Compositional Trick

Here's a tip for creating interesting compositions. Take a small pad and pen with you. When you have set up your shot, take out your pad, have a good look through the viewfinder at the subject, then draw a simple outline of the basic shapes in your subject. Now ask yourself if this simple drawing looks like it would work. If the simple sketch consisting of half a dozen lines; doesn't make sense, it is unlikely the photograph will either.

With practice you can learn to draw that simple diagram in your mind and leave the pen and pad at home, but don't take the short cut at first, actually draw it out - very simply and crudely - it should take less than 15 seconds to make a very simple sketch.

The example below I traced from the image (cheating after the fact, not having a diagram to scan in and normally doing it in my mind anyway) and I think it a bit too complex - but you get the basic idea.



Of course, all this can do is show you that your current composition isn't as strong as it could be - it's now up to you to move around the subject to see if you can find a better way to put the elements together - most times you can. Don't just go left and right, also go up and down - what doesn't work at eye level may be perfect at waist level or even with your belly on the ground - you are waterproof after all. Move back and forth (remember, this isn't the same as zooming). See if you can change what you didn't like in your simple diagram. Find something better - stop and sketch it and compare.
Try this on the next couple of shoots and see if you don't strengthen your compositional skills. See if the recomposed image doesn't please you more.