Philosophy of Composition

Henri Cartier-Bresson Composition Simplified GIF

I don’t think anyone has really given a great effort in trying to create a philosophy of composition — especially in photography.

Here we go:

What is composition?

Animated GIF of HCB composition
Henri Cartier-Bresson Composition Simplified

The etymology of composition:

con- +‎ positiō.

To break it down:

con means ‘with’.

positio means position, place, framing.

Therefore a composition simply means:

How do you position, place, and frame things together?

Composition in photography

In photography we have a frame. How do we organize visual elements within the frame? This is the goal of composition.

To simplify

One goal in photography: to create images which are simple and powerful.

Thus when we are composing and framing our shot, strive to simplify. Subtract the superfluous.

Flash in photography to simplify

A benefit of flash photography:

When you use a flash, you simplify the image. Why? You allow the subject to ‘pop out’ of the frame, and create a stronger ‘figure to ground‘ between the subject and background.

Why black and white?

Monochrome is great, as is the simplest aesthetic we have to strengthen our images.

When reality is stripped of color, all we have left is shape, form, texture, tone:

I don’t necessarily think black and white is superior to color, but I would say black and white is certainly SIMPLER than color.

And in my book and philosophy of aesthetics:

Strong and simple aesthetics reign supreme.

Abstract. Simple figure to ground composition. Man in silhouette in black in top left of frame against white sky.

Simple figure to ground composition. Man in silhouette in black in top left of frame against white sky.

What is the purpose of composition?

Now a big question:

What is the practical or pragmatic purpose of a composition?

Well, in the context of photography, framing is everything.

For example let us think about a camera. The lens (one eye) can only see so much. The lens has a limited perspective.

Reality is insanely infinite.

However, reality is unlimited. With reality, there are a TRILLION x TRILLION ways to photograph. There is three dimensional space, and everything is always changing.

This is where 360/VR technology is fascinating to me: you capture EVERYTHING.

But still in the context of still photos: you cannot photograph everything in a single frame. You must decide what to include in your frame and what to exclude.

Also probably more important figuring out what to EXCLUDE from your frame than to figure out what to INCLUDE.

How close do you get?

One big thing in composition:

How close or far you are from your subject.

For example, photos of a wing:

Which composition (framing) is most interesting?

To me, the macro photo is the most interesting. “Filling the frame” with the texture and detail.

Thus the adage:

When in doubt, get closer.

The famous Robert Capa quote:

If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.

And this is precisely the genius of Robert Capa: not his clever compositions, but the fact is how he got SO CLOSE (emotionally and physically) to his subjects!