While editing Your Shot photos this week, I started wondering what makes a photograph stick with you long after you stop looking at it. My immediate instinct was to look to the composition. Technically, composition is the first thing you “see” when looking at a photograph because it’s essentially the photo in its entirety. Your first reaction to a picture is likely due to the way it’s composed.

Composition isn’t just the end result, though—it’s a key thought process in every step of making photographs. A thoughtful composition can create a visual symphony that quickly communicates the story, while also enhancing the visual aesthetics in the photograph.

Take, as an example, Terra Fondriest’s photograph of a dog