Tom Clark - Digital Photography Composition For Dummies

half in a somewhat uncomfortable manner. And having the horizon too close to the bottom edge creates an unbalanced relationship between the floor space and the wall space.

I arranged the chair in the background to balance the bed in the foreground.Because of these strategic placements, this scene is naturally symmetrical; having something on the left requires something on the right to maintain balance.

24mm, 1/25 sec, f/3.5, 500

Figure 5–5:Every element has its place in a successful composition.

I ensured that the back doors appeared at the edges of the frame in order to bring closure to the composition.The outer edges of the doors are darker than the center areas of the doors, creating an edge that keeps viewers' eyes in the frame. In other words, including more wall space beyond the doors would have invited viewers' eyes to go out of the frame.

I left space in the foreground to bring viewers' eyes into the frame, and I included the dark section above the back wall to close out the top of the frame.Both of these techniques help keep a viewer in the frame longer and provide descriptive details about the subject's environment. If this image was strictly about selling the pants or the model, I would crop in closer to show a clearer depiction of each. However, this particular image was created with the intentions of selling a photographic style that maximizes depth and narrative quality.

Your own judgment always trumps a general rule when choosing the best composition for an image. Keep the rules in mind but do what looks best in the end.

Your frame provides a rectangular space that's basically a blank canvas until you take off your lens cap and begin to compose a scene. You need to fill the canvas with information that's going to get your intended point across. The elements you include in your composition should fit appropriately according to their size in the frame and their relationship to the other elements.

Space refers to the two-dimensional frame you're working with and the three-dimensional relationships a scene's elements have with one another within the frame. The closer an element is to the camera, the more space it takes up in the frame. Various techniques enable you to take advantage of the space in your frame and use it to create visually compelling compositions. I explain what you need to know in the following sections.

In order to reveal the details that are necessary for conveying your message, be sure to consider the amount of space that your subject takes up. When you want to reveal intimate details about your subject, for example, make it larger in your frame. You may use this technique to show the color of a person's eyes, the texture of a piece of fruit, and so on. If, on the other hand,

you feel that the environment surrounding the person can reveal more pertinent information to your intended message, you can back up from your subject and fit more of the scene into your frame.

Your ultimate goal is to find the best size to represent your subject while allowing adequate space to reveal any necessary supporting details in your scene. Sometimes you may want to fill your entire frame with your subject in order to show the maximum amount of detail, and other times you may reveal the subject as a tiny speck on top of a mountain.

Figure 5–6 shows two examples of the same subject in the same scene. In the image on the left, the subject is large in the frame and takes up a dominant amount of space. The image on the right shows the subject in a less-dominant position, which enables the environment to be more important and informative.

Emphasis on subject

Emphasis on environment

Figure 5–6:Your subject's position in the frame changes whatyou reveal.

When you compose an image, pay attention to how the shapes of your elements are being represented. When one element merges with another, which happens in the left-hand image of Figure 5–7, both shapes become less recognizable. By repositioning your camera or your subject, you can separate the elements in your frame to better illustrate them. See the image on the right, for example.

Merging elements

A clearview

Figure 5–7:Show the shape of your subject and supporting elements in the best way possible.

In some cases, you can allow elements to merge in order to create the illusion of depth, but do so with caution. Make sure the closer elements don't block any important details in the further elements. Letting elements merge is appropriate only when it doesn't compromise the viewer's ability to see the elements as distinct objects.

For instance, in Figure 5–8, the image on the left shows two triangles side by side. This arrangement highlights their size relationship — because the gray triangle looks larger than the orange one and is on the same horizontal plane, you can assume it is in fact a larger triangle.

In the image on the right, I allowed the larger triangle to overlap the smaller one. I also positioned the smaller triangle higher in the frame than the larger one. This arrangement creates the illusion of distance. Because of the size difference and the overlapping effect, the gray triangle seems to be closer to the viewer than the orange triangle.

In this version of the Figure 5–8: Composition reveals size and spatial relationship

image, a viewer can't of objects. assume that the gray triangle is larger than the orange one, and he knows only that it's closer.

Size difference

Spatial difference

Lining up elements throughout your frame can cause images to feel stiff and boring. However, using your space to stagger the elements keeps viewers' eyes moving from one to the other in an interesting way. Taking advantage of the space in your frame and giving viewers a reason to explore the whole scene is a good way to keep their attention for longer periods of time. Figure 5–9 shows you how staggering adds interest.

You can more easily create dynamic compositions with informal balance by using an odd number of key elements than with an even number. Perhaps this is because even numbers have a natural tendency to cause symmetry and formal balance. (Read more about the pros and cons of informal and

formal balance in Chapter 12.) You call a person who's boring a square, not a pentagon.

The left-hand image of Figure 5–9 shows a staggered composition of three elements. The lack of symmetry is natural when dealing with odd numbers. The right-hand image shows how to work with an even number of elements to throw off symmetry. Doing so adds interest in your composition and enhances the illusion of depth.

Odd number of elements

Even number of elements

Figure 5–9:Staggering elements helps create interest in your compositions.

When you allow a leading line (a compositional element that directs a viewer's attention) to go off the edge of your frame at a corner, you take the viewer out of the frame and leave yourself no space to bring her back into it. Doing so is clearly a problem because the whole point of creating a photo is to grab a viewer's attention and keep it for as long as possible.

In Figure 5-10, the image on the left uses the foreground to lead your eyes into the frame and then uses the horizon line to bring your eyes back into it where the blue curvy line goes off the edge. The space above the point where the line exits the frame enables me to use the space to keep your attention. A corner is at the edge of your frame both vertiFigure 5-10: Stop lines from exiting the corners of your frame