1. Photo
Composition
Photojournalism

2. What is composition?
Composition refers to the way a photo is constructed or planned to make the biggest possible impact.
Composition rules are ingredients that a photographer may use, but just like a chef wouldn’t use all of the ingredients in his pantry in one meal, a photographer won’t use every composition technique in one photograph.

3. Rule of Thirds
If you divide your picture into a tic-tac-toe board, your subject should not be located in the center square
Bushra Ghafoor, R.B. Hayes High School

4. Addie Driskill, Maize (Kan.) High School

5. Daisy Marquez, Maize (Kan.) High School

6. The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas

7. Repetition A repeating pattern works well to emphasize your subject.
A little bit of variance (changing it up) within the repetition is even better.

8. The Lore Yearbook – Mercy High School

9. The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas
Aysen Tan, Foothill Dragon Press

10. Shawnee Mission West High School Publications

11. Angle
If you can change the angle or viewpoint of your photograph, you automatically make it more interesting.
Changing the angle does NOT mean tilting the camera.

12. Bird’s eye view
Bryant High School Publications

13. Worm’s eye view
Bryant High School Publications

14. Bryant High School Publications

15. Strong subject (or “filling the frame”)
Photos should have a strong, dominant focal point and/or center of interest.
Keep your background simple
to avoid distractions.

16. Samantha Terrell, Maize (Kan.) High School

17. Bryant High School Publications

18. The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas

19. Framing
Use natural elements to create a frame or border around the subject of the photo, so your audience knows exactly what your focus is.

20. Aysen Tan, Foothill Dragon Press

21. Molly Johnson, Blue Valley High School

22. The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas

23. Leading lines
Lines in a photo direct a viewer’s focus to the photo’s subject.

24. Shawnee Mission South High School Publications

25. The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas

26. Bryant High School Publications

27. Selective focus
When a photographer narrows a picture’s depth of field so that only part of the picture is in focus, it draws attention to that particular area.
(Combine this with rule of thirds to
create an awesome photo!)

28. Aysen Tan, Foothill Dragon Press

29. Brittani Casement, Maize (Kan.) High School

30. The PIX Yearbook - Little Rock, Arkansas

31. Photocomposition errors
(Photos submitted by Rutherford B. Hayes High School students)

32. Error #1: Mergers
This error occurs when two objects in a photo overlap strangely and therefore appear to be connected.

33. (In this photo, the cheerleader holding the “D” sign and the one standing in front of her are easily confused because their arms appear to be connected.)

34. Error #2: Intrusions
This error occurs when objects intrude onto the edge of photograph unintentionally, which causes a distraction to the main subject.

35. (This could be a really pretty photo, but there is a hand right in front of the subject’s face.)

36. Error #3: Bright Spots/Holes
Bright spots are unintentionally bright or washed out areas of a photograph.
Holes are unintentionally dark areas of a photograph.

37. (The basketball player’s jersey blends in with the mat on the wall, which hurts the visual appeal of the photo.)

38. Error #4: Cropping of body parts
This error is exactly what it sounds like.
When a photo cuts off small amounts of someone’s body, it looks unintentional or awkward or unnatural.

39. Cutting off the wrestlers’ feet at the ankles disrupts
the visual effect of the image.)

40. Error #5: Directional Errors
This error occurs when a subject is facing the edge of the photo rather than the middle of the photo.
There isn’t “room” for the subject to look or move.