What are the dimensions involved in photographic composition?

The so-called photographic composition refers to the process by which the photographer lays out and arranges the structure of the photographic picture according to the creative purpose. In other words, it is the thinking and organization process of the photographer choosing the camera position, focal length, angle of view, and determining the content of the picture before pressing the shutter. There are many issues involved in composition, including: composition elements, composition purpose, composition steps, structure methods, composition limitations, composition effects, composition observation, etc. The relationships that need to be considered in composition are: graphic structure relationship, perspective relationship, virtual and real relationship, dynamic and static relationship, and color relationship. Scenery and time together constitute the limitation of photographic composition, because the photographer only has the right to choose or reject the scene and only the right to control time. The complete composition should be composed of the subject, companion and environment that can express the photographer's thoughts. The three are an orderly, unified, and organic whole.

Geometric figure is the most basic form unit of photographic composition, namely point, line and surface. Simple geometric figures have few points, lines and surfaces; complex geometric figures have many points, lines and surfaces. The basic elements that make up a geometric figure are only points, lines, and surfaces.

Composition elements are different from geometric elements. Because the former is the basic unit that composes graphics, and the latter is the basic unit that composes photographic images. The elements of photographic composition are not only dots, lines (also called lines), faces (also called planes, face blocks), but also light, shadow, color, etc.

The point, line, and surface as a photographic composition have a different meaning from the point, line, and surface as a geometric figure. Photographic composition elements refer to relatively independent small objects in the picture. For example, a tree on a grassland can be called a point, a row of trees can form a line, and multiple rows of intersecting trees can form multiple faces.

Point, line, surface, light, shadow and color are the basic language of visual form. The distribution, repetition and combination of composition elements will produce different tones, tones, levels, textures, and three-dimensional effects on the picture, resulting in contrast, symmetry, jaggedness, shade, virtual reality, density, cold and warm, primary and secondary effects. The variety of composition elements makes the picture simple and complex, and the clustering of composition elements forms the tone of the picture.