Rock arches almost always seem to be candidates for good imagery. They almost represent victory, they stood standing. They are interesting. They evoke questions. I for one love to photograph arches.

The little space I am in is very small. I am right at the end of the arch. My tripod legs are totally flat and my camera is only a few inches above the rock. I am shooting at 16mm on a full frame Sony A7R II. Most people shoot through arches, so do I. Once you have that image why not try something more creative?

          As you can see from the composition I choose, I did not allign the camera with the center of the arch (right underneath the center). I wanted the arch to form the anchor on the right side. I liked the way the light is still hitting the arch higher up. The arch takes the viewer into the scene. Various other less important lines help move the viewer into the scene. Firstly, we have the line in the rock about a third from the right edge. Secondly, we have another less prominent line moving into the image starting just above the left bottom corner of the image. This composition just works well for me. It is different, more creative. Even with this composition the arch is still used as a frame for the image.

          Do your best to find different perspectives rather than just shooting through arches.