For anyone following a creative pursuit, the notion of obeying rules that determine proper aesthetics for an image seems nothing short of ludicrous; however, such rules can prove incredibly helpful as you work to improve your photography. Just remember, rules are made to be broken. It’s important to understand some key rules of photographic composition, but equally important that the final image is what really matters, so don’t hesitate to break the rules if you feel it will improve the photo.

Say More with Less

Perhaps the best thing you can do to improve the composition of your photographs is to include less in the frame. It’s only natural to try to include too much in a photographic image. After all, you’re in a wonderful place having an incredible experience taking in a beautiful sight, and you want to capture a photo that will convey your emotions. This often leads to a photo with so much going on that the viewer feels overwhelmed and doesn’t know where to look.

Practice simplifying the composition for every photograph. As you compose a scene, think about how you might be able to zoom in or move closer to the subject to effectively crop out unnecessary elements. Also, think about how you might be able to move to view the subject from a different angle to provide a less cluttered background. You’ll quickly discover that when it comes to photography, quite often less is more.

No Points for a Bull’s Eye

The rule of thirds is one of the best-known tenets in photography, but being well-known doesn’t mean it should always be followed. Quite simply, you should generally not place the main subject of a photograph in the very center of the frame. It may seem that the most important element of a photograph belongs at the prominent center of the image so nobody will mistake the reason you took the photo, but in most cases you should resist that urge.

The idea of the rule of thirds is that you should place the key subject one-third of the way in from the edge of the photo, rather than at the center. Imagine the photo divided into thirds horizontally and vertically. Align your subject with one of the dividing lines, possibly even at the intersection of two of those lines.

Of course, placing the subject off-center shouldn’t be done without giving it some thought. For example, if you’re photographing a sunset, you might arbitrarily lower the camera so the horizon falls at the upper third. But if part of the reason you’re photographing the sunset is the incredible clouds in the sky, you should favor the sky and instead raise the camera so the horizon is at the bottom third. The point is that you want to think about how to follow the rule of thirds (and when to ignore it) so you’re producing the best result in the final image.

Room to Move

When you follow the rule of thirds, the key subject is naturally going to be off-center in the frame. I mentioned that it’s important to consider where in the frame you’re going to place the subject, and this is particularly important when there’s a directional element to the subject. For example, if you’re photographing moving subjects, such as cars, surfers, or cyclists, leave some room in front of them so they appear to have somewhere to go.

In the case of a portrait, that means giving the subject somewhere to look. When following the rule of thirds, this will become obvious to you but it’s worth thinking about. Generally speaking, when you break this rule, it will create a certain sense of tension within the image. That might be a good thing—just make sure you’re doing it intentionally.

Get Some Perspective

When you present a subject in a unique and interesting way, you’ll have a better chance of gaining the viewer’s attention. The trick is to find a unique perspective that actually makes a better photo, not just a photo with a weird perspective. Think about how you can get higher or lower, or find a unique angle. Lens choice can be key here as well. With a wide-angle lens, for example, you can get very close to the subject but still have a strong sense of place with the background information that gets included. Or you can compress a scene in an interesting way by backing up and using a longer lens, including only a couple of key elements in the frame

Don’t be afraid to experiment, as that’s how you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t. Look around you and see what you can get on top of, duck under, stand beside, or otherwise put to use to create a new way of looking at a subject.

Get Angular

Everywhere you look, it seems there are lines. Sometimes those lines are the reason you decided to take a photo; other times they seem to get in the way. Regardless, they can always be used to great effect in a photographic composition. Horizontal or vertical lines tend to convey stability. Sometimes that’s what you’re aiming for, but more often you’re looking for a dynamic energy. Diagonal lines are very effective at providing that energy, so see if you can put strong lines on the diagonal. Also, thinking about perspective, see if there’s a way to get the lines in your image to lead into the primary subject. Lines can be a powerful part of your photos, so leverage them in your compositions.

Cropping

While it’s best to get the image perfect in camera, don’t forget there’s much you can do after the fact to greatly improve many photos. Cropping an image in Photoshop after the capture allows you to apply some of the rules of composition presented here, even if you didn’t get it quite right in the camera. For example, a cluttered scene can be cleaned up by cropping out unnecessary elements. A subject placed in the center of the frame can be magically moved off center by cropping the image accordingly.

Part of the beauty of digital photography is that you can continue to improve your images with tremendous control, even after the picture has been taken. And doing so will help give you a better understanding of what you might want to do differently the next time you’re out taking pictures.

ALL IMAGES BY TIM GREY

That means it helps to streamline an overall process (rather than simply providing a set of individual tools) allowing you to work with your images very efficiently. What you may not realize initially is that for many tasks in Lightroom, you can achieve incredible efficiency by establishing preferred settings once and then using these settings with different images.
Let’s take a look at how Lightroom makes it easy to share your images in a Web gallery. Once we set up our gallery, we’ll show you how to do it again lightning fast with just a few clicks of the mouse. (If you’d like to learn more about making the most of Lightroom, check out my latest book, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Workflow, Wiley 2007.)

Step 1 Import Images

Before you can work with images in Lightroom you need to import them, so if the images you want to include in a Web gallery haven’t been imported already, that’s your first step. In the Library module, click the Import button below the Panels area on the left side, navigate to the folder containing the images you want to import, and click the Choose (PC: Choose Selected) button. Set the desired settings in the Import Photos dialog, and click Import to bring the images into Lightroom so you can start working with them.

Step 2 Create Quick Collection

Working with a Quick Collection is a great way to temporarily group images together for a given project, especially if you’re including images from a variety of folders or collections. As you sort through the images you’re considering for the Web gallery, you can add an image to the Quick Collection by moving the mouse over the image and clicking on the Quick Collection marker (the circle that appears in the top-right corner of the image). You can click again to toggle the image out of the Quick Collection.

CREDIT: ALL IMAGES TIM GREY

Step 3 Select the Quick Collection

You may have noticed that the Quick Collection is listed in the Library module’s Library panel. As you add images to the Quick Collection, you’ll see the number of included images change (shown to the right of the name Quick Collection). To work with only those images included in the Quick Collection, simply click on that line in the Library panel. When you do this, the main display and Filmstrip will show only the images included in the Quick Collection.

Step 4 Choose a Template

Go to the Web module and expand the Template Browser panel on the left. As you mouse over the template names in this list, you’ll see a preview of the template in the Preview panel above (move the mouse up and down really fast for a cool stroboscopic effect). When you find the template you want to use, click on it to set it as the layout for your Web gallery. But don’t worry, you’ll be able to fine-tune it to your heart’s content.

Step 5 Define Text for the Gallery

In the Panels area on the right, you’ll find the Labels panel that allows you to define the text that will appear on the main page of your Web gallery. It’s worth noting that once you’ve entered a value, it will appear in a drop-down menu to the right of the field, allowing you to quickly select that value again later. For the Web or Mail Link field, if you want to use an email address, precede it with “mailto:” (without the quotes) so the text will be an active link to create an email message.

Step 6 Adjust the Colors

The Color Palette panel allows you to change the colors used in your Web gallery, which can obviously have a dramatic effect on the final appearance. To change the color of any element in the Web gallery, click the colored box associated with that element. This brings up the Colors (PC: Color) dialog, where you can select a new color.

Step 7 Set Appearance Options

The contents of the Appearance palette change depending on whether your template is a Flash or HTML gallery. For Flash galleries, you’ll have a Layout drop-down menu with several options you can choose from (use the Preview to decide which option you like best). For HTML galleries, you’ll have a grid control that allows you to specify the number of rows and columns for thumbnails, and a Show Cell Numbers checkbox that allows you to include sequence numbers with each thumbnail. The Identity Plate section allows you to include (and modify) your Identity Plate as the title for your Web gallery.

Step 8 Define Image Output Settings

The Output Settings panel is where you can change settings regarding the size and quality of images included in the gallery. The specific options will vary for Flash and HTML galleries, but the basic concepts are the same. The Add Copyright Watermark checkbox allows you to include text (defined by the Copyright field of the Metadata panel in the Library module) in the corner of each image to identify them as yours and help discourage theft.

Step 9 Add Captions to the Images

In the Image Settings panel, use the Title and Caption checkboxes to include text with each image. These are included for the large images in your gallery, not the thumbnails. To define what text will appear for each, choose a field from the drop-down to the right, or select Custom Text and enter a value in the box provided. Note: Depending on the field you use, the text could be different for each image (e.g., to reflect changes in exposure from image to image); however, Custom Text will apply the same text to all images in the gallery.

Step 10 Preview the Gallery

At this point you’ve defined all the settings that affect the appearance of your gallery, so it’s time to take it for a test drive. Click the Preview in Browser button at the bottom of the Preview area, and Lightroom will generate all the necessary files and display the gallery in your default Web browser. Give it a good once-over, and adjust any settings you’d like to change.

Step 11 Save the Template

When you’re happy with the Web gallery as you’ve defined it, it’s time to create a new template so you can make a similar gallery with different images later. Click the Add button at the bottom of the Template Browser panel and type a meaningful name for the template.

Step 12 Configure Server Settings

To make the most of the Web module, upload the gallery to your website for the whole world (or a select few) to see. Select Edit from the FTP Server drop-down in the Output panel, and enter the server settings from your Web hosting provider. In the Preset drop-down, choose Save as New Preset and enter a name so you’ll have quick access to these settings later, then click OK. I recommend putting each gallery into a subfolder below a primary folder on your site, so check the Put in Subfolder box in the Output panel and enter a name for that folder.

Step 13 Publish the Gallery

With everything set, you’re ready to go live with your new Web gallery. Click the Upload button at the bottom of the right Panels area to start the process. When all files have been uploaded, you can share the address (your site address based on the server settings you entered, plus the folder name if you chose that option) with others for them to view your cool new Web gallery.

Step 14 Next Time: Lightning Quick

The best part is doing this again, but faster! With the template created, all you’ll need to do in the future is select the images you want to include (I recommend the Quick Collection), select the template in the Template Browser panel, change the Labels (if necessary) for this new gallery, enter a new folder name in the Output panel, and click Upload. It’s really that easy!