Part One - Guidelines for Good Composition
by Chuck Gardner
6) Keep the viewer inside the frame:
 The final bit of advice with regard to leading lines is avoid leading
the viewer's eye straight out of the frame. The same caveat applies for
tonality. The ideal situation composition-wise is when the eye is drawn first
via brightness to the center of interest, is then drawn by leading lines and
tonality to subtle details, then back to the center of interest by a leading
line, then back in a circle to the subtle details. When that happens the
photograph literally comes alive with what can be best described as dynamic
symmetry.
If you have bright area at the edge of the frame it will draw the viewer's eye and lead it right out of the frame. In this photo the overhanging leaves create a dark frame around the center of interest and block the bright distracting sky on the right. The strong horizontal line of the red outrigger lead the eye to the right, but the two people on the beach, who are a subtle secondary center of interest, keep the eye from being pulled out of the frame by the bright highlight in the water. The slight darkening at the bottom keeps the eye from wandering off the bottom. 
When shooting landscapes, include objects in the foreground, middle, and
distance to create a dark frame around the center of interest and add
perspective and depth to the photograph. Crop out any bright distracting objects when shooting, or burn them in when printing or editing in Photoshop. When a broad expanse of light area at the top and sides is unavoidable (e.g., the sky in landscapes ) use darker matting around the photo to frame it. When matting for framing use a neutral matte color significantly darker that the center of interest. A great technique for color photos is to use a narrow (no more than 1/ 8 inch) color underlay which matches one of the colors in the center of interest. For example if there is a purple tone in the center of interest, use a thin, matching color underlay. It will draw the viewers eye to that color in the center of interest and help keep the eye in the frame. Goto Next Section - Lighting > Goto < Previous Page Goto Class Outline Goto super.nova.org my home page. |