Keeping a viewer In the frame
A compositional frame helps keep a viewer from exiting your image and moving on to something else. Imagine that Figure 11-3 included space above the pier for your eyes to wander. This extra space surely would take you away from all that's happening beneath the pier.
Figure 11-3: The compositional frame in this image also is one of the strongest elements in the composition.
To successfully keep a viewer's attention through the use of a compositional frame, you need to seal off the edges of your image with elements that exist in the scene in a natural way that doesn't seem too obvious or forced. Your compositional frame should work in a way that presents the subject and the key elements of your image to a viewer. Most compositional frames are created with elements that are dark in tonality. An image with dark edges and a bright center invites viewers to look at what's in the center.
A compositional frame needs to add more interest to a scene by providing a unique and creative way of seeing it. Never allow it to distract from the subject or the scene. If you're using foreground elements to frame your scene, be sure not to block any important elements or details with the compositional frame. Choose a camera angle that reveals everything that's necessary to convey your message.
The image in Figure 11-4 combines multiple elements to create a compositional frame; the elements work together because they share a dark tone. The dark elements surrounding the subject make the lighter areas seem more inviting, providing a porthole for you to peer into. The dark subject (the bonsai tree) easily stands out against the light background, which
immediately draws your eyes in. As you look around the image, the pier and its pilings do their best to keep you from exiting by sealing the perimeter. In fact, the sunlit driftwood occupies the only area along the edge that invites your eyes to leave. This spot stands out and is right at the edge, which can be dangerous compositionally. In this case, though, the driftwood works with the pattern underneath the pier to bring you back into the image. Notice how the sunlight on the piece of wood creates two light areas separated by a dark strip. This pattern looks a lot like the underside of the pier; the similarities cause you to subconsciously compare the two, bringing you back into the scene for another look.
Figure 11-4: Compositional frames are designed to keep your eyes in the image.
Choosing between the Horizontal and Vertical Formats
If you're using a camera with a square format (or you intend to create an image that will be presented in a circle format or any other shape than the typical rectangle that's created by most digital SLR cameras), you don't have to worry about whether your images should be composed vertically or horizontally. However, because most cameras do produce images that have one long side and one shorter side, this decision has to be made more times than not. Digital point-and-shoot and SLR cameras, for instance, use a rectangular sensor that, unless you turn the camera from its natural upright position, is wider than it is tall. Many people forget that they can turn the camera, so they end up with a lot of horizontal images.
Always consider which format is most appropriate compositionally for a particular scene; doing so can sometimes determine how successfully your message comes across in an image. Until you get comfortable with vertical and horizontal formats, shoot scenes in both so you can later compare the two. Note what you like and dislike about each, and then determine why one works better than another in a specific situation.
Three different elements — the message, the subject, and the environment — can affect which format you choose for your image. I discuss each in the following sections.
Understanding how your message Influences which format to use
Your message relies on the format of your image in the same way that it relies on any of the other compositional techniques in this book. Visual changes occur when switching from a horizontal to a vertical format. Sometimes an image works much better as one or the other, and sometimes both formats seem to work equally well.
Here are some questions to ask that help determine which format best suits a scene you're photographing:
How is your subject going to fit into your frame? If you have a vertical subject, a vertical frame maximizes how much space that subject can take up in the frame. The same goes for a horizontal subject and a horizontal frame. Because people are vertical when they're standing or sitting upright, a majority of portraits are taken with the vertical format.
How are the elements in the scene arranged? Your subject may be vertical but the supporting elements are spread out along a horizontal area. You need to determine what's important to your message and how you can best fit it into your frame.
In Figure 11-5, both formats work well to display the scene, but they both affect the image's message in different ways. The vertical format in this case allowed me to give more of the frame's space to the subject than the horizontal format did. That's because the subject is vertical. Having the woman appear larger in the vertical frame caused the image to convey details about her and the dress she's modeling, with a moderate emphasis on the environment that surrounds her. Vertical images almost always are used in fashion and portrait photography unless the scene includes multiple subjects. In that case, a horizontal image may be required to fit everyone in.
Notice how the horizontal image in Figure 11-5 has less emphasis on the person and the dress and includes more detail in the environment. The trees to the left of the frame, which don't show up in the vertical composition, make the image less about the woman and more about the environment. Each composition works well in a different way: The vertical image may work on a magazine cover, in a catalog, or in a look book; the horizontal image is appropriate for a fashion editorial across a two-page spread.
Figure 11-5: Vertical and horizontal image comparison with a human subject.
Figure 11-6 shows two examples of a Miami cityscape image. In most cases, you would shoot a skyline in the horizontal format because of the natural horizontal layout of the scene. In this case, however, the late-evening sun and the city lights illuminate a colorful and cloudy sky. The sky is more interesting than the skyline itself, so the vertical composition is more effective for this scene. The vertical image gives a more complete composition of the light in the sky while providing a good representation of the downtown buildings.
Figure 11-7 shows an example in which the message is completely lost when the format is off. In the vertical version you get a basic idea of the building's architecture, and you get a small glimpse of the theater-style letter board. However, these details provide an unclear representation of who the man is. The horizontal image, on the other hand, reveals that the man is sitting on a playhouse. You can use this information to assume that he's an entertainer. The idea behind this image was to use photo-editing software to enter the man's name into the marquee as if the playhouse were presenting him.
Figure 11-6: Vertical and horizontal image comparison for a cityscape.
I could have changed my perspective in Figure 11-7 in order to create a composition that fit both the subject and the marquee into a vertical frame; however, I wouldn't have been able to achieve the lighting effect that I got in this image from the new camera angle that would have been required. (For more on perspective, flip to Chapter 8.)
