PART 1: Project: Looking through the viewfinder, Exercise - Fitting the Frame to the Subject

For this exercise, I chose Fraserburgh Lighthouse as my subject

First Photograph (Baseline Image)

This image has a number of compositional elements to it:

• The wall in the foreground leading to the background

• The two lighthouses

• The house in the background

• The sky and grass

In this image as it stands they compete for compositional attention, my initial instinct would be to crop at the right hand side to remove the house.

Second Photograph (Subject Filling frame)

With the lighthouse now filling the frame, it’s very clear that the lighthouse itself is now the main compositional element. So in a way the composition is simplified, however elements of the lighthouse itself now become compositional elements which weren't prominent in the earlier image:

• Window

• Lighthouse tower

• Shed and tank at the front

The sky becomes more of a backdrop than a strong compositional element.

In my view, this causes the viewer to consider the detail of the lighthouse and its structure in far more depth than before. The image is drawing attention to the lighthouse building itself rather than it’s situation and surrounding environment as the previous image.

Third Photograph (no edges of subject)

In this image, the viewer experiences the subject in a number of different ways from the previous images:

• The detail becomes more prominent and important i.e. the two windows, the orange door and the masonry

• The texture of the castle surface becomes more prominent.

• The viewer has no information on what is beyond the edges of the frame so will make assumptions. In this case, this could be a small part of a very large castle or other structure. This aspect can be taken advantage of in composing an image.

Alternative crops

This first alternative crop highlights the sky as an element and being a broad crop gives a panoramic feel to the image.

The second alternative crop emphasises the vertical nature of the two structures and it retains the foreground element adding depth but in cropping the wall is no longer a leading line and works better than the baseline image.

The third alternative crop isolates the main lighthouse but I think this one is less effective. Perhaps because it’s too narrow or maybe the foreground element has less impact.

The fourth alternative crop focuses on the light house and I’ve placed it in a third horizontally and vertically. I think this is a pleasing composition and the house to the left provides a nice balance.

For the fifth crop I’ve done the same with the other lighthouse but this one doesn’t work for me so well. There isn’t a balance and the image seems dull as a result.



Key Learning points from this exercise

• Be conscious of the number of compositional elements in your image as you shoot

• Framing impacts composition so needs to be considered during shooting, tight framing increases focus on the subject but doesn’t necessarily reduce the number of compositional elements, it just changes what the viewer focuses on.

• When the edges of a subject aren’t in the image then the viewer has to make assumptions, this can be used as an advantage particularly where large size is being emphasised

• Different crops can produce radically different images, each working or not working in their own way.