Basic composition in landscape photography consists of three essentials, that contribute to creating a high-impact photo story (characters, themes and relationships)? In a well composed landscape (or any) photograph, the characters are your subjects, the theme is the emotion you are feeling about the scene and what you want to capture, and the relationships between all these elements add the drama.
To command attention, I try to simplify the number of “things” in my composition so the three essentials remain strong. Keep your composition simple.
Here’s an example: imagine you are walking through a crowded market, in a foreign place, with many vendors, their stalls packed side-by-side in a narrow street.
They are all selling wonderful stuff, it could be foods, handicrafts, clothing, whatever. They are all shouting, trying to get your attention, to get you interested in their wares, so you’ll buy something.
Are you focused, or distracted, by all the activity, the many sights, sounds, and smells? I’d bet that you would be probably a little overwhelmed, not sure which stall to check out first.
The same thing often happens when we compose our landscape and other photos. If there are too many items in the composition, we can weaken our emotional message – and dilute the significance of the story our landscape photographs are telling. So I always remind myself to keep it simple.
There are other advanced elements of Basic Composition in Landscape Photography such as the use of leading lines, the Rule of Thirds, the Magic of Three, and the use of angles. Advanced composition for landscape photography includes mirroring/reflections, additional compositional frameworks (Golden Triangle, Symmetry, Diagonals) as well as Framing, curves, and a few more.
Can you describe the basic composition for this landscape photo? What are the three essentials in this photo?
