Compositions 101 Photo Contest Winners Vol2

Thank you to all the photographers that shared their best photo showing strong fundamentals of composition in the Compositions 101 Vol 2 Photo Contest with chances to win a Canon EOS 70D or Nikon D5300 (winner picks the prize!).

"While looking through this great group of finalists, I was looking for images that have a strong, basic fundamental composition. These could include the Rule of Thirds, Golden Ratio, Diagonal Lines, Triangles, Golden Mean, etc. Once I narrowed down the strong composition images, then I looked for the technical details and story telling elements. (BTW... I tend to use the Rule of Thirds grid in my camera to help me compose the image in camera. Also, Lightroom has some Grid Overlays that you can use when trying to set up for a good composition.)" - Laurie Rubin

A special thanks to friend and professional photographer Laurie Rubin for her collaboration as a guest judge. Laurie is an international award-winning photographer specializing in wildlife and nature photography. Her passion for photography as well as a career working for software companies, has combined her talents for teaching and sharing photography, from capture to post-processing. She currently has one of her prints displayed at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

Congratulations People's Choice "That Wanaka Tree" by paulkleynhans

Congratulations Grand Jury Winner "Have a Seat" by Mariko

"Everything about this image is a great example of excellent composition! If you look at the Golden Mean, the frame of the tree curls around and lands on the smaller tree in the background. This really helps to draw the viewer’s eye into the image and keeps them there. I love the curved path and the subtle highlight on the bench so that you don’t miss it in the lower left corner. Lovely image and fantastic composition! Congratulations!" - Laurie Rubin

Congratulations Runner Up "Enlightening " by DrewHopper

"Great example of leading lines in this creative composition. Everything about this image leads the viewer’s eye to the main subject, the praying boy. Even the flames of the candles are bending in an arc towards him. Nice symmetrical image with the horizon line below the middle of the image. The whole image is filled with wonderful light and tones. Lovely!" - Laurie Rubin

Congratulations Runner Up "Goodnight Bobby" by randybenzie

"This is a great example of the rule of thirds. Rather then sticking the candle in the center of the image, by setting it off the the left, the light spills on the books and the pair of eye glasses draw your eyes down to the lower right of the frame. Beautiful tones throughout this image and a lovely example of great composition!" - Laurie Rubin

Congratulations Runner Up " Mr Poppins" by SarahCaldwell

"This is a fun composition where the photographer uses the reflection of the water to help compose the image. Almost all of the pieces in the image are symmetrical, but by placing the man with the umbrella slightly off center causes a bit of friction and breaks the rule in a good way. How boring would our world be if everything was exactly the same. I applaud the creative composition in this image!" - Laurie Rubin

"Solitutde" by karyntureckischiller