Here are some tips and examples to inspire your own creativity.

Why Contrasts and Similarities Appeal

Harmonythings that seem to fit togetheris an easy artistic concept to comprehend.

We tend to find beauty in compositions in which different elements of the image seem to blend together naturally.

Coffee mug on a candle warmer.

Artists refer to this as juxtaposition.

Indeed, it’s often contrasting elements that most catch the eye.

Old & New

One of the simplest techniques is to combine elements of old and new.

Rockbox on an iPod Nano

This can be really effective in travel shots, for example.

A tight framing means that we exclude other buildings, so these are the only two in the shot.

You’ve probably spotted by now that shooting tight is very often key to excluding any extraneous material.

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This was a more somber shot, taken inside the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center in Cambodia.

The contrast helps to convey the message of life and death, then and now.

This example of the Millennium Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral in London works in several different ways.

A playful image with a woman mirroring the pose of a graffiti character

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We have a lighter sky and a darker river.

Warm & Cold

In photography terms, we can talk about color temperature.

Without getting too bogged down in detail, we describe blues as cool and yellows as warm.

An old church in front of a modern skyscraper in Boston

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Contrasting the two can often convey a literal feeling of warmth and coolness.

Repetition

Repeating patterns can be another way to create a visually pleasing image.

You’ll want to choose your angle to emphasize the evenness of the patterns.

London’s Gherkin peeking out from behind Georgian architecture

Ben Lovejoy / How-To Geek

A similar idea with these arches in Tel Aviv.

It made for a fun final shot while waiting for my flight.

Having fun is really the key to any photographic technique.

A model in a very vividly pink-red dress lying on the steps of a monochrome-looking building in Washington, DC

Ben Lovejoy / How-To Geek

Keep looking around you for possibilities, find the best angle, and keep experimenting.

A Buddhist monk standing in front of photos of victims of Cambodia’s Killing Fields

A yellow building in Havana, upper-right section brightly sunlit, the rest in shadow

London’s Millennium Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral taken in the Blue Hour after sunset

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The London skyline shot during the blue hour

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A bare winter tree in front of the yellow light from a large window

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Blue skies reflected in the window of a building, as a window cleaner works

Ben Lovejoy / How-To Geek

A woman at night lit by the warm glow from a street lamp

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Jetty supports on a river giving a squares-within-squares effect

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Repeating arches in Tel Aviv

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A grafitti monster on the left, woman mirroring the pose on the right

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Shoes with a pattern blending in with the carpet pattern

Ben Lovejoy / How-To Geek