In photography, COMPOSITION can be defined as..
» Placing the elements of your picture within the frame and deciding what to leave out.

In our modern world of automatic cameras, the biggest difference between a good photograph and an average one is the compositon.

In every photograph we take, we can decide where the boundaries of that photo will be, called the cropping. We can also choose the viewpoint. If we are taking pictures of people or movable objects then, often, we also have the opportunity to arrange them into the shapes we want.

If you are shooting landscapes or other immovable objects then you must compose the picture by moving yourself and deciding where to place the point(s) of interest in your picture.

1. Open a new canvas, about 200 x 200 pixels, in Photoshop. Set your background color to white, and foreground to a color of your choice.
   
2. Create a new, transparent layer (Layer, New, Layer) and use the paint bucket to fill this layer with your foreground color by clicking anywhere in the canvas.
   
3. Change your foreground color to white.
   
4. Using the polygonal lasso tool, select a triangle in the lower right-hand corner of the canvas and fill this selection with white using the paint bucket.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Grab the polygonal lasso tool again and draw a second triangle, extending into the color of your canvas this time. This triangle will be the basis of your page curl.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Now we get to play with paths. By turning our selection into a path, we’ll be able to get a smooth set of curves out of the straight lines that would be quite impossible any other way. Of course, once you do this you’ll want to use paths all the time – all the more reason to make sure you can get to the paths palette easily. If you don’t see the paths palette grouped with the Layers and Channels tabs, click “Window, Show, Paths”.
   
   
   
7. Now that we’re all set, click the Paths tab and immediately click the black arrow in the top right corner (in the image above, it’s the arrow above “Opacity”). From the menu that pops out, choose “Make Work Path”. Set the tolerance to 2.0
   
8. Next, you need to find your “Pen” tool and right-click it. From the menu that pops, select the “Add Anchor Point Pen”. Once you’ve grabbed it, click on any corner of your path and you should see squares appear in each corner.
   
   
   
   
   
9. Now for the fun stuff – we get to manipulate our path by clicking and dragging the anchor points. First, right-click your pen tool once more and choose the “Convert Point” tool. Simply choose your anchor point and drag it inwards.
   
   
   
   
   
10. Now we want to turn it back into a selection, so that we can make it look like a page, right? So click the upper right arrow next to your Paths palette again, this time choosing “Make Selection”. Leave all the options at their default and click OK. Your path should be turned into a normal selection – too easy.
    
    
    
    
    
11. We’re nearly done already. To finish off, choose your gradient tool. Set your background color to the color of your page, and set your gradient to “reflected gradient”. Drag the gradient in a diagonal, ending with an image something like this:
    
    
    
    
    
12. If it doesn’t quite look right, just click “Edit, Undo” and try again.
    
13. To top everything off, let’s add a bit of a drop shadow so that the image has some real depth. With the selection made, click “Layer, New, Layer via Copy”. Then look at the bottom of your Layer Palette for the Flash-looking “f” that indicates your Layer Blending Options. Click “Drop Shadow” from the pop-up menu and apply the following settings:
    
    
    
14. And that’s it! You have a beautiful curled-page that can be used in a variety of ways.
    
    
    
    
    
    SELAMAD MENCUBE ~
    

1. Open your original image in Photoshop. Go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color, call it "Gray Fill," and click OK. In the Color Picker, choose a light gray. example
   
2. Click the "Create new fill or adjustment layer" icon at the base of the Layers palette and choose Pattern from the list. Click in the Pattern Swatch in the dialog box, hit the right-pointing arrow, and select Grayscale Paper.
   Choose Fibers 1 from the swatch. Increase the Pattern Scale to 340% and click OK. Set this layer to Soft Light, and 35% opacity. example
   
3. Right-click/Ctrl-click the background layer and choose Duplicate Layer, calling the layer "Glowing Edges."
   Drag this new layer to the top of the stack and go to
   Filter > Stylize > Glowing Edges.
   Use these values:
   Edge Width 3, Edge Brightness 11, Smoothness 10.  example
   
4. Invert the Glowing Edges layer using Image > Adjustments > Invert (Ctrl/Cmd+I). This layer only needs to be black and white, so go to
   Image > Adjustments > Desaturate (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+U). Set the layer's blending mode to Multiply with an opacity of 15%. example
   
5. Duplicate the background layer again, calling it "Sketch Layer," and drag this duplicate to the top of the stack.
   
   Desaturate this layer using Image > Adjustments > Desaturate (Ctrl/ Cmd+Shift+U).
   
   To use the layer as a base for the drawing, increase the contrast a little, by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness and Contrast.
   
   Drag the Contrast slider to the right to a value of 22. Now set the layer blending mode to Darken and leave the opacity set to 100%. example
   
6. We need to add some Noise to this layer to break the image up a little, so go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Use an Amount of 12%, choose Gaussian for Distribution, and check Monochromatic. example
   
7. Add a Hide All layer mask to this layer using Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All. To make the drawing, simply scribble on this layer mask using a special brush. example
   
8. Select the Brush tool and click in the Brush Picker. Click the right-pointing arrow in the Picker and choose Dry Media Brushes. Scroll down the thumbnails and double-click Pastel on Charcoal Paper. example
   
9. Hit F5 on the keyboard to display the Brush Options.
   Click the Other Dynamics panel and set the Opacity Jitter Control box to Pen Pressure. Click Shape Dynamics and set the Size Jitter to Pen Pressure.
   Set Minimum Diameter to 70%. example
   
10. Now you can begin sketching... Be sure that the foreground color swatch is white.
    
    In the Options bar, increase the size of the brush to between 20 and 25 pixels. Now begin to scribble onto the Sketch Layer's layer mask. At first, just concentrate on the main facial features within the image. Use just a little pressure on the stylus, or a very low opacity for the brush.
    
    Scribble loosely over all of the required parts of the image, changing direction often to create a hand-shaded look. example
    
11. Use plenty of cross-hatch scribble where the strokes overlap in opposite directions. Remember, there is no actual drawing ability whatsoever required here, we are simply scribbling to reveal the layer lying beneath the Layer mask. example
    
12. Increase the size of the brush a little by using the right-facing square bracket key on the keyboard.
    
    Continue to scribble over the image, remembering to keep the brushwork nice and loose, building up the tones around the features of the face. In the hair, and around the outside of the image, use the brush at a bigger size and make the strokes even more sketchy. example
    
13. Finally, reduce the size of the brush again and use it with white at full opacity to scribble more into the main features, adding some really dark strokes.