Composition — 20% of your score
Composition: where you put things, and why it works
Composition is the single fastest thing to improve, which is why it carries 20% of your REVIEWR score. It is not about rules — it is about controlling where a viewer looks first, second and last.
What REVIEWR grades here
- Where the subject sits in the frame and how much room it is given
- Whether lines, shapes and contrast lead the eye toward the subject or away from it
- Balance and visual weight across the frame
- What the edges and corners do — merges, clipped limbs, distracting bright spots
- Whether the crop ratio serves the subject
What strong work looks like
- You can name the subject within half a second of seeing the frame
- Nothing in the corners competes with the subject
- Negative space is a decision, not an accident
- Removing any element would make the photo worse
What costs you points
- Centring by default rather than by choice
- A tilted horizon with no intent behind it
- Background poles, branches or signs growing out of a subject
- Too much empty foreground because the camera stayed at eye level
This week's drill
Shoot one subject ten times without moving it. Change only your position: high, low, closer, further, left, right. Then pick the strongest frame and write one sentence explaining what makes it stronger than the other nine.
Check your composition score
Submit a photo and see exactly where this category lands, with the written reasoning behind the number. Free, no payment method required.
Start critiquing — 100% freeLast updated: 3 August 2026 · Written by Deni Dedic, photographer and founder of REVIEWR
The other categories
Lighting 20%
Lighting also carries 20%. Almost every photo that feels flat is a lighting problem before it is a gear problem, and it is the category where deliberate practice pays back fastest.
Creativity 20%
Creativity is worth 20% because a technically perfect photo of nothing is still a photo of nothing. This category rewards the decision you made that nobody else would have made.
Color & Tone 15%
Colour and tone carry 15%. This is where most edits go wrong: the photo is fine and then the grade fights it.
Story & Mood 15%
Story and mood carry 15%. It is the category that separates a competent frame from one people remember.
Technical Quality 10%
Technical quality is only 10% of your score. Sharpness matters, but a razor-sharp photo of a boring subject should never outrank a slightly soft photo with a real idea — so the rubric weights it accordingly.