Balancing figure and space
As we already know, the difference in weight and significance could vary dramatically between the elements of each image. I am including some images below that helped me to explore this in more detail and to learn how to control them.
All of the images in this section were taken on Columbia Road in London.
Images 1 and 2 essentially present the same setting; what is different is the position of a young lady who is browsing at the second hand book stall. Image 1 showing her standing at the further end of the stall so our attention switches from the boy with the camera back to the girl and then to the man in a blue shirt just behind her. Her dominating position in Image 2 grabs our attention straight away, it is her eyes and her face expression that hold our attention and don't let us go. This approach makes for a much stronger human element and is capable of creating a personal connection with the picture.
Image 1
Images 3 - 6 present some snapshots of the slowly passing Sunday market human traffic. The first image shows three ladies roughly in the middle part of the picture. They are at a distance. All we see is a glimpse of the three small figures - more like three blotches of colour, otherwise featureless and unrecognisable. It would be hard to even notice them if they aren't pointed out. We pay much more attention to the figures at the front - the lady with a lovely fresh bouquet of flowers and a young couple on the right.
Image 3
The image below shows two of the three ladies from the previous picture at much closer quarters. Their face expressions are difficult to see as they seem partially obscured but we could guess their intentions and the purpose of their visit. The lady with the bouquet is also closer to us so our attention is decided between them.
Image 4
Image 6
Finally, we see the third lady from Image 3 appearing here, even closer that the two young girls in the picture above. What 'pulls the weight' in this photo is her eye contact and the proximity of her face.
Similarly, the set of three images below explores the changes of impact/ weight of a figure of a young girl as she is gradually moving away from us.
Actually, in this example, I don't see as much difference as in the images discussed before. In all three photos, the lonely figure draws our attention and helps us to interpret the picture and the setting. The fact that the difference is not as dramatic is probably due to our inability to see and read her face and body language.
Image 7
Image 8
Image 9
The lessons learnt from this exercise:
- The importance of people's face expressions and body language - the more (and the closer) we are able to see, the more attention we pay to them.
- human figures moving away do not have the same level of impact as their eyes and body language are obscured.
- To control the weight of the different elements of an image consider:
- various focal lengths
- exposure setting (brightness, etc)
- waiting for the subject to come closer
- framing and compostion.
As we already know, the difference in weight and significance could vary dramatically between the elements of each image. I am including some images below that helped me to explore this in more detail and to learn how to control them.
All of the images in this section were taken on Columbia Road in London.
Images 1 and 2 essentially present the same setting; what is different is the position of a young lady who is browsing at the second hand book stall. Image 1 showing her standing at the further end of the stall so our attention switches from the boy with the camera back to the girl and then to the man in a blue shirt just behind her. Her dominating position in Image 2 grabs our attention straight away, it is her eyes and her face expression that hold our attention and don't let us go. This approach makes for a much stronger human element and is capable of creating a personal connection with the picture.
Image 1
Image 2
Images 3 - 6 present some snapshots of the slowly passing Sunday market human traffic. The first image shows three ladies roughly in the middle part of the picture. They are at a distance. All we see is a glimpse of the three small figures - more like three blotches of colour, otherwise featureless and unrecognisable. It would be hard to even notice them if they aren't pointed out. We pay much more attention to the figures at the front - the lady with a lovely fresh bouquet of flowers and a young couple on the right.
Image 3
The image below shows two of the three ladies from the previous picture at much closer quarters. Their face expressions are difficult to see as they seem partially obscured but we could guess their intentions and the purpose of their visit. The lady with the bouquet is also closer to us so our attention is decided between them.
Image 4
Image 5. Here we get even closer to the ladies and our attention is now undecidedly on them. We could see their faces clearly, read their emotions and body language, make a guess about their education, class and upbringing, their age, social standing and their possible occupations. We could think about the fashionable garments they are wearing and look at the mobile phone that one of them is using. We draw so much information about them from this picture that this cheeky and enjoyable deduction exercise may occupy us for sometime!
Image 6
Finally, we see the third lady from Image 3 appearing here, even closer that the two young girls in the picture above. What 'pulls the weight' in this photo is her eye contact and the proximity of her face.
Similarly, the set of three images below explores the changes of impact/ weight of a figure of a young girl as she is gradually moving away from us.
Actually, in this example, I don't see as much difference as in the images discussed before. In all three photos, the lonely figure draws our attention and helps us to interpret the picture and the setting. The fact that the difference is not as dramatic is probably due to our inability to see and read her face and body language.
Image 8
Image 9
The lessons learnt from this exercise:
- The importance of people's face expressions and body language - the more (and the closer) we are able to see, the more attention we pay to them.
- human figures moving away do not have the same level of impact as their eyes and body language are obscured.
- To control the weight of the different elements of an image consider:
- various focal lengths
- exposure setting (brightness, etc)
- waiting for the subject to come closer
- framing and compostion.
