Looking through the viewfinder

Thinking a little more about composition.

Exercise: Fitting the frame to the subject.

I had a couple of tries at this exercise. My first subject matter didn't really say very much so I eventually took my camera up to the golf club where a player was kind enough to strike a pose or two for me.

Photograph 1

For photograph 1 I took a picture that I would have taken on any given day. Just a regular shot including the player and a little background to add a sense of depth.

Photograph 2

In photograph 2 I have moved in close and filled the frame with the subject matter. This has ensured that the subject completely dominates the frame and very little attention is paid to the surroundings.

Photograph 3

In photograph 3 I have closed right in and framed just the players grip on the golf club. This picture has now isolated a small part of the image and gives the viewer a close up view of an element of the image that may have been overlooked in the previous photographs.

Photograph 4

For photograph 4 I have taken a few paces back and made a composition that gives an idea of the environment in which golf is played. The viewer can see that there is a line of trees and bushes behind the golfer which seems to continue out of the frame. I've left an area of the frame vacant, giving the player some space to "hit into"

Panorama

Portrait

Detail

 

Square

 The four cropped versions of photograph 4 demonstrate the possibilities even after the image has been captured. Even though they are all essentially the same picture, creative cropping has given each one a different feel and perspective.

Exercise: Object in different positions in the frame

I noticed a fisherman on a beach and asked him if he had any objections to me photographing him for this exercise. I took a series of four photographs and attempted to place the fisherman in a different part of the frame each time. Each image obviously looks different and I have placed them in order, the picture I like best being first, finishing with the image I like least.

Favoured image

Placed towards the left of the frame the subject looks most comfortable. The fishing rods leaning over to the right help to draw the eyes through the frame. Additionally, the breakwater in the background has a similar effect on the viewer, taking the eyes through the frame to the waves breaking on the beach. In this instance the main subject and the background seem to complement each other.

2nd best image

Placed in the top left hand corner, the subject still seems to occupy the "best half" of the picture in a lateral sense. However, because the fisherman is now positioned right at the top of the frame there appears to be too much foreground with little to interest the eye.

3rd best image

In the 3rd best image, placing the subject in the centre of the frame has produced a static feel. While the basic elements are the same, the subject and background do not seem to work as well together. The attention of the viewer is now more inclined to be taken through the image to the background in the distance.

Least favoured image

Placing the subject in the right hand side of the frame looks odd and disjointed. The viewer is again distracted by the backgroundand is left wondering if there is anything of interest out of frame to the right.



Exercise: A sequence of composition.

I took my camera to the Destinations holiday exhibition at Earls Court hoping to catch a nice sequence there. I did struggle initially as everything appeared to be following a similar pattern at each stand. Eventually I was drawn into some interest at the Thai stand.

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

In the first four images we can see shoppers and prospective holidaymakers browsing the rails or discussing potential trips. After two or three minutes in one place they would move on leaving the area vacant and uninteresting.

I noticed a small crowd of people congregating around the Thai stand so made my way over, as depicted below in image 5.

Image 5

 

Image 6

Image 6 illustrates how I'd moved in closer to ascertain what was holding the small crowds attention. Clearly they were all captivated by something. Eager to find out what was happening I managed to squeeze my way around to the other side of the stand for a better view.

Image 7

Image 7 reveals that the crowd are watching a Thai sugar artist making flowers out of strands of sugar.

Image 8

Image 8 shows the level of interest generated by this activity. I composed the shot with the artist to the left to give illustrate the number of people who were watching.

Image 9

In image 9 the artist is putting the finishing touches to a flower he has just made with strands of sugar. A couple of young children are waiting expectantly!

Image 10

In image 10 one of the young girls gets lucky as the artist hands over the finished flower!

Image 11

I now decided to zoom in on the mans hands in image 11 as he prepared the ingredients for another piece of sugar artistry.

Image 12

Image 13

Image 12 shows the artist working his magic with strands of sugar. But something appears to be happening in the background too. A pair of traditional Thai dancers are preparing for a performance. In image 13 we can see the male dancer has started his routine amongst the (mostly) captivated spectators.

Image 14

Image 15

Image 14 shows the female dancer joining the performance. In image 15 I have zoomed in to illustrate the fine detail in her headwear, at the same time keeping the male dancer in the frame but using a wide aperture to keep the attention on the female.

Image 16

Finally, in image 16, the dancers finish their performance and the crowd dissipates.