New Photo Composition Made Easy System for ALL Levels
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Do you find composition in photography hard or easy? Either way, it’s easier than you think. In this video, I’ll share my Composition Made Easy system in depth with lots of image examples. Once you complete this photo composition tutorial, you’ll be composing your images like a pro, regardless of your current photographic skill or the type of photos you like to shoot, whether it’s wildlife, portraits, landscapes, weddings, or anything else. This is the composition system I wish I had when I started back in 1989, and it isn’t taught anywhere else. Stay until the end, and I’ll share how to get my free Composition Made Easy e-book, which you can print or download to your smartphone for your next photoshoot.
Why Do You Need a Photo Composition System?
Before I started creating amazing images, I was a lost soul shooting random subjects, and my images were horrible.
Getting the proper exposure was easy, but it wasn’t enough to elevate my photos to the next level.
It wasn’t until I began taking photography seriously and applying composition techniques and rules that I learned that my photography began to improve.
But composing was easier said than done. Although my images improved, they were still not that great.
So, I began researching what made art, in general, awesome or not.
And I noticed a pattern of ingredients required to take my photos to the next level.
This Composition Made Easy system includes those ingredients and the order to prepare them BEFORE pressing the shutter release button.
Photo Composition Ingredients
The foundation for this composition system is the 5 Ws, which are used by journalists and other writers of novels, fiction, movies, and other works.
I’ve adapted those 5 Ws to be used as the recipe for creating amazing images, and you can apply the recipe to any type of photography.
First Photo Composition Ingredient
This first W was inspired by Edward Weston, one of the best photographers of his time, and he was quoted as saying, “Composition is the strongest way of seeing.”
But what does it mean to “see” as a photographer?
Well, according to the definition, “it is to perceive or detect as if by sight,” “to be aware of,” or, my favorite, “to form a mental picture.”
In photography, if you want to create amazing photos, you must see your image… or a mental picture of it… or, as I like to say, your Creative Vision BEFORE hitting the shutter-release button.
And the first ingredient is to “see” the “W”ho… or in other words, decide on the primary subject of your photo.
And that might be obvious if you shoot portraits or wildlife.
However, for landscapes, depending on the vastness of the scene, multiple subjects might be available, and, therefore, multiple compositions are possible.
REGARDLESS of your genre, the “Who” should be the focal point of your image.
Second Photo Composition Ingredient
The second W is a little harder, but it will make the final three ingredients so easy to implement that you’ll wonder how you created images without them.
So, the second “W” is your “Why.”
“Why” are you creating this image?
I’m not referring to whether it’s for you or a client.
Let’s dig a little deeper than that to answer your “Why.”
First, why is your “Why” important? Well, billions of technically perfect images are created every year.
But they don’t mean anything.
When you look at a photo and don’t feel anything, it’s just another photo.
Now, this is important: if you’re not feeling anything from a scene, then you need to work on the last “W,” which is coming up soon.
Also, there’s nothing wrong with technically correct images that don’t mean anything. I create them all the time.
But my best images evoke emotion and do something that writers have been doing since the beginning of time… tell a story.
And yes, you can tell a story regardless if you’re shooting wildlife, landscapes, portraits, or anything else.
Storytelling with portraits is easy to capture, and the story depends on the expression captured.
Some can even take you back in time if you connect with that moment. Or they can take you to the future, which is what I think about when photographing the Father-Daughter dance during a reception.
Getting an expression from Wildlife is more difficult, but if you consider an action they take, whether flying, shaking, or doing something else, that is the story for that image.
The elements you include in your landscape compositions can create a feeling of isolation, heat, and dryness.
Or it can be clean, refreshing, and vibrant. So, your “Why” is about… including emotions or feelings that will take your images to the next level.
Now imagine watching a movie that didn’t evoke some kind of emotion as you watched it. It would be boring, wouldn’t it?
So, your “Why” is your movie, which makes composing your image easier because you can now easily complete the next three Ws or ingredients.
Third Photo Composition Ingredient
Okay, now that you know the “Who and Why” you must “see the” “What.”
The “What” includes what should or shouldn’t be included that will either complement the subject or distract from it.
In other words, it’s time to remove any distracting elements from your frame that don’t add to the story or your Creative Vision.
Wildlife Photo Composition
Here’s an image of a blue heron I found at our local marsh. I noticed it was searching for food and wanted to make it the primary subject.
Now that I had the “Who,” I had to decide “What” should and “What” shouldn’t be included.
The Marsh itself is very busy and has a lot of elements competing for our attention.
We have the foreground
The middle ground where the primary subject is standing, along with a lot of branches
The marsh just behind it
Two large logs, with one being very bright in the background
Plus, the background itself.
We have a very busy scene with many elements competing for our attention, distracting us from our Who, the subject, or the Heron.
So, I could have zoomed in tighter to remove some of the distracting elements to create a better, stronger composition.
However, this was the best I could do because I was already shooting at the maximum focal length of 700mm.
In Lightroom, if I crop tighter, some of the distracting elements become minimized. However, this crop is still very busy.
Cropping a little tighter is better, but the main problem is there isn’t enough separation between the background and the Blue Heron.
Long story short, this is not a very good image, and when presented with wildlife in a situation like this, I don’t bother shooting because I know it’s a weak composition.
Now, there’s an old saying that says less is more, and that’s exactly what I did when I created this composition of this Tri-colored Heron.
This is a stronger composition since there’s more separation between the primary subject and the background.
Plus, we have fewer elements, and none of them compete with our primary subject. Instead, they complement our subject.
Landscape Photo Composition
Here’s another example of “seeing” with landscapes.
While traveling through Southern Utah, I noticed this Butte off into the distance. I pulled over, got out, and this is basically what I saw from the side of the road.
With 5 main elements, it’s not as busy as the image of the Blue Heron.
The “Who” or primary subject is the Butte. The “What” is the dead vegetation, the fence, the middle ground, and the sky.
So, the lower two-thirds of the image includes too many distracting elements that are not very interesting… and they all compete for our attention and distract us from the primary subject.
So, it’s not a very good composition.
Let’s compare that to this next image of another Butte, which has more elements but a stronger composition and is much more interesting than the other image.
Wouldn’t you agree?
Again, the Butte is the primary subject. The “What” includes the…
Foreground interest
Middle ground
The sunburst
A layer of mountains in the background
And the sky
Even though there are more elements than before, it still has a much stronger composition than the other image.
Portrait Photo Composition
When it comes to portraits, the “Who” is obvious, and like with the other two images, the “What” requires determining what elements should or shouldn’t be included.
This engagement session was held in downtown Detroit, and our subjects are lost in a sea of distractions…
the couple in the foreground
a big empty space that competes for our attention
so is the post, with 3 different signs
big, yellow cab is also screaming for our attention
As well as the building behind it
and the other post, street sign, and tree
the building behind that
and all the other cars in the street.
Here’s a simpler composition with four main elements that complement our subjects. We’ll revisit this image again during Step 3.
Fourth + Fifth Photo Composition Ingredient
The final 2 “Ws” will improve your photo by including context about your image, adding to your story, and making it sooo much better versus not including “Where” and “When.”
And here’s a pro secret about these two Ws and this entire composition system: Most of the images I create are pre-planned.
That’s because I often have a Creative Vision long before arriving at a location for landscape photos or creating portraits, whether it’s of a client, my kids, our pets, or portraits of wildlife.
I like to see a mental picture ahead of time and properly prepare.
So, before I leave the house, I know the “who, why, what, where, and when” to create the story I have in mind.
When I’m ready to press the Shutter-Release button, 99% of the work is already done….
…which makes composing as easy as apple pie.
Now, if I’m out shooting wildlife, I don’t know the “who” until it arrives.
But I’ve already done the other 90% of the work before I hit the trail, which includes
shooting at a specific time
having my camera settings set accordingly,
and being at a specific location to complete my Mental Picture.
So, your “Where and When” should be pre-planned.
And here’s the difference between shooting at the wrong time. Only 45 minutes separate these two images.
But the second image is more dramatic due to “when” I created it.
Golden Hour and Blue Hour provide magically delicious light, accounting for most of my best images.
“Where” you shoot requires research and planning ahead to create your best image.
To help you remember all this, I’ve put together a free PDF e-book that you can download to your smartphone or print out.
Click here to download the Photo Composition Made Easy system.
