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Photography is all about composition. If you can not compose an image you can not take stills. That is the base line. This is where your photography journey starts as an amateur. Learning to put the elements in the photo is natural for some but for the rest of us we've got to learn.

So what's composition? The compendium definition outlines it as "the activity of mixing parts or elements to form a whole". What you're looking to do in composing an image is to take the vital parts of the scene and blend them in such a manner, in order to make a photograph extraordinarily enjoyable to the eye. This is all very well and good, how do we do this most effectively? Here are 10 important tips.

1. Obviously identify your subject
This is the non-negotiable of photography. Unless your subject is the focus of the image you do not have a photograph. When looking at the image an individual might be able to obviously identify the topic. So be sure you give enough attention to the object of your focus.

2. Fill your frame
One of the commonest mistakes manufactured by budding photographers is they do not fill the frame with their subject or the major components of the image. Get in closer and exclude the parts that you do not need. Open space serves no purpose when the topic is too small or can't be identified.

3. Don't amputate
This suggests that you should not cut off part of your subject unless it is conscious to make an effect. Missing parts of folks or objects irritate the spectator and create an unfinished image. It distracts the eye. So watch the perimeters of your image.

4. Horizontal vs vertical
Camera makers are to blame for this quandary because all cameras are engineered to be held in a horizontal format. It should not be an 'either or' situation but instead a 'both and'. Attempt to shoot half of the time in both formats. There isn't any rule which is best and the key's to experiment.

5. Dramatic angles
Shoot from high up or low down. Use your feet and move round the subject attempting to find a perfect angle. Don't ever be frightened to get down on your gut or climb a tree. Look for different and dramatic angles which will make your pictures more striking.

6. The rule of 3rds
Imagine a twitch tac toe grid or noughts and crosses lines running across your image dividing it into 3rds horizontally and vertically. Where the lines cross or intersect are the best placement points for your subjects or objects. Never place the horizon of a landscape image in the center of your image. Always place it on a horizontal 2 3rds line. Subjects like lighthouses would be placed along one of the vertical 2 3rds lines.

7. Look for frames
These come in 2 types, natural or synthetic. Natural would be an opening in trees or a rock formation with a hole in it. Synthetic frames are entrances, windows or arches. All these help contain the topic or scene in a form that's extremely enjoyable to the eye.

8. Clarify making an
Attempt to include too much in an image regularly booty it. An image that's cluttered causes the center of the spectator to dart round the image trying to appear sensible of it. Less is more as the old proverb goes. Eliminate anything that would distract the eye or is pointless to the memory you are trying to create.