Space in a composition refers to areas of the picture where there is no specific focal point. Space is often used to balance or highlight the main subject and it therefore frequently plays an important role but in a more subtle or indirect way. At least four types of space…

A concept map is a powerful tool for organizing and visualizing complex information in an associative map. Please read my motivational article if you are unfamiliar with concept maps and why I believe they are essential in building your personal knowledge management (PKM) system. You may also be interested in…

I recently listened to the “You Are Not So Smart” podcast (YANNS) episode 256 on “The Persuaders” — a new book on how minds change and how polarized public debate has become. It made me think and ultimately write this article. Anand Giridharadas, author of “The Persuaders”, and David McRaney…

Have you ever been asked to assess and compare complicated entities such as projects, product proposals, or business plans using “vague” wording such as “good”, “medium”, and “high”? Was it difficult? Did you agree with colleagues on the assessment? Examples of vaguely formulated assessment statements and scales include: The project…

Leading lines and directional elements act as a travel guide for the viewer’s eyes. The key to success when applying this compositional tool is obviously to have your directional elements point TO your main subject. A composition with strong leading lines but no end subject tends to leave the viewer…

The visual depth of an image refers to how far into the scene you can identify objects. As you probably know, the related term depth of field refers to the distance range from the camera that renders with an acceptable focus. Thus, a narrow depth of field will create a…

An anchor point is a part of your photo that naturally draws attention, i.e., the point kinda “anchors” the eye. Anchor points are also called focal points as the brain will repeatedly return focus to the part of the image while traversing the scene. Some examples of anchor points include: …

The compositional tool known as framing refers to shooting with an intentional extra element in the image that fully or partially surrounds the main subject. When composing your shot, it may be worthwhile to consider how explicit the frame should be. Examples of very explicit frames are wooden fences, arches…

Cropping your photo to its best format is probably the simplest compositional tool in your toolbox as it can be done in post without any need for extra camera work. Having said that, some format thinking behind the camera is definitely a good idea. Obviously, cropping is the act of…