Other than an arranged still life, there is rarely a "plan" in the photographer's mind before the shutter is tripped.

With most photographs we are subject to where we are standing at the time and what equipment we have with us. After that about the only thing a photographer can do is to crop out stuff that don't want in the image. Or add elements that weren't there in the first place, but that's not my idea of photography.

The question of composition usually comes up after the image is captured. It's more often a third party, a critic, who brings it up.

I’m sure this fits a number of photographers but I’m not sure if it is true of the majority. I can say with certainty that mindfully considering the specifics of a composition is my normal routine, as it is for the other photographers I often shoot with. It is not uncommon for any of us to spent ten, fifteen, twenty minutes “massaging” a particular composition. Possibly, the amount of attention one applied to building a strong composition is one of the factors that separates “good” photographers from mediocre ones. ?

Sorry for helping lead the charge down the alternate path In UHH Photo Gallery I imagine that the majority of folks base their time spent viewing and the comments they leave on the photo's subject.

But I'm still unclear about how you're defining content. "What is it about?" is different in my mind than "here is the subject; the subject is [fill in the blank: flowers, bird, kid, tree, building]."

Good question, Linda. Points to the difficulty of addressing complex subjects with just a few words.

If someone suggests you read a certain book you might well respond "what's it about?" Yes, speaking of a photo you might well describe the content as "flowers, bird, kid, tree, building". But content can also be light, abstract shapes, blocks of color, depicted emotions, etc. In other words, what's it about? So I don't necessarily understand your perceived difference between describing a book's and a picture's content.

If somebody has you look at a picture and asks "what do you see?" how would you respond? I just thought of standing in front of Picasso's Guernica (I haven't!) and being asked to describe the content....Without knowing the background (Spanish Civil War) I might be hard pressed to come up with intelligent comments. But for sure I wouldn't start talking about composition first!

I think I'm rambling again, time for a break!

Thank you to those that addressed the topic directly. For the many that wandered off into comments re the rules and application of the principles of composition, here’s another try at explaining my original thoughts. (Let me say emphatically, however, that the responses related to the hows and whys of composition have been very interesting and are very much appreciated!)

I admit to a personal bias: For me content (subject matter) is the most important aspect of a photograph, ahead of composition, color, sharpness and the other criteria we use to judge a image. I think of the content of a photograph the way I think of the content of a book – what is it about? Composition, stated simplistically, is the arrangement of the pieces that create the content.

So, the issue I raised is that I see lots of mention of “composition” but very little of “content” in UHH commentary on photographs. And that led me to wonder if some UHHers may be using the term composition when they really mean content or subject. (Linda asked for some examples but unfortunately I can’t point to any right now!)

Thank you all!

No, I wouldn't describe the "content" as flower or bird, I would describe the "subject" as flower or bird I'm differentiating between the definitions of subject and content and you are using them interchangeably. In my earlier photo (here), the subject is hops growing apparatus after harvest. But the content (what it is about) is hopefully something totally different.

Books - or movies - now that's another interesting side path. I know I have replied to the question, "What is it about?" with both a quick synopsis of plot, and then qualifying with a statement such as, "But that's not really what it is about".

Thanks for helping dust off the gray cells this morning and for keeping my mind off the latest coronavirus test results in Washington State!