5 Compositions Every Landscape Photographer Should Know
What, a composition article in landscape photography not discussing the rule of thirds or the golden spiral?! What Blasphemy. Look, those are helpful compositional techniques, but I find the rule of thirds to be formulaic and can actually hinder photographers, especially those new to landscape photography. And let’s be honest… the golden spiral is about as convoluted as the American tax code.
So, if you’ve ever wondered why iconic landscapes are… well… iconic, it is not just the amazing golden hour light or dramatic breaking clouds (though those help). It’s the composition! A composition can save a photograph with mediocre light, but even the best of light can’t save a poorly composed image. Without further ado, lets inspect some of my recent images to understand the five compositional techniques I use most often.
The five techniques are:
Leading lines
The S-curve
Clumping of subjects
Natural framing
The saucer
Leading Lines:
Leading lines are frequently found in nature and provide a great way to draw the viewers eye through your composition. Leading lines can draw you from an interesting foreground to a spectacular background and keep the eye within the frame. Leading line are almost like a giant neon sign, screaming “LOOK HERE!”. These lines can often be enhanced with contrast, clarity, or saturation in post processing to really drive home this point.
In the Monument Valley icon below, the striations in the foreground rocks help lead the viewers eye to the distant buttes.
Taken during a dust storm at sunset in Monument Valley, photo by Joshua Raines Photography
S-Curves:
Another commonly seen composition found in the natural landscape are s-curves. The classic example is a flowing stream helping move the viewers eye to a dominant background subject. But s-curves dont have to be just streams. Others include canyon walls, slot canyons, or an interesting arrangement of trees.
The Virgin River in Zion National Park creates a great s-curve that helps the viewers eye travel from the foreground to the iconic “Angels Landing” hike in the distance. Other examples include the frozen Dream Lake from Rocky Mountain National Park.
Virgin River in Zion National Park by Joshua Raines Photography
Clumping of Subjects:
This is a commonly used technique is most practical with a wide angle lens and “forcing” perspective with a dominant foreground (wildflowers are a common subject used). The key here is to get very close to your subject in the foreground and then have multiple repeating subjects or objects that draw the viewer through the scene. Ideally, the more distant objects should be smaller and smaller so the eye can jump from a larger to small subject, but sometimes we have to work with what nature gives us. Dream lake is an example below, albeit a slightly chaotic form of clumping subjects in the foreground. You can imagine skipping across these foreground rocks to arrive at the distant Hallet Peak. In the first image, 3 distant rocks below Notch Top Mountain act almost like small pavers in the reflecting alpine lake, helping the viewer arrive at our ultimate destination, the distant mountain.
Natural Framing:
Natural framing is frequently found in the more iconic American landscapes. Think Mesa Arch framing the distant mountain peaks and the town of Moab below. Think Hole in the Wall on Rialto Beach at Olympic National Park. This framing technique helps keep the eye focused on the center of your image, where a dominant subject exists.
The Saucer
And finally, we arrive at my most originally named, the saucer. No, we aren’t talking about a flying saucer, but instead the tiny plate you place a teacup on. This saucer helps redirect a wandering eye back in to frame, helping keep the viewer focused on your subject.
Horseshoe bend isn’t just a classic for the beautiful cliff face or the amazing desert sunset colors. yes, these help, but the bending river below is constantly redirecting the viewer to the center of the photograph, helping the wandering eye regain focus and further inspect our subject.
When arriving at a scene you intend to photograph, harken back to these compositional techniques. Often small adjustments in your position can help focus the viewers eye and create a dramatic landscape. After all, Ansel Adams once said, “a good photograph is knowing where to stand”.
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