Elements of Composition for Photography

Practice Quiz

Below is a list of terms associated with photographic composition on which you will be quizzed. See if you can match the letter of the definition to the number of each term:

1.                     Keep it simple/Move in close/Fill the frame

2.                      Rule of thirds

3.                      Leading lines Include a strong center of interest

4.                      Foreground framing

5.                      “S” Curve

6.                      Symmetrical balance

7.                      Asymmetrical balance

8.                      Rhythm

9.                      Pattern

10.                   Texture

11.                   Movement

12.                   Emotion

13.                   Bug’s eye view

14.                   Bird’s eye view

15.                   Mergers

1. These elements can play an important role in photographic composition, as they can lead the viewer’s eye to the subject.
2. A composition technique used in photography to give the viewer the feeling of looking up at something, as if the viewer were an insect or small animal looking at something much larger than itself.
3. Adjusting your depth of field will make the objects in the foreground the center of attention.
4. A composition technique used in photography to give the viewer the feeling of looking down at something, as if the viewer were a bird or some giant animal looking at something much smaller than itself.
5. A photo whose subject or subjects are spaced unevenly either vertically or horizontally, or may differ in size. This often creates more interest for the viewer.
6. Divide your picture into thirds both horizontally and vertically. The intersections of these imaginary lines suggest four options for placing the center of interest.
7. Give the center of interest in your pictures the most visual attention. Select uncomplicated backgrounds that will not steal attention from your subjects. Zoom in on your subject. Try to not have too much background in the photo that may detract from your subject.
8. This design element creates an underlying structure that organizes surfaces or other structures in a consistent, regular manner, and may occur naturally or may be man-made.
9. As in music, this design element creates a feeling of timed movement through space; an easy, connected path along which the eye follows a regular arrangement of motifs.
10. This design element is the quality of an object which we normally sense through touch. It exists as a literal surface we can feel, but also as a surface we can see, and imagine the sensation might have if we felt it.
11. A photographic mistake in which background objects can blend with the primary foreground subject, strong colors or similar colors of objects behind or near the main subject, and/or the primary subject being cut off by the image border, and are easily corrected by simply moving the camera or subject.
12. A photo whose subjects are balanced equally, such as two trees spaced evenly on each side of the photograph.
13. This is the design element that operates in the fourth dimension – time, and is the process of relocation of objects in space over time.
14. This element consists of a graceful, flowing line that enhances the photograph, and may be the subject of a photo or may be used to steer the viewer’s attention to the subject.
15. When used correctly, this design element causes the viewer to feel a certain emotion, and may be triggered by color or subject matter.

Note: Answers can be found at bottom of this page… but try to finish without looking!              

Answers: 1.G,   2.F,   3.A,   4.C,   5.N,   6.L,   7.E,   8.I,   9.H,   10.J,   11.M,   12.O,   13.B,   14.D,   15.K.

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