Vanishing Point, Wise Camera app, Digiguys Inc. (https://www.digiguys.com)
Golden Triangle, Wise Camera app, Digiguys Inc. (https://www.digiguys.com)
L'uomo vitruviano, Leonardo da Vinci, (c. 1490), Luc Viatour / https://Lucnix.be
Sketcher, @romydfonseca, Catalina R.
Laocoön and His Sons, Agesander, Athenodoros, and Polydorus, L'uomo vitruviano ( 40-30 BCE), Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA
Fibonacci Spiral, Wise Camera app, Digiguys Inc. (https://www.digiguys.com)
Phi Grid, Wise Camera app, Digiguys Inc. (https://www.digiguys.com)
14
ARTISTIC
COMPOSITION
In front of your iPhone and professional camera, there is a world filled with beauty for you to discover. Artistic composition is the first step in the journey of making stunning photography. The Artistic Photo website will change your photography forever with an All Access plan that brings you the 14 most important artistic compositions, each with helpful guidance, explainer videos, diagrams, frequently asked questions (FAQs), examples, expert advice, and much more. For even more one-on-one expert advice, you can book a session with the author here.
“Every great photograph
starts with mindful artistic composition.”
For centuries and throughout history, artists have used artistic composition to create masterpieces. From Leonardo da Vinci's studies to Claude Monet's paintings and today's contemporary artists, composition has been essential to achieving a universal visual language of beauty. Nature has been the bedrock of the human understanding of visual patterns that unconsciously govern our minds. The Artistic Photo website has unlocked these visual patterns with an All Access plan for you to apply all 14 artistic compositions. Artistic composition is not only for photographers; art and photography teachers, painters, sculptors, graphic designers, interior designers, landscape designers, architects, and more use the All Access plan with 14 artistic compositions for their artwork. If you're a hobbyist, professional photographer, or designer of any kind, you can book a session with the author to go in-depth on how artistic composition can enhance your photography, visual designs, artwork, and more.
Explore completely FREE the Rule of Thirds and Symmetry artistic compositions to view the vast amount of helpful guidance, watch videos, view diagrams, see photo examples, read expert advice, and more. We hope you love the Artistic Photo website and want access to all 14 artistic compositions with the All Access plan.
Da Vinci L 1503-1519 Mona Lisa Painting Paris France Musée du Louvre.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa Print by Hokusai 1829 and 1833.
Leonardo da Vinci 1490 Gallerie dell Accademia Venice Italy.
The 14 Artistic Compositions
Click or tap on each artistic compostion to learn more, watch explainer videos, view photo examples, get expert advice, and more.
Our brains have become hardwired to traverse from left to right when reading. We tend to scan a photo in this same pattern when looking at a photograph. Having someone situated on the left of an image is where our eyes are naturally drawn to before they journey through the rest of the picture. The Left to Right photography composition is extremely handy for all kinds of photography.
Of all the composition techniques available to photographers, this one is the most counter-intuitive. Instead of giving priority to the main subject, with the artistic composition rule called ‘negative space’, it seems as though you give emphasis to the area around the subject. This isn’t really the case. What you are doing is leaving enough room for your subject to stand out. It’s cleverly deceptive, but it works every time!
📖 Read More
Hiking through national parks and wandering along mountain paths through redwood forests, the tallest trees on Earth, fuels the spirit and awakens my creativity. Over the years, I’ve used the Wise Camera app to capture the essence of the scenery in front of me within a photograph. These images turn out like they’ve been taken by a professional photographer, and it’s all due to the artistic composition rule called ‘landscape depth’.
Our brains love images showing objects nicely aligned in a structured manner because this type of pattern is symmetrical, which feels orderly and safe. Being able to detect patterns is an important part of how people learn and make decisions. Detecting patterns in behavior and circumstances is subconsciously looked for all the time, as this helps people predict what might happen next. This is why seeing repeated lines or patterns in a photograph catches people’s attention and has instant appeal.
When you are a visitor at a tourist destination, signs point the way so you can find the place you’re after. Just as these signs give you the directions to places of interest, leading lines in a photograph send you to the most important parts of an image.
When your photos feel as though they are missing something, maybe the opposite is true. You might be trying to capture too much in one image. One way to improve 99% of your photography is to fill the frame with your subject. A famous quote by celebrated war photographer and photojournalist Robert Capa sums this up perfectly: “If your photographs aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.”
Photographic composition is arranging various parts of an image in the frame, so they look appealing at first, second, and third glance. One of the best artistic composition rules that flowed from art to photography uses framing depth. Just as a physical frame surrounds and complements a photo, placing something around the main subject of an image gives it depth and makes it stand out.
Most prize-winning photographs have one thing in common: the images have depth. Instead of being two-dimensional, a photo with depth has a distinctive set of layers that make it seem as though you can reach in and touch the objects in the image. You’ll notice this in any great landscape photo.
The Phi Grid has a very similar design to the rule of thirds because it has two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. However, rather than having nine equal sections, the lines on the Phi Grid are moved slightly towards the center to align with the Golden Ratio, which is a mathematical concept and a pattern often found in nature.
People like freedom in their lives, but in photography, they prefer a sense of order and structure. They like a well-composed image, and this comes about from the careful arrangement of objects within a scene. Keeping things simple is often the best, and the simplest of all the artistic composition rules use the principle of symmetry.
EXPLORE
FOR FREE
When it comes to balancing a photo through thoughtful composition, you can’t go past the rule of thirds. It’s a solid performer. With minimal effort, you can arrange a subject in exactly the right place, and the results will speak for themselves.
EXPLORE
FOR FREE
It’s strange but true. To get a great digital image, professional photographers often look at paintings and drawings created centuries ago. They do this because those wise old masters knew how to use composition techniques to create timeless masterpieces. One of the common artistic composition rules used by painters throughout history is the Fibonacci Spiral.
Creating a memorable photo requires more than aiming the camera in the general direction of a pretty view. If you want your images to look like the ones you see on the Instagram pages of famous photographers, you must use an artistic composition rule like the Golden Triangle.
Symmetry is highly valued in photography to express simplicity and harmony. In a symmetrical photo, a motionless subject is usually placed in the middle of the image and oozes stillness and calmness. The term ‘dynamic symmetry’ sounds like the opposite of this, and that’s definitely the case. In name and style, this artistic composition rule suggests life and movement. Using this technique gives your photos an atmosphere of intensity.
This amazing Artistic Compositions Poster is great for artists, photographers, painters, and art teachers to display in their workspace. You can print the poster in any size you want, and the poster goes perfectly in offices, art studios, photo studios, and classrooms!
You get the FREE artistic composition poster with the All Access plan for the Artistic Photo website.
Get the FREE Wise Camera app and Wise Photos app
The Wise Camera app and Wise Photos app bring to you 14 artistic composition rules to help you explore how to frame this world and compose beautiful photos. Artistic compositions are not only for photographers. Artistic compositions are used by painters, sculptors, architects, interior designers, landscape designers, and more.
4.4 App Store Rating
4.5 App Store Rating
