by Russell Burden Here's How To Create Great Landscape Compositions.
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Whenever I create a composition, I base it on an old fashioned legal balance. If too much emphasis is placed on either the left or right side, the scale tips due to uneven weight distribution. The same holds true in a photograph. If the composition has too much subject matter on one side and not enough on the other, the balance is thrown off. This unevenness causes the viewer to concentrate on one part of the image and wonder why another section is void of important information.
A successfully created composition is one in which the viewer can let his eyes FLOW through the photograph without feeling compelled to return to a specific spot because there's tension, a distraction, or disturbance. When you¹re creating a composition, the key is to not look at just one focal point. The supporting material to the left, right, top, bottom, front, and behind the main subject is equally as important. No matter how good the lead actor is, if the supporting cast is weak, the movie will fall short. This analogy holds true for a photograph.
PHOTO: Russ Burden
Learn to create symmetry and balance in your landscapes. In the first image, the heavy rock on the left dominates the photo. In the second shot, I took a few steps back to change the perspective. This diminished its size allowing the main butte in the background to be the tallest point in the image. Additionally, I included the foreground rock on the right to balance the left side foreground. The resulting image is symmetrical and much more pleasing to view.
