Five Signs You Need to Simplify Your Compositions

One of the most effective things you can learn in creating photographs is to simplify. By that, I mean including only that which needs to be in the image and nothing more. But sometimes that’s harder than it sounds. It’s natural to want to show more and more and more just because you see more and more and more things you like. But if you start seeing more and more things you like, you should then be taking more and more pictures of those individual things.

Here are some signs that you need to simplify your compositions

You need to explain your pictures

cluttered forest floor — What’s all this then?

When showing your pictures to friends, do you find that you need to explain what’s going on in the pictures? Do you have to point things out that you liked?

If a viewer can’t tell what it was that interested the photographer enough to take the picture, then that’s a failing of the photographer. Whether someone would want to hang your picture on the wall or not is immaterial, if they can tell what you are trying to say or what you’re trying to show, then the picture is a success.

You know that saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Only bad pictures are worth that much. Good pictures need few, if any, words to explain them.

Your pictures contain more than one main subject

Pile of nets in Newport, OR — I like this shape and this curve and this rusty thing and blue, I really like blue and…

When describing one of your pictures, do you often use the word “and” a lot? As in “What I liked about this scene were doorways, and the street vendor, and the flowers in the window, and that little piece of out of place paper near the water puddle, and …and….and…” The problem gets to be that there isn’t any one thing, or theme, for the viewer to grasp.

curve of rope on pile of nets — Ooh, I like this curve

To simplify, try to take pictures with one main subject. That’s not to say that there can’t be anything else in the picture, but the other things should be supporting elements to the main subject.

So instead of one picture with multiple things that you like, try taking multiple pictures that contain one thing that you like. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the overall picture, but when you do, try to do it in a way that there is definitely a subject.

Your background is an attention hog

red lily with distracting background — A background only your mother would love. Way too much distracting detail.

Close ups and portraits rely heavily on something that ideally, your viewer won’t even notice: the background. However, far too often the background gets in the way of enjoying the pretty flower or your cute little niece. Problems to look for include bright spots or a hard line behind the flower. The family car or the classic telephone pole might be behind your niece. (Or, more likely, that bratty little cousin who likes to make rabbit ears behind people.) Distractions that take away from the main subject can happen when you have too much detail or contrast in the background (or when your sister has had one too many children).

This extra clutter just distracts the eye and makes pictures complicated. Simplify things by paying more attention to what’s happening in your backgrounds. Use your depth of field preview button to spot any bright spots or hard edges or annoying contrast.

Also, look at the picture critically on the camera’s LCD screen. Does the subject stand out or is it blending with the background? Try stepping back and looking at the screen from a distance, it will be easier to spot this blending if you can no longer tell where the subject ends and the background begins. (Hint: if you can’t tell, that usually means there’s a problem with the background).

Your foreground acts as a barrier

Royal Lake in Olympic National Park. The foreground is unappealing. — Apart from other problems in this picture, this foreground screams “Stay away!!”

As close ups and portraits rely on the background, landscapes rely on the foreground. They serve as a sort of welcoming front porch and an invitation to come on in and explore. But if that foreground acts like more of a barrier, the viewer gets stopped at the gate, so to speak.

Foregrounds should help lead and guide the viewer into the landscape you’ve chosen to share. They can also act as a restful anchor, giving the viewer a place to come back to and rest after exploring.

Your pictures have “extras”

Joshua trees with out of focus bush in lower left — Did you spot the out of focus “extra” in the lower left? Click on the image to get a closer look.

This one piggy backs on some of the others. By “extras” I mean unnecessary stuff. You know, stuff. Things in the picture that either distract or don’t actively support the main subject: Little things poking their way in from the side of the frame; out of focus foreground elements that distract the eye; items in the picture that merge or converge and confuse the eye.

Anything that distracts the eye from the main subject can be considered an “extra”. And these “extras” don’t get paid to be in the picture, so they’re bitter and their main goal is sabotage.

And besides, you can’t afford “extras,” they’re just not in the budget. So keep your eyes out for these guys, they tend to sneak in while you’re not looking.

So, have you spotted any of these things in your pictures? If so, start thinking “simplify” next time you’re out shooting and keep these pointers in mind.

Extra tip:

There is one magical tool you can use that will help you recognize and eliminate all of these: the tripod. Using a tripod gives you the time to really look around the frame to spot distracting backgrounds, blocking foregrounds, and extras. It gives you time to ask yourself some questions about what you’re actually photographing and why; it gives you the time to really define your subject and think about how you want to portray it.