Question...

[TNH]

Ok. I feel pretty silly asking this.
In the critique forum, I've noticed people saying 'Please critique my composition.' And my question is- what is Composition?! Does it have something to do with the rule of thirds, or cropping? I have no idea, and I feel pretty silly for not knowing. If any of you could clarify that for me, I would be really grateful...

[Jonbar18]

composition is just what it sounds like: how the image is composed. So yes, it does include the rule of thirds and cropping, as they are factors in how the image is composed.
hope that helps

[BryanC]

Digital Photography Tips and Tutorials

5 Elements of Composition in Photography

10 Top Photography Composition Rules | Photography Mad

Photography Composition

Photography Composition Articles Library

[SwissJon]

Basically they're saying "Does it look ok?".. You've got 3 parts to a photo really.. Depth of field and focus, Colour saturation and contrast, and composition.. Together these go to creating a stroy and message in your photo. Composition means the stuff that's in it.. Rule of thirds, yes, cropping, yes, strength of the subject, but not only these rules.. There are many ways to break the rule of thirds that allow the composition to still look really good.. The golden ratio is one of the more comon ones for example, but really what they're asking is "Does my photo look ok?" and they're being lazy...

Asking "Can you critique my compostition?" is akin to saying "I can't be bothered to look through my lens and decide for myself", you know very well if your photo follows the rule of thirds, or some other compositional rule, you don't need others to tell you, you just need to overlay the 1/3 noughts and crosses mask and look.

Having said that, I've asked the same.

For some ideas on compositional techniques:

10 Top Photography Composition Rules | Photography Mad

Rules of photo composition

4 Rules of Composition for Landscape Photography

e-Book on the Golden Ratio

[BigFuzzy]

And keep in mind, when lots of people (especially more experienced ones) ask about their composition, they're often asking for you to view how all elements are placed in the frame. For example, how does the main subject fit against the background.
Was there a need for recomposing the subject/or recropping after the fact?
Are there pleasing/distracting elements in the back/foreground?
Are there nice lines/paterns and/or visual elements.
Is the main subject actually the main subject or are there other elements drawing more attention?
Those are what people are (or should be) asking about.
I hope that helps.

[Bruce A]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

Basically they're saying "Does it look ok?".. You've got 3 parts to a photo really.. Depth of field and focus, Colour saturation and contrast, and composition..

Heck Jon, I'm sure that adds up to 5

[SwissJon]

Originally Posted by Bruce A

Heck Jon, I'm sure that adds up to 5

LoL, you've been watching that Monty Python clip for the Spanish Inquisition I posted elsewhere haven't you? Your front focus to your back focus is your depth of field.. So those two are the same thing.. Colour saturation is basically contrast in a single colour band, so you can bunch those two together.. So it's still three, just more than three words!

[TNH]

Originally Posted by Jonbar18

composition is just what it sounds like: how the image is composed. So yes, it does include the rule of thirds and cropping, as they are factors in how the image is composed.
hope that helps

Originally Posted by BryanC

Digital Photography Tips and Tutorials

5 Elements of Composition in Photography

10 Top Photography Composition Rules | Photography Mad

Photography Composition

Photography Composition Articles Library

Originally Posted by SwissJon

Basically they're saying "Does it look ok?".. You've got 3 parts to a photo really.. Depth of field and focus, Colour saturation and contrast, and composition.. Together these go to creating a stroy and message in your photo. Composition means the stuff that's in it.. Rule of thirds, yes, cropping, yes, strength of the subject, but not only these rules.. There are many ways to break the rule of thirds that allow the composition to still look really good.. The golden ratio is one of the more comon ones for example, but really what they're asking is "Does my photo look ok?" and they're being lazy...

Asking "Can you critique my compostition?" is akin to saying "I can't be bothered to look through my lens and decide for myself", you know very well if your photo follows the rule of thirds, or some other compositional rule, you don't need others to tell you, you just need to overlay the 1/3 noughts and crosses mask and look.

Having said that, I've asked the same.

For some ideas on compositional techniques:

10 Top Photography Composition Rules | Photography Mad

Rules of photo composition

4 Rules of Composition for Landscape Photography

e-Book on the Golden Ratio

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

And keep in mind, when lots of people (especially more experienced ones) ask about their composition, they're often asking for you to view how all elements are placed in the frame. For example, how does the main subject fit against the background.
Was there a need for recomposing the subject/or recropping after the fact?
Are there pleasing/distracting elements in the back/foreground?
Are there nice lines/paterns and/or visual elements.
Is the main subject actually the main subject or are there other elements drawing more attention?
Those are what people are (or should be) asking about.
I hope that helps.

Wow, thanks everyone!! I knew I could count on you to help me out. And BryanC and SwissJon, thank for those links. They all have some really good tips and articles!
Thank you all again for taking the time to to help me out! I really appreciate it.

[foreveryoung]

so is composition referring to the structure of the picture or the presentation of how you look at it??

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

And keep in mind, when lots of people (especially more experienced ones) ask about their composition, they're often asking for you to view how all elements are placed in the frame. For example, how does the main subject fit against the background.
Was there a need for recomposing the subject/or recropping after the fact?
Are there pleasing/distracting elements in the back/foreground?
Are there nice lines/paterns and/or visual elements.
Is the main subject actually the main subject or are there other elements drawing more attention?
Those are what people are (or should be) asking about.
I hope that helps.

Yup............good answer there BigFuzzy.