PART 1: Project: Dividing The Frame, Exercise: Balance

For this exercise I have looked at images not taken as part of TAOP, most were taken before I started the course.

Both lighthouse buildings are close enough together to be considered one element and I consider the other balancing element to be the sky on the left. The buildings carry a bit more weight for me:

The balance in this image is a bit more complex, I see it as the group of NYPD cops and their two cars. I think the cops carry more visual weight because our eyes are attracted to people first:

This image also has human interest but the figure is so small in the frame and his colours so muted compared to the ribbons I think he has less visual weight:

This is one of my favourite pre-TAOP images and analysing it in terms of balance maybe explains why. Again I think the figure carries more visual weight because of our visual interest in people. But the bicycles balance the figure in just the right proportion:

The balance in this image is more subtle, I think the two elements in balance are the buildings and the out of sight setting sun, both are fairly equal in visual weight and I think the sun being in the middle lessens it's impact:

This image also has a subtle balance I think it is the figure balanced by the cloud formation above him, again the figure has more visual weight:

Key Learning points:

My more succesful pre TAOP images appear to have balance but this seems to be more succesful compositionally when there is a proportionate visual weight between the two.

Balance can be in the vertical plane as well as the horizontal (and possibly diagonal?)

INTRO Project: Photographing Movement, Exercise: Panning with different shutter speeds

I again used passing cars for this exercise and panned with varying shutter speeds from 1 sec to 1/20 sec. At 1/20 there was a small mount of movement recordede but at 1/40 the effect was gone:

The image above is my favourite of this batch, for a mundane subject, the effect is quite satisfying - this one was taken at 1/2 second.

This was the first time I had tried panning and I found it a useful technique. Getting the right shutter speed is key and of course this is dependent on the speed of the subject.

PART 1: Project: Looking through the viewfinder, Exercise: Object in different positions in the frame

I took a number of pictures of the old Foghorn at Fraserburgh for this exercise. I took the photographs very quickly placing the foghorn in multiple positions in the frame without thinking about the compositional impact. The following are my thoughts on the compositional results on each one:

Photograph 1 – Centre of the Frame

Can’t say much about this one other than it is a baseline image for the rest. The eye centres on the subject and doesn’t move.

Photograph 2 – Off Centre Right

I think this is quite a pleasing composition, the off centre position opens up more of the sea and gives a feeling of looking out to the ocean. The eye seems to start right and then left out to sea.

Photograph 3 – Far Right

This image has a similar effect to the previous but less pronounced, it feels a bit clumsy and at the far edge the subject almost seems less important. The wall leading out to the sea seems to attract the eye more.

Photograph 4 Off Centre Left

As with Photograph 2, this is quite a pleasing composition and the foreground grass is emphasised more. The eye travels through the foreground grass, to the foghorn and then out to sea.

Photograph 5 – Far Left

I find this composition unsettling because the eye seems to naturally want to go from right to left and out to sea following the foghorn but in this image there is nowhere for it to go!

Photograph 6 – Off Centre Up

This composition doesn’t feel much different to the baseline image but the foreground grass is slightly more emphasised which leads the eye into the picture a bit more.

Photograph 7 – Far Up

This image leads the eye in the same way as photograph 6. Although it does feel like the foghorn is at the top of a pyramid.

Photograph 8 – Off Centre Down

Although the foghorn is centred I find this a nice composition, in this position the sky is emphasised which gives a placid feeling in this case.

Photograph 9 - Far Down

I find this composition clumsy looking, the wall has been cut off, there is too much plain sky and it feels accidental.

Photograph 10 – Off Centre Left and Down

This composition is also quite pleasing, the curve of the wall leads down quite nicely to the foghorn.

Photograph 11 Far Left and Down.

Surprisingly, I find this composition ok although I expected this subject positioning not to produce a good image. I think it has a similar effect to Photograph 10.

Photograph 12 - Off Centre Right and Down.

I like this composition but find the effect similar to photograph 2

Photograph 13 – Far Right and Down

As with photograph 11, I was surprised to like this composition. The positioning of the subject allows an expanse of sea and sky to be shown, more so than the other images. This gives a nice feeling of isolation emphasising the vastness of the ocean.

Photograph 14 – Off Centre Right and Up

In this image, the grass in the foreground comes into play a lot more as a compositional element providing depth and a balance to the foghorn.

Photograph 15 - Far Right and Up

The effect in this image is similar to photograph 14 but looks a bit more clumsy and is less effective. The distortion and blur of the lens at its extremities is also noticeable here.

Photograph 16 – Off Centre Left and Up

The effect in this image is similar to photograph 4

Photograph 17 – Far Left and Up

This image emphasises the grass far too much and the image has now become about the foreground grass with the foghorn as a background element.


Key Learning points from this exercise:


Arranging the subject positions in a matrix where succesful compositions are green and unsuccesful red (in my opinion) shows:

It's clear that there is a sweet zone around the off centre positions but it surprised me that the bottom three also all provided succesful compositions going against the often quoted rule of thirds. This shows to me that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to composition and what works is subjective. However placing subjects carelessly is not the answer, placement in the frame has a different effect and emphasises different things in the scene. So composition is about subject placement and understanding the effects of placement rather than being too hung up on rules.

A more practical point is that lenses are generally not at their best at the extermities of the image, so if the main subject is there then any lens imperfections will be more noticeable.

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.

Grand Mosque Stained Glass

Grand Mosque Stained Glass, originally uploaded by bryanhutch.

I was fortunate enough to visit Abu Dhabi on a recent business trip and had some time to spare. I visited the grand Mosque and took many images but I wanted to blog some reflections on this one.




Firstly, since carrying out the depth of field exercise in the earlier parts of the course I have been experimenting with focusing on different areas of the image for varying compositional effect. With this image I wanted two elements in the composition - the stained glass and the building in the distance. I tried focusing on each and this one gave the best effect. The building in the background is still very much part of the composition. I had a sequence of these shots with and without people but I think the two guys walking past add to the composition. I've also been noticing in many recent TV shows that the focus moves around depending on the character (or element) that is important at that time (been oblivious to this before TAOP and useful for the video mode of my D90!), so focus and sharpness are major components of composition.



Secondly I have been reading a lot of the work of one of my favorite present day photographers, David Duchemin in his ebook "Drawing the eye" he talks about visual mass and how he composes his images by thinking about which elements he wants the viewer to look at in which order and then uses "visual mass" to guide the viewer through. He says he doesn't do this totally consciously. I realized with this image I could analyse it in these terms - the main element is the stained glass, which is sharp and large in the frame so carries most visual weight. The second element is the people walking past (human interest carries visual mass) and the third is the mosque building in the background.



Of course, I didn't consciously think this through at the time. I just remember being aware that I wanted both the glass and the mosque building to be part of the composition and that people walking by seemed to give it more interest. It's pleasing that background reading and learning shows itself when shooting.