Composition With No Rules

Capture low angle shots by placing the camera at foot level for a lower perspective that emphasizes the subject. Use wide-angle lenses to widen the scene and simplify the background.

Explains high angle shots by photographing from above to convey privilege, weakness, and vulnerability, then uses floor surfaces as a canvas to create a new reality, especially via drone perspectives.

Explore forced perspective by aligning distant and close objects at playful angles to create new meaning in photos, using any phone and your creativity in composition with no rules.

Explore how rotating a photo after it’s captured alters perspective, revealing the photographer’s view and the viewer’s attention, with tips on posing and, if needed, using Photoshop.

Master minimalism in photos by emphasizing one dominant color, removing distractions, and using simple scale and lines to guide the eye and celebrate beauty in simplicity.

Master framing as a technique to direct the viewer's attention using any edge or object as a frame, from windows and curtains to leaves and reflections.

Explore reflections in photography, from mirror and water surfaces to multiple reflections that create new meanings and poetic images, sometimes with humor as in Emin Kuliev's work.

Explore distortions as a flexible composition technique, using bent surfaces, distorted mirrors, vase of water reflections, glass and magnifying glass, and underwater shots, combined with rotation to create original images.

Explore shooting through misted glass, raindrops, and translucent fabric to reveal poetry and mystery in ordinary city life, inspired by Saul Leiter’s impressionistic approach.

Explore using shadows as a compositional tool, turning them into the main subject, decoration, or pattern on a model's face, and employ rotation and forced perspective to spark imagination.

Explore silhouettes as dark figures against a light background, where shape identifies the subject, reflecting Dominic Liam's minimalist silhouette photography with a magical, poetic mood.

Master the 'a picture in a picture' technique where a real subject interacts with existing imagery to create playful, phone-shot compositions; also explore Julian Beaver's 3D works and angles.

Merge the object with the background to maximize color similarity, embrace minimalism, and study color-driven composition inspired by Erik Madigan Heck and Steven Meisel, with patterns like polka dots.

Explore how contrast and comparison reveal meaning in photography, from war imagery to age and motion, using collages, before-and-after processing, and portrait comparisons to engage viewers.

Explore multiple exposure from film to digital, using apps to shoot or blend two images, and learn how shooting through raindrops creates impressionistic moods by combining compositional techniques.

Capture motion with slow shutter speeds using a tripod to keep static elements crisp, while moving subjects leave trails.

Explore how shooting out of focus creates understatement, with foreground blur and a background that draws attention, using shooting through and silhouettes as seen in Saul Leiter and Sarah Moon.

Use accent lighting to highlight specific image areas, such as the eyes, with shadows guiding viewer focus, and apply gobos to shape light for noir-inspired drama.

Explore geometric shapes like stripes, lines, rectangles, and triangles, applying minimalism to architecture. Create simple forms on plywood or paper by avoiding extra colors and details to focus on shapes.

Use freeze light technique with a tripod, long exposure, and flashlight as a light painting brush. Shoot with a still model and vary flashlight configurations to guide composition.