Guidelines for Advanced Composition and Image Design
Including Whole Compositional Elements
Text and images copyright Arthur Morris, all rights reserved

If a compositional element (aside from the subject) is worth including in the frame, it is almost always best to include the whole element (if possible). If you are, for example, including a shell or a bit of seaweed or a small stone as a compositional anchor, strive to include the whole object in the frame with a bit of room to spare. Take great care not to cut off any part of the object with the frame-edge; do leave a small border around it. If you are using a small plant with a blossom to balance an image of a gull chick yawning, be careful to frame the image so that the entire plant (and not just the blossom) is included in the final image.

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