“A picture is worth a thousand words.” You have probably heard this expression before, or at least it’s German equivalent, “Ein bild kostet ein tausend worter”. And when we look at photographs made by master photographers, we can see what is meant by that expression. Master photographers can capture what it feels like to see a beautiful landscape sweeping out in front of you, or what is actually in the soul of the homeless person captured on the streets in a photo. But let’s face it: when we get our own pictures back from the developer and look through them, how often do we find a picture worth a thousand words? I used to find that oftentimes my photos weren’t even worth a hundred words, or ten, or even one. Well, maybe one, but not a nice one.

If that happens to you all too often, then perk up your ears. Because I have some sure-fire suggestions that can help you make your own photos worth, well, if not a thousand words, then at least several hundred. All of these suggestions can be summarized under one category – composition – and the three suggestions are (1) no more bulls-eye, (2) frame your subject, and (3) find a new angle.

Let me start by defining the overall category – composition. Composition is basically the way you choose to position the objects in your photo to make it look the most interesting and impactful. You can change the composition of a photo by moving your camera around, moving yourself around, or by zooming the lens in your camera. And each of the suggestions I will present to you has to do with simple changes in the composition of your photos that can make a huge difference in your final product. So let’s get down to it.

The first suggestion is, no more bull’s eye. Many beginning photographers use their camera’s viewfinder like a gun site, sticking whatever the subject is in the dead center, like trying to hit a bull’s eye. Oftentimes this is because photographers get so caught up in what they are trying to capture in their picture that they forget to think about composing the shot. An example of this is to the left. This is a photo of Jim and me that someone was nice enough to take in Italy in 2002. As you can see, it’s a pretty nice shot: good colors, nice background. But we are in the dead center – bull’s eye.

However, if the shot is recomposed to put the subject, in this case, us, off-center, the final picture will often look much better. And here it is. There’s a rule in photography called the rule of thirds, which means to mentally divide the photo into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, and place the subject in one of the intersections of those thirds, basically between our heads in this photo. Oftentimes, placing the subject of your photo there will make for a more pleasing picture than putting it in the dead center.

The second tip is to frame your subject. This simply means using a natural frame, like a tree branch or an archway, to direct the viewer’s eye into your main subject. Frames can also work well to hide a gray or uninteresting sky, which is something we get here in Hamburg a lot. The frame should be kept in the foreground and give the photo a feeling of depth. The frame can either surround the subject or just border the top or one side. Let’s look at an example. First, we have a picture of the Rathaus on an unusual Hamburg sunny day (left). It’s a relatively nice picture with good lighting and an interesting angle, but because of the high spire there ends up being a lot of white space, or blue space in this case, at the sides.

But add a natural frame (right) and the picture ends up being much more interesting. The green adds some nice color at the top, and it nicely frames the spire to draw your attention to it. Again, there are a large number of options for natural frames, such as windows, natural arches, doorways, and fences, in addition to the often-used tree branch. Just don’t forget to look around when your taking your picture!

My last tip is about changing your angle. It is quite natural when taking a picture to zoom in and out to see how your subject will fill the lens. But going one step further can make a big difference, and that is to actually move yourself around to see if a better angle would make your photo more interesting. You can try kneeling down, which is good for taking photos of children and pets, or standing on your tiptoes. Shooting up from a low angle makes your subject look imposing and gives it a feeling of strength or power. Shooting down from a high angle tends to diminish the subject and make it appear weak or submissive.

Often, taking pictures of a subject from many angles gives a more comprehensive presentation of the subject. That is the case with this example (left). This first photo of a stave church in Norway is nice, but ordinary. It shows the entire church, which is nice, but is not particularly artistic.

However, add this photo here (right), shooting up at the top to emphasize the roof, and you get a completely different feeling of what the church was like. Neither photo is bad, and perhaps one without the other would be incomplete, but having both photos from both angles makes a more complete story.

There are, of course, many other techniques that can improve one’s photos. But these three tips on composition – no more bull’s eye, framing your subject, and changing your angle – can help add interest and excitement to your photos. Now, none of these suggestions are hard and fast rules, and there are times when you will want your subject in the middle, or when a natural frame just doesn’t work, or when a straight-on angle works fine. But by being aware of other ways to compose your photos, you can expand your horizons and add a little spice to your picture-taking. And maybe, your photos will be able to do a lot more “talking” then ever before. Good luck!

This article was originally given by Kirsten as a speech for the First Hanseatic Toastmasters in 2002. For more information about Toastmasters, see http://www.hamburg-toastmasters.de.