Composition, the act of composing the image in the viewfinder, is a visual process of organizing the elements and individual details of a scene into a balanced and pleasing arrangement. Because what one person finds pleasing, someone else will not, therefore composition is largely a matter of personal taste.

There is no absolute right or wrong composition in photography. A composition that conveys a photographer's intended meaning is an effective one; one that confuses the viewer is not.

How you arrange a scene's elements in your camera's viewfinder will not only determine the effectiveness of your picture's graphic design, but will also contribute to how well its message is conveyed. Beyond the placement of elements, lighting, shutter speed, depth of field and other considerations contribute to a picture's mood and clarity of message, and therefore the effectiveness of its composition.

Continued in Part 2

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