Ten ways to compose the perfect image

There are rules to composition that will help you make your photos pleasing to the eye in many different ways! We will not only explore ten of them in this post, but I will give you examples in the form of photos so that you can get a feel of what these rules look like when applied to photography. So, let's get started! 

1. "The Orange Pod"

Rule one: Fill the frame- this photo does not leave much more room other than the subject. It is considered to be "cropped tight" and the subject takes up most of the frame. 

Rule two: Rule of thirds- our subject is in the middle of the frame and there is space surrounding it on all sides and angles making it fit perfectly into the rule of thirds grid. The side that the face is pointed towards also has extra space so that the field of vision is not cut off or strangely disrupted.

Rule three: Texture- the photo is clear enough for you to easily see different textures in the isopod's body and in the dirt. 

2. "Nature of contrast" 

Rule one: Repetition- The leaves of the palm are repeating in a complete circle around the entire frame of the photo creating the perfect example for this rule. 

Rule two: Contrast- the gray leaf being perfectly in focus surrounded by the bright green leaves creates the perfect example for this rule. They contrast each other beautifully. 

Rule three: Leading lines- the gray leaf is very close to the center of the bush and the leaves are the bush's leading lines that lead the eye right to the contrasting gray leaf! 

3. "Sun-downers"

Rule one: Framing- the hole in the fence adds a beautiful frame to the bottom and lower sides of this photo. 

Rule two: Rule of thirds- the subject is sort of off to the side but still in the perfect position according to the rule of thirds grid making for a pleasing photo. 

4. "Aurora"

Rule: Depth of field- in this photo we have a pretty narrow depth of field because the front part of our subject is in focus, but nothing else is. This makes for a very pleasing portrait! 

5. "Maternal Instincts" 

Rule one: Negative space- The model is surrounded by empty space and usually that isn't the best thing for a photo, but it works here because it allows her to be the main focal point of the photo which is what I wanted. 

There you have it, all of these photos together make up at least ten rules of composition!