ABSTRACT
IN PHOTOGRAPHY, composition begins with an act of exclusion—pointing the camera imposes the camera’s frame onto the scene, omitting everything that falls outside of its view. From there, the scene being photographed can further be framed in terms of selective focus and timeframe—the duration of the exposure. Each of these additional frames is a compositional choice. In some cases, the photographer can direct some of the action and move people or objects on a set to construct the scene in a way that is somewhat akin to what a painter does, but probably more often, it is the photographer who stands on tiptoe, squats, climbs a ladder, or rolls onto his or her belly to find a compelling view. This is the photographer’s first, best shot at composition—what appears in the viewfinder before you squeeze the shutter release. Once the shutter falls, the process of in-camera composition is complete.
