5 Compositional Tools to Improve your Styling
Do you ever find yourself setting up to take some pictures of your new product or current stock and it’s looking messy and just not how you visualised in your head? You spend 30 minutes rearranging items and then pack away the camera feeling frustrated.
I hear you. At the start of my photography journey, styling was something I found really hard. It takes patience and time and the more you do it, like with anything, the more confident you’ll feel.
I also want you to know that it doesn’t come together perfectly every single time. Sometimes it might take 30 minutes to style a scene, and other times it might take an hour or more – for one image!
With a few simple tips, you can focus your ideas and start creating some beautiful images.
Firstly, what is composition?
Composition is a way of arranging an image so that it contains enough details to express the story or narrative you want to tell to your viewers.
Common mistakes are incorporating way too many elements in your image so that your viewers become confused and overwhelmed, or including too few elements so that the picture feels sparse or incomplete.
Composition is about finding that perfect balance to provide the right context for your viewers to interpret the image how you’d like them to. It’s your job to guide the viewer through the image, highlight the hero subject and create a mood.
5 compositional tools to take your styling to the next level
Negative Space
If you are struggling because all of your images look too busy, this might be a fun challenge for you. Strip everything out and explore the concept of negative space. This is also known as ‘blank space’ and is simply a blank area that doesn’t conflict with the main subject.
Negative space is a useful tool because it can provide space or breathing room for your hero subject, it’s naturally quite soothing and provides a clear emphasis on your subject which gives intention to the scene.
S-curve
On the flip side, if you have multiple elements that need to be included in your image, try using the S-curve. This is a method of organising everything in a fluid way.
This technique uses a curved line like a loose ‘s’ to arrange your subjects in a manner that draws the viewers’ eye through the scene. It is less severe than a straight line and might hint at what else is lying outside the frame.
Colour
What colours are present in your image? This can apply at multiple levels: your backdrops or surface that you’re shooting on, the colour of the props you’ve chosen and the colours in your hero subject.
Colour sets the mood, so if there’s too many competing colours, you might be confusing your viewer. Think about what mood you are trying to convey. It can be light and airy - so you might want paler surfaces or props that reflect this - or it could be moody and seasonal - so try bringing in woods, rustic and darker props.
Different colours evoke different moods. Warm colours like reds and oranges have the appearance of ‘moving forwards’ in a picture, while cooler colours like blue have the appearance of receding. When paired together, there’s a sensation of movement.
The main idea is to create balance and to enhance either the hero of your scene, or tell the story of your image better.
If you are struggling, try using colour theory to guide you. These 3 theories can be useful:
Analogous Colours : A colour scheme with any three colours which are side-by-side on the colour wheel.
Complementary Colours : Any two colours directly opposite each other on the
colour wheel such as blue and orange or pink and green.
Monochromatic : All colours in a single hue (tints, tones + shades) i.e all different shades of pink.
You can use the adobe colour wheel to pick out these colours.
Complementary colours: pink and green.
Monochromatic colours: shades of pink.
Rule of odds
Whether you’re photographing more than one item, or playing with supporting elements in a scene, keep in mind the rule of odds. This rule states an odd number of elements is more visually appealing than an even number.
Go-to numbers for this theory are 1, 3 and 5. Odd numbers are said to bring about balance and harmony and your eyes tend to land more easily in the ‘middle.’
Repetition
Do you have multiples of the same item? You might try playing with repetition in your image to draw interest. When you repeat a pattern, you add interest to the overall image because the pattern takes on a life of its own. To make the most of using pattern as a tool, try to fill the whole frame with the pattern so it is striking and obvious.
Further, breaking the pattern is also engaging as it draws your eye to the break or the irregularity. Breaks in the pattern could be through orientation, colour, number or placement.
If you have been struggling to create harmonious images, hopefully some of these compositional techniques can help bring focus to your styling. You don’t need to use every technique in every image, you might just use one or two. I’d love to hear your favourite compositional techniques when creating images.
Helena is a professional photographer based in Bristol, specialising in product and food photography. She works with ethical and sustainable brands, creating joyful, story-telling product photos.