When isolated and highlighted, each of the visual elements – shape,
line, pattern, and texture – can become the subject of an exceptional
photograph. However, most photographs depend on many or all of
these elements in varying proportions.

As a photographer, I need to use these elements knowledgeably to
structure my picture in a meaningful way – one that conveys mood or
shares an insight with my viewer. This presents a problem: unlike a
painter, I cannot pick and choose freely the elimination of one object,
shifting the position of another, or changing the colour of a third.

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Still, I have a great deal more flexibility in creating the arrangement than I
may have thought. I found that I could move closer or farther away,
shift one side or another, raise or lower the camera, tilt it up or down,
or turn it vertically or horizontally. And, as you’ll see on past entries I
have written, I learned how to change the emphasis dramatically by
choice of shutter speed, aperture, lens, film, filter, and lighting.
How I learned to use these options to organise a picture will depend
on what I needed to say and the visual connections I needed to make.
There are no hard or fast rules for composition. But there are some
general guidelines that a photographer should consider.

I set myself goals to create a photograph that will effectively convey
my subject, theme, or idea. Composition is a deliberate effort. For the
new photographer, they need to analyse all of the elements in a
scene, then arrange them for the effect that they want to achieve.
Sometimes just one element will be sufficient to carry the idea.

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Simplification can produce powerful imagery, such as the paddle
boarder in the sunset. Other times they may need several elements to
tell their story. They may want a balanced, harmonious picture, or
they may choose to convey a feeling of precariousness or stridency.
Often the main subject of your photograph will dominate and be
supported by other element and details. The viewers eyes are first
drawn to your main image and then led around the frame.