What Is Composition?

What is composition?
Composition is the arrangement of visual elements within the frame of a photograph.

Why is composition important?
It is important to utilize composition when taking photographs so that the picture conveys meaning. When taking a snapshot, the photo is made specifically to keep a memory. It can be poorly cropped or out of focus, but it serves its purpose by saving a memory. A photograph not only shows a moment in time, it shows how the subject felt in that moment in time, or it shows a feeling the photographer felt when they made the photograph. This is why composition is important. It gives the photo meaning.

What is a "snapshot?"
As stated above, a snapshot is taken to preserve a memory of a specific subject at a certain. The photo could be taken quickly to capture a specific moment in time. It is not thought out or planned, it is meant to save the memory of what the subject was doing at that specific moment.

What is a "photograph?"
Contrary to the previous question, a photograph is a well planned out image made to convey a feeling of the photographer or the subject at a specific moment in time. A photograph will likely be planned out and convey much meaning to the viewer.

~Quote~
"Photography is the art of discovery."



All notes taken from The Photographic Eye, chapter three, pages 51 and 52.