Composition
As it relates to visual media: Composition is the selection and placement of all visual (and non-visual) elements within a piece of work that contributes to the work's interpretation.

Composition is about the ingredients and how those ingredients are put together. You can also think about it as the actors and the characters they are playing. Whatever works for you.

There are literally decades worth of reading material on this topic, so the following are suggestions to help with your visual composition.


These are some artistic elements to consider:

Line - The visual path to help the viewer move within a piece and helps define direction.

Shape - Organic or Geometric shapes defined by edges or areas.

Value - Lightness and Darkness and the differences between the two (Contrast).

Texture - Physical or perceived surface qualities.

Color - Hue, Tint, Value, Intensity, and Saturation.

Size - Physical size and relative sizes within the piece; proportion.

Perspective - perceived space creating depth, foreground, middle ground, and background (one point, two point and three point perspective).

Emphasis - generated interest or focus (not necessarily "in focus").

Harmony - consistency within elements, subjects, colors, values etc...

Negative Space - The "lack" of subject or interest in one area, causing greater interest elsewhere within the piece.

Repetition - Reinforcement through repetition. Can evolve into pattern, and/or rhythm.

Balance - Even distribution of elements to reinforce symmetry.



Some Rules to try:

The Rule of Thirds

1.) Create a Tic Tac Toe set of lines (break the space up evenly using two vertical and two horizontal lines; creates nine boxes).

2.) Place the object of interest on or near any of the intersecting lines.

3.) If breaking up the space with a horizon, place it on one of the two horizontal lines. This allows for either background or foreground to be dominant.

4.) This keeps your focus point from falling into the center. This also keeps your image from being bisected into two equally dominant image parts. Both flatten an image's sense of space, and yield static composition.

Simplification

1.) Isolate what and why you are taking a picture (your intent).

2.) Identify elements that could compete with your intent such as busy backgrounds or super saturated colors.

3.) Remove, reduce or change competing elements by recomposing, changing or blurring background, or creating negative space.


Get Closer

1.) Fill the frame with the subject. If need be, have the subject fall off the frame. This adds power and emphasis to the expression, action, movement or gesture.

2.) "If it isn't a good image, then you weren't close enough".

3.) Try having the subject touch at least three sides of the image.

4.) Don't "Where's Waldo" your subject. "What is the subject" should never be in question.


Utilize Triadic Harmony

1.) In Visual media, this term represents the use of colors that are evenly spaced around the color wheel. They tend to be vibrant with one color acting as a dominant color and the other two as supporting colors.

2.) Anything can have "triadic harmony", not just color. Utilize one element as the dominant subject, and two as supporting elements.

3.) Place your three elements remembering to place your dominant element utilizing the rule of thirds. This should create flow within the image while emphasizing the main subject.

Don't "Give Up All the Cookies"

1.) Remember that what you DON'T show is as important as what you DO show.

2.) Make sure your viewer has room for interpretation. Try to lead your viewer or elude to information outside the image plane.

3.) Don't Preach. You want to create dialogue or provoke thought.

4.) "Do it First, Better or Different." I got that from Loretta Lynn as quoted in Readers Digest and it is 100% Correct. People want to see new (rare), better (rare but more frequent) or different (majority). Most people fall into the post-modern realm of recombination which basically is taking what you know and giving it your own twist.