There are many composition guidelines one can find. Every guideline such as Leading Lines, Simplicity, Rule of Thirds,Balance, Framing, Object Mergers, etc. are used to bring attention to photographs. However, each one of them is used according to a specific concept. You almost never use every single one of them in the same frame otherwise you will find a busy image that is no longer attractive. In my opinion, the hidden element that I love and that I use in every image is Balance.
Certainly, people’s eyes are drawn to pleasantly balanced images. Our eyes capture the image and send it to the brain and then the brain commands our eye to adjust and find balance. As a result when people look at a photograph that feels unbalanced that photograph is no longer pleasing the eyes. According to the result of our brain, the balanced image keeps the audience still to look at the image and find out more information in the photograph. There are two main techniques of balance, formal and informal which could subcategorized into other subcategories. For example, symmetrical balance is often used for an object that has two sides almost exactly the same, for example the church or the face of a supermodel that has a perfect balanced face. Instead of using other guidelines of composition, a simple center balance tends to be more powerful than the others. Asymmetrical balance is used to create the illusion of a balanced image by putting two objects in counterweight balance to each other, even if they are not the same weight. For example, an eagle on the top left of the intersection point of the image about to land and catch a mouse that is on the bottom right intersection point of the image. This image creates a leading line to the object, in this case the mouse, and also creates an equal balance to the photograph. Conceptual balance is my favorite guideline of composition, it is a philosophical construction were we use two subjects to complement each other and the image. For example, a photograph of an old man looking at a young stronger man in a print add. The use of contrasting subjects together creates equality in meaning and balance in the frame.
To summarize, each one of the composition guidelines is a helpful tip to create an attractive photograph. However, Balance is the most powerful guideline of composition in my opinion.
