Composition and all that Arty stuff - discussion thread.

Ricardo222 wrote in post #16530509
That's lovely Elrey. My first thought was that the lad could have been placed more to the right to reduce that large area of black, but then I realised that, as is often the case, that whatever "rule" that was suggesting that to me would be wrong in this case. Anyway, for what it's worth I like it as it is...the dark adds to the little man's sense of aloneness. BTW, that light you've captured is just great!

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16530537
I agree....

Thanks. I agree. Usually you wouldn't want the subject in the dead center but in this case I liked it. The dark area kinda pushes your eye to the subject and the window sill leads to the subject and I like the framed woods in the window and I couldn't have drawn a better look on his face.

elrey2375 wrote in post #16530551
Thanks. I agree. Usually you wouldn't want the subject in the dead center but in this case I liked it. The dark area kinda pushes your eye to the subject and the window sill leads to the subject and I like the framed woods in the window and I couldn't have drawn a better look on his face.

It works here very well. The lines on the widow frame lead you to the subject. The mood is peaceful and the design, colors and subject placement all support that.

To me, this (Elrey's last) is a great example of effectively breaking a rule of composition. The subject is dead center, but because most of the rest of the discernible subject matter in the frame is on the left, it gives the sense that the subject is in the left third of the picture.
Very dark portions of images always seem to me to take up far more space than they actually do. Is that universally true, or is it just my perception?
Really nice shot, Elrey. Did you desaturate the woods outside the window? The paler colors really help the mood of the shot.

Matt M. wrote in post #16531467
To me, this (Elrey's last) is a great example of effectively breaking a rule of composition. The subject is dead center, but because most of the rest of the discernible subject matter in the frame is on the left, it gives the sense that the subject is in the left third of the picture.
Very dark portions of images always seem to me to take up far more space than they actually do. Is that universally true, or is it just my perception?
Really nice shot, Elrey. Did you desaturate the woods outside the window? The paler colors really help the mood of the shot.

Matt, I agree and the landscape outside the window could easily become a distraction but not in this case. Dark spaces tend to recede and can help you create a sense of weight in some cases. Nothing looks more white until its contrasted or placed against black.

Rules Thats why the only thing in my opinion you should think about is what I've said many times in this thread and others. Something that a great photographer once told me and it could be said for any great creative piece; music, literature, photography. painting, etc. Either everything in the piece is helping the piece and if it's not helping then it's hurting the piece. Nothing should be just there.

I to think this is a strong image.

It's been a few days without a new composition to chew on. Here you go.

IMAGE LINK: http://s641.photobucke​t.com …1613_zps1b3dd46​f.jpg.html

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OhLook wrote in post #16541124
It's been a few days without a new composition to chew on. Here you go.

IMAGE LINK: http://s641.photobucke​t.com …1613_zps1b3dd46​f.jpg.html

Here's the original before cropping. Resized but no other PP.

IMAGE LINK: http://s641.photobucke​t.com …orig_zpsf7c3ef0​6.jpg.html

I think you need to simplify your composition and observation of light.

Like Allen says, look at the frame and question each element, does it add or subtract.

For me this is way too busy and I am not sure what is the dominant theme.

Way too much visual information.

As an exercise I would start taking individual objects and composing them, controlling the frame and most importantly what light is in the frame.

This seems to be going down the "no horizontal lines" path some more. I like the colors, and the diagonals lead my eye effectively around the page. The roll of burlap is breaking up the straight lines nicely, and there are some good textures on the right side of the frame.
The shadows are distracting, rather than contributing to the composition, possibly because there are too many shadows, or because the dark ones aren't dark enough to make them a strong element. The multiple light sources and the plastic packaging give the shot sort of an industrial feel - like it was shot under rows of fluorescent lights in a retail store. I think the feel of the shot changes drastically without the plastic. The large number of elements in the frame make me want to create a story for the image, but there's no distinct subject, so it doesn't come together.
Thanks for another interesting shot, and thanks for bringing this thread out of the doldrums. I really need to start contributing images here if I'm going to keep offering opinions.

mtimber wrote in post #16541788
For me this is way too busy and I am not sure what is the dominant theme. . . .

As an exercise I would start taking individual objects and composing them, controlling the frame and most importantly what light is in the frame.

This was a found scene in a back room of a small store. Things for sale were displayed in another part of the room. This part contained leftover wrappings and goods that hadn't been put away. I didn't own anything there and couldn't change the arrangement or the lighting.

There's no theme that relies on the content, unless it's "a moment in the life of a store manager," which doesn't exactly have Page One appeal. (My earlier-posted image with a bicycle isn't "about" the bicycle, either.) What interested me was more like an abstraction formed by colors, shapes, and textures. The uncropped shot shows the original busyness I eliminated.

Matt M. wrote in post #16542367
This seems to be going down the "no horizontal lines" path some more.

True, it doesn't have horizontals, but I hadn't yet thought about their absence, only about the lines and angles that were present.

That's the kind of thing that made me pause in front of those objects. Pure compositional elements that came from things piled up haphazardly.

I'd have preferred that the plastic be gone.

Does anyone besides me anthropomorphize objects? I kind of see the roll of rough brown fabric and the green box as looking at each other.

A body of work from 2013 looking back on the past year.

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I really like the striped dress in the cross-walk. I'm assuming that was staged since those lines simply don't occur while we are sitting there with camera.

Not staged Randy. I did see her coming down the street about a half a block away and thought if she didn't turn and went straight across the street I might have a shot. She didn't and I got lucky to catch her in the right stride.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16543813
Not staged Randy. I did see her coming down the street about a half a block away and thought if she didn't turn and went straight across the street I might have a shot. She didn't and I got lucky to catch her in the right stride.

To see something like that coming and capture it is amazing vision! I'm impressed!

RandyMN wrote in post #16543817
To see something like that coming and capture it is amazing vision! I'm impressed!

Thanks and I'm constantly working on it.

I do tend to look for things like repeating shapes.

The stride of the guy in Band Box Cleaners is repeated in the signage (2 drummers at the top) and the circles of the wheel in the windows and address.

I also think I have a bit of humor in my work to. The bald guy, all the faces, and he's in front of a wig store.

The same photo (the stripes) would be my favorite of this bunch. The guy in front of the costume shop is pretty humorous, being mimicked by the mummy.
You do some fantastic work, Allen. Thanks for sharing.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16543822
Thanks and I'm constantly working on it.

I do tend to look for things like repeating shapes.

The stride of the guy in Band Box Cleaners is repeated in the signage (2 drummers at the top) and the circles of the wheel in the windows and address.

I also think I have a bit of humor in my work to. The bald guy, all the faces, and he's in front of a wig store.

Ahh, Allen...there's just one rule that you don't seem to break...all your work is interesting to me. Well done for 2013 and keep them coming in 2014!