Composition

Lesco

Lesco

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Tony
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Is composition something you can learn? let me explain myself, I really, really don't have an artistic bone in my body, I draw like a 3 year old, I have no idea what so ever when it comes to anything artistic, I really am that bad, and it shows in my photography, I really enjoy taking pics of my granddaughter and landscapes/waterfalls etc. etc. but I'm really not happy with my work, it really is pretty average, I'm not the most experienced of togs, I've only been into it for a couple of years, and Ive only been on one course to teach me to get out of auto mode so I can sort of shoot pictures in Aperture and Shutter modes, but I really am a "all the gear and no idea" kind of guy.

so back to my original question, is composition something someone can learn or is it a gift you are born with??

Thanks in advance for any help and advice.
 
Yes you can learn it, I certainly have. There's dozens of book on the subject which you can read and then apply. I'd recommend the Michael Freeman one the Photographers Eye.

Alternatively, look at photographs by others that you admire, and then deconstruct them and look where things are placed within the frame, etc.

Learning composition can be a bit formulaic at first, but then things start to become intuitive after a while.
 
You can get pointers and imbibe 'rules' but a lot of people seem to do this and then make formulaic pictures. It's a starting point though for some. Ultimately you have to trust your gut feelings, and see with the heart rather than the brain.
 
Jayst84 said:
Go to art galleries and look at paintings by all the old masters. That will teach you all you need to know about light, colour, composition and more.
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Disagree totally. If you don't understand *why* any picture works well, it's hard to learn from them.
 
Composition can be learned for sure. However... reading up on the subject is a double edged sword. On one had they'll teach you the theory behind it, and on the other, they'll be teaching you how to compose shots according to fixed rules. Sometimes really powerful shots break the rules. It's something that comes with practice and feedback.

Get feedback from people. Critique helps you learn. Ask people what they think.
 
Guys thank you so much for you comments and advice, I have just brought the book you recommended from Amazon, thanks again
 
You can learn it to an extent. You can learn the basic rules, you can go to art galleries, you can study great works and you can make it a conscious thing that you do when you take photos. And then eventually it will become an unconscious thing that just happens. Immerse yourself in great works of art and understand why things work and why things don't. Personally I would not buy a book on photographic composition, buy some basic art books, go to lectures, that kind of thing.

And some people just have it. They get it and can see it.
 
I think composition is in our DNA, or rather an eye for beauty is in our DNA. ..seeing beauty and stuff, like symmetry, is pre-programmed by our evolutionary choices.
Its the same now as it was for Gainsborough or Constable so inspecting the composition of any popular composer will match what you learn about composition today.

Its both a gift and learn't in my opinion, most people don't appreciate they just have to open access to what is already in built, but that's the tricky bit, trusting your own creative intuition can be impossible without some sort of guide to start you off. ...luckily we have guides on composition, from the Thirds Rule to the Fibonacci Curve, and many in-between.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Composition can be learned for sure. However... reading up on the subject is a double edged sword. On one had they'll teach you the theory behind it, and on the other, they'll be teaching you how to compose shots according to fixed rules. Sometimes really powerful shots break the rules. It's something that comes with practice and feedback.

Get feedback from people. Critique helps you learn. Ask people what they think.
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This totally!... the more you post images/ask others and find out where you going wrong/right is one of the best ways to learn, you'll then start seeing more when you shoot
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
People say this often, but I've never seen one. :shrug:
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A great deal of work by Nadav Kander springs to mind.. Thomas Ruff is another. Look at the series "watchtowers" by Donovan Wylie. It's out there if you look for it. It's the refreshing way people stop prescribing to rules that often makes things interesting... but it's clearly not people who don't know what they're doing.. they KNOW they're breaking conventional rules. However.. when it comes to progress... breaking conventional rules is pretty much the best way to shake things up.

Viva La Revolución!
 
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Pookeyhead said:
A great deal of work by Nadav Kander springs to mind.. Thomas Ruff is another. Look at the series "watchtowers" by Donovan Wylie. It's out there if you look for it. It's the refreshing way people stop prescribing to rules that often makes things interesting... but it's clearly not people who don't know what they're doing.. they KNOW they're breaking conventional rules. However.. when it comes to progress... breaking conventional rules is pretty much the best way to shake things up.

Viva La Revolución!
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Well to me, all those artists work is packed with composition. ..bent, broken and twisted often, but still packed with beautiful composition.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Get feedback from people. Critique helps you learn. Ask people what they think.
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100% agree.
Start learning to give critique too.
Looking at other people's photos and examining what works for you, what doesn't work and why will start training your brain to look at images critically and give you an insight that you can apply to your own work.
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
Well to me, all those artists work is packed with composition. ..bent, broken and twisted often, but still packed with beautiful composition.
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Of course.... but you probably won't see such examples on "learn how to compose beautiful shots" type internet tutorials. You can't have a shot with NO composition if you think about it. However... the idea of golden ratios, thirds etc... if strictly adhered to, just stifles you. Use them to begin with as you learn, but looking at a range of artists that break the rules can also teach you a great deal.

Above all though.... get critique and feedback... useful critique... not just the meaningless pleasantries people give you on Facebook or Flickr.
 
I'd say you need to have an idea of the composition rules before you can break them, however I've always found rules to be a terrible terminology, far better would be composition ideals...there's no denying that rule of thirds, space to look/move into, level horizons etc are all good things but its also true that depending on the photo it's totally acceptable to break these rules/guidelines

As to critique without proper critique you'll never improve no matter how much you read as its all well and good having theoretical knowledge it's putting it into practice that matters and most people people need guidance to make the transition from knowing to doing...for this the standard of critique has to improve!
 
Jayst84 said:
So go look at some and work it out for yourself.
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Absolutely. And if you want to learn, say, the German language, then the best way is to listen to a German radio station and work it out for yourself.
 
You can definitely learn the "rules" of composition which should certainly help you to improve, once you have the basic ideas then it's really just getting out there and trying things that will move you on that bit more. Undoubtedly though there is some element of composition that can't be learnt, having an "eye" for photography is probably the reason why despite the millions of photos being taken photographers still manage to come up with something different or unique.

Simon
 
@Lesco: Look at lots of peoples photographs, and if you enjoy certain ones, that means you are likely to be able to, over time, develop techniques that yield pictures you enjoy.

Regarding the rule of thirds, I'm quite annoyed to see many of my pictures conforming to this rule. I thought I was here to break the rules, not follow them! Darn! I blame looking at other peoples pictures and getting infected.
 
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Lesco said:
so back to my original question, is composition something someone can learn or is it a gift you are born with??
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I've been following this blog on using design in composition for a few weeks:
http://www.ipoxstudios.com/canon-of-design/

At the risk of the pot calling the kettle black, the author does tend to have his head so far up his own donkey that he sometimes forgets to realise that when someone persistently breaks one of his "rules" and does it to such great effect that he should probably look into discussing why it might be working for her (Annie Liebovitz and her habit of chopping off limbs).

He's got me seeing things in other people's photography that I wasn't seeing before. Particularly the use of diagonals and right angles, and I've spotted a few shots recently where it suddenly clicked why the photographer had (for example) rotated the camera to not be level, to create a very effective rotated right angle in the frame.
 
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