A minimalist guide to the elements of composition

Composition

Understanding what you see through the viewfinder…

In the final image you want to see something beautiful, or at least well composed. That means understanding what is attractive to the eye in the image. Composition of images is all about understanding the visual elements in your scene. I have provided a basic slide show on this before. However, this one is quite well illustrated too. I thought that it would be useful revision for those that know about the “Elements of Art”, and a great introduction for those who have not come across this before.

In essence…

The elements of art are the components that go together when you are drawing, painting, or picking out things in your viewfinder. If they are aligned, balanced, harmonious and coordinated then the eye will find them attractive. However, first you need to know what these mysterious elements actually are. So, work through the slides and you will begin to see how to identify them in your pictures. If you have any questions then I would be glad to answer them in the comments boxes at the end of the page. Enjoy the slides…

The elements of art

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photographer and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photogs.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.
By Damon Guy see his profile on Google+.

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