Composition Tips for Travel Photography

Composition Tips for Travel Photography

In recent years, I’ve come to realise that composition is less about understanding the “rules” (or “guidelines”) of composition, and more about seeing the scene and working out how you want to present it in a picture.  

As photographers, we need to “compose with intent”… in other words, we need to take a deliberately considered approach to composition, instead of trying to wrangle a scene into the “rule of thirds” or the “golden mean”. (FYI – these “rules” were created in painting workshops back in the days when devotional images had to be painted in such-and-such a way, which meant that the artists could simply replicate previous works by religiously – pun intended – following these “rules”). 

In travel photography, we need to be able to quickly react to a scene and compose it in a way that allows us to say something meaningful about the scene and the subjects within it. Not all scenes allow for a comfortable fit for the “rule of thirds” or the “golden spiral”. But if you’re of a mind to be telling a story in your photography, or capturing a scene so that there’s a greater sense of moment and context, then these tips can help.

TIP 1: SPLIT YOUR FRAME
This is as simple as dividing your frame vertically or horizontally into two or three parts, and then placing your key subject/s in one part, and allowing for background action to display in the other parts. Consider this image, taken in Old Delhi in India.

You can see that this frame is divided into two parts. The main subject — the man in the singlet – is located on the left side; while the right shows context – a busy street in Old Delhi. Splitting your frame allows you to achieve less visually “busy” scenes by having your subject occupy half of the frame, allowing the viewer’s eye to be drawn there, and then across the rest of the frame where you can show the background/context of the scene.

I’ve also shot this at a relatively slower shutter speed to blur moving vehicles, creating a sense of bustle and movement that contrasts with the stillness of the man. I could also have framed the image without including his slippers, but their inclusion adds a certain poignance to the scene… you can tell he is taking a break, relaxing, grabbing a moment of quiet, in a very busy (and noisy) environment. 

Here are a few more examples of split frame composition. See if you can work out how the frame is split in each image.

TIP 2: KEEP KEY ELEMENTS SEPARATED
The viewer’s eye can be easily confused and distracted if there are too many things for it to process. To reduce distraction and to allow for each element in your frame to communicate its own story, to convey its own meaning, try and contain each key element to a particular section of the frame. This means making sure that you avoid overlapping key elements.  Have a look at this example:

This is an example of an image that has been compartmentalised into multiple sub-frames, and each frame then contains a key element (or nothing to allow the eye to drift across the frame). Again, juxtaposition is created between a moment of respite (the man on the right) and figures labouring (the middle section). 

Here is another example of how a potentially busy setting can be simplified by putting key elements into compartments within the greater frame:

If this had been shot at eye level with the other people, their bodies would have overlapped each other, creating a confusion of masses that the viewer’s eye cannot follow. So, I walked around the scene, found a higher vantage point and then made sure that each group of figures occupied its own section of the frame. It was then a matter of waiting for gestures, actions and events to converge, and capturing this across a number of shots.

TIP 3: FRAME A SINGLE POINT OF INTEREST
When you’re in a busy place, it can get confusing looking for something to photograph. You could take a wide shot of the hubbub but this often translates into a very busy image with nothing for the viewer’s eye to hone in. To help with composition, choose one thing in the scene that you are going to make the key subject of your image, and then look at ways in which you can hone in on it through composition. You could look at creating a frame within a frame, focusing attention on the subject; or you could find a way to create space around the subject, so that the viewer’s eye immediately latches onto it. 

Have a look at this image of a street barber in Old Delhi. 

I was looking for a different way of framing the work of a street barber; instead of making the barber the central subject in the image, I chose to photograph the reflection of one of his customers in a hand-held mirror, and have the barber in the background as context. You can also try a more creative approach to isolating your key subject in a very busy scene.

Have a look at how a moving vehicle, captured at a slightly slower shutter speed, can create a frame around the subject, or shooting through a shadowed interior can craft the same effect:

TIP 4: DIAGONAL LINES
Horizontal and vertical axes within your frame can help with composition, but they can create compositions that feel static, which is great if you are trying to craft a sense of calm or tranquility in the image. Busy scenes, such as scenes of people working or taking part in physical activity, can be infused with dynamic energy by framing them to make use of a strong diagonal line. 

Have a look at this image of some porters doing heavy lifting in Old Delhi:

To create the diagonal line going from the top left to the lower right, I had to wait for the man in the middle to place the pile of cardboard on the porter’s head on the lower right. This frame both tells a story about what is happening but also infuses it with an energy that comes from that diagonal line. 

Here is another image that makes use of a diagonal line in its composition:

A little tip — gestures, hands and arms crossing your frame are a great way of creating diagonals. Diagonals also help in creating a “leading line” into or across your frame that the viewer’s eye can follow. 

I hope you found these tips useful; try using them the next time you’re out photographing scenes with lots of activity… such as festivals, or when you’re traveling in a busy setting.