Composition

Division of Space

The shutter was released immediately after focusing for this photograph. The subject and horizon are centered. Using a different division of space would improve the result.

Off Center

By moving the subject and horizon away from the center you get more natural proportions.

Golden Ratio

The Golden Ratio occurs frequently in nature. In photography this is often applied through the Rule of Thirds in a simple but effective manner. Divide the picture plane into 3 equal pieces, both horizontally and vertically.

Rule of Thirds

For a landscape, put the horizon on one of the horizontal lines. Try to put important picture elements like the sun near an intersection of the horizontal and vertical lines.

Persons

Ensure that the eyes are roughly at 1/3 from the top.

This still applies if you are further away from the persons.

Or take a photograph of a group of persons.

Diagonal Method

A more recent research on the accuracy of the Rule of Thirds led to the discovery of the Diagonal Method.