Compisition
Composition is the layout of subjects in an image and how that affects the viewer's interpretation of it. There are different rules that affect what order the viewer looks at each subject as well as creating interest.
Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds dictates the different areas of a page that viewers are most naturally draw to. To display this images can have a grid drawn on top of them with 9 sections. The human brain tends to favor the middle four intersections of the lines rather than the center or far sides.
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The contents of each row of the grid is also a factor. Images with one row of sea, for example, and two rows of sky are more visually appealing and interesting to viewers.
Rule of Odds
The rule of odds is more simple. An odd number of objects in a scene is more interesting than an even one. Generally, even numbers of objects will be grouped into pairs, whereas 3 or 5 will be viewed as one image or as different sized groups. This makes the image more visually appealing and interesting to the viewer.
Rule of Balance
The rule of balance concerns the size, shape and scale of multiple objects in a scene. Larger, hard edged objects like a square placed on one side of an image will look unbalanced unless a lighter, smaller object like a circle is placed on the other side.
Rule of Space
The rule of space seeks to prevent viewers from being overwhelmed by too my information in an image. It is important to have empty space in an image for this reason. Images with a large amount of empty space also create interest and draw attention to the subject.
Rule of Focus
The rule of focus is about how different parts of the image should be less detailed in order to draw viewers to a 'focal point' in an image. For example, in a painting with a crowd of people, the artist might make the central figure a contrasting colour or be more detailed than the rest of the people.
