Photo How To

We've said it before, we'll say it again: composition is perhaps the single most important thing in creating a great photograph. Yes, lighting, technique, timing, and execution are all important too, but if you have lousy photo composition, your image is still going to stink.

In the below video, photographer Jamie Windsor offers eight key composition tips that will help you shoot better photos immediately. Best of all, Windsor's composition advice cuts through the dense thicket of terminology to make his tips easy to understand.

"So, you’re looking to improve your photography and you’re (rightfully) told that composition is the key to a great photo," Windsor says. "You proceed to read up on compositional rules and you realize there’s a lot to learn. The rule of thirds, the golden spiral, the phi grid, the Fibonacci sequence, leading lines, arabesques and dynamic symmetry. It all looks very complex and confusing.

"You examine bodies of work taken by a variety of well-respected photographers, but rarely find any examples that fit with these rules you’ve read about. In fact, most of these images almost read like a list of case studies showing what not to do. You’re confused and overwhelmed and really don’t know where to start.

"The problem is that composition is a massive subject and learning all the grid systems and ratios is only one tool in your visual toolbox. So, let me give you 8 simple tips to get you started on improving your composition."

#1 Get Your Position Right

#2 Use Your Phone to Help Compose a Shot

#3 Beware the "Rule of Thirds"

#4 Squint or Blur Your Eyes

#5 Think Conceptually

#6 Keep It Simple

#7 Keep the Edges Clean

#8 Work in Post

And, as Windsor mentions at the end of the tutorial, "the key thing is practice." So, watch the video, go try these tips out today (and tomorrow and the next day), and go visit his channel for more great tutorials.