Using Frames in Photographs

Online Photography School

Using Frames in Photographs

In previous lessons we’ve been getting pretty heavily into scientific and technical issues, so today I wanted to step back and talk about one of the “softer” techniques. For today’s photo tip, we’ll move back into landscape photography composition. Framing is one of the major photo composition ideas and is a strategy that you should be using.

The composition strategy you select is important in creating a pleasing, contest winning photo. So, for this series of landscape photography composition ideas, we’ll get started with framing, and no, I’m not talking about the frame you buy and put your finished photo into. I’m talking about framing as a composition technique in a landscape photo (or any other) to help direct the viewer’s eye.




The idea is to have some sort of visual frame in the foreground that surrounds the subject you want to draw the viewer’s attention toward. (The “star” of your photo. )
A common framing device is to have your main subject positioned somewhat in the center of the photo and in the foreground you will have large tree trunks going up either side of the image and branches going across the top to effectively frame the subject and draws the eye to it.

Another popular framing idea is to shoot from inside a building (old beat up barns work well for this) and have your main subject framed in the door or window.



We’ve previously discussed how the eye is drawn to the lightest part of a portrait. . . well, the eye is drawn to the lightest part of landscape photography too! The dark interior walls surrounding (framing) the lighter outside main subject can’t help but draw the eye.

Another example. . . Taking the concept of framing literally, I once took a picture of a group of dancers – there were 5 or 6 of them as I recall. The photo was a just for fun portrait – not a formal dance troupe thing. I literally had the young ladies holding onto and looking at the camera through a photo frame! (The kind you buy to put around your finished photos. ) All of their heads were in the frame while their bodies were going off in all directions!

We not only had a lot of fun – but the girls (and their parents) loved it and all of them bought a copy.



While you are thinking out of the box – try thinking inside the frame!
Take today’s landscape photography photo tip: photo composition ideas – framing and get out there this weekend! Find some ways to frame your subjects. Do some of the cliché frames, but also try for some unique ones you haven’t seen before! It’s fun. As photo composition ideas go, framing is one of the big ones!

About the Author:
Dan Eitreim