Principles of composition
Principles of composition are only just the beginning in understanding and organizing elements within an image.
The artist determines what the center of interest (focus in photography) of the artwork will be. He composes elements accordingly. This is usually to capture the viewer’s attention, to provide an overall sensation first, and then to guide his gaze to the central point, and eventually linger over components of the image.
Some principles of organisation affecting the composition of a picture are:
- Shape and proportion
• The center of interest – the focus
• Balance among different elements
• Harmony/ uniformity of elements
• The path or direction followed by the viewer’s eye
• Negative space
• Color
• Contrast: the value, or degree of lightness and darkness used within the picture
• Geometry: for example, use of the golden mean
• Rhythm, the repetiton of elements more or less similar and
• Viewpoint
CENTER OF INTEREST
or focus - determines what the center of attention of the artwork will be.
POINT OF VIEW
represents subjective choice of photographers angle to the scene. In general, it simply means the position from which the camera sees the object of shooting.
RHYTHM
or tempo is two-dimensional, geometric perception of repeated beat. Visual art, as well as other arts – music, combines repetition as pauses to create a sense of rhythm in the image.
GOLDEN RATIO
is a specific relationship between two sizes that meet the following rule: the ratio of their sum to larger size is equal to the ratio of larger size to the smaller.
