Photographers tell a story with every photo they take. That's why a collection of related photos in a magazine or digital publication is often called a photo essay. But creating a narrative arc with photographs is about more than snapping a series of related photos. It's about telling a story that captivates viewer attention.

Why visual storytelling is powerful

Visual storytelling is one of humankind's oldest traditions. Just think of neolithic cave paintings, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and modern-day movies: They're all visually rich ways to tell stories. Visual storytelling is so important to people because it crosses the boundaries of languages and literacy. You don't need to understand a foreign photographer's spoken language to 'read' the story their images tell.

Telling stories with pictures and photos is also a great way to get people to pay attention to your work. According to design professors at the University of Michigan, visual storytelling keeps viewers engaged with a portfolio or website for longer than text-based storytelling.

You probably want to harness the power of visual storytelling so that your portfolio or website makes a positive impression on potential clients. But how do you accomplish that?

Maybe you want to create a photography portfolio highlighting your wildlife photographer talent. When you see a colorful bird or majestic elk, you might take photos where the subject is dead center in the frame.

Photography experts say that this is often a mistake because there are more effective ways of drawing attention to a focal point. Instead of centering objects, pro photographers advise using one of two powerful design principles:

The rule of thirds
The golden ratio

Using these 'rules of composition' can make your photos more visually interesting. Learning what they are and how to use them is a simple but powerful way to improve your work.

The rule of thirds demystified

Photographers use several rules of composition when they're shooting their subjects. The rule of thirds is one of visual design's most widely used rules. It helps to give photos balance and draws the viewer's eye to your main subject. Your camera's built-in phone app might have a grid view like this to help you apply the rule of thirds:

You can see that it's called the rule of thirds because the image field is divided into thirds horizontally and vertically. You'll use this frame to position your subjects in your photo. Imagine that you're shooting a sunrise at the lake. Maybe you frame only the sunrise itself, or maybe you divide your frame equally between the sunrise and lake so that they meet in the middle.

With the rule of thirds, you would place the horizon of the photo — the shoreline of the lake — in the bottom third of your shot. The sunrise would take up the top two-thirds of the shot like this:

Lake Superior near Marquette, Michigan | Image by Dorothy Bond

Shooting the photo this way creates balance by showing the contrast between the shoreline and the sunset. The rule of thirds is helpful for visual storytelling because it allows you to draw attention to your main subject and puts the subject in context.

Using the rule of thirds in your photography

The rule of thirds is one of the easiest composition principles to put into practice in your photography. Just put your subject in either the left third or right third of the shot, leaving the other two-thirds open as negative space. If you're shooting a landscape or sky shot (like the sunrise above), the main focal point will take up the top two-thirds of the frame, with a balancing element in the bottom third.

You can use this rule for still subjects, like flowers and monuments. You can also use it for subjects in motion, like athletes and animals. Placing a moving subject in one-third of the frame helps to convey a sense of motion.

Tools to help you master the rule of thirds

The built-in camera app on your smartphone can display grid lines to help you take photos using the rule of thirds. Enable the grid in your camera app's settings. You can also use these free online photo editors to crop your pictures after shooting them.

Simply load your photo and adjust the crop lines so that your focal subject occupies one-third of the grid.

The golden ratio unveiled

Like the rule of thirds, the golden ratio is a composition guideline that can help you create balanced, compelling photos. This golden ratio is a mathematical ratio and isn't quite as easy to visualize as the rule of thirds — but with some helpful tools and a bit of practice, any photographer can learn how to apply this rule in their shots.

The golden ratio is based on the Fibonacci sequence. Fibonacci was a 13th-century Italian mathematician interested in creating calculations that tradespeople could use in their business dealings. These calculations resulted in a ratio of 1:1.618, which can be geometrically represented by a spiral grid like this:

Here's a photo where the tallest tree is aligned with the inner spiral of the grid. The spiral leads the viewer's eye from the top of the tree to across the frame.

A gloomy fall day near Flint, Michigan | Image by Dorothy Bond

Using the golden ratio in your photography

You can use the golden ratio as you take photographs to direct your viewer's eye to the main subject of your composition. In the landscape shot above, the photographer wants the viewer to pay attention to the large tree on the left-hand side. That's why the top of the tree is aligned with the smallest part of the spiral.

To use the golden ratio, photographers can

Place their subject at the intersection of the sequence's grid lines OR
Compose a shot that follows the shape of the Fibonacci spiral

Some photographers believe that the rule of thirds is a simplified version of the golden ratio. The key difference is that the grid lines for the Fibonacci sequence aren't evenly spaced over the camera field.

Tools to help you master the golden ratio

The golden ratio can be hard to visualize while you're shooting a photo. These smartphone apps have a phi grid and spiral overlay to help you compose your photos. You'll find them in app stores for both iOD and Android phones:

Golden Ratio Camera
Wise Camera
Golden Ratio DIY

Balancing artistic and technical considerations

Remember that the golden ratio and rule of thirds are composition guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules. It's okay to take photos that 'break' these rules if it makes sense for the subject.

You might want to break these rules if

You're shooting a portrait where a person or animal should be the main focal point, and it makes sense to center them in the frame
You want to show symmetry between two sides of a subject, like a lake divided by a pier
You're taking a close-up or macro photo of a single subject, like a flower or bird

How to tell a story in your photography portfolio

Once you've perfected your photo-shooting skills, it's time to show off your work in an art portfolio. Make sure that you select only your best shots. Look for photos that show your mastery of composition and technical skills. You can also use composition principles like the rule of thirds as you lay out the graphic design for your photo album.

It's also important to make sure that all the images you choose are on brand. If you want to market yourself as a wildlife photographer, your portfolio should be composed of wildlife and nature shots. Think of why clients might hire you — and build a portfolio that speaks to what they want to see. It's okay to create multiple portfolios to showcase different types of work like

Portraiture
Architectural shots
Wedding and event photography
Sports and action photos
Food shots
Fashion photography

Create a compelling visual story with Mixbook

Mastering the rule of thirds and golden ratio will improve the visual appeal of your photographs and art projects. Show off your new skills by creating a professional portfolio with your best shots today. It's easy to make your best shots stand out with the help of Mixbook Studio.