What techniques help you create a unique style in your photography composition and framing?

If you want to stand out as a photographer, you need to develop your own style that reflects your vision, personality, and creativity. But how do you create a unique style in your photography composition and framing? Here are some techniques that can help you find your voice and express it through your images.

1 Experiment with different angles

One way to create a unique style is to experiment with different angles and perspectives. Instead of always shooting from eye level, try to capture your subject from above, below, or sideways. This can create a sense of drama, surprise, or intimacy, depending on the context. You can also use different lenses, such as wide-angle or telephoto, to distort or emphasize the proportions and distances in your frame.

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Leon McDonald

Personal Brand and Portrait Photographer. Empowering coaches, speakers, and entrepreneurs with visuals that amplify their personal brand. 🗣️ Ask about our 40 over 40 portrait project!
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I’ve used a variety of angles and lenses to intentionally distort my subject. This can be a great creative tool but caution is warranted. If you go overboard, especially when photographing people, you could make them look deformed. If this is your goal, great! If not, you’ll need to know where the boundaries are and respect them.

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2 Use the rule of thirds

Another technique that can help you create a unique style is to use the rule of thirds. This is a basic principle of composition that divides your frame into nine equal sections, using two horizontal and two vertical lines. The idea is to place your main subject or point of interest along one of these lines or at one of their intersections. This can create a more balanced and dynamic composition, as well as leaving some negative space for the viewer to breathe.

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Steve Campbell

Specialising in Photography for Outdoor Lifestyle Brands & Travel focused businesses across Scotland and beyond // Author and Educator.
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You cannot truly find your own style by following clichè methods like rule of thirds. ‘Style’ is found between the safety of rules and the chaos of abandoning them completely.

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Leon McDonald

Personal Brand and Portrait Photographer. Empowering coaches, speakers, and entrepreneurs with visuals that amplify their personal brand. 🗣️ Ask about our 40 over 40 portrait project!
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In portrait photography, the rule of thirds is an art of storytelling. Placing the eyes or an intense facial expression at the intersection points can draw attention and build a narrative. When I shoot on location, I love to push the envelope by using the rule to frame my subjects in natural "frames" like doorways or windows. This adds depth, utilizes the environment, and brings out the persons best features.

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3 Play with light and shadows

A third technique that can help you create a unique style is to play with light and shadows. Light is one of the most important elements of photography, as it can shape, enhance, or transform your subject and mood. You can use natural or artificial light sources, such as the sun, a lamp, or a flash, to create different effects and contrasts. You can also use shadows to add depth, mystery, or drama to your images, or to highlight certain details or shapes.

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4 Incorporate colors and textures

A fourth technique that can help you create a unique style is to incorporate colors and textures into your composition and framing. Colors and textures can convey emotions, atmospheres, or themes in your photography, as well as creating harmony or contrast. You can use colors and textures that are present in your subject or environment, or you can add them with filters, props, or editing tools. You can also use colors and textures to create patterns, gradients, or focal points in your frame.

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Leon McDonald

Personal Brand and Portrait Photographer. Empowering coaches, speakers, and entrepreneurs with visuals that amplify their personal brand. 🗣️ Ask about our 40 over 40 portrait project!
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The game-changer in portrait photography is mastering the interplay between light and shadows. I like to use techniques that add shadows to obscure parts of the face, adding a little mystery and inviting viewer interpretation.

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5 Break the rules

A fifth technique that can help you create a unique style is to break the rules. While it is useful to know and follow the basic principles of composition and framing, sometimes you can achieve more impact and originality by breaking them. For example, you can place your subject in the center, cut off some parts of it, tilt your camera, or use blur or motion. The key is to break the rules intentionally and with a purpose, not just for the sake of it.

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6 Be consistent

A sixth technique that can help you create a unique style is to be consistent. This means that you should have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and communicate with your photography, and stick to it. You should also have a consistent editing style, using similar filters, presets, or adjustments to create a cohesive look and feel. Consistency can help you build your brand identity, attract your ideal audience, and showcase your professionalism and skills.

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Leon McDonald

Personal Brand and Portrait Photographer. Empowering coaches, speakers, and entrepreneurs with visuals that amplify their personal brand. 🗣️ Ask about our 40 over 40 portrait project!
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I always strive to keep the overall feel of my images the same. I want to create portraits that evoke feeling and intense emotions. This can be achieved by recording all the camera and light settings in the beginning. That way you know exactly how to replicate a setup and the process is duplicatable. Once you’ve been doing this kind of work you’ll have to write things down less and less and you’ll know what you’re looking for and how to achieve your desired look.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Farzad Emami

Independent Photographer & Translator
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One thing that I have found is 1. Analyzing a taken photo by a graphist or a photographer. Analyzing a composition by an visual expert can give us courage to find out what is the meaning of balancing, symmetry 2. Reading an article or a book about composition is essential. We have to know even that a story, a carpet, a piece of music, a building, a park and … has a composition too which sometimes we can call it “structure”. Like a dinner table we have to place everything right and reasonable.

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What techniques help you create a unique style in your photography composition and framing?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Experiment with different angles

2 Use the rule of thirds

3 Play with light and shadows

4 Incorporate colors and textures

5 Break the rules

6 Be consistent

7 Here’s what else to consider

Photography

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What techniques help you create a unique style in your photography composition and framing?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Experiment with different angles

2 Use the rule of thirds

3 Play with light and shadows

4 Incorporate colors and textures

5 Break the rules

6 Be consistent

7 Here’s what else to consider

Photography

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