One window, three distances
Keep the subject and change only your distance from it.

Farther away: show its place
Begin with a frame that includes the surroundings: wall, ground, or neighboring buildings. Ask what it tells someone who has never been there. Establish the setting before deciding what to remove.

Closer: find a particular detail
Let the window occupy more of the second frame and look for a reflection, curtain, or trace of use. Stay within places you may enter; you can change the framing from the same position. Choose a detail you genuinely want another person to notice.

Then connect the three
For the third frame, isolate a smaller detail or step back to show a new relationship. Arrange the images as setting, subject, and detail, and give them one shared title. The sequence should offer a viewing order rather than three nearly identical pictures.

1. Choose a window or doorway you may photograph.
2. Make setting, subject, and detail versions.
3. Give the three photographs a shared title.

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What changes when the subject moves?
Composition concerns what remains around a subject, not simply placing it on a line.

Make a centered version first
Choose a still object and center it. Notice its distance from the edges and any strong line passing behind it. This first frame is a comparison, not a mistake.

You are moving relationships
Place the subject to one side in the next frame. Examine the extra space: light, direction, another object, or emptiness. If the space adds nothing to your intention, the centered version may be the better choice.

Explain the space
Instead of “this looks more composed,” write a specific reason: “I moved the subject left so the shadow could remain on the right.” A reason tied to a visible relationship turns a rule of thumb into your own decision.

1. Make a centered frame.
2. Make a frame with the subject to one side.
3. Explain what the extra space contributes.

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Wait for a shadow
Watch light change a scene without rearranging the objects.

Find a readable surface
A wall, tabletop, or stair can give you a place to observe. Begin with a visible boundary between light and dark rather than a complicated subject. Choose a place where you may pause without obstructing others and make the first frame.

Let a change arrive
Keep the camera position and watch how clouds, leaves, or nearby objects change the shape of light. No special moment is guaranteed. If the change is small, make the small change the subject instead of continually searching for a more dramatic effect.

Compare the edges when selecting
Compare one light–dark boundary in the two frames. Describe its position and shape, then decide whether a third picture would connect them. A small sequence can make the passage of time visible on an ordinary surface.

1. Keep one surface and camera position.
2. Record at least two different light–dark arrangements.
3. Describe the changing boundary in the sequence caption.

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The other city in a reflection
Treat the object and its reflection as two layers with separate positions.

Identify the two layers
Choose glass, water, or metal you may photograph. Identify an object and its reflected position. Move the camera slightly to see the layers approach, overlap, or separate without touching the surface.

Keep a clue to orientation
Symmetry is one option. A window frame, water’s edge, or piece of ground can also orient the viewer. Compare a frame that is easy to read with one that asks for another look, then choose according to your intention.

Keep something beyond the effect
Ask why these two layers interest you together: related colors, opposing directions, or an object seeming to enter another space. Put that particular relationship into the title or caption so the picture has something beyond the reflection effect.

1. Identify the object and its reflection.
2. Move the camera to make two different overlaps.
3. Choose one and explain the relationship between the layers.

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A story in four photographs
An opening, a closer look, a change, and an ending give a sequence its own rhythm.

Give the frames different jobs
Choose a small subject: an object on a table or a familiar corner. Let the first frame establish the place and the second approach a detail. Giving them different jobs helps avoid selecting four nearly identical angles.

Let the third frame change something
The change might be light, position, your own hand, or an object entering the frame. It need not be a large event. It should visibly alter a relationship established by the first two photographs.

The ending may be quieter
The final image need not be the loudest. Step back, keep a trace of use, or let the subject leave. View the sequence without captions and ask whether it still suggests a process.

1. Name the job of each photograph.
2. Keep one subject through the sequence.
3. View it without captions, then add a shared title.

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A background for an ordinary object
One cup and three backgrounds offer a clear comparison of visual relationships.

Keep the subject
Choose a small object you may arrange and keep it throughout the exercise. Start with a plain background and notice whether the edges are easy to distinguish. Explore how one object changes in different relationships before seeking a more unusual subject.

Change one thing behind it
Use a textured background next, then one whose color resembles or contrasts with the object. Keep distance and angle as consistent as possible so you can connect the result with the background rather than several changing variables.

Choose by intention, not complexity
The most complicated background need not be the best. Describe what each one makes the object feel like and choose the version closest to your intention. Alternatively, keep all three as a small study of one object in different moods.

1. Keep one object and camera position.
2. Change only the three backgrounds.
3. Finish with one sentence explaining your choice.