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.
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