or other

people's photos to demonstrate my
techniques.
I would never teach anything that I

couldn’t do myself.
TONY EVELING
PHOTOGRAPHY
EBOOKS

Creative Composition
All words and photographs by Tony Eveling
Copyright 2017 Tony Eveling
This eBook is available for personal use only. This eBook may not be
re-sold, or given away to other people. If you would like to share this
eBook with another person, please direct them to
www.tonyeveling.com/ebooks
Where they will be able to download their own copy
BONUS section!
There is a bonus page at the end of this eBook, where you will
find links to my other eBooks and also links to my e-courses,
either free or discounted

Introduction
Everyone interprets photography in their own original way. And every photographer
should develop their own style and originality. Within that there are similarities that span
across photographers, genres and styles.
What I attempt to do in this book is to explain my own personal picture making process,
how I spot a composition, and then what I do to make sure that what I see in my minds
eye is what I end up seeing on my computer screen back home. This book is about
compositional techniques as well as the picture making process, but from a compositional
point of view. I don't tell you here what your camera buttons do, how to expose correctly
or how to use Photoshop.
There are no absolute rules for any one photograph. Every photograph is unique as is the
photographer. But a photographer needs an array of compositional techniques that are
common between photographers, genres and styles as well as the compositional
discipline to create a photograph that make the viewer want to look at it.
I explain the picture making process throughout this book as closely as possible to the
order that the processes take place when I take a photograph, which will, hopefully make
things clearer and easy to understand. How this information is used is entirely up to the
individual. The beginner may use the processes described as a template for their own
photography, or the more experienced may cherry pick bits and pieces.
The processes and techniques that I employ myself and described in this book apply to all
the photography that I take, regardless of the purpose for the photography. I might be in
my back garden, or in a local forest, or on a mountain half way around the world. Whether
it is a paid commission, a stock photograph, a personal project purely for fun or
something that I want to sell at an art show as a print, the compositional processes and
techniques in this book are always the same.
Dungeness at dusk, Kent, UK

I have travelled all over the world, and when I started travelling I did it for the
adventure not the photography. Now I do it for the photography, with a
sprinkling of adventure thrown in for good measure.
I spend a huge amount of my time outdoors and it is essential that I enjoy

being where I am wherever in the world that may be. As a photographer it is
essential to engage with the environment in a landscape, or to engage with
the people in a village whether in the developed or developing world.
You have to want to be there if you want to take the best photographs.
I don't do this as a photojournalist, but as a fine art photographer taking

photographs that I hope people will like enjoy online, or as a print in the real
world. Collectively they do tell stories of the places that I go to and the
portraits of people tell a real story of their everyday lives.
As I said in my introduction, in this book I want to explain the processes that I

use from having the idea for a photograph, to actually taking the photograph.
For me composition is everything in photography. Composition is the discipline
of placing all the elements into a frame in such a way that the viewer sees
what the photographer sees, and feels as much as possible what the
photographer wants you to feel. Conveying the atmosphere and mood of a
scene in a photograph is down to how the photographer uses composition.
Jetty, Swanage Bay, Dorset, UK

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY 20MM, 1/8 @ Table
F/20, ISO 100
of contents
The photographs in this book are accompanied with
their relevant EXIF data. I include this data because I
know that people are interested in it. However, I
believe EXIF data is of limited use without a written
explanation of how a photograph was first seen, and
then taken.
Some of the images in this book, such as the

background image on this page, have been cropped
in order to fit the page, however, on my website, none
of the images have been cropped, as I always try to
get composition right in camera
Don’t feel that you have to do that too though. You

have to find and nurture your own composition
workflow, which may include cropping,
And that’s fine, as long as you
are happy with the photography
that you produce.
View from the Pennine Way, Kinder Plateau, Derbyshire, UK

50MM, 25 sec @ F/10, ISO 100
What is composition? Composition in photography is no
different. Compositional rules have been
You can have great photographic ideas written down by academic type people
and originality, but without good after studying photographs and paintings
composition your photographs are not over the centuries. If you were to study a
going to look great. Good photography is whole body of work from different
a combination of compositional skills, photographers and different genres
creativity and imagination. And that is since the beginning of photography there
good news because you don't need the will be similarities occurring over and
most expensive camera and the most over again regarding composition. Those
expensive gear. You can have a cheap similarities have been written down and
consumer DSLR with a kit lens or a are now used as a set of compositional
smartphone, and with good composition rules.
you can create photographs that have real
impact. Those rule do not override your intuitive
nature or feeling for a photograph. But
So what exactly is composition? Very they can be used as techniques to help
broadly speaking, and I say this at risk of guide you to making the most of your
stating the bleeding obvious! Composition vision.
is the set of rules that determine how you
frame a photograph. These rules are in As an outdoors photographer I tend to
effect the grammar of photography. They compose intuitively, whether it be a
are rules that dictate composition in the portrait, or an urban or rural landscape.
same way that grammar forms the rules My philosophy is if it looks right, then it is
that dictate how language should be right. I see a scene, which often occurs
spoken or written. in one of those moments where I
casually say to myself; “that will make a
If we look at language, grammar consists good photograph”, a moment that many
of a set of rules written after studying a people have whether they are
language that has already evolved photographers or not. Then I will stop
naturally and organically over hundreds or and look, I will see the final image in my
thousands of years Grammar is the minds eye, then I will set about capturing
distillation of language into a series of that image using – however intuitively –
components, structures and ultimately a the rules of composition.
whole load of rules.
So, what exactly are those rules?

NO
Rules, Rules and more rules! V
Before we go any further I'd just like to clear something up

regarding some jargon. In photography we have a tendency
to attach the word 'rule' to anything to do with composition.
We talk about 'compositional rules', or 'the rules of
composition'.
A rule is an instruction to do something a certain way (often

interpreted as being told what to do whether you want to or
not).
A technique is a method employed through choice for the

purpose of achieving a result.
Both of these definitions apply to the rules that make up 'the

rules of composition'
Undoubtedly they are rules because used properly they help

create compelling, aesthetically pleasing images.
But...and this is a huge but....you use them as techniques.
You don't apply them arbitrarily as a rule that must be

obeyed (that will stifle you and restrict you creatively).
You apply them to assist in positioning elements in a frame

and you choose which ones to use and when and how
View from the Isle of Portland at dusk, Dorset, UK

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY 72mm, 13 sec @ F/20,
TableISO 100
of contents
NO
Rules, Rules and more rules! V
Everything I explain in this book should be used (or not...you

choose) in your wider armoury of techniques that can be
called upon to assist in the composition of a photograph.
Use them as techniques, reject them when not required.
For example, I will be looking at the most famous 'rule' of all

in this book...and that is the 'rule of thirds'. The rule of thirds
should be used only as a technique as you see fit.
Therefore you are free to reject it as you see fit. And that
means that we can all breath a sigh of relief, safe in the
knowledge that we can still put horizons in the middle of the
frame if we want to....phew!
And sometimes we'll get it wrong. Sometimes we will use a

technique that in the cold light of day sat at our computer we
may have wished we'd used a different rule or
technique....and that is fine,
We should be making mistakes, it's all part of the learning

curve
View from the Isle of Portland at dusk, Dorset, UK

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY 72mm, 13 sec @ F/20,
TableISO 100
of contents
So, what are the rules?
Well, okay, before we get to the real nitty The grandparents look on with quiet
gritty, I just want to explain a little about amusement. What a great scene! Then
bad composition, or at least give a someone takes photos of proceedings.
couple of examples to try and highlight But when you look at the photos in the
why compositional rules matter. cold light of day, heads have been
chopped off and where have the
Composition is the arrangement of grandparents gone!? Hang on, isn't that a
elements in your photograph that makes leg?
the photo comfortable to look at. Bad
composition can make a potentially So, although that is an amusing situation
fascinating and compelling scene just when someone takes photographs so
plain boring. badly and we can all have a good laugh,
and the photographer is uncle John who
The easiest example of bad has no interest in photography so no harm
composition I can give and one that done.... it is a good and simple example of
many people will be able to relate to bad composition.
would be a family snap. Let's say you
are having a great family get together A well composed photograph would bring
and everyone is really enjoying out the character of the individuals, show
themselves, and let's say there are the movement and energy of the children,
several generations present. The the love in the eyes of the
children will be playing together and grandparents....just by employing the
doing their thing, using their parents as discipline of good composition coupled
climbing frames or playing with their toys with engaging with your subject.
on the floor.
The adults may have had one too many

and the teenagers might be looking
slightly angst ridden!

The first rule of photographic composition
Establish the subject, and establish all the objects that you
want in the frame.
In my photography I always make one very simple decision

to aid the composition of a photograph and prior to pressing
the shutter, and that decision comes from the answer to the
question;
'what is the subject of the photograph'
Or, to put it another way, what is the photograph of?
The subject is the focal point of the image, and once

established by you, it can then be positioned in the frame
complimentary to all other objects in the photograph.
For compositional purposes, what the subject is, is not so

important, the subject can be anything, it can be a person or
a group of people, it can be a tree, or even just the horizon.
The important thing here is that after deciding what the

subject is, you are forced to home in on what initially inspired
you to take that particular shot, and then to think more
carefully about positioning all the objects in the frame, so that
in the final finished image, the viewer's eye is naturally drawn
towards the subject..

Another - and I promise final - example But in this example, the dog walker has
is when someone is walking their dog done all the hard work...he/she almost
early in the morning and sees some mist certainly has seen a really good photo,
on the horizon and the Sun rising behind but hasn't employed the compositional
the trees....and the dog walker thinks discipline required to make a good photo.
that the scene would make a great
photograph and so pulls out a compact
camera and takes a snap. Back home at
the computer there is only one comment Photography tip
to make; “you really had to be there”.
And that‟s because the dog walker has Don't be intimidated by the work of other
seen a good photograph, but hasn't paid photographers. When you are learning,
enough attention to composition, hasn't the work of others may seem
stopped and worked out what exactly it unattainable, but it's not. Eyeball as
much of their photography as you can.
is that he/she has seen to prompt an Compare yours with theirs. What are
outing for the camera from the inside they doing that you are not?
coat pocket.
With an open mind , discipline and
If the dog walker is not used to looking at practice you can and will create
lots of different photos made by different photography that turns heads too. You
already have a natural and unique
photographers, then he/she may think
creativity (we all have that). What you
the photo is really good. Sometimes it is need is to acquire the discipline of good
only when putting the good and the bad composition so that you can express
together can you see the difference. your vision in a photograph.

In the next section of this book I will list four main compositional
techniques that every good photographer employs in one way or
another.
They are very simple and easy to employ and will greatly improve your
photography, especially if you are just starting out.
Then I will dig deeper and write about what I consider to be the most
important and effective compositional components, such as lines and
geometry, symmetry, layering and depth.
Later in this book I will move onto compositional styles, such as

photographing landscapes with sky or without. Detail shots of
landscapes as well as the effectiveness of capturing movement.
I love original and intuitive compositions in photography as well as

spontaneity and I would love to pass on some of my techniques so that
you may do the same.
The key takeaways so far are:
You must have a ‘moment of inspiration’, it sounds flaky I know,

but that’s intuition and human perception for you.
You then need to stop and employ the discipline of composition

by first establishing what the subject is.
Then establish all of the objects that you want in the frame.
The subject is the most important object, where everything in

the frame is an object, the light is an object, the sky is an object.
All objects have to be placed in the frame, and that’s what we’ll
be looking at next.

Some rules...ahem...techniques to get started
The following are four simple techniques that will help you to position
objects/elements in a frame.
Over the next few pages I will define these 4 techniques and then I will
spend a few pages discussing their use using examples. Their names
won't mean anything yet (except the obvious one!), because they are
my own techniques. However, I just wanted to introduce them here.
1 Placement of objects on the edge of/or leaving the

frame
2 Separation
3 Balance
4 The rule of thirds
These are my own building blocks of composition. All the photographs

that I take and publish use one or more of these techniques, and many
use two or more.
That is with the exception of ‘the rule of thirds’. That may sound
shocking, and whilst the ‘rule of thirds’ plays a part in my photography, I
actually have my own ‘formula’ for creating my compositions, but more
on that later.
I use these techniques mechanically to guide my initial moment of

inspiration so that what I see in my mind's eye at the time of capture
translates as closely as possible in the final version.

1 - PLACEMENT
of objects on the edge of/or leaving the frame
Don't chop people's heads off. Okay, If you allow an object to partially leave
chop people's heads off, but please, the frame, you have to position the
please be careful! For example, if you object so that it looks like you meant it
photograph a child holding hands with to be there, and ideally you should
its mother, in order to focus on the child actually want it to be there, so you have
you can chop off the head and body of to have enough of the object in the
the mother in order to focus the viewers frame for it to have meaning for the
eye onto the child. The mothers body overall composition.
will leave the frame, and your eyes will
be drawn to the child. This way you can
have a mother and child photograph,
but one that draws the viewers eye to
the child whilst retaining the mother and
child concept..
You should always be aware of objects

close to the edge of the frame. The
decision to leave something entirely out
of view, or wholly in view but near the
edge of the frame is very important for
the balance of the image and can
determine where the eye is led when
viewing an image.

1 - PLACEMENT
In landscape and general outdoors Be careful not to pull the viewers eye
photography, you don't have complete away from the main subject of the
control over what is presented to you photograph because of awkwardly
in the environment that you are placed objects at the edge.
photographing. Once you have
identified a subject to photograph, I quite like placing secondary elements
whether it be a sweeping vista or a near the edge of the frame, like a bird
street vendor in a city the surrounding walking along the floor, you can have
objects and their positioning in the that very close to the edge of the frame
composition can provide extra about to walk out. I quite like quirky little
meaning and context to your image. things like that, and because they are
incidental to the overall composition,
such objects tend not to jar with the
viewer.
This picture is of a man walking

across the frame, but the geometry
and symmetry was also important.
To retain the visual impact of
the windows and other shapes I
could not go wide, so I kept the
tight crop, and removed the bottom
half of the figure, which worked
visually and retained my original idea
for the photo.

1 - PLACEMENT
The example below shows two men on a jetty, and it was important
to show enough of the jetty to reinforce its status as a major
element in the composition.
This image, with the jetty in the middle does not need the other jetty
on the right with the two men standing on it. But, the jetty is such a
commonly photographed object, that I wanted to create something
little different. The two men standing and talking provided a twist to
an old favourite, and it was important to place the jetty carefully in
the composition. Too little of the right hand side jetty and the eye
would want to drift outside the frame which would jar with the
viewer. Too much and my overall composition would drift away from
the center main jetty. Also, the men on the jetty fill a space on the
right side of the image that balances the silhouetted headland on
the left side on the horizon.

2 - SEPARATION
Put space between objects/elements Or two distant people with no gap

so that viewers can see exactly what between them may look like an
they are. unrecognisable blob. The same
people with space between them will
Objects that form part of a look more like two people and less
composition need to be separated like a blob. Even pressing the shutter
from other objects in the frame so that when someone is taking a stride will
we can see exactly what they are. separate the legs and help tell the
Objects that are unrecognisable or viewer what is going on.
merge into other objects can really jar
with the viewer. In the context of this technique, the
edge of the frame should also be
The viewer needs to be able to regarded as an object that forms part
recognise clearly all objects in a of your composition. So separation
frame. also refers to separation from the
edge of the frame. For example you
For example, a gap between the
should leave space between the top
furthest end of a jetty and the horizon
edge of the frame and the ridge of a
often looks better than the end of the
mountain range.
jetty crossing over the horizon.
In the photo on the right, all of the objects have

been spaced so that there are gaps between all
of them. None of them overlap, and that allows
the viewer to clearly see what they are.
The red arrows depicts the spacing that I

created by moving left, right, back, forwards,
until they were all positioned correctly.

2 - SEPARATION
You can very easily move objects in a The effect of moving objects in this
photograph, you just move a pace or way and separating objects and
two to the left or right. Or you crouch putting space between them will make
down. Sometimes you can move up a photograph more aesthetically
and down the side of a hill. So if a tree pleasing and more comfortable on the
needs to be ten meters to the left of eye.
the mountain peak in the distance,
you just move to the right and the It is a simple process easy to learn
relative positions of the two will and will greatly improve your
change. photography
This process requires a level of

Remember every composition consists of
attention to detail which may seem
objects, with the subject being the most
over the top at first, but the results will important object.
speak for themselves. Once you tune
in to this it will become second nature. The subject is the object that the eye will
be immediately drawn to when viewing
the image for the first time
The photo of hay bales on the right has

a number of objects that all had to be
‘separated’ in order to make sure that
viewers can see what they are.
I cannot emphasise enough how

important it to first, identify all your
objects, choose a subject from those
objects, and then make sure that they
are ‘separated.’

2 - SEPARATION
With this image below right I loved There are also bins next to a couple
the curve that the seats make placed of the bench seats that I wasn't
on the edge of a curved pathway. But interested in, so I hid the bins as best
the pathway is completely invisible I could. Hiding the bins behind the
due to the covering of snow. The bench seats may sound trivial, but if
snow simplifies the scene which helps they were too prominent they would
emphasise the graphic shapes made have broken the symmetry and
by the bench seats and the trees in pattern made by that curved line of
this Zagreb park. the bench seats.
I had to place the bench seats

in-between and either side of the
trees in the foreground making sure
that there was enough of a gap
between each of those objects.
Spacing the seats across the entire
width of the frame was very important
for my own vision of the final
photograph.

3 - BALANCE
Balance is composing the image in such a Sometimes there may be a shadow

way that the viewer's eye is naturally and somewhere in the composition that
directed to the subject of the photograph, didn't even register when taking the
from where the viewer can then explore photo, but becomes apparent back
the rest of the image. That process should home on the computer. If that shadow
feel very comfortable and natural to the drags the eye away from the main
viewer of the photograph. The more subject, then the photograph becomes
comfortable that feels for the viewer, the unbalanced.
more successful the composition of the
photograph. Often this can be corrected in
Photoshop, and so does not always
To flesh that out a bit, don't let highlight or pose a big problem, but you need to be
shadow areas overpower any other part of aware of this so that you can do
the image. If there is a dark object in the something about it, either before
frame, then it should complement the pressing the shutter, or later back home
composition, if it is too dark with little detail on the computer.
it may overpower a photograph in a
negative way that wasn't intended. when I
say 'overpower', I mean draw attention
away from the subject in a distracting way.
The colour version of the image to

the right is unbalanced. The reason
is because the sensor couldn’t
handle the too bright sky and the
too dark shadows (ringed). I
wanted the eye to follow the arrow,
so I re-balanced the image in
Photoshop

3 - BALANCE
It is not just shadow areas, but areas

of intense colour, or very bright
highlights. Understanding this is
important, because you have the
opportunity to build these elements
into the composition.
Extreme contrast becomes an object

in itself as far as composition is
concerned, that is why it can un
balance a composition.
But extreme blown highlights or

shadow can be used and positioned
within the frame to create striking and
original compositions that draws a
viewer in.
The image on this page is obviously Unfortunately there is a lack of

unbalanced. Can you see why separation in that bottom left corner.
exactly? The tree trunks are merging with
each other, and the background is a
For me, I was inspired to take the similar tone to the foreground
image because of those trees. So objects, which makes the bottom left
I’ve got low down to capture their corner looking very muddy.
shape against the grey sky.

3 - BALANCE
The photograph below works much Then I converted to black and white
better in black and white than in and turned the sky from a bright blue
colour, and achieves a better balance to a dramatic pitch black. Only then
as a black and white image. When I did I see on the screen what I saw in
looked at this on my computer I saw it my minds eye. It is the drama of the
in colour, and I was quite pure black strip across the top third
disappointed with it. I wasn't expecting and the geometry of the huts along
a big wow factor photo, but I thought the bottom that creates a balanced
I'd created an interesting composition composition and makes this an
of beach huts against a cliff with the interesting composition to view and
harsh midday sun creating well look at.
defined, dramatic shapes with intense
contrast.
But the effect in my minds eye did not

translate on the computer screen.

3 - BALANCE
This composition bottom right was a So, maybe a long exposure night shot
nice idea. The idea being having with moonlight on the castle, or a
Arundel castle in the middle of the more traditional dawn or dusk shot
frame with blue sky above and green with a warmer, more diffused light.
grass below.
But one of the challenges for me in
But there was nothing I could do photography is too find compositions
about that nasty shadow cast from the at any time of the day, and on this
trees above my head. So I took the occasion I was unable to convert my
photo anyway to see what I could do vision, my little moment of inspiration,
in Photoshop, if anything. But the into a photograph.
shadows were a messy shape and
too overpowering and distracting, and
so, eventually I gave up.
The shadow draws attention away

from the castle and casts an
undefined shape that unbalances my
composition. Had the shadow cast a
more even dappled shadow, then this
may have worked. Had I been
determined to get a shot from this
angle, then the environmental
conditions would have to change, and
that would create a different
photograph altogether.

4 - RULE OF THIRDS
Divide the frame into a Tic-Tac-Toe There is no conscious application of

grid and use the lines (Number 2 on the 'rule of thirds' in any of the
the example to the right) and photographs that I take.
intersections (Number 1 on the
example) to place your subject as well If you look at an image that you
as your most important elements. personally like, and then 'reverse
engineer' it in terms of its composition,
Okay, so there is my really really brief many of those photos will nearly
explanation of the 'rule of thirds'. follow the rule of thirds. Very few
There are millions of websites that photos will actually fit the rule, but
recite this rule over and over many 'teachers' of the rule of thirds
(including wikipedia), so you've seem to be very willing to gloss over
probably already come across it many the fact that the 'rule of thirds' rarely
times in tutorials. applies precisely to any image.
However, there is more to it than that. When it obviously doesn't apply, it's
In the previous pages I've been called 'breaking the rules'.
explaining the three compositional
techniques that all my photos are
constructed from, and now here is the
'rule of thirds' that provides the fourth
technique in my list. So how and
where does the 'rule of thirds' fit in
with those three other techniques.
1 2
Well, I have left the 'rule of thirds' last
for a reason, and that is because the
rule of thirds just happens.
1
TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY
2 Table of contents
4 - RULE OF THIRDS
If you employ any of my previous So, for an inexperienced

three techniques (Separation, photographer, you may notice the
placement or balance - SPB), and you 'rule of thirds' employed in my
practice applying these techniques a photography, or other people's
lot in your photography, you will notice photographs, but in reality the
that as a result, objects will naturally positioning of objects in the frame was
settle in a slightly off center, or a very as a result of those other
off center position. There will also compositional techniques.
often be more sky than land, or more
land than sky. Those visual facts can Don't be so sure that the
then be misrepresented as following photographer specifically employed
the rule of thirds, when in reality that's the rule of thirds. If you are new to
not the case. photography, then the rule of thirds
will have been hard coded into your
So my conclusion is that the apparent photography psychology. Magazines,
application of the 'rule of thirds' is books, websites preach this
sometimes (in my case always) a relentlessly because it's easy to
consequence of using other teach, everyone teaches it, everyone
compositional techniques. has always taught it, and and people
believe it, especially beginners.
For an intuitive or experienced
photographer these techniques (what These images can all be legitimately
I call SPB) may be subconscious. described as using the rule of thirds. But
none of them were composed using the
rule.

4 - RULE OF THIRDS
It's true that if you blindly use the 'rule You can use the 'rule of thirds' as a
of thirds' to every single photo you starting point for your composition.
ever take, it is inevitable that applying
it will occasionally create a You see the scene that inspires you,
compelling, visually pleasing you work out in your mind's eye the
photograph. However, this preliminary stuff, what is the main
prescriptive application of a set of subject etc. Then choose your focal
rules will hold your photography back, length to include and exclude all the
and slow down the learning process. elements that interest you. Position
It will take you longer to get to a stage the subject and other environmental
where good composition is being elements according to the
applied to all your photographs. It Tic-Tac-Toe grid.
doesn't mean you won't get there
eventually, but it will take longer. Then you can fine-tune your
composition from that initial starting
Most beginners reading this are not point, to try and create as close as
going to believe my views on the 'rule possible what you first saw when you
of thirds', which is another reason why were inspired to take the photograph.
photography teachers teach it,
because beginners want to learn it, Practice applying Separation and
and that's a very hard thing for a Placement, and be very aware of
teacher to fight against. balance.
And so, I too build it into my teaching, The rule of thirds serves best as a
way to reverse engineer a
If you absolutely insist that applying photograph. But be honest with
the ‘rule of thirds’ is the way to yourself, and you’ll notice that
become a better photographer then established, experienced
the following is what I consider to be photographers are not actually
an acceptable way to apply it. employing it to take their photographs.

4 - RULE OF THIRDS
The image below has been composed by me moving to the left and right as
well as forward/back and up and down to change the relative positions of the
foreground objects and background elements.
The road is positioned two thirds across and disappears at one third up. The
horizon s roughly one third down.
These positions are deliberate for aesthetic purposes and follow the 'rule of
thirds'.
I didn't however employ the rule of thirds.
It's just that this photograph does roughly speaking follow the rule.

SUMMING UP WITH EXAMPLES
The four techniques that I have just described are techniques that I use all
the time, and although I shoot intuitively, I do spend quite a while (from a
few seconds to a few minutes) standing in front of a scene working out why
I think my intuition, or gut instinct is correct.
I work out what my subject is, what am I taking a photo of?.
I get the framing of the shot sorted out inside my head and from that I work
out what lens do I want to use, what elements to leave outside of the
frame, and what elements to keep in and then where to put them in the
composition.
What you leave out of your composition is very important.
What I call the subject of my photos are/is object that in the final finished
image the eye will be immediately drawn too.
Everything else in the composition radiates out from the subject.
The casual observer could look at

my images and say with apparent
conviction that I employ the rule of
thirds. However, they’d be wrong.
If you study every single one of my

images, you will now be able to see
the application of Separation,
Placement and Balance, in every
single one of them

Let's look at the photo of Prague, at the bottom of this page, with a 'rule of
thirds' Tic-Tac-Toe grid in place.
Placing an object at an intersection at point 1 gives space for the city to fan
out to the right beyond that foreground building. That intersection is far
enough inside the frame to allow any object depicted there to have some
breathing space around it, so it is not too near the edge which would
bother the viewer.
The eye then sweeps across the mesh of tightly knit buildings (point 2)
before stopping at point 3. At point 3 are newly built buildings that contrast
with the old town.
These compositional choices were assisted by employing Separation,

Placement and Balance, but I have provided an explanation in terms of the
'rule of thirds' because both seem to work.
3
Applying Separation, Placement
and Balance will allow your
photography to grow, and you’ll
be able to create original
compositions that suit the lighting
2 and scenery that you are in at any

one time.
1 No longer will you have to wait for

the Golden Hour to create a photo
that draws people in

This abandoned petrol pump in the mountains on the
Macedonia/Kosovo border is a very similar composition to the
Prague city picture previously, but the subject matter is completely
different. I also use a wide angle lens rather than a telephoto as
used in the Prague photo.
Again, it looks like I used the rule of thirds, but that’s because you
are now reverse engineering the photograph. When you are
actually taking a photograph, you create it, rather than reverse
engineer it, and you’ll need a different approach to achieve
consistently good photography when creating a photograph.

I use these techniques all the time in The disused petrol station uses the
my photography, and for completely same composition, but I used a
different subject matter. The rules of completely different lens (wide
photographic composition are the angle).
same regardless of photographic
genre, so you can hone your skills in I chose these two images because
one area and they will be transferable they are the same as each other
across photographic genres as you composition wise, but very different
develop your photography. visually. One suits black and white,
the other doesn't (so much...in my
In the Prague photo I used a opinion of course!). Neither are
telephoto lens to fill the bottom left, spectacular wow factor images, but
and top right corners of the frame with this shouldn't matter. What matters
each of my main elements. Had I is that you create photographs that
used a wider angle lens, those have an interest that make people
elements would have been swallowed want to take a longer look, and that
up by the surrounding environment is achieved by original ideas, getting
and sky, which would have created a out there and good composition.
completely different photograph.
Of course all of these techniques
can be used for dawn/dusk pure
landscape shots too. Or panoramic
images of forests in winter, for that
matter!
Epping Forest, Essex, England, UK

Multiple image stitched panoramic photograph.

EXERCISE
Something that helped and will always help the development of my

own photography is to check out others whose photography I like.
For me that is photography that relies on strong composition.
I love original compositions that create fascinating imagery whatever

the subject matter. In this regard, four photographers spring instantly
to mind. Annie Leibovitz, Michael Kenna, Ansel Adams and Vivian
Maier.
All four rely on original compositions, and all four have their own
unique compositional look, unique to them. Each photo they take is
unique.

EXERCISE
Leibovitz is a celebrity and fashion Michael Kenna has a style that is

photographer and therefore her area much copied, but what cannot be
of photography is completely different copied are the compositions. His
to landscapes, but her compositional compositions rely on the conditions
style is worth looking at. Look at her at the time and he photographs
older stuff on the Rolling Stones. accordingly. The results are
There is a real visual quality about her fascinating artistic imagery that have
photography that draws the viewer in, a now common square format black
and her compositions really stand out. and white look often using long
exposure. The photos however
Maier was an unknown amateur who
remain very him because of the
recently died poor and her belongings
instinctive way he composes
were auctioned off. The buyer
images.
discovered a body of photographic
work going back fifty years, he Ansel Adams is one of the most
published her work and she became famous photographers to have lived,
an internet sensation. In my opinion and many of his compositions have
her compositions are as good as any been identically photographed by
of the greats of street photography. copycat photographers. But his
compositional style was and is
unique and original, and his images
look original and contemporary to
this day.

EXERCISE
Anyway, check out the photography of Check balance,separation and

these photographers and enjoy their placement. What is the subject?
compositions, check them out for Could images be improved? How?
balance, separation and placement. Don't be intimidated by the quality of
the four above mentioned
Ask yourself questions about the way
photographers, because you are
they were composed. What do you
only seeing their best work, and you
think was the actual subjects of the
may not have the advantage of
photographs that you look at? Go
decades of experience under your
back to your own collection, your own
belt.
archive and study your own in the
same way. Where is your All of us can improve our
photography going wrong and where photography if we open our minds
is it going right? and put in the practice.

FISHERMAN AND JETTY’S
I want to look at this evening shot of Checking through the viewfinder

two fishermen on a jetty in relation to with a 24-84mm lens I stopped
those four rules and have a look at roughly where I am now in this final
how they worked with this shot. shot and zoomed in on the jetty in
front of me, the empty one that you
Jetty shots are quite standard, in fact can see in my photo. That looked
they are a staple of the landscape okay, but not great. Going wider and
photographer. I always wanted to take zooming out, the right hand jetty
something a little different and when I came into view, which for me
was walking along Swanage Bay produced a more pleasant
photographing the coastline I saw composition overall but the two
these two men walking and talking fishermen looked odd when
around the bay. I was fifty or so positioned too close to the edge of
metres away to the right as you look the frame with little of the jetty in
at the photo and started to think that if view. A 24mm was not quite wide
they hung around for long enough I enough, I wanted more jetty so I put
could take a photo of them as part of a 20mm prime on and that looked
a larger composition incorporating the best when viewed through the
jetty's somehow. So I walked along viewfinder.
the bay towards them.
Once I was close enough I put my

bag and tripod down and took the
camera to see if I could get a good
composition.

And so I settled with this composition, and put the

camera on the tripod with a 20mm lens.
So that's the initial creative part of taking this

photograph. I have seen the photograph in my
minds eye, based very loosely on an idea I'd had for
a while, I had seen the jettys earlier in the day and
knew I'd be wandering around at dusk, so I kept it in
the back of my mind. As soon as I saw the jetty at
dusk, and then I saw the men conveniently taking
position on the jettys, I really wanted to take a photo
of them as small figures in a larger environment.

Now I have my basic idea for a photo The sky, the sea, the horizon and the
and I am standing at the scene with black headland situated on the horizon
camera on tripod. are environmental features that
collectively place my subjects in
At this point I ask myself what the subject context.
is, what is the focal point of the photo
and where do I want the viewers eye to And finally, after all that I am ready to
be drawn to. take the photo. Of course, in reality all
of those decisions are made in a a very
And so, for me the subjects are both of short space of time, mere minutes, if
the jettys. The main one in front plus the that. In fact those decisions take no
one on the right with the fishermen on it. longer than it takes to set up the tripod
Everything else becomes environmental and put the camera on it.
elements that put my subject in context
and help create a balanced composition Now I know what the subject is and I
overall. have a version of the finished
photograph in my minds eye, I can
If the right hand jetty had no people on it, compose for the final shot using the
then the empty jetty would jar with the techniques that I have described
viewer because there would be no earlier.
reason for it to be there.
But because of the fisherman it takes on

its own importance in the photograph.

Photography tip
Don't worry about photographing so called cliche's.

One person's cliché is another person's original. And
we all have to learn. Landscape photography has
many compositions that are used over and over in
different locations.
Find a photographer that you love and you will find

they also use the same compositions over and over.
Don't worry about using them, because it will help
you to hone your technical skills, and in between you
can experiment with your own creativity.

Numbers1,2, and 3 (the numbers marked
in the photo to the right) indicate the
1
nearest thing in this image that follows
5
the rule of thirds.
4
The reason for this is quite simple, I need
2 6
enough of the concrete foreground to tell
7
and show the viewer what the jetty is
connected to. Too little of the concrete
foreground (at this height and angle) and 3
the viewer will want to look outside the
frame to see what is there. If you
determine that the jetty (7) is the subject,
If I lowered my height slightly the jetty
then it's positioning becomes more would touch the
important. You can use the rule of thirds horizon and for me, that would look wrong.
as a starting point to position the I don't want to join up
concrete foreground initially, then move it those elements, and for aesthetic
around using your intuition to get purposes I want a significant gap
between them.
something aesthetically pleasing
Number 5. Having the two men crossing
Too much concrete foreground creates a the horizon is unavoidable
very dark foreground and upsets the but much more importantly they are well
balance (to my eye). defined as people. They are
standing apart and therefore nicely
Number 4 (separation) is the gap separated. Too close together
between the end of the jetty and and they might have looked like a blob.
the horizon. This is something to be
aware of when photographing. I was lucky
because this is a thirty
second exposure and they only moved
enough to create a pleasant
motion blur to indicate movement.

5
4
2 6
Number 6. Placement of objects on the edge of/or leaving the frame.
As I said earlier, There is enough of the jetty in view to tell the viewer that I
wanted it to be there and it helps tell the viewer why the men are there.
It also provides some balance between the left and right side of the frame.
These are the basic processes that I used to make this photograph. With
landscape photography you have time on your hands, at least compared with
other types of outdoors photography, so you can afford to slow down a bit. Take
your time!
ARUNDEL CASTLE
I didn't have much time in the West

Sussex town of Arundel and I had
already been down to the beach early
morning, so the Sun was now quite
high in the sky.
The shot to the left was one of my first

attempts, and like I said previously I
wanted half green (grass) and half
blue(sky) with the castle in the middle,
and preferably no trees, although the
overhanging tree was unavoidable so I
went with it. However, the shadow was
really horrible and this was the best
spot I could find without obscuring the
castle too much. I took the shot anyway
and went back into town. The town is
very picturesque, but the roads are
lined with vans and cars which shone
like primary colour children’s toys in the
harsh sunlight, and rule one for me at
the time was to exclude any distracting
cars if possible because they looked
unsightly.

ARUNDEL CASTLE
The castle is elevated above the level of the town, but disappeared
behind buildings when walking through the streets.
Early morning mist and soft morning light has the ability to cure many
ills and imperfections, but I had to compose with a much harsher light
and atmosphere.
In the end I settled for the composition below. It shows the castle
contrasting with the houses below, and was a nice effective composition
that whilst having no dawn or dusk wow factor does draw the eye in .

ARUNDEL CASTLE
The photograph on this page was the best composition I could find given time
constraints and light conditions. I was situated on a bridge that crossed the River
Arun which gave this great, uninterrupted view of the castle, which really shouted
to be photographed.
The trees softened the 'join' between the castle and the houses and provided
some interest as well as separation between the two built structures. I wanted to
feature more of the house and have slightly less sky which would have helped
better balance the image, but the top of a large, ugly van just below the photo
ended that idea.
The chimneys on the roofs of
the houses juxtaposed well
with the architecture of the
castle.
I would have preferred to have

1
positioned the chimneys at point
1 and have the houses fill the
gap at point 2. But I was on a
bridge and couldn't move left to
get the angle required. And I 2
didn't want to go for a swim!
ARUNDEL CASTLE
I chose to write about this photograph Sometimes we are just walking the
because it wasn't a wow factor dawn dog, or going for a stroll. And
picture with mist and atmospheric sometimes it is midday, and
skies. So I had to create a composition sometimes it is cloudy.
based on the quite harsh light
conditions presented to me. In other These 'uncomplimentary' photography
words I had to be a bit more original situations and conditions should stir
and spontaneous in composing this the creative juices just as much as
picture. The point is that there's always that dawn or dusk photo. Originality
a composition that will suit a particular and spontaneity are key to finding a
set of lighting conditions. We can't all composition that compliments
get up at two in the morning, or hike for supposedly unfavourable lighting
days in the wilderness, or wait a year conditions, and there is never a
for conditions to be just perfect on a situation where an original and
hillside at dawn in the middle of winter, pleasing composition is impossible.
and so on.

CHARLES BRIDGE AT DUSK
There are two main components to the At the time I felt that the large
photograph on the bottom right on this silhouetted statues that line each side
page; one is the bridge and the of the bridge should not obscure the
background. The other are collectively spires (1 and 2, marked in the image)
the people who use the bridge, both , so I 'placed' the left one(1) 'inside'
locals and tourists. The large dome. The one on the right
has been allowed to cast its own
The skyline is important for the picture. outline against the sky. I 'moved' them
Those spiky bits from the spires, by walking backwards, forwards, left
domes and towers need space and right until I was satisfied with their
between them in order to define them. position.
So that was my priority for the
composition initially
3
1

CHARLES BRIDGE AT DUSK
Once I was happy with the positioning So, once the tripod is set up you can
of the 'spiky bits', I waited for wait for things to happen
opportunistic moments to take photos
of the people. And in this photograph that 'thing'
happened when the couple on the left
In this photo the subject is the people, (3) took a selfie. There was a good
with the skyline providing a striking balance of people on the bridge, and
background. the couple took a number of photos,
which gave me a chance to take a
What I don't want though are large ill number of images and pick the best
defined groups of people that look too one. And so for me, that unexpected
much like splodgy blobs. moment has become the subject.
They are what the eye is drawn too
I want people in pairs, walking hand in
from where you then explore the rest
hand. I want people looking over the
of the photograph.
edge of the bridge, standing still. I want
people in the foreground and the
background, all spaced nicely.
3
1

PLACEMENT of objects on the edge of/or leaving the frame
I want to use this photograph to better For me therefore, the subject is the
describe how I used this compositional silhouetted branches and the patterns
technique in my photographs. made against the winter backdrop. That
meant that a lot of the tree had to go in
order to focus attention on the patterns of
the branches.
This meant either a close-up abstract of

branches only, or the tree in context, in its
winter environment. I liked the simple
graphic background against the tree and
didn't want a full on abstract image.
So I had to remove enough of the tree to

look aesthetically pleasing. And this is
The photograph above was taken
where you have to think quite mechanically
along the side of a road in winter in
about the composition.
Hungary. The road was lined with these
trees and caught my eye because of You have to remove enough of the tree to
the striking patterns of the dark make it look deliberate.
branches against the minimal misty
backdrop. I decided on symmetry with the tree
radiating from the centre as this helped to
Tree after tree passed by and I thought emphasise the patterns in the branches.
I'd better take a photo before the
opportunity is gone. That in turn meant removing equal
amounts of the tree on either side of the
Having the whole tree in the frame main trunk. I used a variety of focal lengths
didn't focus the attention onto the as well as moving forward and backward to
patterns of the branches, which is what get the edges of the frame looking just
originally caught my attention. right, before settling on this.
METHODS FOR VISUALIZING A
PHOTOGRAPH
When I am out taking photographs I They will scout the location during the day,
usually have the final image in my and they will find in their minds eye a
minds eye before I press the shutter, composition for a very specific set of
and I use that to help me compose the pre-determined lighting conditions, which
image. will often be dawn or dusk.
That is what is generally called The position of the rising sun will be known
visualisation. beforehand.
Visualisation is a commonly used term All that is required is to go out to the

in photography (sometime also called location and hope that the lighting
pre-visualisation) and here on the next conditions and cloud cover etc are right for
couple of pages I will describe my own the pre determined composition.
interpretation of this term, and how I
include it in my photography. This is how a lot of those dawn and dusk
wow factor images are created. If you buy
Of course, every photographer is photography magazines you will be familiar
different, but for me visualisation can with these stunning photographs. If you
be used in two simple ways. look at them from a technical,
compositional point of view (including my
Firstly there is the method employed by own) the compositions are similar or have
someone who is into a specific location some strong similarities.
such as mountains or beaches.
Every time I take a photo, and before I press the

shutter, I will see in my minds eye the final finished
version of the image.
The image you see here has been processed in
Photoshop to assist me in that process. The process
though, is a fluid one, and so my Photoshop work will
also
TONY be a re-assessment
EVELING PHOTOGRAPHYof my original idea.
Table of contents
PHOTOGRAPH
The skill here is to see a composition in the
To achieve these results the minds eye - on the fly - and instantly
photographer often has to keep going compose a shot, which for an experienced
back to the same spot if they can't get or intuitive photographer will be a unique
the right conditions first or second time. composition that works for the specific
For this photography you have to be environmental conditions (lighting/subject
in-situ pre-dawn or pre-dusk sometimes etc).
in difficult to get to places. But the
Street photographers are like this. They
rewards can be very satisfying
have to search the streets for situations
This method means that the and very quickly create compositions that
composition is fixed before the suit the lighting conditions whether the
photograph is taken and the skies are dull, bright, or dawn,dusk or
photographer has to wait for the midday.
appropriate light that suits the fixed
Although, some people will call this
visualised composition.
something like anticipation of the moment
Secondly, there is a more opportunistic, rather than visualisation. I think it's all part
spontaneous method where the of the same process.
photographer will be on location,
Of course, landscape photographs can be
camera in hand sometimes with tripod,
spontaneous too, and I would
sometimes without.
wholeheartedly encourage creating
instantly visualised compositions to add
originality and personalisation to the
standard, classic compositions.

PHOTOGRAPH
The father of American landscape
With the first method you have to plan photography, Ansel Adams, called it
ahead, and often you need time to visualisation, and it is the ability to see the
dedicate totally to photography. final image in your minds eye before
pressing the shutter and before getting
The latter method can be more informal back to the darkroom/computer.
and relaxed. You don't have to commit
to being somewhere pre-dawn with I like his description of visualisation
fingers crossed that the light will be because in my view it can be applied to
right. You can be walking the dog, or pre-conceived, pre-planned compositions
out on a cloudy Sunday afternoon with as well as more spontaneous photography.
the family. You could also be out in the
It just says that you should see the final
middle of the day with camera and
version of the image in your minds eye
tripod. With this method there is never
before you put eye to viewfinder.
a bad/wrong time to take photographs
because the photographer will create
As for my photography, I like to be
compositions to suit whatever
spontaneous and create original
environmental conditions nature throws
compositions in a kind of visualise-as-I-go
at him/her.
kind of way.
Both methods require honed

technical/craft skills to get good results,
and it's always a good thing to try and
visualise the final image in your minds
eye.

PHOTOGRAPH
Visualisation is not about visualising before
That attitude allows me to take original you even go out to take photography
compositions throughout the day of (although it can be). Visualisation is simply
urban and rural landscapes, rather than visualising the final print or screen version
concentrating solely on dawn/dusk before you take the photo. And that can be
landscape photos. But at the same two weeks before you press the shutter, or
time I have a mental collection of two seconds.
visualised compositions of places that I
We are all unique and see the world
want to take at dawn or dusk. And
differently. You need to find your own way
occasionally I'll have a go at creating
and methods that suit your photographic
them.
style and your lifestyle. Not everyone can
For me, visualisation makes me stop get up at three in the morning to get
and think about the photo opportunity somewhere very high and cold, before
in front of me, what is it that I can see? waiting for the sky to turn red for thirty
Wide angle? Telephoto? What is the seconds.
photo of? Is it the sky, the land, or
But right now outside your front door is a
those stick figures in the distance? That
captivating photographic composition that,
is how visualisation helps me. It makes
with your personal creative vision, only you
me stop and apply the discipline of
have the ability to see.
composition when taking photos.
‘Seeing’ the final

finished image in your
minds eye before
pressing the shutter is
an important part of the
composition process, so
get out there and
practice!
PHOTOGRAPH
Both of these locations were scouted at I use the same pre-determined

least a day before the photos were compositions when I find myself in similar
taken. Both compositions require a light conditions. I have my own 'off the
certain light quality only available at shelf' compositions that I will employ in
certain times of day. In this case they specific conditions, and it's just practise
were both taken at dawn. And both that has allowed me to build up that
these compositions are the same. The 'collection'. But these two photos in terms
only difference is the location and of composition are probably the most
colour of the light. commonly occurring compositions in the
whole of landscape photography.

PHOTOGRAPH
They are common because There are thousands if not millions of wow
photographers like taking them and factor landscape photographs on the web
people like looking at them! It's a that employ the same composition. They
composition that is perfect for dawn or are used in photography magazines to
dusk light. If you are a beginner you teach photography and they are employed
can use a composition like this to by professional photographers for
practice your technical skills, you will publication in thousands of publications
still have to find the right location and around the world. I suppose you could say
you still need the correct light, but it is a it's a design classic.
good way to practice.

PHOTOGRAPH
To construct this composition there has to be a foreground

object, in my coastal scene it's the beach and the 'groyne'
(UK sea defence system), but it could be a rock pool
reflecting light, or exposed bedrock. In my landscape
photograph its the track. Then there must be a horizon in the
far distance. And an interesting sky that lights up in
dawn/dusk light. Ideally You need a minimum 30mm lens on
a full frame sensor

PHOTOGRAPH
Hay bales. The previous two images You should also be able to see how I used
used a classic predetermined those four techniques to help position the
composition that suited specific elements in this photo.
landscape and lighting conditions. This
photo and the next employ a more This was a spontaneous shot that I just
spontaneous and unique compositional chanced upon by exploring the area in
style where photographs are seen and search of photo opportunities. It only took a
created on the spot with no pre minute or so to see and then create this
planning. photo. So if you are out with the family or
walking the dog, this is a photographic
I was just passing this field late style that you can adopt whilst doing other
afternoon, and the contrast between things. You don't have to forget the
yellow and blue instantly caught my existence of your family in order to be
attention. serious about photography. Just be
spontaneous and flexible!
Then I saw the spacing between the
hay bales, so I 'moved' them by moving
myself left and right, backwards and
forwards, and 'placing' them in the
order that you see them to create this
composition.

PHOTOGRAPH
Tram, Zagreb, Croatia. I was walking

along the old streets on a drab grey
winters day.
I wanted to take photos of the old town of

Zagreb but I had no specific idea of what I
wanted photographically.
The mannequins over the road originally

caught my attention I set the camera on
the tripod, composed the shot and waited
for a tram, which duly arrived and I got my
shot.
EXERCISE/ASSIGNMENT
Photography is a discipline as well as Photograph ordinary things like a rows

a creative art. Both have to be of houses, playing fields, discarded
combined to get the most out of your shopping trolleys, underpasses, high
creative vision. rise apartment blocks, lines of dustbins
waiting to be emptied etc etc.
Photographing the ordinary (or
mundane) is a great way to practice Look at skylines, rooftop aerials,
composition. Dawn light and some satellite dishes, or the the remains of
mist in the valleys is a great way to human activity in town centres, like the
paper over the cracks of poor or lazy day after the night before....road
composition. Instant wow factor may sweepers, early morning workers.
give way in the long term to a feeling
of an opportunity missed if you haven't Capture the beauty in the ordinary.
employed good compositional Some people are lucky enough to live
technique. by the coast, so, what about a beach
that was crowded during the day and
So, armed with the compositional now everyone has gone? All those
techniques outlined in this book, as now forgotten sandcastles echoing the
well as your own, photograph within a fun activities that took place during the
mile or so of your house. Don't take day.
too long looking and try to work
instinctively. Relax, wander around There is beauty in the mundane,
and look for scenes that inspire you. develop and hone your compositional
Then set about photographing it. skills and use your natural creative
Hopefully you will spot ordinary things vision to capture that beauty.
which when composed carefully, have
a pleasant aesthetic look.

EXERCISE/ASSIGNMENT
There are always interesting compositions in any

location. The more you wander, the more you will
see. This will help you hone your composition skills,
and those skills are transferable across all
photographic genres.
You may surprise yourself with the variety of

photography that you create.
And lets have a look at the key takeaways so far in this book to help you
make the most of this exercise:
Moment of inspiration: You absolutely must have this.
Ask the question: What is the photograph of?
Define all of your objects
Use your minds eye to visualise what the image will look like in the final
finished photograph. Strive for this in your composition.
What is the most important object, the thing that the eye is drawn to?
That most important object becomes the subject.
Place your objects in the frame complimentary to the main object (subject)
Use Separation, Placement and balance to help you create the most visually
pleasing composition.

GEOMETRY AND LINES
It might not look like much on a piece of

paper, but the line is really quite important.
It divides two areas of interest in a

photograph, and where you place that line
in a composition will fundamentally affect
the way someone will view your image..
Lines help provide perspective and depth,
they can be horizontal, vertical and
diagonal, and there can be many, or just
one. They can be used to make patterns
and they can be used to create symmetry.
There are many instances in landscape

photography where nature provides
perfectly straight, naturally occurring lines.
Geometry plays a big role too. Sometimes
composing a line diagonally across the
frame or dead straight will fundamentally
change the composition, even though the
scene itself will be the same.
These four examples on the right are nice,

simple examples.

GEOMETRY AND LINES
The empty beach on the right is a very

graphic, almost abstract composition. The
beach was very wide and I wanted to
express this in the photograph, so that
dictated more sand than sea.
In your minds eye you can look at this

image (the leftmost image) and move the
line to different positions using your
imagination. What do you prefer? That is
also what you have to do when you are out
there taking photos.
Imagine the composition in your minds eye

first, and then put camera to eye where you
can adjust to create your vision.
The bottom two images on the right are

similar in style to the empty beach above
them, but with these it was the depiction of
the people on the beach that drove the final
composition.
The middle image on the right is more

intimate, the bottom image has the horizon
which immediately splits the photo into
geometric shapes and the horizon helps
give a sense of the enormity of our
surroundings.

GEOMETRY AND LINES
The final image in this series of four is a detail shot of the
shape of a landscape.
I have 'flattened' the hilly landscape by zooming in and

removing the outline of the hills, and so removing the context.
What is left is a composition of textures and lines that are

carved into the landscape.

GEOMETRY AND LINES
Leading lines and vanishing points
There are lots of lines in this The composition that I have used for the
photograph of a pier. These are called pier top right is a very common
leading lines, because they lead the composition, used for roads and rivers
eye into the photograph. both straight and winding. This is an easy
composition to repeat, just face head on
Leading lines provide depth and to your subject and create a symmetry
perspective. They don't have to be as with the pathway, road or river equal
simple and obvious as this, but they distance either side of you, decide where
always have the same three you want the horizon and snap away!
dimensional effect.
Practice of course, makes perfect, so the
more you practice these simple
compositions, the more you will hone your
compositional skills and find new, more
original compositions of your own.

GEOMETRY AND LINES
The view of chesil beach in Dorset, UK Chesil beach is a strip of shingle beach
below Is another example of leading lines. that is separated from the mainland by a
Again there is a feeling of depth as the lagoon. This can be seen in this
eye is led into the photograph via the photograph where the sea, the beach,
curve of the beach on the left hand side. the lagoon and the mainland all drift into
the distance somewhere to the left of the
The sun is setting over the landscape in horizon. This is the vanishing point. The
this shot and the last of the light is vanishing point is where all the lines
reflecting off of the sea, but not the land. meet, and in theory disappear into a dot.
Lines, leading lines and vanishing points are

components of composition rather than techniques. So I
view them as objects that need to be placed within the
composition itself.
So the compositional question is; where do I put the

vanishing point and where do I place my lines and
leading lines in the frame?

GEOMETRY AND LINES
In the photograph below I have placed the So for me the all important subject is the
'vanishing point' dead centre in this boardwalk which becomes the most
image, although, to be honest that important thing to present in the
decision was made for me by my previous composition, all other objects and elements
decision to create a symmetry in the radiate out from there.
composition with equal amounts of
boardwalk to my left and right. Leading lines and vanishing points provide
a way of presenting depth in a photograph.
The horizon is in the middle, which is a
These techniques do not create depth.
consequence of my desire to have the Nothing can do that.
boardwalk taking up the entire width of
the frame along the bottom edge. The depth is already there and you are just
placing objects using compositional
That meant pointing the camera down, techniques that ‘promote’ the visual effect
and the horizon placed itself in the middle. of depth in two dimensions.
If you wanted to not present the depth that

is so obvious in this scene, then you can do
that too, you just have to create a different
composition.

are not compositional techniques.
They should be treated as objects

that exist like physical objects
exist, and then you can place
them in your frame using the
techniques explained in this book.
And don’t forget, that practice

makes perfect! So get out there
TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY now! Table of contents
GEOMETRY AND LINES
Where you put you leading lines and That's good composition, isn't it? No it's
your vanishing point should follow the not! Applying a rule in such an arbitrary
way before applying creativity isn't a
four basic rules of balance, separation,
creative process, and your photography will
placement and the rule of thirds. suffer.
I have put the horizon in the middle Had I blindly applied the 'rule of thirds' in
because the sky had some nice cloudy this way I would have introduced into the
detail in it and was a great colour, and frame a lot more of the near black land
therefore I wanted it in the mass at the bottom of the frame which
would have greatly upset the balance of the
composition!
photograph.
Had I lowered the camera therefore Think creatively, then apply technique.
removing some of the sky, the horizon
would be much closer to the top line of What is the subject of the photo?
the 'tic-tactoe' grid and would therefore
more closely follow the 'rule of thirds' For me it is the beach to the left. So the sea
segment, then beach, then lagoon, then
mainland collectively form the leading lines
and funnel into the frame disappearing at
the vanishing point on the horizon.

LINES AND VANISHING POINTS
Here is a photograph of a bustling street The point of view is fixed because of

in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. restrictions on my own movement, but I
wouldn't change anything if I could. The
main decision I had to make was where to
It really shows the life that flows through
put the vanishing point (1). That was easy
the streets in this city. To capture this to make as I wanted to show that the
scene I used the same simple hustle and bustle extended all the way
composition to that of the pier in the down the street as far as the eye could
previous pages. One glance down this see. That meant placing the vanishing
road from my viewpoint and it screamed point as close to the top of the frame in
order to get as much of the road in the
out to me to take a photograph, as it
frame as possible.
would scream out to anybody.
I also wanted a little piece of sky visible in
As far as composition is concerned there the far distance because I felt it
are two leading lines in this photograph, emphasises the feeling that the street
and they are the two lines either side of never ends.
the road. They span the width of the
The lens that I used is important too. I
frame at the bottom (2 and 3) and they
used a 14mm lens which allowed me to
converge to a dot at the top middle (1), capture so much detail in the foreground
which of course is the vanishing point. whilst allowing the road to drift off towards
the vanishing point creating a great
perspective and feeling of depth.
It really feels as if this road goes on

forever, full of pedestrians, cars,
1 rickshaws and people doing business.
Don’t be afraid to use commonly used

compositions, you don’t have to be
2
original with every shot.
Engage with your surroundings and
3 follow your intuition and gut instinct.
LINES AND VANISHING POINTS
As for finding this viewpoint, this was a There was a fortuitous two feet wide hard
spontaneous photograph and I came shoulder and a convenient five foot high
upon the scene by chance. I was cycle wall that I was able to press myself
touring in India and was crossing a against and look over to see this
bridge. Right behind me as I took this marvellous scene. It pays to explore a city
photograph there was dust, noise, in different ways. There was no path on
exhaust fumes and violent rushes of hot the bridge and no pedestrians. No car
air on my back as speeding vehicles could stop with the traffic being so busy,
raced past. and I stopped only by chance to have a
sneaky peek over the side. And I am glad
that I did!
3
GEOMETRY AND LINES
When you want to depict depth in a photo, with the bottom of the building wider than
you have to direct your camera at an the top, which is the same visual effect as
angle towards your subject. the photograph of the pier and Kolkata, or
to put it another way, the same
In the case of the pier and Kolkata street composition
scene my camera is at an angle relative
to the boardwalk or the road. If I shot from So use a wide angle lens, get quite
close-up then point the camera at an
directly overhead from a hot air balloon acute angle in relation to your road or
there would be no angle and there would building and you will create a standard
be no perspective. composition that has been repeated for
just about all iconic buildings and remote
roads.
But there is no limit to how you use this

composition, and you should use it to
hone your skills and then find original
alternatives both in compositions and
subject matter.
I have used this photo here to discuss this

In this image on this page I have point about perspective because it is the
photographed this apartment block head compositional opposite of the Kolkata
on with no angle, and all depth has gone, street scene and pier image in terms of its
giving me a flat image. composition.
I could have used a wide angle lens, From acute angle to no angle to get a
completely different photographic effect. It
walked to within a meter of the building
is usually impossible to get the height
pointing the camera up at an acute angle, needed to remove the angle from the
which would give the building the feeling Kolkata scene or the pier image, but such
of height (as well as a feeling of depth...or compositions would have a big impact
deepness) because of the originality.

SYMMETRY
I find that symmetry works most effectively when a scene inspires me but
is not wow factor spectacular. These scenes are interesting but without
the big wow factor reaction.
When I choose a symmetrical composition it often means keeping lines

straight, so although adding depth with perspective as shown in the
geometry and lines section, where symmetry was used in their
compositions, that is not what I am talking about here. I am talking about
picking out a detail or section in a landscape (not macro), whether urban
or rural, in order to capture something specific.
Both photographs below demonstrate this. The meander on the left from
Bosnia & Herzegovina is a detail of a landscape where I have shot head
on and used symmetry to show off its shape. The forest in Austria on the
right is a detail specifically to show the symmetry of the trees.

SYMMETRY
The softness of the colours, that

gentle dark green of the river and
the brown leafless trees in winter
add to an engaging subject.
The subject being the stillness and

flatness of the river surface and its
pronounced meander through the
mountains.
It all creates a very simple, graphic

natural shape. So I positioned the
river as centrally as I could in order
to show off the rivers symmetry.
Symmetry in nature is very

common, although you do have to
look quite hard sometimes, but it's
always there.
Here I zoomed into this small

forest detail. Either side of the
trees on the edges of the frame are
gaps that would have spoilt the
symmetry, so I had to zoom in to
get this.
What I like about this kind of

symmetry is that within the frame is
the randomness and chaos of
nature, all contained and
presented in this very simple and
graphic composition.

SYMMETRY
Creating symmetry in a photograph can present the

subject in a more graphic way.
The two photographs on this page place the subject

in the middle of the frame If you find a single object
on its own then you can draw attention to it by placing
it in the middle against a background that shows it off
and places it in context, but doesn't interfere with it.
If there were a row of trees in the photograph below, I

could have placed them equal distant apart along the
length of the horizon that would have provided a very
graphic and striking symmetry.

LAYERS
Layers can be used to create a visual The photo on the top right was taken
contrast between foreground and in the Carpathian mountain range in
background subjects and can be Romania and like all mountain ranges
used to create a sense of depth. the mountain roads are often below
the tree line so the views are
In instances where you feel that you restricted. The place where I took this
want to create a sense of depth, but photo was no different, but I have
the scene doesn't lend itself to stopped at a lay-by that fortuitously
manipulating lines in the way I has a cleared area immediately in
previously described, then using front of me so that the trees start
layers in your composition may work. about 30 metres away, giving some
breathing space for the view beyond

LAYERS
This photograph took a bit of Then in the distance each layer has
composing before I got something that distant forest carpet like look full
that I liked. But I decided to have a of texture but little actual detail. I like
dead straight line of trees in the that because all the detail you need is
foreground that consisted of very in the foreground layer. Each layer
detailed trees. That was the first main has its own distinct outline and each
decision because the alternative was one is satisfyingly lighter that the
to leave that layer out in order to previous one, and the final layer has
zoom into the layers beyond. This the tree line visible which provides an
provides a nice, contrasty and sharply interesting detail of bald mountain
detailed first layer. ridge. Beyond that is the final layer of
the sky.
I really like the feeling of depth that I get from this image, and so different
than the sharp geometry and lines used previously to get an effect of
depth.
The second image is also from Romania. The viewpoint is looking down
onto fields separated by trees, with the fields filled by early morning mist.
The mist creates a fading of each line of trees and bushes separated by
mist that creates a feeling of depth.

LAYERS
This is Dover castle in the UK and a This is a very tight crop and had I
slightly different take on the layers used a wide angle lens on this the
idea. This time there are two distinct layering effect would have been
layers, the residential houses in the muted significantly. The reason being
foreground, juxtaposed with the that a wide angle photograph would
castle in the background. have depicted the castle much
smaller in the composition and would
First let’s look at the image on this have been swamped by a mass of
page, and on the next page we’ll look blue sky. Whereas in the foreground I
at a simiilar photograph with some would have a mass of small terraced
interesting differences. houses within which this composition
would exist, but the effect would be
This composition creates a nice nullified.
contrast with the small residential
houses in the foreground being
depicted much larger than the castle
in the background. The chimneys in
the foreground are replaced by turrets
in the background.
Thanks to the effects of perspective

this creates a pleasant contrast that is
a little different to other compositions
and therefore has the ability to hold
the attention of the viewer a little
longer. Anything that equals different
will always draw viewers in for a
longer lingering look.

LAYERS
On the left is a very

similar photograph
taken at the same
time but from a
different position. This
is a more square on
composition with the
front of the houses
contrasting with the
front of the castle,
creating a great
comparison between
the two. Again a
telephoto lens is used
in order to eliminate
the immediate
environment thus
creating this layering
effect.

PEOPLE IN THE LANDSCAPE
Placing people into a landscape has
a huge effect on the overall look of a
composition. I am not talking about
portraits of people where a person
fills the frame as that is a separate
subject altogether. I am talking about
shooting urban and rural landscapes,
creating strong compositions of the
environment and then waiting for
people to enter a suitable section of
your composition before pressing the
shutter.
The difference between a photograph

of a landscape with people and then
the same landscape without people is
very pronounced.
Adding a person into your

composition will have the effect that
the eye will be immediately drawn to
that person, and then the eye will drift
through the rest of the photograph
from that point.
Assuming the same composition, but

without the person or people, the eye
will be drawn to other elements in the
photograph, which will give the photo
a different feel.
These images would be very different if

they didn’t have people in them.
Although, even without people the

compositions work.
If we look at conventional portraits for
a moment, the big rule here is that
you focus on the eyes of your subject.
Thousands of magazines, millions of
websites and just about all portrait
photographers will tell you this.
A portrait photographer focuses on

the eyes because the eyes of the
viewer will be immediately drawn to
them, and then everything radiates
out from there.
In a wider landscape photograph if

you place a person in the frame, that
person or people will have a
gravitational pull towards the part of
the image where they are depicted
that wouldn't be there if the person
wasn't there.
In my view this effect is very similar to

the effect of someone’s eyes in a
portrait photograph. In a portrait, as
soon as we know where the eyes are,
that's where we look first.
And as far as landscape photography

is concerned I think it's because we
are fundamentally drawn to look at
objects that we recognise as living
things. It doesn't matter if those living
things are humans or animals, the
effect will be the same.

The man walking the dog in this photograph adds so much to the
composition, and he also gives a sense of scale in the snowy forest.
The point that I am demonstrating here is that once you see the little
human stick figure, your eye goes straight to that.
There are lots of little blobby dark bits in the shadows of the snow and
one of those little blobby dark bits just happens to be a person.
Because we recognise the shape as a person and not a shadow in the

snow, once we become aware of it our eyes sort of lock on to it, and in
effect it becomes the subject of the photograph.
The composition was originally created in my mind's eye without the man
in the picture, but as I was using a tripod I waited until a person appeared
at the location that I wanted and took a few images with and a few
images without people.
I personally was happy with both versions but I do prefer this one.

I composed this image - initially - without people, so I
placed the concrete sculpture where I wanted it, and then
the snow covered land, the trees and the path that isn't
visible were all placed deliberately to create a pleasant
aesthetic without any people in it.
Again I was using a tripod so I just waited there for the best
part of half an hour and took a picture whenever I saw
people in positions that I like.
With the dog in the middle of the frame and the two people
walking along the snow covered path, the viewers eye is
drawn to them, once the viewer is aware of their presence.
Now, with the addition of the dog and the two people, they
have become the objects in the frame that the eye is drawn
to.

SCALE
Scale is a compositional component where a contrast is created
by placing something small in the frame against something large
in a frame. It is an exceptionally simple idea, and very easy to
execute.
It is up to the photographer to colour that in with ideas and

interpretation.
One thing that I do (as in the photograph below) is to compose

my image for the background, placing the camera on a tripod.
Then I wait for people to walk past, and once they are in position I
press the shutter.
Anticipating where people will be in the immediate future and

then plan a composition around that prediction is a really good
technique for creating scale in an image.

SCALE
In this photo of Wells Cathedral in Somerset, England, I have
used a 200mm lens and walked 50-100 meters (sorry, I can't
remember precisely!) away from the front until as much of the
front of the cathedral filled the frame. I wanted to fill the entire
background with the cathedral and include as little grass as
possible and no sky.
I did this to create a feeling of enormity.
To emphasise this this feeling of enormity I needed a person to

walk past. So, with the camera on a tripod all I had to do was wait
for someone to pass, and then click the shutter at the appropriate
time. As already explained I saw it in my minds eye before I had
set the camera up.

SCALE
The previous photo was a spontaneous shot in that I had no idea
I was going to shoot it until I stood in front of the cathedral. In my
mind I knew how to frame it and I knew that I would have to wait
for a pedestrian to walk past.
Using your imagination is so important in photography, and it is

the only way to create unique and original compositions.
Had I used a wider angle lens whilst shooting from the same
distance, what I would get is the entire frontage of the cathedral
against a pristine blue sky, with the blue sky taking up about 70
percent of the area of the composition and completely dominating
the cathedral.
Any people walking past become less significant in the

composition and the photograph just becomes a pleasant but
rather bland depiction of a building.
While that is neither good or bad, such a photograph does lack

creativity in compositional terms.

SCALE
The photograph of a house against the Fagaras mountains in
Romania was an obvious combination for a photograph.
I was travelling along the road between the tourist towns of

Brasov and Sibiu and was aware of the photographic
opportunities presented by the Fagaras mountain range in the
distance. Then I saw the traditional wooden house and instantly
knew that the two together would make a good photograph.
There are two main compositional components here, one of them

I have already talked about, and that is the use of layering to
create a feeling of depth.
The other is scale where I simply present small against large. I

have created a composition to present the house in the
foreground with it's fine detail and sharp contrast, against the
backdrop of mountains far enough in the distance for most of the
detail to have been removed by both the effect of distance and
some natural early morning mist that is still wafting around in the
air.

SCALE
The subject of the photo below is the Note: The rule of thirds dictates that
house, and I have used a medium the ridge line should be one third
lens (100mm) to ensure it is big down, but that just wouldn't be so
enough in the frame to be the focus effective here, and if I were to blindly
of the shot. The longer lens also follow the rule of thirds I would have
helps to isolate and emphasise the to use a wider angle lens in order to
two main elements, namely the position everything in the frame
house and the mountains (what you along the lines and intersections in
leave out is as important as what you the Tic-Tac-Toe grid.
leave in).
My separation technique allows you
Unlike the cathedral shot previously I to leave a suitable gap that fulfills
want to include some sky in the your vision.
image so that the jagged edge of the
ridge is visible. There should be no absolutes in
photographic composition.
I wanted the mountain ridge high up
the frame to emphasise the height of
the mountains.

SCALE
The cliff and lighthouse photo from East Sussex, England is
another people in the landscape shot, nice and simple with
that dramatic cliff edge and tiny people.
This is a handheld shot where I Compositionally I split the photo

waited for the walkers on the top down the middle between the sea
left to get to the very top of the hill. and the land with a symmetry of
people and lighthouse in each
So I had plenty of time to see the corner. Scale of course is very
photo in my minds eye and then important as far as this
frame the shot. composition is concerned,
although I think that aspect of the
This is a very simple composition. composition speaks for itself.
There are always people strolling

along the clifftops here in the
summer months and a variety of
compositions scream out loudly all
along this stretch of coast.

FRAME WITHIN A FRAME
If you have ever walked through an Anyway, framing a shot this way has a
archway with a camera, then I bet number of uses. It can give the
as you have exited that archway appearance of looking out into the world
you have tried to frame a shot with from the other side of a window, or the
the curve of the arch forming a appearance of peaking out onto the
frame around the main part of your world from somewhere else, or you can
composition. It's a natural thing to use this technique to fill a part of the
do, at least I think it is! But maybe it frame that would otherwise be
is just me. distractingly empty.
Or you can use it just to help focus

the viewers eye away from the
edge onto something else.
The photograph on the right is

taken from just inside the Blue
Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
I had to use a tripod for the long

exposure needed to get the motion
blur of the family walking out. But
the framing provided by the open
doorway and those studded doors
helps add a certain feeling and
atmosphere to the photograph. At
the other end of the pathway is the
Haghia Sophia, once a church,
then a mosque and now a
museum.

This photograph was composed

purely for aesthetic purposes, it was a
spontaneous shot that I saw as I
walked out of the mosque, and so
there was no pre-planning, it just
shouted out to me.
Sometimes though, there is a need to

fill a few gaps around the edge. Trees
are always a good way of filling an
empty bit of sky which would have the
effect of pushing the eye down onto
your subject without which there
would otherwise have been
distracting sky.
If you are photographing on a cloudy

day where there are no details in the
cloud, just that plain steely grey sky,
then it might be wise to create
compositions that eliminate the sky
altogether or else use objects like
buildings, archways or overhanging
trees to fill the void.

The photograph on the right is from

Dresden in Germany. This day was
horrible, cold and a sky that was
enough to put any photographer off, but
if you wander around for long enough
you will find something.
When I wander around a place like this

with such overcast skies, I do look for
the archways and bridges and details.
And I also wander around trees,
because an overhanging tree can help
push the viewers eye into the
photograph.
For this photo I was standing under a

tree, obviously in winter! Those
branches provided just enough
overhang to create an interesting
composition to compliment the
buildings in the bottom half of the
frame.
This is more a variation of the frame in

a frame idea, as the 'frame' consists of
just overhanging trees, but I wanted to
point out the usefulness of this idea and
how it can be used to fill an empty gap
which in turn helps to create a better
balance in the image.

So let's see, previously I used an archway for aesthetic

purposes, then I used an overhanging tree to fill a gap
of empty sky, what else can there be?
Well, one last variation on this topic are urban scenes

where I use the edges of buildings either side of the
composition to create a graphic effect, or to push the
viewers eye into the central section of the image whilst
providing points of interest throughout the photograph.
That is impossible to imagine without having a look at a

couple of examples, which I have provided on the next
couple of pages.

The photographs on this page use a version of the

frame within a frame composition style that may seem
to be a little tenuous, because exactly where is the
frame!?
I use this compositional component quite a lot for both

people and architecture.
If someone unknown to me was to de-construct these

two images with regard to composition then they may
say that I am employing the rule of thirds, but that isn't
true, and that is another reason why I want to describe
these two images here.
These two photographs use the same composition but

the subject matter is different.
The photograph on the left is from the old town in

Dubrovnik, Croatia and looks out to the tourists looking
over the city wall.
The photo on th eright is a village scene in West

Bengal in India.

For the photograph of tourists looking over Dubrovnik's

city wall I deliberately placed those buildings either side
of the frame in order to provide interesting detail and
context as well as to push the viewers eye into the
centre towards the people.
Walking around on top of the city wall is a popular

tourist attraction and when I saw the wall beyond these
buildings I knew it would make a unique composition if I
could just snap some tourists. So I set up the frame
with camera on tripod and waited for people to walk
past. Consciously I am using the buildings as a kind of
frame, although to an outsider it looks like I am using
the rule of thirds.

The image of the cyclists in an an Indian village is no

different. I put a 200mm lens on a tripod in this village
and just stood there waiting for photos to appear.
The blurry men are just inquisitive and they politely

moved out of the way of what they perceived as my
lens's line of fire, hence the gap in the middle, so I used
this behaviour to my advantage.
I knew they would be blurred and everything beyond

would be in focus and when these cyclists trundled
past, I pressed the shutter. Consciously I used the
blurry men to frame the cyclists. I did not consciously
employ the rule of thirds.

Again, a very similar composition to the previous two

photographs. This time this is a multiple image stitched
panorama.
This image is about 40 individual images and in

resolution terms it is huge! Those thicker trees left and
right were essential to the overall composition and were
included in the frame not because of the rule of thirds,
but because they provided a kind of soft framing within
the straight edges of the actual frame, an initial point of
interest if you like .
They provide scale, help to give a feeling of depth and

push the viewer into the frame. And that is the point of
a frame in a frame. You can use it as a foreground
object to provide scale, or use it as an initial point of
interest with the main subject inside the frame.
Remember, when you depict people in an image as I

have done here, although they look like small stick
figures, your eye is drawn to them more than any other
object, so in my method for composing an image, they
become the subject and everything else provides the
environment that places them in context.

COMPOSITIONAL STYLES
If you were given the task of fulfilling a photographic

brief for a client then you would have to make plans on
how you would tackle that brief.
You would sit down and think about the range of

photography you would want to produce. So if that brief
was to photograph a particular location you would want
to present to the client a wide ranging set of
photographs that captured the essence and character
of that location.
To fullfill such a brief a good starting point would be to

divide your photography into a number of compositional
styles.
Those styles may go something like this:
1. Open landscape
2. Closed landscape
3. Detail
4. Movement

These four compositional styles are a good start to get

going on a project but the list is by no means
comprehensive, but it is a good start.
Of course, these styles can be applied to any

photography project.
You could use it as a starting point for a personal

project to photograph a forest, a project that could even
last over the course of a year, covering the seasons ,
you can have such a list ready in your mind even if you
are just out for a stroll and you have a camera with you.
The list is fairly self explanatory, so I won't dwell too

long on them, but they do need a little explaining...

Okay then, an open landscape first, I lined up the Sun and the land in
and then we’ll move on to the closed this composition by moving myself
landscape. and my camera left and right. A
photographer can move the Sun! Or
The classic sweeping vista that the entire landscape depending on
we've spoken about previously is an how you look at it.
open landscape.
You should always consider other
The photograph here on the top right types of compositions. Keep mental
is also an open landscape, taken lists and run through them in your
with a 200mm lens so not really a mind, after a time it will become
classic sweeping vista composition, instinctive and you will also start to
which are normal wide angle shots. see compositional opportunities
beyond those lists that will be
An open landscape is one where completely original.
both the sky and the land forms the
composition. Open landscapes apply to urban
landscapes too, as do all these
My example here was an obvious compositional styles.
choice for an open landscape, the
environmental conditions in this
richly coloured sunrise dictated less
land and more sky. A nice, simple
composition with a silhouette.

The image below is of green fields It wasn't even blue, it was just a
in Exmoor Park, Somerset, England. yellowy bluey washed out colour.
The subject of the photograph is the One problem with the sky was that
tree and I chose to show it without the sun is shining slightly from my
sky because this was the middle of right as I am taking the picture, so
the day with hazy sunshine, lovely my camera is pointing slightly
and warm as it was, it didn't change towards the sun.
the fact that there was no detail or
anything interesting in the sky. When you have your back to the sun
the sky in front of you will change
colour to a darker blue and it will be
less washed out than it was at this
angle in my photo here.
However, compositionally I also love

the shades of green that washed
over the image. So the colour palette
is yellow/green all the way through,
and the tree (my subject) is set
perfectly against the tree clad hills
beyond, which creates a pleasant
visual effect.

The image below is of green fields It wasn't even blue, it was just a
in Exmoor Park, Somerset, England. yellowy bluey washed out colour.
The subject of the photograph is the One problem with the sky was that
tree and I chose to show it without the sun is shining slightly from my
sky because this was the middle of right as I am taking the picture, so
the day with hazy sunshine, lovely my camera is pointing slightly
and warm as it was, it didn't change towards the sun.
the fact that there was no detail or
anything interesting in the sky. When you have your back to the sun
the sky in front of you will change
colour to a darker blue and it will be
less washed out than it was at this
angle in my photo here.
However, compositionally I also love

the shades of green that washed
over the image. So the colour palette
is yellow/green all the way through,
and the tree (my subject) is set
perfectly against the tree clad hills
beyond, which creates a pleasant
visual effect.

As I wander through a landscape with a camera in my hand I am constantly
asking myself how much original photography can I squeeze out of this
landscape?
I don't mean that literally of course, but in my minds eye I am always looking
for compositions. Sometimes the landscape looks great but when I put the
camera to my eye, I can't automatically get a suitable composition.
Sometimes something in the frame will jar with me, it might even be a van
or lorry in the distance that bothers me or too much or too little sun or cloud
or dark or light.
So I'll go mechanically through my list of compositional styles and test them

out in my mind and have another go.
Anyway, the other two styles on the list that I present here are detail and
movement.

And two examples are here on the Often you have to take a variety of
right. Detail on the top and movement styles and view them later before you
at the bottom. can work out exactly what works and
what doesn't. The detail example
Although I used a professional inspired me because I loved the divots
commission as a scenario when I and grooves carved into the land.
started this topic, this list of
compositional styles is not a set of New tractor tracks and ancient plough
compositions that you should create for marks scar the landscape telling a story
every landscape that you photograph, of its history. That kind of detail
and neither for every project that you fascinated me and inspired me to take
embark on. this photograph.
If details scream out at you then take The photograph of a pier is a more
them, if open landscapes say nothing, conventional 'off the shelf' composition
then leave them out. Cherry pick what that really shouted at me at the time,
you want and discard the rest. Or and I think it's obvious why.
challenge yourself as an exercise, by
photographing in a number of styles so
you can see what you get when back
at the computer.

EXERCISE/ASSIGNMENT
Pick an area that you are familiar with. If you choose a forest, then the open
Maybe a place that you have landscape may be a view of the forest
photographed before, or have been from afar, with the surrounding
thinking about photographing. countryside in view. The closed
landscape could be pretty much
You can choose any location anything inside the forest.
whatsoever , like a whole town, or just
a shopping centre in the town. Or you Detail could be a close up of a single
can choose a forest or a landscape tree or close up shots of grasses or
like a national park. moss. Movement could be the wind
blowing the trees and branches
This exercise isn't about the location around, maybe a long exposure to
per se, but the set of photographs that capture that.
you will take from that location.
You don't have to take all four styles,
This exercise is about capturing the because there may not be an
character of a place in a series of opportunity to photograph movement
photographs that use the four different for example. But try to include as many
compositional styles that I have of the four compositional styles that
mentioned. you can, as this will allow you to apply
placement separation and balance in
So, as a starting point for a different ways, that will in turn help you
photographic project, choose your to see your environment in different
location and take a series of photos ways which will also help you to unlock
that include an open landscape shot, a your creativity.
closed landscape shot, a detail shot,
and a movement shot.

THE END
Well, that’s about it for what I have to I learnt loads about my own
say on composition. photography too and really had a good
hard look at how I take my own
All you now have to do is practice, photographs, and I hope that came
practice and more practice. across in the eBook.
Photography is relaxing and fun, so Okay then, it’s time to say

just get out there and take those goodbye...but fear not, as I do have a
photographs! website and I also have another
eBook, available from my website, as
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the read, well as an ever growing albeit small
and I hope you gained loads of insight collection of e-courses
into composition that you will be
building into your own processes. So hop on over to my website and
have a peruse of all my blog posts
I’ve loved writing this eBook, which about photography.
took me ages to write, as I wrote a
page here and a page there...over a Tony Eveling.
long time.

BONUS PAGE
I have a number of e-courses available on composition and other
aspects of photography.
Those e-courses are hosted by Udemy who are industry leaders in

online e-courses.
My courses are priced anywhere between US$20 and US$200, so

they are not cheap.
However, this is a bonus page, and therefore I am offering all my

courses to you for just US$10 each! - You have lifetime access, and
30-day money back guarantee.
These discounts are for a limited time only, and for the next couple of
months you can go to my e-courses page on my website to get the
discount codes.
My courses are designed to make you a much better photographer

than you already are, in the minimum time. If you enjoyed this eBook,
then you’ll love my courses.

THE BACKPAGE
Here on the final page, are some links to my photography website

that I hope you will find interesting and informative
www.tonyeveling.com
8 Articles to make you a better photographer
Other interesting articles!
My Photography e-courses
And once again, my promise to you: All the images on my website, in

my eBooks, and in my e-course video classes were taken by me. I
never use other people's photographs to explain my techniques.
I would never teach anything that I couldn’t do myself.

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What is the book about?

What is the book about?

What are the four compositional styles discussed in the book?

What are the four compositional styles discussed in the book?

The ultimate guide to

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY

What is composition 5 Geometry and lines 58

Rules, rules and no more rules! 6 Lines and vanishing points 65

So, what are the rules 8 Symmetry 68

The four rules, ahem 12 Layers 71

Dungeness at dusk, Kent, UK

This book will help teach you how to turn your

If you want to take photos like these...

Then this eBook will tell you exactly how.

Kick start your adventures in photography right here

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY Table of contents

I don’t use stock photos, or other

I would never teach anything that I

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY Table of contents

Copyright 2017 Tony Eveling

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY Table of contents

Dungeness at dusk, Kent, UK

I spend a huge amount of my time outdoors and it is essential that I enjoy

I don't do this as a photojournalist, but as a fine art photographer taking

As I said in my introduction, in this book I want to explain the processes that I

Jetty, Swanage Bay, Dorset, UK

Some of the images in this book, such as the

Don’t feel that you have to do that too though. You

View from the Pennine Way, Kinder Plateau, Derbyshire, UK

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY Table of contents

Before we go any further I'd just like to clear something up

A rule is an instruction to do something a certain way (often

A technique is a method employed through choice for the

Both of these definitions apply to the rules that make up 'the

Undoubtedly they are rules because used properly they help

But...and this is a huge but....you use them as techniques.

You don't apply them arbitrarily as a rule that must be

You apply them to assist in positioning elements in a frame

View from the Isle of Portland at dusk, Dorset, UK

Everything I explain in this book should be used (or not...you

For example, I will be looking at the most famous 'rule' of all

And sometimes we'll get it wrong. Sometimes we will use a

We should be making mistakes, it's all part of the learning

View from the Isle of Portland at dusk, Dorset, UK

The adults may have had one too many

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY Table of contents

In my photography I always make one very simple decision

'what is the subject of the photograph'

Or, to put it another way, what is the photograph of?

The subject is the focal point of the image, and once

For compositional purposes, what the subject is, is not so

The important thing here is that after deciding what the

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY Table of contents

TONY EVELING PHOTOGRAPHY Table of contents

Later in this book I will move onto compositional styles, such as

I love original and intuitive compositions in photography as well as

The key takeaways so far are:

You must have a ‘moment of inspiration’, it sounds flaky I know,

You then need to stop and employ the discipline of composition

The subject is the most important object, where everything in