Hey there my awesome readers, hope you are doing well. In this article I will talk about composition in macro photography and why is important to know how to compose your images. Without composition, your images will lack power and attraction. Your viewers will immediately jump away from your image.
Composition is tricky, and the most important part of photography, but fortunately, it isn’t so difficult to achieve it. Firstly, let me tell you what composition is.
What is composition in macro photography?
Composition is how you position your subject or subjects in your photo. It is possible to include more than one subject in a photo. For example.
If you want to capture a flower or an insect, how you will position that subject in the frame? You will position it in the bottom right or upper left of the frame? Or you will position it on the center of the frame.
This is what composition is all about. When you have more than one subject in the frame, it is better to focus only on one of them. For example, you want to capture a bee on a flower, it is better to focus the most on the bee. Because it is the number one subject in the image. And you want your viewers to spot the bee first.
As you can see in the image above, the bee is mostly in focus, and positioned toward the bottom right corner, creating balance in the image. Now, let’s get to the tricks on how to create macro photo composition.
Macro photography composition tips
If you want to take amazing and beautiful macro photos, then you have to know some composition tricks. Again, composition is one of the trickiest parts and the most important in photography. You definitely have to master it to create amazing photos.
And here are some tips that will ensure that you capture beautiful and amazing macro photos every time you go out with your camera.
1. Keep it simple
When you take macro photos keep it as simple as possible, the complex composition will lead to failure. You want to show your viewers what is most important in your image. Focus only on one subject in the scene. If you include too many focal points, your viewers will get distracted.
2. Place your subjects diagonally
Shooting a subject from a diagonal position makes the image look more interesting than vertically. See the image below. It automatically adds more beauty to the image, it looks more attractive.
3. Emptiness isn’t always boring
Space will make your subject stand out. It helps balance out the frame. For example, if you want to capture a photo of an insect, put some extra space in the direction where the insect is standing. Will give a good balance to your image. Just like in the image with the bee on the flower.
4. Fill the entire frame with the subject
To add more awesomeness to your images, fill the entire frame with the subject. Mostly when you take pictures of flowers. And try to capture the entire subject so the image doesn’t end up with empty spaces. Otherwise, will distract your viewers.
As you can see in the image above, the rose it’s more toward the upper left corner. But, most important is that it filled the entire image. And yeah, you can add some water drops to look more artistic.
5. Center your subject
Oftentimes, it’s not recommended to centering your subject in an image, especially when you follow the rule of thirds. Will explain in a bit what the rule of third is. But, it also gives an impact on your image. Your subject has to have clear symmetry to be able to take the image of the subject-centered. For example, when you capture a flower or an insect that is facing the lens, it is indicated to put the subject in the center of the frame to balance the image.
The rule of thirds refers to how you position elements in a frame. It puts the subject a third away into the frame, creating a well-balanced image. You can follow the rule of thirds by activating the grid option on your camera, but, you have to switch the camera to preview mode.
The intersecting lines are called power points. Try to place the main subject at one of the intersecting lines. This will add balance to your photo.
7. Add visual weight
Visual weight refers to an element that first catches the eye. This can be color, contrast, size, or the actual weight of the subject.
Cutting subject from the image
When you’re shooting an insect, for instance, most of them have long antennas, bodies, or legs. In composition is indicated to capture the whole subject in the frame. But, in some cases, capturing the hole insect becomes annoying because you will not get a detailed or good balanced image.
So, what you have to do in this case is, get as close as you need to your subjects without being afraid that you ruin the image by cutting them out of the frame. You will get both details and a good balance even if you leave a large portion of the body out of the frame.
To learn even more about composition, read the article below.
>>>>Photography composition techniques<<<<
Final thoughts
Often times, you will get distracted by the details of your subjects, that you will forget the importance of the composition. My advice is, practice composition until you instinctively position the elements in the frame.
Have any question or opinions? Feel free to drop them below and I will be more than happy to help you as soon as possible. Be safe and take care
This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission only when you make a purchase using my link. Read the full disclosure here.
Wow, such a wonderful post you put together here to tell me so much about macro photography. I just started learning photography from a professional at his studio and I heard him say that one of the most complicated kind of photography is the macro one which is really a thing that I’d like to be interested in when I’m all set. Thank you for the lecture.
Thank you Suz, I’m glad that you found it useful. When you learn how to master macro photography, you will see that it is not as hard as it seems. It only needs a bit of more practice than other categories in the industry. Macro is art, when you see all the details on small things, which we can’t see with naked eyes.
Hello Roberta, it’s really a great idea to have shared this article and it’s really nice indeed. We all have been really keen on learning something about photography and I really like how you’ve explained a lot here. I like the idea of having a full frame photo and your sample photo is actually great
Thank you Justin, creating quality images take a lot of features.