'X' marks the spot: where to place a couple in a frame

Where can you place your couple in the frame for maximum impact? This is a fundamental question for any portrait photographer. It’ll be top of your consideration list, together with light and lines, and certainly something you’ll need to decide before you give any basic instructions to your subjects.

The two compositional rules that should be at the forefront of your mind when placing a couple in a frame are the rule of thirds and negative space. Very rarely should you aim to centre your couple in the frame, not unless you have some strong leading lines that pull you right into its centre or if there’s a strong framing device—for example a door or a window— with which to surround them.
Using negative space can set up a dynamic composition and to give weight to the environment as well as to the couple.
Take a look at the photograph at the top of the article. If there hadn’t been a cactus on the side of the frame opposite the couple, this would not be as strong a composition. As it is, the tree is central and the couple off-sets the cactus, creating a balanced and dynamic composition.

The image with the couple framed by the door came about because it made sense to encorporate what was an environmentally interesting object – the doorway.

While it might look as if the grass in the foreground is taller than the couple, that’s a trick of persepctive. The photographer was crouching down on the floor. Placing them in the bottom half of the frame emphasised the dramatic storm clouds in the sky.
Stuffy, staged wedding photos are a thing of the past. Master modern wedding reportage and capture the true spirit of the event and the personalities of the couple and guests with Michelle Turner’s The Wedding Photography Field Guide. Get the latest information on digital gear, and a professional’s insight into the best techniques for covering the action. Whether you simply want to get great photos at a wedding you’re attending, if you’re breaking into the business, or you just want to refresh your approach, this book is full of useful advice making it essential reading for any wedding photographer today.
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The Wedding Photography Field Guide, by Michelle Turner
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