Backlit
After Bryan falls off of his horse, we see him in his bed with his mother and father. He's paralyzed and dying. Kubrick lights the scene so that there is only light shining on the back of Barry and Lady Lyndon. The image shows us that there is no light coming from the direction of the little boy. It shows us that his life is fading and also that he is heading in the direction of the light towards heaven, where he knows he is going.
Flower Blooming
We watch as Norah and Captain Quinn engage in conversation, and Kubrick shoots them in a close up and then pulls the camera out. The camera move of pulling out is like a flower blossoming between the two characters. It shows that their love is blooming and Kubrick is able to capture this in a single camera move.
Into the Fire
After the death of Captain Grogan, we watch as Redmond stares into a fire the same night. The composition of the frame shows a man asleep as Redmond is on his feet. The image reveals what is in the soldier. He now has something inside of him that he never knew before, and cannot put words to. He can simply live with what he has experienced as it grows into a fire inside of him.
Paintings
Throughout the film, Kubrick composes frame after frame that looks, in style and vibrance like the paintings that Redmond purchases for his estate. We see this when Lord Bullingdon comes back to claim his honor from his stepfather. We see Redmond sitting with other men all slumped over in drunkenness. The light covers them in such a way that if the image were frozen it could be mistaken for a painting. The use of this kind of imagery allows the viewer to step into the time period in such a way that is not foreign to them, as they can see it as a painting from moment to moment of a time gone by, but which contains the lives of men and women that very much lived.
