Tips on Composition From a Photographer Who Worked With Ansel Adams

Landscape photography is one of the most accessible genres in photography. And, because of this, it's a great area to practice your compositional skills.

Indeed, it's easy to get started in landscape composition due to the static nature of the subject, but it's extremely difficult to master. Even the great photographers are constantly looking to improve and evolve — it's a large part of what makes them great. But, we all have to start somewhere, and no better place than this video from Marc Silber of Advancing Your Photography. He sat down with Huntington Witherill, a California-based nature photographer and educator who has worked with some of the greats, including Al Weber and the aforementioned Ansel Adams.

I particularly like Witherill's quote from Edward Weston, where he referred to composition as "...being the strongest way of seeing." It's a great summation of such a difficult-to-explain concept. On its surface — using the textbook definition of composition — it seems to be straightforward enough, but what really makes a good composition? It can be quite subjective, but there are some rules and guidelines that can be followed in order to create a strong image. In saying that, some of the greatest photography is created when those rules and guidelines are broken. The important thing is to learn how to look deeper into your work. 

Did you learn anything valuable from the interview?