Bracketing composition

Get the best from a scene by varying your framing

Similar to fishing, photography is often littered with ‘the one that got away’ regrets: if only I’d moved a couple of feet to the left or right or shot from higher or lower! Although not every photo opportunity requires a militarystyle recce, go beyond the first picture you settle on and try a number of different takes. Bracketing the composition in this way gives you more options when you start editing your pictures – and may even stop you beating yourself up about a missed opportunity!

As with exposure and white balance bracketing, you don’t have to make huge adjustments between each frame to have the desired effect. All it can take is a slight shift in camera position to tidy things up, produce a more balanced image, or just give an alternative take. For instance, if you’re shooting with a wide-angle lens, try stepping forward or zooming the lens in a little for your second shot to fill the foreground with more detail. If you use the rule of thirds to position a subject in the frame, try recomposing to place the subject at a different point on the rule of thirds grid.

If you’re thinking of selling your images then bracketing the composition can really pay off, as the more options you can give potential buyers, the better. Vertical shots obviously suit magazine and book covers – especially if you leave space for words to be added – while horizontal shots work better for websites. Capturing a subject using both will give you more opportunities to make a sale and to be happy with your photographs more in general.