Does a centered object get attention?

Question

When I showed this photo to my friend he mentioned that the flower in the center of the photo got his attention. Although I placed it in the center of the photo, I believe that it's not the only main object in the photo. I like the leaves in the foreground too, I like the balance between the green color in the foreground and background. But my friend didn't mention anything about it, so I wonder is it wrong to place the flower in the center like that? maybe if I moved it to the right a little bit and include more leaves in the left would create a more balanced photo?

Asked by Akram Mellice

Answer

The flower in the centre does attract the eye, but not because it's in the center, in my opinion, but rather because:

• it's in focus more than anything else
• it's brighter than anything else
• it's higher in the frame, above everything else, and contrasting against a dark background

I think the above is fairly factual. When you ask about improving the composition, well that's going to be more subjective. I think you could probably improve the composition, but I don't think there's particularly anything wrong with the flower being centered

Answered by MikeW

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