Fill the frame with the main subject and you improve the image

To fill the frame when composing images is very important. Not filling the frame is one of the most common errors when shooting images. It is not by coincidence paintings and images are framed before they are put on the wall. The frame help to guide the viewer inside the image as well as it adds a feeling of depth into the image.

What is framing in composition?

In composition, framing is not about adding a Photoshop or wooden frame around the image. That is a totally different approach to image framing. Framing in terms of image composition involves using elements which are parts of the motive, and use them as frames. Framing objects might be doorways, portals, arches, branches of trees as well as a lot of other things.

When and how to use frames?

Framing the subject is useful in situations where you have to much empty space around the main subject. Even if you have zoomed in to a maximum you might have to much empty pace like sky or water in a landscape image. By changing the vantage point you can find elements that might work perfectly as a frame around the subject. This way the frame will hide disturbing elements which can ruin the image.

If you have disturbing elements in your frame, you can try move around and look for ways to hide this. It is a common error among beginners not to move and look for other angles of shooting the image. Just a few feet can make a big impact on the composition.

The swimmers in Corfu Island, Greece are framed by the rocks.

Similar to using lines in composition the frame will guide the eye towards the main subject and focal point. The frame does not necessarily have to surround the whole of your subject. It can be quite striking when the frame only surrounds a part of your subject.

Depending on the frame and how dominant it is in the composition, you can choose to blur the frame by selective focusing. If the frame removes the attention from the main subject the whole idea is missed. It is only by practice you will learn how to fill the frame by using available elements wherever you are shooting.

Our cat Valborg hiding in the grass. The leaves act as a frame around her face.