"The Ultimate Guide to Composition"

Chris Knight's "Ultimate Guide to Composition" covers the five types of compositions: center, the rule of thirds, golden triangles, diagonals, and the golden ratio/golden rectangles/golden spiral.

Center composition puts the subject in the center of the frame. If it's done well, the symmetry and intricate detail makes it aesthetically pleasing. I really enjoy this composition, but it is very hard to create a center composition that is very visually appealing and memorable. For inspiration, here are some of my favorite Wes Anderson's shots that use the center composition:

The rule of thirds divides the image into nine equal parts. Using the rule of thirds makes it easier to create an interesting image, as the off-center subject creates more tension in the shot.

The golden triangles divide the image into three or four triangles with a strong diagonal line, called the "major line," and another diagonal line that goes from one corner to the major line, connecting perpendicularly. That line is called the "reciprocal line." This creates a more dynamic photograph, as seen below. Just look at that bridge and its diagonal line. Powerful stuff.

The two types of diagonals are Baroque and Sinister. Baroque are read from left to right and Sinister are read from right to left.

Baroque:

Sinister:

The golden ratio is all about geometry and proportions. The largest shape is divided by a perfect square, and the remaining portion is the same proportions as the first shape. Then that shape is divided by a perfect square, and so on and so forth. It creates somewhat of a spiral on the frame:

This ratio also works on other shapes and is seen in the Great Pyramids, Stonehenge, the Parthenon, on the human body, seashells, and hurricanes.

Knight also focuses on other important concepts and theories that help make photographs more dynamic, such as a frame within a frame and the Gestalt Principles.

A frame within a frame is an extremely important theory that uses objects to frame the main subject. It's good to have a foreground frame that is darker than the background because our eyes go to the brightest parts of the image. 

Some of the Gestalt Principles are figure/ground, proximity and grouping, symmetry and balance, similarity, continuity, and closure.

Figure/ground means the subject and everything surrounding it is very contrasting. Using either chiaroscuro, strong contrasts between light and dark, and/or negative space, it enhances the illusion of depth.

When elements are placed together, they become a group. When similar objects are placed together, it becomes a whole. And elements with similar characteristics can be viewed as a group or pattern and can be very nice to look at.

Symmetry creates an equilibrium. As long as you make the center composition purposeful and dynamic, the symmetry is strong and appealing. Also, balance does not always mean perfect symmetry.

Continuity deals with leading lines. They can be straight or curved, but they're not alway obvious. They guide the viewer's eye to continue through the object.

Last, but not least, is closure. The subject is not fully seen, but the image gives your brain enough to form the rest. It "leaves a little to the imagination."

For me, learning the five main compositions was very helpful. I've learned the rule of thirds before, but learning and seeing the other compositions in use will help me frame my own shots and understand why certain photographs are more aesthetically pleasing than others.

First Reading Assignment Response

Chris Knight explains that composition is "Perhaps one of the most important parts of photography." Composition is how a photographer or filmmaker sees what he or she will be using for their project. If you can understand what good composition is, you'll know how to produce great photos or films.  Knight explains that there are multiple aspects of Composition including, Center Composition, The Rule of 3rd's, Golden Triangles, Diagonals, and Golden Ratios.
 
Center composition was as easy as it could get when it came to understanding the concept. Whatever object is in the center of your frame, that will be exactly where the viewer's eye will go. Thanks to the imaginary lines drawn in the Wes Anderson highlight reel, you are automatically drawn into the center of the frame more than you normally would.  When done properly, center composition can give a photo or film perfect symmetry, which for most of us is very, very aesthetically pleasing to the eye. "Symmetry creates equilibrium in an image."

The rule of thirds is another easy concept Knight explained very well. I think that the rule of thirds is the most important rule to composition. Without it, I don't think that you can properly frame an image. The rule of thirds has become so essential, you can't pick up a camera without seeing the rule of thirds lines on the viewfinder. Much like center composition, it makes images aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Different from center composition and the rule of thirds, gold triangles allow photographers and cinematographers to make images seem off. Knight explains that where the lines intersect are where the viewer's eye are supposed to be drawn to. However, in the Eiffel Tower photo the photo is off centered. So could this mean that the lines could intersect somewhere else on the photo? Who's to say everyone will draw the same lines that will intersect in the exact same spot?

Diagonals I thought of as a tool to help viewers find the center of the composition.  However, Knight's explanation was a little off when he said that the viewer's eye will directly go to the ballerina dancer facing us. I understand that because she is facing us we as viewers might see her first but, isn't there a possibility that the viewers eye might be drawn to somewhere else. Perhaps the viewer might be looking at the center pillar first, or another dancer?

Lastly, golden ratios I found to be the most interesting of the composition aspect. Using mathematics to frame an image I found to be fascinating. Now if I wasn't a Park School student, I might be better at math and could potentially be a better photographer.

Aside from Knight's explanation of the aspects of composition there were some things he said that really stuck with me after reading these two articles. Knight said, "One of the best things a photographer can do is study painting and art history. Studying great painters is key to expert composition." What better way to understand the aspects of composition than to learn it from the people who first used proper composition in their work?

Another thing Knight wrote about that really stuck with me was his section about framing. Knight said, "Frame can add context, meaning or depth to a photo." Framing has such an important impact on an image. What a photographer or cinematographer decides to do with the frame can drastically change what a viewer might see or think about an image.  
-Patrick Ring

First Assignment: Understanding the basics of good composition

According to Chris Knight, the writer of The Ultimate Guide to Composition, there are 5 main 'guidelines' to follow in order to achieve at least half-decent composition in a photograph (or a film shot). These guidelines include the following techniques: center composition, the rule of thirds, golden triangles, the diagonals, and the golden ratio/rectangles/spiral. It's been brought to my attention by this composition guru that you pretty much need one of these 5 framing techniques in order to have a shot that even has a chance of being a pleasant one. Well, here's my opinion on these 5 composition guidelines as laid out by Mr. Knight. I'm sorry in advance.

Center composition, put simply, places the most important objects in an image in the center. When done correctly (as displayed in the image to the right), this type of composition can work very effectively in creating a certain feel to a shot. What is that person doing all the way out there? Are they lost? Reminiscent? Suicidal? I have no idea. The shot certainly makes you wonder, though, doesn't it? Not only does it evoke some sort of emotion, but it's also extremely aesthetically pleasing. The person is placed exactly in the vertical center of the frame along with the horizon in the horizontal center. Knight did a decent job explaining this.

Next we have the rule of thirds. Now, if you've ever attended a Park class, picked up a camera, or have lived in the modern world, you've heard about the rule of thirds. It's not a particularly hard concept to grasp. You basically just imagine (or many cameras will even show you on the viewfinder) four evenly spaced lines that divide the shot into nine sections. You then place the important objects in the shot on these lines, and you place the absolute most important objects on the intersections, like the subject's eyes. Knight explains that this kind of off-center composition adds more visual interest and tension for viewers. I mean, he's right. I don't know why there needed to be such a detailed explanation of the topic, but what the hell. Power to you, Guru Knight.

This third composition technique is completely beyond my understanding. The golden triangles is basically when the photographer divides the frame into three or four triangles, with the 'major line' dividing the image diagonally, and with one or two 'reciprocal lines' perpendicularly intersecting the major line from the corners of the frame. Just look at the image of the Eiffel Tower. It'll save you a whole lot of grief rather than trying to understand my explanation. Now, I'm not sure if I'm just not grasping the concept, or if Knight's explanation is simply terrible. Probably the first one, but hear me out. When looking at the Eiffel Tower, nothing particularly important is on the lines' intersection. Yeah, it's the center of the tower, but I feel that the shot would look exactly the same if the photographer had just aligned the tower with the major line. Am I wrong? I don't think so. If there's something obvious that I'm missing, comment on the post. I'd love to better understand this concept. Please and thank you.

I usually like to think of myself as a reasonably intelligent guy, but in this case, unfortunately, I don't quite understand the composition technique of the diagonals either. You win some, you lose some. Am I right? Anyway, Knight explains the concept of diagonals as splitting an image from corner to corner with either a Baroque Diagonal (read left to right) or a Sinister Diagonal (read right to left). I have two things to say about Knight's explanation of the ballerina image. He says the diagonal used in the composition is a Sinister Diagonal (read right to left). He says the ballerina's eyes line up with the ballerina's pointed toe on the right. First of all, wouldn't a person looking at the photograph immediately look at the ballerina facing us, forcing the viewer to start at the left of the image? Second, the ballerina isn't looking anywhere near the pointed toe. She's looking off to the right, not down. How was the pointed toe chosen as the second object to decide which way the diagonal would lean? Either this photograph is a very poor example of the use of diagonals for composition, or I'm missing something very important here. I usually like to assume I'm not the wrong one.

Last but not least, we have our famous golden ratio/rectangles/spiral concept. This is probably the most useful composition technique out there. It's not only used in photography, but can even be found in architecture and music. For its high level of universality, the golden ratio is an unbelievably simple concept. I'm not going to go into specifics (you can find those here), but all it takes is a little math, really. Knight doesn't do a terrible job of explaining the technique, either. Even I understood it. Kind of. The golden ratio is a fascinating concept. I strongly recommend you look more into it. You'd be absolutely amazed at all of its applications.

All in all, Composition Guru Knight did a quasi decent job of explaining the five main composition techniques all photographers should take into consideration when framing a shot. For all of you folks out there with a camera, take note.