Nowadays, pictures—be it taking or looking at them—are something most people can’t imagine their lives without. For many, grabbing their camera or phone is their first instinct whenever they see a beautiful sunset or their child doing something silly.
That’s because pictures allow us to freeze in time all the important moments in our lives and capture the beauty around us, be it nature, people, buildings, or even lamps.
All of the above have been captured in Andreea’s pictures, too, which she has shared with her TikTok audience. Revealing exactly what she focuses on when taking a picture, she showed her followers not only how good of an eye for detail she has, but also how beauty can be found nearly everywhere.
But when it comes to photography, an eye for detail is not always enough. There are certain principles of photography that can take one’s pictures to the next level, and quite a few of them are related to composition, allowing the artist to learn to take the perfect shot.
Take the rule of thirds, for instance. Considered one of the fundamental principles of photography, it’s more of a guideline than a rule, but it can be a great starting point for learning and working with composition.
According to the Digital Photography School, the rule of thirds is a compositional guideline that breaks the image into thirds both horizontally and vertically, rendering the image divided into nine pieces by four gridlines.
“According to the rule, by positioning key elements along the gridlines, you’ll end up with better compositions. Therefore, to apply the rule to your photos, simply use the gridlines to position essential compositional elements,” the aforementioned source read.
According to The Digital Photography School, the great thing about the rule of thirds—in addition to nailing the composition—is that it’s an effective yet simple way to improve your photographs that don’t require a lot of training or experience in photography.
Though, as with most rules, this one, too, is meant to be broken, and that, based on the source, won’t result in your composition being bad or uninteresting.
If you want to take your pictures even further, a step over the rule of thirds is the so-called golden ratio. Talking about it, Photography Hero noted that using said ratio can make the quality and appeal of your images grow exponentially.
The golden ratio, reportedly having been used by artists for centuries now, is a ratio of approximately 1.618 to 1. If that’s difficult to comprehend, imagine an arm divided into two sections, using the ratio of 1.618 to 1 – the former being the part from your elbow to your wrist and the latter from your wrist to your fingertips. Using the ratio might help you create even better compositions for your pictures.
Another thing aspiring photographers might want to delve deeper into is negative space – the area in the picture that surrounds the main subject. “It's the empty space that helps define the positive space, which is the main focus of the photograph,” UK-based photographer and qualified photography tutor Alan Ranger explained.
“This concept plays a crucial role in composition, allowing photographers to create visually compelling contrast photos that draw the viewer's attention to the intended subject,” he added.
The aforementioned practices are just a few examples of what can take one’s images to the next level, but as with most things, practice makes perfect. So, if you, too, would like to try your hand at photography, make sure to read more about all sorts of rules and guidelines, but most importantly, go out there and shoot! Just like Andreea did, walking around, spotting cinematic masterpieces where many would least expect to find them.