Ideas of Composition: Part 2

When last we met, you learned about 3 basic tools to include in your composition toolbox: Rule of Thirds, Symmetry and Balance, and Leading Lines. If you need a refresher, check out the article here.

Today we will be discussing how to use Curves, Rhythm and Pattern, and Framing to add impact to your images. These ideas often will make the viewer stop a little longer to study your image by showing motion and design elements that interest and intrigue. And isn't that what we want? To have our audience entranced by our images so that they will stay and interact with them for as long as possible?

Just like all composition ideas, these can be used in photos individually or in combination with others. Sometimes using two or more ideas together can create a higher interest or viewer impact. When you find your focal point or subject, play with the composition - look for leading lines that lead the eye to it especially if you place the subject using the rule of thirds. And how special will it look if those leading lines are also curving lines? So let's take a look at Curves, Rhythm and Pattern, and Framing.

CURVES

Similar to leading lines, using curves in your images help the viewer navigate the different elements of your images and leads them further into your photo. unlike leading lines,  curves add a sense of the dynamic - they suggest motion. Where a straight line appears static, a curve appears to glide through the scene in with grace and beauty. They can be the subject or lead the viewer to the subject or center of interest. Also similar to leading lines, curves can be apparent such at the curve in the above image that leads the viewer towards the brightly lit towers. Or they can be implied by the placement of objects within the frame.

Curves can also be the subject of your image. A simple arch of a tree branch or a series of arches leading you down a hallway. A bend of the river can lead you to the distant horizon or can invite you to sit on the bank to watch the water drift by. A Ferris Wheel or Merry-Go-Round captured with a slow shutter speed at night becomes curves and circles that embody the joys of childhood laughter. Ok, I'm waxing poetic here so let's move on.

When looking for curves to add to your images think of all the types of curves and you will begin to see them in your surroundings and compositions. One of the first you may think of is the C-curve which looks exactly like the letter C. Now rotate it 90 degrees either up or down. Now what do you have? An arch or a bowl. Can you think of scenes in your everyday life where you might find any of these? S-curves can be the most exciting as they lead you in and out of different scenic elements. Rivers bending through the landscape are great at showing us S-curves. And we can't forget about the simple circle or oval. A bit more static than an open curve, the circle or oval can help sort and order elements in your image as well as frame your subject. (more on that later)

RHYTHM & PATTERN

Rhythm and Pattern walk hand in hand with texture in photographs. Rhythm refers to how the eye moves through the image - how long it rests on an element before moving onto the next element. The elements are repetitive in nature yet not always the same size, shape, or color. Think of notes in a piece of music. Each note is distinct yet are similar especially when played by the same instrument. When strung together at different counts (length the note is held), they create rhythm and the basis of a piece of music. The same can be said with a photograph except now the eye has become the instrument and the elements of the image become the notes.

Enough visual notes and you begin to see a pattern which in music would become the final arrangement. In photography, they become the image. Many repeated patterns throughout the image and you begin to see texture. Abstract images play heavily with rhythm, pattern, and texture. The image above has a pattern that draws the eye through the scene. Although there isn't a defined subject, there is still interest in the play between gold and green, light and dark, reflected and real. Let your eye wander through the scene being mindful of the pauses and movement as your gaze takes you from break to break.

FRAMING

When we "frame up" an image, we tend to talk about laying out the elements of our scene within the borders of the image. We have a natural frame of what the camera will record on the sensor and write onto your SD card. But add a frame within that frame and you will find a way to direct your viewer to see almost exactly what you saw while in that moment. The frame itself can be the subject, but an even stronger use is to frame your subject. Making the viewer aware of the vast importance of your subject. When you frame an image and hang it on your wall, you are telling the world the importance of that photograph in your life - whether it's a photo of your children, a beloved pet, or a pretty scene from your last vacation - these photos that we put on display have the emphasis of being framed and are therefore important. The same can be said when you add a frame within your images - you are telling the viewer to "Look here. This is important."

A  frame can be quite literal such as a window or doorway. Or implied such as certain elements surrounding the subject. An arch of a tree branch embracing one side of your image can be a frame that directs the viewer's eye to reflect on the moss-covered rocks beyond. Billowing laundry hanging on a line can frame the laundress hanging a batch of freshly laundered linens. Look around you and see how much of the world you can see through windows and doors. Look through crowds of people and flowers to see beyond them, to something enticing, to something more.

You know have explored six composition rules. Your homework once again is to go out and play with each of these and combine them into something more. Don't worry about the test at the end of the day, as long as you go out and play, you'll pass.

Ideas of Composition: Part 1

We can talk about rules and guidelines, but when it comes to composition I like to talk about ideas. Thoughts on how to interpret a scene to help tell your story about the place. For landscape photographers, composition helps you to create a sense of order out of a chaotic world. Composition is the avenue the viewer uses to access the story you want to tell by identifying the elements of the story - the subject, the scene, and characters - in an easily accessible sequence within the frame of your camera. Ultimately we want viewers to stop and interact with our images, to feel at ease, to want to know more, to find a sense of understanding. The importance of composition can become overwhelming and is one of the concepts many photo students struggle with, but once you are well-acquainted with the ideas, they easier they are to see, work with, and master.

In this 3-part series, I will chat about 9 different ideas of composition. Each of these can stand alone in the image but are often combined. It is up to you as the photographer to figure out how best to use these ideas to convey your story. But play with each, learn how they work, how they interact, and how they look in your viewfinder. Give yourself assignments to look for and compose images using each of these ideas. Today we'll look at Subject Placement, Symmetry & Balance, and Leading Lines.

SUBJECT PLACEMENT or Rule of Thirds:

The Rules of Thirds is the most basic tool of composition. It's the tool that I tell my students to start out with when they see a subject because it breaks you of placing a subject smack dab in the middle of the image and it is a pleasing way for a viewer to read an image. It also adds a sense of motion or vitality even in a stagnant subject. You place the subject in the frame that allows the mind to give your subject room to move.

Think of your viewfinder. Now imagine a tic-tac-toe grid overlaid on it (some cameras actually have a function where you can display this).  When you line up your image, place the subject at or near one of the intersecting corners or if you have lines (horizon line or trees), place your dominant line along one of the grid-lines.

In the image above, the woman's glasses/eyes are in one of the grid intersections. Since I am photographing a person, her eyes are the primary point of interest even though you don't really see them here. That is a side note - when photographing humans or animals, their eyes are the most important element of the image - and one I will discuss in another blog. But back to the image above. Her eyes are located near a junction. Now look at her ear and shoulder - they are close to the left vertical grid-line. Her elbow and forearm are along the bottom horizontal line. Even though she is sitting, relaxing in an alpine meadow, she has room to move throughout the image. She looks as if she can get up and move about. The Rule of Thirds helps your mind give her this allowance.

So, when you arrive at a scene and are having trouble figuring out your composition, try the Rule of Thirds. It's a great starting point for both the scene and your mind. Once your brain is in the composition mode, other composition elements will begin to percolate. Maybe the Rule of Thirds is nice, but it just doesn't give you the feel you're experiencing. How about breaking the rule and trying Symmetry & Balance?

SYMMETRY and BALANCE

OK. Now that we have Rule of Thirds tucked away, let's throw it out the window. Not permanently, but Symmetry & Balance doesn't rely on the rule. They do work nicely together though. We all know that symmetry means that something looks the same either top to bottom or side to side. A mirror image so to speak. In fact reflections are great representations of symmetry. You could fold an image down the middle and it will look the same on either side of the fold. Reflections of mountains in lakes are a perfect example of symmetry.

Balance is where one side of the image is not a mirror reflection of the other side but the elements of one side are visually weighted the same as the other side. Think of your laptop - you can fold your laptop in half but one side is not a mirror reflection of the other side. One side is a screen the other side a keyboard, but visually they are the same size. If you are photographing a group of trees and there is one very large tree, try putting the tree in the middle of the frame. Then try putting it nearer one of the edges with a grouping of smaller trees on the other side of the frame. You can do this with any grouping of objects - one of my favorite images showing balance is looking down on a formal Victorian place setting with the plates, cups, and silver lined up. Those Victorians knew all about balance.

In the owl image, the image is mostly symmetrical. You could fold it vertically down the middle and the right side of the image would reflect the left side of the image. It is considered symmetrical in that regard. (Also notice the eyes are located along the upper horizontal line of our Rule of Thirds.) Now technically the left eye is slightly larger than the right but the right is in shadow which adds a visual weight. They look like they're the same size even though they really aren't.

LEADING LINES

Leading Lines is a favorite composition idea for almost every photographer I've talked to. Give someone a path into your image and they will gladly follow it. Leading lines is just that - a distinct line that leads your viewer into the image and takes them on a journey to the subject and story. Think of a path in the forest and how the curious will wonder where the path goes and what adventures it might hold. I can be as obvious as a roadway to the mountains, or implied by the gaze of a child looking in wonder at a bug on a flower. Our thought, as a viewer, is to follow.

You can find leading lines everywhere: roads, trails, fences, people standing in line, a pointing finger, rows of tulips. The list goes on as does the line in your image. Look around you, are there any lines your eye follows? That, my friend is a leading line. Test it out - how many leading lines can you find in the next couple of minutes?

While walking in the madrone forest of Miller Peninsula State Park property, I was fascinated by how the trees towered over my head. I wanted an image that would help the viewer feel the massive trees as they twisted into the sky.  Each trunk, the darkest at the bottom being the most prominent, all lead your eye to the same place - the treetops, their crown shyness, and the sky beyond.

Practice using these three ideas in the coming days, then return to find a few more composition ideas to play with.