Photograph Layout Principles

Focal Point
Photographs look best if they have a strong focal point with supporting background content. How often have you seen photographs taken on holiday where a friend is photographed in front of an important building, but the friend is a small spec on the steps. Or, a photograph of a landscape tries to capture a complete vista, with a hundred points of interest at a similar distance. When taking a photograph, ensure you have a strong subject as a focal point, and ensure they are a strong component of the scene. For example, a landscape can be enhanced by having a gate pillar, a tractor, a pile of hay or a sheep as a foreground focal point. This gives depth to the photograph, and leads the eye into it.

Principle of Thirds
Where should the focal point in a photograph be? While it is possible to place the subject in the center of a photograph, this is not the best place if you are trying to create an interesting photographic structure, and is probably only suitable for passport photographs. A different approach is to divide the photographs into thirds. If you do this vertically and horizontally, you will have two vertical lines and two horizontal lines. Any of the four points at which these intersect can be used as a focal point for the photograph.

Golden Section
Leonardo da Vinci was one of the notable artists who used the idea of a Golden Section or Ratio, which is an extension of the Thirds concept. If the ratio of length to width of a rectangle is 1.61803 39887 it is said to have a golden ratio. This number occurs naturally throughout nature, it is the basis of the Fibonacci series in maths, and forms artistic structures and proportions which are pleasing to the eye. In photography, it is close enough to the thirds principle for practical use, however it is worth investigating further for detailed information and interest.

The Horizon
Unless you are looking for a particular dramatic or artistic effect, a photograph looks best if the horizon is one third of the distance from the top. This is the visual center of the image and is comfortable to look at. If you wish to emphasise the sky, place the horizon one third from the bottom of the photograph. It may seem obvious, but do be careful to ensure your horizon is perfectly horizontal. A sloping horizon can ruin an otherwise perfectly constructed photograph.

Framing
It is often useful to place a foreground item at the edge of a photograph to act as a frame, and to provide depth to the photograph. This could include tree, bush or tuft of grass in the countryside, or a wall, tree or building in a city. A framing object provides depth and interest to a photograph, and draws the viewer into the photograph.

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