8 tips to find the subject of your composition

Do you find it difficult to take photos that hold people’s attention? In our digital societies where image sharing is prolific, it is difficult for people to really take the time to look at your precious photos. Image composition is key here.

So I want to give you eight tips on how to create images that will grab the attention of your viewer. People will want to stop and watch rather than continue to scroll through your images.

A good composition must have a clear main subject. It can be as simple as a landscape or a person’s face, or it can be something very small in the frame. If the composition is good, the main subject will come out as a sore thumb.

We all have a unique vision of the world. Each of us takes the world around us in different ways. If you have already taken a group photo walk and participated in a shared image review afterwards, you will know. Each photographer will have traveled the same street, and the number of photographers having participated, there will be this same variety of photos.

1. Choose a topic to which you can relate

What catches your attention? Why do you like it? You should ask yourself these things when taking pictures. If you choose topics with which you feel connected, you will create more interesting photos. It is simply because you are interested in the subject.

So your initial choice of subject should be something you can connect with. My subject in the portrait below is a woman with whom my wife and I chat at the local market. We connect with it. I wrote about her and her late husband in a recent article.

Because I have this beautiful friendship with her, it is easier for me to take beautiful pictures of her. I know she will be happy to pose for me. I also know that I will have a more interesting photo of her when she is a little more relaxed and that she will not look at me directly. In this photo, she was chatting with my wife who was standing next to me.

2. Isolate the subject

The most obvious way to bring out your main subject in your photos is to isolate it.

My two favorite ways to isolate my subject are to use a shallow depth of field or a dark background. Using either of these techniques, your main subject will be unmistakable.

Choosing a large enough aperture and having a subject far enough from the background will allow you to have a blurred background and a sharp subject. If you are using a camera with a small sensor or a smartphone with a single lens, this may not be possible.

When you have a dark background, your subject stands out, especially when there is more light on the subject than the background. To get this look, find a place where the background is in the shade and your subject has more light on it.

3. Choose your goal carefully

Your choice of lens can affect how you compose the image and how your main subject is viewed. Sometimes a wide angle lens is better than a telephoto lens. Other times, you will need a longer goal.

Getting closer to your subject with a wide lens has a different effect than if you use a long lens and move farther away. If you’re not sure how it works, the best way to learn is to experiment.

Try taking a series of photos of the same subject with different lenses or zoom settings and see in which photos your main subject is the most beautiful.

4. Frame your subject

Configure your subject as you want to see them. Move around your subject and study it from different angles. Watch carefully how the background changes from what is behind it. Find an angle where your subject looks best.

Limit what you include in your frame. Fill your frame only with what is relevant to the photo you are taking. If you can see something in the frame that doesn’t balance or improve your subject, keep making changes until you can’t see those things anymore.

5. Tap the foreground

Use something in the foreground of your composition to draw the viewer’s attention to your subject. This technique will add depth to your composition.

Use an object that is in front of your main subject, in focus or out of focus. This can help draw the viewer’s attention to your subject.

6. Use main lines and diagonals

Composing your photo so that there are strong lines leading to your main subject will enhance it. The spectator’s eye will be directed along the lines to rest on the chosen subject. It is a very simple and very effective technique.

Diagonal lines well used in a composition can also be used to draw the viewer’s eye to the main subject.

7. Time well

Choosing the right time to take your photo can help draw attention to your main subject. When you’re shooting in a busy place, good timing is imperative. Walking someone in front of or behind your main subject when you take your photo would hurt your main subject.

Watch carefully. When I’m in a busy place, I usually have both eyes open, rather than closing one. This way I can see more of what is going on around me and my subject and it helps me to synchronize my photos better.

8. Crop with imagination

Do not always respect the rules of composition. Thinking outside the box can help highlight your main subject in unusual ways.

In this photo of the golden elephant statue against the golden wall of the chedi, everything tended to mix. The harsh light was not useful. Cropping tight to the elephant and of which only half catches your attention there. The negative space balances the composition.

Conclusion

Try these tips sometimes. Be aware of your main subject and everything in your frame. If there are distractions, use one or more of these techniques to draw attention to your main subject and make it tell the story you want.

Bringing out your main subject will make your photo easier to view and understand. But more than bringing out your subject, you need to frame it so that viewers can see the subject and the scene as you see it.