Composition tip: Don't place your subject in the centre
Sunday 20 April 2025, 21:42 by Elja Trum | 2,644 views | 7 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
When we look at something, we automatically place the subject in the centre of our field of view. That is where we can see it best. This composition often doesn't work well in a photo. Especially when your subject is also in the vertical centre. It is literally a record of what we saw.
This often results in an unpleasant composition, it doesn't look right. There is a good chance your very first photos looked like this too. The advantage is that from here, it is very easy to improve your composition.
Of course, placing your subject exactly in the centre can work really well in some photos. And placing it only in the horizontal centre even works well for many photos. Both horizontally and vertically in the centre? Then make it a conscious choice.
About the author
Elja Trum is the founder of Photofacts and online photography course website Photofacts Academy. He has been writing about photography since 2006. Elja is also the author of (Dutch) books on composition, black-and-white photography, flash photography and portrait photography.
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7 comments
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Mac wrote on Tuesday 22 April 2025 at 08:30 | replyI have a large photobook by Anton Corbijn at home, certainly no minor Dutch photographer.
Translated from Dutch.
And a great many of his photos do indeed have a composition in the center.
it simply works very well, and very often very well. -
Elja Trum
wrote on Tuesday 22 April 2025 at 08:38
| reply
Do those really have a composition where the face is exactly in the middle of the photo? So vertically too?
Translated from Dutch.
I understand being in the middle only horizontally, that can work fine. But vertically, that usually leaves a lot of empty space above it. There does need to be something interesting to see there. Often there isn't. -
Marcel Govaerts wrote on Tuesday 22 April 2025 at 12:45 | replyI also don't think this is a good photo. The portrait, which would have been better taken vertically, doesn't fit with the background and certainly not with the leading lines that run from right to left in a curved shape
Translated from Dutch. -
Elja Trum
wrote on Tuesday 22 April 2025 at 21:44
| reply
Exactly the point of the tip. I was looking for an example where the center-center composition doesn’t work well and how it is often done by beginning photographers.
Translated from Dutch.
And just like with every composition rule: there are plenty of beautiful photos to be found where exactly the opposite works perfectly for a beautiful photo.
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Lauran van Schilt wrote on Tuesday 22 April 2025 at 16:01 | replyAnton Corbijn has a name. People find it interesting to repeat each other. He isn't that great.
Translated from Dutch. -
Arnold Vente wrote on Tuesday 22 April 2025 at 19:39 | replyI would really leave that to the camera, we can leave Dick Boer's times behind us.
Translated from Dutch.
Kind regards, Arnold Vente. -
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