Tips Photography Composition Rules

10 Tips Photography Composition Rules

It may sound clicked, but the only rule in photography is that there are no rules. However, there are are number of established composition guidelines which can be applied in almost any situation, to enhance the impact of a scene.

These guidelines will help you take more compelling photographs, lending them a natural balance, drawing attention to the important parts of the scene, or leading the viewer's eye through the image.

Once you are familiar with these composition tips, you'll be surprised at just how universal most of them are. You'll spot them everywhere, and you'll find it easy to see why some photos "work" while others feel like simple snapshots.

Rule of Thirds

Imagine that your image is divided into 9 equal segments by 2 vertical and 2 horizontal lines. The rule of thirds says that you should position the most important elements in your scene along these lines, or at the points where they intersect.

Doing so will add balance and interest to your photo. Some cameras even offer an option to superimpose a rule of thirds grid over the LCD screen, making it even easier to use.

Notice how the building and horizon are aligned along rule-of-thirds lines. Image by Trey Ratcliff.

Balancing Elements

Placing your main subject off-centre, as with the rule of thirds, creates a more interesting photo, but it can leave a void in the scene which can make it feel empty. You should balance the "weight" of your subject by including another object of lesser importance to fill the space.

Here, the visual "weight" of the road sign is balanced by the building on the other side of the shot. Image by Shannon Kokoska.

Leading Lines

When we look at a photo our eye is naturally drawn along lines. By thinking about how you place lines in your composition, you can affect the way we view the image, pulling us into the picture, towards the subject, or on a journey "through" the scene. There are many different types of line - straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag, radial etc - and each can be used to enhance our photo's composition.

The road in this photo draws your eye through the scene. Image by Pierre Metivier.

Symmetry and Patterns

We are surrounded by symmetry and patterns, both natural and man-made., They can make for very eye-catching compositions, particularly in situations where they are not expected. Another great way to use them is to break the symmetry or pattern in some way, introducing tension and a focal point to the scene.

The symmetry of this chapel is broken by the bucket in the bottom right corner. Image by Fabio Montalto.

Viewpoint

Before photographing your subject, take time to think about where you will shoot it from. Our viewpoint has a massive impact on the composition of our photo, and as a result it can greatly affect the message that the shot conveys. Rather than just shooting from eye level, consider photographing from high above, down at ground level, from the side, from the back, from a long way away, from very close up, and so on.

The unusual viewpoint chosen here creates an intriguing and slightly abstract photo. Image by ronsho.

Background

How many times have you taken what you thought would be a great shot, only to find that the final image lacks impact because the subject blends into a busy background? The human eye is excellent at distinguishing between different elements in a scene, whereas a camera has a tendency to flatten the foreground and background, and this can often ruin an otherwise great photo. Thankfully this problem is usually easy to overcome at the time of shooting - look around for a plain and unobtrusive background and compose your shot so that it doesn't distract or detract from the subject.

The plain background in this composition ensures nothing distracts from the subject. Image by Philipp Naderer.

Depth

Because photography is a two-dimensional medium, we have to choose our composition carefully to conveys the sense of depth that was present in the actual scene. You can create depth in a photo by including objects in the foreground, middle ground and background. Another useful composition technique is overlapping, where you deliberately partially obscure one object with another. The human eye naturally recognises these layers and mentally separates them out, creating an image with more depth.

Emphasise your scene's depth by including interesting subjects at varying distances from the camera. Image by Jule Berlin.

Framing

The world is full of objects which make perfect natural frames, such as trees, archways and holes. By placing these around the edge of the composition you help to isolate the main subject from the outside world. The result is a more focused image which draws your eye naturally to the main point of interest.

Here, the surrounding hills form a natural frame, and the piece of wood provides a focal point. Image by Sally Crossthwaite.

Cropping

Often a photo will lack impact because the main subject is so small it becomes lost among the clutter of its surroundings. By cropping tight around the subject you eliminate the background "noise", ensuring the subject gets the viewer's undivided attention.

Cut out all unnecessary details to keep keep the viewer's attention focused on the subject. Image by Hien Nguyen.

Experimentation

With the dawn of the digital age in photography we no longer have to worry about film processing costs or running out of shots. As a result, experimenting with our photos' composition has become a real possibility; we can fire off tons of shots and delete the unwanted ones later at absolutely no extra cost. Take advantage of this fact and experiment with your composition - you never know whether an idea will work until you try it.

Digital photography allows us to experiment with different compositions until we find the perfect one. Image by Jule Berlin.

Composition in photography is far from a science, and as a result all of the "rules" above should be taken with a pinch of salt. If they don't work in your scene, ignore them; if you find a great composition that contradicts them, then go ahead and shoot it anyway. But they can often prove to be spot on, and are worth at least considering whenever you are out and about with your camera.

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The Entrepreneur's Checklist

I was asked the other day what personality traits I thought were important to entrepreneurial success. I immediately gave my preprogrammed reply about passion and dedication and hard work. After taking some time later to ponder the question a little deeper (I normally operate in shallow waters), I came up with a more detailed checklist for entrepreneurial success. This is by no means a definitive list, but I'd be willing to bet that if you don't have at least a majority of these traits, your chances of business success will be greatly diminished.

You must be self motivated.

If you don't have the wherewithal to bounce out of bed each day without your spouse drenching you with cold water, chances are you don't have the self motivation or discipline required to be an entrepreneur. Business demands that you take action based solely on your own volition. You have to do a hundred things every day that will not get done unless you make yourself do them.

You can't be afraid of hard work.

If you think working for someone else is hard work, try starting your own business. You will be required to give every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears you can muster and then some. You will have to work long hours and be on call 24/7, at least in the beginning. If the mere thought of hard work makes you tired, maybe you should just keep your cushy day job.

You should have experience in the type of business you plan to start.

If you can't locate your car's engine you have no business buying an oil change franchise. The most successful business owners have prior experience in the industry in which they have set up shop. Consider working in an industry at least part time for a year before jumping in with both feet.

You must be able to climb back on the horse.

I always say: "If business was easy, everybody would do it." Starting a business is hard work and the odds for failure are against you in the first few years. If you want to ride herd on your own business, you must be willing to fall off your horse and get back on a few times without giving up.

You need the support of your family.

When you start a business you may have to spend more time away from the family than you like. The business may also put a strain on you financially. You will have enough obstacles in your way without having to worry if you have the support of your family and those closest to you

You must have a thick skin.

If your feelings are easily hurt, keep your non-threatening day job because business is not for you. Many days in business, rejection waits around every corner and you must be able to handle rejection without taking it personally.

You must interact well with others.

Being an entrepreneur requires interacting with a variety of people, from your own employees to vendors to customers to investors. You must have the ability to effectively manage people without offending them; the ability to accept good advice from mentors and politely discount the bad; the ability to overlook mistakes or quietly rectify them; and the one I have trouble with: the ability to tolerate incompetence without losing your cool (at least not on the outside).

The deeper your pockets the better.

The number one cause of business failure is a lack of money. Before you start your business you should have access to enough capital to see you through until the business can sustain itself.

You must be able to delegate.

Running a business requires the performance of dozens of simultaneous tasks and it's foolish to try to handle them all yourself. You must learn to put your trust in others. If you can't dish out responsibility without worrying over the result, your business growth will be limited.

Previous business ownership is a plus.

Prior business ownership is not a prerequisite, but it can't hurt. Many successful entrepreneurs have the skeletons of past businesses rattling around in their closet.

Another of my sayings:

Business is a lot like marriage: you learn a lot from the first one that may come in handy the second or third time around.

With that kind of advice you can see why I didn't go into marriage counseling.

Here's to your success!

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Success Quotes Will Not Motivate You

Success Quotes

Yes. You read it right. Despite the fact that there are tons of books collecting success quotes from successful people, success quotes are nothing more than inspiring things that you will forget right after you read them.

Success is a reward of actions. Some says massive actions. However, unless you are motivated, you can not make massive actions. But how you can get motivated? Success quotes will not help you. You need tools to drive you toward your success.

If it is not something like success quotes, then what will drive and motivate you to act massively and reap the rewards?

It's been said and written many times by successful people. You need a direction. A combination of vision and goals to get you motivated and act massively toward your success.

You may hear about research conducted decades ago. A group of people was asked to write their goals on a piece of paper. 25 years later, those people were reviewed. It's only 3% of them who became successful people. All of these people followed the instruction to write down their goals, while 97% who failed, did not follow the instruction. They simply ignored it.

Goal setting is a simple thing to do. Ironically, 97% of population do not do that thing and accept their 'destiny' as unsuccessful people. Why could this happen?

People have a tendency to be complicated. When it comes to a decision making, they will count on the most sophisticated technology proven tools. Meanwhile, to be successful, you even do not have to make a complex decision. You just need a desire to be successful. There is only one condition. You write down your desire, your passion, and your dreams and put it in a place you can see it every single moment.

You must be aware though that there are positive desire and negative desire. Positive desire is something you want to achieve in the future. Negative desire is something you want to avoid in the future.

You need to have both positive desire and negative desire to be a successful person. Do not forget to put pictures on your dreams and goals list. A new car, a new house, a demanding boss, traffic jams to and from your current office, etc.

Remember that you are not day dreaming. Put a date to each of your goals list. Goals are just dreams with deadline.

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Newsletter Benefit Your Business

Can Publishing a Newsletter Benefit Your Business?

In a Word, Yes!

Publishing a newsletter as a part of your marketing campaign can increase the potential profit from existing customers becoming long-term buyers.
Newsletters gives us a tool for collecting the email addresses of targeted visitors with the intent of turning them into paying customers.
Utilizing this tool also gives us the means by which we can remain in contact with an additional valued resource,"The Previous Customer."

If You want to keep customers, A Newsletter is a must.
If you don't have a Newsletter, you have no way of following up with your paying customers, or for that matter, any potential customers. Someone that has purchased from you once is very likely to purchase again. You don't want to run the risk of losing that person because you don't have a follow up method in place. A Newsletter.

The standard for publishing your newsletter is generally once a week. You may want to publish bi-weekly. If you find something of value that your customers might have an interest in, you don't have to stand on ceremony, you can notify them at will. The frequency of your publication will really be determined by your marketing niche. Who and What your marketing.

Your topics will be determined by your area of expertise. If your knowledge is limited, you may have to do some research in order to keep your subscribers informed, There is no shortage of pre-written articles, on any topic, you may be looking for. With Article Directories, such as this one, that abound the Internet, your search will be an easy one.
Of course you can always do the research and write the articles yourself, based on what you've learned. You also may want to consider subscribing to a Private Label Content site. You'll have access to pre-written articles available for re-write 

Your newsletter doesn't have to be "The Great American Novel." (:-) Quite frankly if it's too long, your readers probably will lose interest before they finish reading it. Sometimes a quick announcement about a New Product or Service will be sufficient. Other times a short 400 to 500 word article will do the trick. It will really depend on what you're trying to convey to your readers.

You'll also need to be consistant. With the thousands of newsletters that are available. You'll want to avoid having your newsletter mistaken for spam. Announce your publication in the subject line and don't forget to personalize it by inserting your subscribers firstname. Address them by their first name within the body of the message whenever and wherever possible. Personalization cannot be stressed enough. This function is available in most autoresponders.

To limit complaints or spam reports remind your readers that they agreed to recieve emails from you etc. Once again, most autoresponders provide this function without your having to do anything, other than putting your message in for sending.

Your newsletter will be your Brand. It will speak loud and clear about your business and will be your tool for building relationships with your customers. No other tool has this ability. Give your Newsletter the time and attention it deserves and it will reward you Over an Over again.

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Integrate Dynamic Stretching Into Your Pre-Round Routine

Flexibility has been singled out as one of the most important components of the golf swing. Any time you have tight muscles your body responds in restricted movement. So, optimal flexibility becomes the key to freedom of movement in the swing. Any time you can enhance your flexibility, you have the potential to lengthen your golf swing and create greater club head speed. A golfer's focus should always be on restoring normal range of motion before progressing onto more advanced strength programs.

Dynamic stretches are highly recommended prior to each round of golf. Dynamic stretches are those that keep your body in motion throughout the full range of the stretch. It should not be a time consuming process. It should only take 10 or 15 minutes of your time and should be part of a full warm up program you perform prior to play. This includes time to warm up your muscles, practice your technique and mentally prepare yourself for the round ahead.

The ultimate goal is to increase the functional range of motion around the joints affecting the golf swing. Limited range of motion contributes to improper mechanics, fatigue, and injury. Here is a comprehensive list of benefits you'll see by increasing your flexibility through a regular stretching program.

• Increases range of motion allowing you to stretch and reach further
• Improves distance, power, accuracy and consistency
• Reduces the incidence and severity of low back pain
• Improves your power in explosive activities
• Improves circulation and blood flow
• Relieves muscle soreness after intense physical activity
• Improves posture and muscle balance
• Increases muscle coordination
• Promotes a more fluid and natural golf swing
• Increases neuromuscular coordination
• Increases level of golf performance
• Allows you to feel more free through the full range of movement

Take time to prepare your body for golf and you'll notice a significant difference in your playing ability.

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Facebook Marketing

A Guide to Advertising Campaigns

A good way to get websites noticed on the Internet is use Facebook as a marketing tool. There are two main ways in which this can be accomplished. These are paid advertisements and free advertisements. Both types of advertisements allow you to place an image alongside the advert itself. To maximise the success of your advertising campaign, it is a good idea to take full advantage of this, and include an image that is eye-catching but also relevant to your advert. If you are serious about advertising, then using the paid option, or a combination of both options, is the best way to go. If you are advertising a personal site or something similar, then the free way to do this is to post the link, along with some descriptive information, across as much of the Facebook system as possible. To do this you need to post your site's details on friend's profiles, relevant groups / pages and also on any profiles with a large number of friends, for example, those profiles that belong to popular nightclubs and venues. If doing this, you must be especially careful not to spam the system, as this is frowned upon by Facebook and could result in your account being suspended by them. It is important to note that posting on too many pages, too quickly, can have the same effect on your account. If you decide to use paid advertising, one of the good things about Facebook's paid system is that you can target specific countries and even specific age groups, meaning that you increase the chances of your advertising campaign being as successful as possible. A useful feature of Facebook paid advertising is the Suggest Advert feature.
This works by scanning the target URL and reading some of the content, either through meta tags (if present), or from the first few lines of text found. There is also an option to set a daily limit for advertising, as well as options on whether to run the campaign continuously or for a set amount of time. If running continuously, be careful not to forget about your adverts, as otherwise you could end up with some extensive billing charges from Facebook. Users have a choice of either CPM or CPC advertising, the best choice out of these two differs depending on your website. It is important to note that both cannot be used at the same time on a single campaign, meaning that if you want both advertising types for a site, you need to create two separate advertising campaigns in order to do this. 

Facebook sets the advert type to CPC by default and automatically chooses a bid for you, however, this can be changed using the advanced options feature included on the Create Ad page. Also, adverts submitted using this system are manually approved, meaning that it can be some time before adverts are approved by the Facebook team. This process usually takes no longer than 15-20 minutes, depending on what time of day the adverts are submitted. Be sure to read their advertising terms carefully before submitting an advert, especially the parts about punctuation, as if these are not followed, acceptance of your advert could be delayed.

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The issue of car finance

When buying a new car, a common issue is the way people pay for it. Most use car finance to pay for their vehicles. If you want to make the best deal, you will have to understand car finance and the intricacies of its processes.

When buying a vehicle there are a couple of aspects people think about: whether their future car will be a new one or a used one and where they will get the money from. Regarding the money, problems can be solved by obtaining the car finance from banks, credit unions, dealerships, or auto manufacturers. However, when considering buying an old car, one has to think of the differences between car finance for a new or for a used car and its advantages and disadvantages. People tend to favor new cars. If you are asking yourselves "why?" then you surely heard some attractive commercials. Most of the unbelievable offers are too good to be true, but they come with extra requirements like high down payments and very high interest rates. For a good deal, negotiation is the only adoptable strategy that will make room for more advantages and less terms and conditions.

Making a loan requires a copy of your credit report and a check of payment histories. The lender will verify every aspect of your financial background in order to give you car finance. Once you have all the paperwork done, gather information, ask the dealers for the best offer and use every detail to bargain.

Pre-Approved loans are better for your car finance because you can find near market rates. Start by looking for a good sub prime lender. Search the Internet, look at closing costs, fees, compare and use the APR number to get the overall cost. This car finance can save you money.

You can also use online loan applications from car finance companies to speed loan processes. Before choosing a car finance company you should compare prices and rates. The dealer will want to make the best for him and choose the appropriate car finance company.

Try not to let yourself be persuaded to buy the dealerships finance pack when you can make a better car finance deal elsewhere. You should calculate your APR and take into account how much the car costs in cash and if you have additional rates. Also see if car finance works for you and if you agree with the down payments and closing payments. Even if it seems complicated, it doesn't have to be if you educate yourself in car finance.

Car finance is a very important part of your credit-related decisions and you should be careful not to take offers that exceed your income. If you end up in a bad deal you will waste your money on unnecessary things and your car finance will lower your budget drastically. If you try to take your car finance from a bank, the disadvantage is that banks take a lot of time to process a loan. The disadvantage in dealership rates is that they cost more overall. You can also try the Internet for online car finance deals, but the offers have to be carefully analyzed before (not to be scams). Some people may even get your car finance information and use it in their own interest. A little research about the online car finance can save you a lot of trouble. However, if you choose online lenders, you will get low interest rates and save time and money.

To obtain the car finance you are looking for, it will take some time to research and find the appropriate solution for you. You have to know exactly what you want and, after that, be careful not to let salespeople convince you into a car finance deal that you don't want. Being familiar with car finance will enable you to go out and get the beast deal for you and your family.

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