This lec­ture intro­duces visual com­po­si­tion by draw­ing exam­ples from sev­eral influ­en­tial pho­tog­ra­phers past and present. I explain that the rules of com­po­si­tion are only called that for want of a bet­ter phrase, and am the first to insist that there are no rules — merely rules of thumb, a loose set of prin­ci­ples to fall back on, or bet­ter to engage with and challenge.