Practical tips to inspire you:
1. Orange and blue complementary colors
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/3FA9BE95-A92A-4BF5-8C74-886E4E4A093C-2000x1325.jpeg?resize=1200%2C795)
Get more epic colors shooting at sunset (the light becomes more orange, and the sky is bluer). Also experiment with -1 or -2 exposure compensation when shooting.
![](https://i1.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cindy-orange-blue-flash-2-1325x2000.jpg)
![](https://i2.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-street-photography-fujifilm-xf10-orange-county-v24-CHROMA-13-1333x2000.jpg)
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ERIC-KIM-Orange-Photography-Color-Theory38.jpg)
![](https://i2.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ERIC-KIM-Orange-Photography-Color-Theory29.jpg)
![](https://i1.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ERIC-KIM-Orange-Photography-Color-Theory20.jpg)
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ERIC-KIM-Orange-Photography-Color-Theory47-1325x2000.jpg)
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ERIC-KIM-Orange-Photography-Color-Theory119.jpg)
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ERIC-KIM-Orange-Photography-Color-Theory110.jpg)
2. Assymetric composition
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-photography-picks-v5-165-2000x1325.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
When shooting, look at the corners of your frame. Get the diagonals or the shapes and forms of the photo to be off-center.
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190127-115825_Chrome.jpg?resize=1079%2C718)
Remember, symmetry is boring.
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-photography-picks-v5-170-2000x1325.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
Also with your subject, place them off-center (top left, top right):
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190127-120448_Chrome.jpg?resize=1080%2C716)
3. Framing/leading lines
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-photography-picks-v5-191-1325x2000.jpg?resize=1200%2C1811)
When photographing your subject, put them in-between a frame, to add more focus to them. Bonus points if they turn their elbow into a triangle or diagonal:
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190127-120637_Chrome.jpg?resize=1080%2C1517)
4. Abstract imagery
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-photography-picks-v5-188-2000x1325.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
Shoot through windows, blurry or obscured surfaces, anything that will make your photos more abstract.
5. Curve composition
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-photography-picks-v5-107-2000x1325.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
Curved composition makes the image more dynamic (think racing tracks that are curved and arabesque shaped).
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190127-121027_Chrome.jpg?resize=1080%2C713)
6. 3 rectangles in your frame
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-photography-picks-v5-117-2000x1325.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
Shoot a scene, and include 3 rectangles:
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190127-121329_Chrome.jpg?resize=1080%2C754)
Got the idea from Henri Cartier-Bresson (via Adam Marelli)
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/par74491-teaser-story-big.jpg?resize=1200%2C806)
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190127-121700_Chrome.jpg?resize=1079%2C777)
7. Repeating forms
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-photography-picks-v5-186-1325x2000.jpg?resize=1200%2C1811)
If you see repeating forms, shoot it. For example this photo with the repeating white boxes:
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190127-122030_Chrome.jpg?resize=1080%2C1513)
8. High angle perspective (hold your camera high up in the air, and shoot downwards)
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-photography-picks-v5-113-2000x1325.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
To simplify your background and also to make a more unique perspective, hold your camera high in the air and point downwards:
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190127-122311_Chrome.jpg?resize=1080%2C666)
9. Fibonacci Spiral composition
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-photography-picks-v5-45-2000x1325.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
Photograph subjects in a stairwell to do the Fibonacci Spiral composition:
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190127-122530_Chrome.jpg?resize=1079%2C718)
10. Extreme darks / shadows
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-photography-picks-v5-66-2000x1325.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
Fill the frame with more black and shadows to make a more extreme minimalist composition:
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190127-122747_Chrome.jpg?resize=1080%2C679)
Conclusion
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eric-kim-photography-picks-v5-167-2000x1325.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
Ultimately I think photography and art is all about composition. Some more simple ideas:
- Study painters to discover new photographic compositions (Piet Mondrian, Franz Kline).
- Best photography composers: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Josef Koudelka, W. Eugene Smith
- To improve your composition, keep practicing. I find shooting with a phone the easiest and simplest way to practice your composition of shapes and forms.
- When you’re shooting a scene, seek to SIMPLIFY the composition. Generally speaking the simpler the composition, the stronger the composition is.
- Follow your gut: There isn’t a science in composition. Divide your frame and balance the different visual elements in your photo in a way that feels good to you.
- Never stop shooting: You will never make a perfect composition. But always strive to improve your compositions to drive you forward.
- Just shoot it: Don’t over complexify photography. Just have fun with it!
ERIC