The best examples of creative photography: frames within frames

Let’s skip theory and go straight to the fun part: real examples. When photographers talk about examples of creative photography: frames within frames, they’re usually talking about images where something in the scene surrounds or partially surrounds the subject, guiding your eye like a spotlight.

Think about:

• A portrait shot through a slightly open doorway, with the door edges forming a dark frame around a bright face.
• A couple standing at the end of a tunnel, the circular tunnel walls wrapping around them like a vignette.
• A city skyline seen through the arch of a bridge, the arch acting like a natural picture frame.

These are all classic examples of creative photography: frames within frames used to control attention, add depth, and make the viewer feel like they’re peeking into a private moment.

Street and travel: everyday frames hiding in plain sight

Some of the best examples of creative photography: frames within frames come from street and travel photography, where the world is already full of ready-made frames.

On the subway, the train doors are an instant frame. You stand on the platform and shoot through the open doors at a single passenger, framed by the metal doorway and the interior lights. The chaos of the station disappears; your eye goes straight to that one person. Same thing with bus windows, café windows, and even car windshields at a red light.

Travel photographers lean on this constantly. Picture a lone figure standing in the doorway of a bright blue house in Mexico, the doorway framing the person and the colorful wall creating a second, looser frame around everything. Or a shot of the Eiffel Tower framed between two Parisian buildings, the narrow gap between them acting like a tall, vertical frame.

If you scroll through popular travel photographers on Instagram or TikTok in 2024–2025, you’ll notice a pattern: tons of images shot through arches, alleyways, and windows. Creators are using frames within frames to stand out in feeds that are otherwise just endless wide landscapes.

Portrait ideas: intimate examples of frame-within-frame shots

Portraits are where frames within frames get emotional. You’re not just organizing shapes; you’re shaping how we feel about the person.

Here are some portrait-based examples of creative photography: frames within frames you can try:

• Have your subject sit by a window and shoot from outside, using the window edges as a frame. Add curtains or blinds for a second, softer frame.
• Use a doorway in a dark hallway. Expose for the subject in the light, and let the hallway fall into shadow so the doorway becomes a bold, graphic rectangle.
• Ask a friend to hold a book or magazine in front of them and peek through a cut-out section, so the pages form a playful frame around their eyes.
• Use your own hands as a frame. Make a rough rectangle with your fingers and shoot through it, keeping your hands slightly out of focus.

These portrait setups are real examples of how a frame within a frame can make a simple expression feel more cinematic, like a still from a movie instead of just “a photo of my friend.”

Architecture and geometry: when buildings do the work for you

Architectural photography might be the easiest place to find examples of creative photography: frames within frames, because buildings are basically giant boxes full of smaller boxes.

Walk into any modern office building and you’ll find repeating windows, glass panels, and open staircases that naturally create frames. You can:

• Stand at the bottom of a stairwell and shoot up, using the railings and floors as nested frames.
• Frame a person walking on a balcony using the rectangular opening of the building’s façade.
• Capture a cityscape through an archway, overpass, or parking garage opening.

One of the best examples is shooting a skyline from inside a parking structure. You stand back in the shadows and let the rectangular opening of the wall frame the bright city beyond. The darkness around the edge acts like a natural vignette, and the viewer feels like they’re standing right there with you.

If you look at work from architecture-focused photographers and students (many photography programs, like those at major universities, emphasize composition and visual literacy—see resources from sites like Harvard’s Bok Center for broader visual thinking), you’ll see how often they use frames within frames to make complex spaces feel organized and readable.

Nature and outdoor examples: using trees, rocks, and shadows

Outdoors, you don’t get neat rectangles handed to you, but you do get organic frames that feel more relaxed and poetic.

Some real examples include:

• Shooting a hiker through an opening in the trees, with branches forming a loose oval around them.
• Framing a mountain peak between two cliffs or rock formations.
• Using overhanging tree branches at the top of the frame and a fence at the bottom to create a subtle window around your subject.
• Shooting a sunset through a natural cave opening at the beach.

You can also use light as a frame. Harsh sunlight coming through a gap in the trees can create a bright rectangle on the ground or wall, and you place your subject inside that patch of light. The bright area becomes a luminous frame against the darker surroundings.

Environmental psychology research often talks about how humans respond strongly to boundaries, edges, and “prospect-refuge” spaces—places where you can see out but feel partially enclosed. While that research is usually about architecture and mental health (see, for example, broader discussions of environment and behavior at the National Institutes of Health), the same instincts kick in when we look at photos. We like images that feel like a safe little pocket looking out onto the world, and frames within frames give us that feeling.

Digital-age twists: screens, mirrors, and 2024–2025 trends

In 2024–2025, some of the best examples of creative photography: frames within frames are happening with technology itself. Photographers are layering old-school framing tricks with very modern objects.

One popular trend: shooting people through phone screens or tablets. You hold a phone in the foreground showing a live view or a previous photo of the subject, and the phone screen becomes a crisp, glowing frame. The real background behind the phone adds a second layer of context.

Another trend is using laptop screens or TV screens in dim rooms. You position your subject so their face is lit by the screen, then shoot from slightly behind the monitor. The edges of the screen or the bezel form a dark frame around a bright face, with the rest of the room falling into shadow.

Mirrors are also everywhere in current examples of creative photography: frames within frames. You can:

• Place a small mirror on a table and shoot a reflection of the subject’s face, framed by the mirror’s edges and surrounded by objects.
• Use a bathroom mirror with a lit frame, so the light itself becomes a glowing border.
• Combine a window and a mirror, so the mirror frame sits inside the window frame, creating multiple layers.

These modern examples include a lot of mixed media vibes—screens, reflections, and real-world frames all stacked together. If you’re sharing your work online, this kind of layered framing plays well with the way people already experience the world through devices.

How frames within frames guide the eye and tell a story

So why do all these examples of creative photography: frames within frames feel so satisfying? Underneath the aesthetics, there are a few simple visual psychology tricks at work.

First, frames act like arrows without being literal arrows. Our eyes are naturally drawn to areas that are enclosed or contrasted. A bright subject inside a darker frame will almost always grab attention first. This lines up with basic principles of visual perception that are taught in design and art programs across universities and art schools (you’ll see similar ideas in composition resources from places like MIT’s OpenCourseWare when they discuss visual hierarchy).

Second, frames create depth. When you put something between the camera and the subject, you get foreground, middle ground, and background. That three-layer structure makes flat images feel more three-dimensional and immersive.

Third, frames suggest context and narrative. A person framed by a car window feels like a traveler. A person framed by a kitchen doorway feels like part of a home story. The frame hints at where they are and what might be happening just outside the edges.

When you look at the best examples of creative photography: frames within frames, you’ll notice they’re not just pretty shapes. They’re little stories. The frame is the stage, and the subject is the main character.

Practical tips for creating your own frame-within-frame shots

Let’s turn all these examples into something you can use next time you’re out with a camera or phone.

Start by training your brain to see frames. As you walk around, ask yourself: “What could I shoot through?” Look for doorways, windows, railings, tree branches, shelves, mirrors, and screens. You’re not just looking for rectangles; circles, triangles, and irregular shapes also make great frames.

Then, think about distance. If your frame is too close to the subject, it can feel cramped. Too far, and the frame loses its power. Try stepping back and using a slightly longer focal length so the frame and subject feel balanced. On a phone, that usually means switching from the ultra-wide lens to the regular or telephoto lens.

Light matters too. Dark frames around a bright subject are usually stronger than bright frames around a dark subject. If your frame is naturally dark (like a doorway into a bright room), you’re already set. If not, you can expose for the subject and let the edges fall a bit darker.

Finally, don’t forget that your frame doesn’t have to surround the subject on all four sides. Some of the most subtle examples of creative photography: frames within frames only use two or three sides—a window edge on the left and top, or tree branches just at the top, or a railing only at the bottom.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Even with the best examples in mind, frames within frames can go wrong fast.

One mistake: the frame is more interesting than the subject. If your frame is loud and colorful but the subject is tiny and dull, the viewer’s eye just bounces around the edges and ignores the main point. Make sure your subject still wins the attention battle.

Another mistake: clutter. If your frame is messy—random objects, tangled lines, uneven shapes—it stops feeling like a frame and just feels like chaos. When in doubt, simplify. Move your position until the frame’s edges are clean and clearly defined.

A third issue: distortion. If you’re using a very wide lens and stand too close, straight lines in your frame can warp, especially at the edges. That’s fine if you like the effect, but if you want calm, graphic lines, step back and zoom in a bit.

Look again at your favorite examples of creative photography: frames within frames online. You’ll notice how often the photographers have cleaned up the edges of the frame—no stray poles, no random heads, no weird bright spots yanking your eye away.

FAQ: examples of frame-within-frame photography

Q: Can you give a simple example of frames within frames I can try at home?
Yes. Stand in a hallway and have someone stand in a doorway at the far end. Shoot from the darker hallway into the brighter room, using the doorway as a frame around their body. It’s one of the easiest examples of creative photography: frames within frames you can set up in minutes.

Q: Are frames within frames only for advanced photographers?
Not at all. Some of the best examples are shot on phones by people who just have a good eye. Kids naturally shoot through fences and windows. The technique is more about noticing opportunities than mastering gear.

Q: Do frames within frames always need to be sharp and in focus?
No. Many real examples include blurred foreground frames—like shooting through leaves or a railing—so the frame is soft and the subject is sharp. That can feel dreamy and cinematic.

Q: Are there examples of frames within frames in classic art, not just photography?
Yes. Painters have been doing this for centuries: figures in doorways, scenes seen through arches, people framed by curtains. Studying older art and design resources from museums and universities (for instance, educational materials linked through sites like USA.gov that point to museum collections) can give you new ideas for photographic framing.

Q: How many frames is too many in one photo?
Once you hit the point where the viewer can’t tell what to look at first, you’ve gone too far. Most strong examples of creative photography: frames within frames use one clear frame and maybe a secondary, softer one.

If you start paying attention, you’ll see frames everywhere: in your kitchen, on your commute, in the park, on your laptop screen. The magic trick is deciding what deserves to live inside that frame. Every time you do, you’re not just taking a picture—you’re quietly directing a little movie scene in a single still image.