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Composition, 31 guides

Photo composition guides, drawn live.

Every composition rule Camera Grid knows, from the rule of thirds to the S‑curve. Each page explains what the rule is, when it fits and how to shoot it. In the app, the guide is picked from the scene and drawn over your viewfinder.

Showing 31 of 31 guides

Rule of Thirds composition example
Placement

Rule of Thirds

The everyday default. Put the subject on a third, not in the middle.
One-Third composition example
Placement

One-Third

A big foreground and a slice of sky. Horizon high, on the upper third.
Two-Thirds composition example
Placement

Two-Thirds

Strong horizon, one clear subject. Horizon on the lower third, subject on the other.
Dead Centre composition example
Placement

Dead Centre

Formal and still. Works when the scene is already balanced left to right.
One-Point Perspective composition example
Perspective & height

One-Point Perspective

Corridors, roads, platforms. Put the vanishing point in the middle and stand square to it.
Table-Top 45° composition example
Perspective & height

Table-Top 45°

Food and desks. Look down at about 45°, the subject on a third, and the table edge drawn behind it when the camera finds it.
Aerial composition example
Perspective & height

Aerial

Straight down. Flat lay, plates, desks — the subject in the middle, and the plate or table edge drawn when the camera finds it.
Single Vertex composition example
Objects & groups

Single Vertex

One object, sat on a third crossing rather than the middle of the table.
Opposing Vertices composition example
Objects & groups

Opposing Vertices

Two objects on opposite third crossings, so the frame reads as a diagonal.
Triangle composition example
Objects & groups

Triangle

Three things that should feel settled. Spread them into a triangle, apex up.
Parallel composition example
Objects & groups

Parallel

Things already in a row. Line them up properly and shoot square to the line.
Negative Space composition example
Framing

Negative Space

A small subject and a lot of calm around it. Resist the urge to zoom in.
Fill the Frame composition example
Framing

Fill the Frame

Close enough that the subject is the whole picture. Nothing else gets a vote.
Vertical Symmetry composition example
Balance

Vertical Symmetry

Facades, doorways, anything mirrored. Stand square and centre the axis.
Half-Body Portrait composition example
People

Half-Body Portrait

Face and torso, camera at chest level — or just the face, close. Eye line on the upper third, room in front of them.
Environmental Portrait composition example
People

Environmental Portrait

A person inside a place. Small in the frame, on a third, at eye level.
Golden Ratio composition example PRO
Placement

Golden Ratio

Thirds, drawn tighter: lines at 0.382 and 0.618 of the frame. Put the subject on a crossing.
Golden Spiral composition example PRO
Placement

Golden Spiral

A curve that tightens by the golden ratio each quarter turn. Let the scene wind in to the subject.
Diagonal Method composition example PRO
Placement

Diagonal Method

Lines at 45° from the corners. Put the subject on one of them.
Low-Angle Hero composition example PRO
Perspective & height

Low-Angle Hero

Camera low and tilted up. A low horizon, and the subject standing tall above it.
Triangle, Apex Down composition example PRO
Objects & groups

Triangle, Apex Down

Three things, two behind and one in front: a triangle standing on its point.
Aerial Triangle composition example PRO
Objects & groups

Aerial Triangle

Three objects seen straight down, set out as a triangle.
Odd Rule composition example PRO
Objects & groups

Odd Rule

Three or five subjects of uneven size rather than two or four, so one leads and the others follow.
Diagonal Pair composition example PRO
Objects & groups

Diagonal Pair

Two things on one diagonal of the frame, so the eye travels corner to corner between them.
Full-Body Portrait composition example PRO
People

Full-Body Portrait

The whole person, head to feet, with a little room above and below. Camera at chest height.
Two-Point Perspective composition example PRO
Perspective & height

Two-Point Perspective

A building's corner. Its lines run to two vanishing points, one either side. Keep the verticals upright.
Leading Lines composition example PRO
Perspective & height

Leading Lines

A path, a rail, a shoreline: lines that carry the eye in to the subject, with no single vanishing point.
Natural Frame composition example PRO
Framing

Natural Frame

An arch, a window or branches around the subject: a frame inside the frame. Keep the subject inside the opening.
Reflection composition example PRO
Balance

Reflection

Still water or glass. The scene above, mirrored below a level waterline across the middle.
Radial composition example PRO
Balance

Radial

Concentric rings or spokes round one centre: ripples, a stairwell, a flower head, seen straight down. Centre them.
S-Curve composition example PRO
Balance

S-Curve

A road or a river winding through the frame in an S, from the front to the back.
Before you start

What composition rules are for.

Composition is where things sit in the frame and how the eye moves between them. The rules photographers name (thirds, symmetry, leading lines, negative space) are shorthand for arrangements that tend to read clearly: one subject the eye finds first, a balance that looks intended, and nothing at the edges pulling attention away.

None of them is a law. Each suits some scenes and fights others: a horizon wants thirds, a corridor wants its vanishing point centred, a plate wants the camera above it. The skill is choosing the rule that fits what is in front of you, then placing the subject precisely enough that the choice shows.

That is the part Camera Grid does with you. It reads the scene on your iPhone, picks the guide that fits, draws it as a target and fills the ring around the shutter as you get closer. The 16 guides marked Free come with the app; the 15 marked PRO come with Camera Grid Pro.

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