Why do we have to "compose" our photos anyway?
Have you ever taken a walk with a toddler? It’s not a task for someone with an end goal in mind. The pace is dictated by the child and there are all sorts of tangents and detours that are possible. But along the way, you see things that you didn’t necessarily anticipate.
How does a toddler get your attention? They tug on your arm or hand or clothes, and then they point at what they want you to see. Your gaze follows their arm and finger and eventually you see what they caught their attention. You need the direction of their pointing finger to show you what they are seeing — you won’t see it without that visual aid.
In photography, the visual aids have to be found within the photo itself. We can use the lines of the landscape to point us towards the sunset. We can use the brights and darks of the forest to hide or reveal a bird. We use the shapes of the agility equipment to frame and highlight the moment of peak action in a dog’s course. We use the quality and direction of the light to indicate the mood and feel of the moment. These elements move our eyes around the image, but also give us the clues for where our eyes should stop.
If the visual cues are pointing in the wrong direction, we end up wondering which path we should take though the photo.
Sometimes we include things in the frame that make our eyes stop when they shouldn’t. One website I was reading recently called them “Eye Snags.” Eye Snags are not a good thing. If my eye gets caught on a snag, it means I’m missing the point of the photo. It means I never made it to the part you think is the most important.
When you see an image you took, you are flooded with memories of that event and remember what was going on when you took it. You know why you took it. You know what you were trying to say when you took it.
However, no one else has that same set of memories. If I look at a photo you took, I do not have that mental history to fill in the gaps. All I have is what you have put inside the four sides of the image. If you have included clues for me to follow, I’ll be able to find what it is you want me to look at, just like I can see what the toddler is pointing at when I’m on my walk because I can follow their pointing fingers. If the clues are missing or confusing or obscured, I’m going to have a hard time with the photo and I’ll probably move along quickly to something else. You have to grab my attention like a toddler pulling at my arm and then point me towards what I should see.
Compositon is not for the benefit of the photographer. Composition is for the benefit of those with whom the photographer is trying to communicate. By learning the language of composition, you will be able to more clearly communicate the message captured within the boundaries of your image.