Composition – Repetition and Pattern

In our daily life repetition is often seen as boring….yet capturing it in your photography can create an image with real impact.

The world is filled with patterns – most of which we overlook due to the pace of our busy days – however once you get an eye for spotting them you’ll be amazed by what you see and you’ll wonder why you didn’t incorporate them into your photography before.

When it comes to capturing repetition in photography a couple of techniques come to mind – you can either emphasize it or break it.

Emphasizing Patterns

Filling your frame with a repetitive pattern can give the impression of size and large numbers. The key to this is to attempt to zoom in close enough to the pattern that it fills the frame and makes the repetition seem as though it’s bursting out (even if the repetition stops just outside of your framing).

Some examples of this technique might include faces in a crowd, bricks on a wall, a line of bicycle wheels all on the same angle etc. Almost any repeated objects would work.

In the image below the illusion of endless carts is created because the pattern flows beyond the frame.

Hong Kong International Airport

This example combines leading lines and repetition to create drama and interest.

Leading Lines & Repetition

Breaking Patterns

The other common use of repetition in photography is to capture the interruption of the flow of a pattern. For example you might photograph hundreds of red bottles with one blue one.

Sometimes you’ll find these broken patterns naturally appearing around you and on other occasions you might need to manipulate the situation a little and interrupt a pattern yourself.

Broken repetition might include adding a contrasting object (color, shape, texture) or removing one of the repeating objects.

Pay particular attention to where in your frame to place the break in the pattern. It might be that the Rule of Thirds comes in to play here.

Also consider your focal point in these shots – the broken pattern might be a logical spot to have everything focused sharply.

Share you Repetition and Pattern shots in the comments.