Okuzeka
Photography vocabulary · Composition

Composition

Meaning in photography, with examples

/ˌkɑːmpəˈzɪʃən/nounCore term

In photography, composition means: The way the elements of a photo, such as people, lines, shapes and empty space, are arranged inside the frame.

In Turkish: kompozisyon

How it is used

Used in critiques, courses and competitions: a strong, balanced, simple or cluttered composition. Photographers talk about rules of composition and say they recomposed or tightened the shot. The verb is compose: compose a shot.

Example sentences

  1. The light is beautiful, but the composition feels cluttered. Try moving closer.

  2. Good composition leads the viewer's eye straight to the subject.

Common collocations

  • strong composition
  • balanced composition
  • rules of composition
  • improve your composition
  • rule of thirdsA composition guideline that divides the frame into nine equal parts with two horizontal and two vertical lines, and places important elements on or near those lines.
  • framingDeciding exactly what is inside the edges of the photo and what is left out, and where the subject sits in the frame.
  • leading linesLines in a scene, such as roads, rivers, fences or walls, that guide the viewer's eye through the photo, often toward the main subject.
  • negative spaceThe empty area around the main subject, such as plain sky, a wall or water, left on purpose so that the subject stands out.
  • camera angleThe position and height from which the camera looks at the subject, for example from above, at eye level or from below.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Composition

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: