I wanted to share three of the most commonly used composition tricks in visual media. These are not "rules", but a good understanding of them will give you a valuable foundation in photographic composition.
When we look at a photo, our eyes scan the image very quickly and our brains insist we spend a little more time on details which seem most important. This all happens in a split second. Different composition strategies can be used for a variety of reasons, such as making an image simply feel balanced, to add a sense of grandeur, or to draw instant attention to your subject.
The Rule Of Thirds
The idea behind this composition technique is that a photo feels "pleasing to the eye", balanced, and is easy to "read". To implement the Rule Of Thirds, simply imagine the frame divided into 9 smaller frames, using 2 equidistant vertical and 2 equidistant horizontal lines. Place the most important parts of your image on the cross sections (circled in red on the diagram) and voila, a nice composition.
An example of the Rule Of Thirds in action:
This diagram shows the points at which subjects can be placed when using this style of composition.
Symmetry
Many amateur photographers make the mistake of deciding never to centre their subjects in the frame again, because they've learnt the Rule Of Thirds and have decided to deploy it in every single photo for the rest of their lives! Composition really shouldn't be used like that. Different composition styles have different uses, and a centered subject is as valid as any other composition. Indeed, when the background is symmetrical, this sort of composition can give a sense of timelessness, power, grandeur, formality, or ritualism.
Leading Lines
This is in my opinion the most underused and under valued composition trick. The idea is that graphical lines which intersect your subject draw the eye towards it, making the image easier to "read". These lines can be anything from road markings, to hand rails, walls, limbs, or whatever works for you. Clever use of leading lines allows the photographer to place the subject almost anywhere in the frame and still have a composition that works. As you can see in the following examples, I use leading lines in conjunction with the Rule Of Thirds in the first one, or with symmetry in the next two.
So next time you're taking photos of a subject such as a person or object, think about how it relates to the background. Do you want to draw the eye to your subject? Can you achieve a sense of balance in the composition? Try these techniques and see how you get on.