Category Archives: Project 2: Visual skills

Exercise 1.4 – Frame

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Brief:

Using the viewfinder grid display in your camera, take a number of shots, composing each shot within a single section of the grid.  Ignore the rest of the frame:

With working full time at this time of year, I have struggled to get out to take photographs during daylight hours, so I decided to take a series of photos for this exercise using the cushions in my lounge.

Exercise 1.4 - Framing.jpg

Framing using small sections of the Viewfinder Grid

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In these images, I have used the center of the yellow flower as the focal point for most of the photographs.  I have placed them in this grid collage roughly in the area of the viewfinder in which I composed each of the images.

None of the images have been cropped and have had minimal editing.

Technical Information:

Because of low light, I used a camera mounted on a tripod so that I could use a slower shutter speed  in order to maintain sharpness and reduce noise. The majority of shots were taken at f/8, except for number 7 (see below), which was taken at f/2.8.  Shutter speed was around 1/4 sec or 1/5 sec, ISO 400 and metering set to matrix.

D810_viewfiender

My camera’s viewfinder grid, looks like this

I used the viewfinder and the focus select button to make sure I was focusing in the area of the grid I wanted to compose.

In framing each image I found I was doing more than just moving the ‘point’ around the frame, but was really trying to make a composition within a small part of the screen.  I tried to disregard the rest of the frame as directed, which is quite difficult to do, but still produced some surprises when reviewing the images. So I obviously managed to do it.

Image Evaluation:

Exercise 1.4 - Framing_reviewed.jpg

evaluation of how my eyes travelled around the image

Observations:

  • There are both ‘points’ and ‘lines’ in each image.
  • The eye isn’t always drawn to the focal point of the image, i.e. No 3
  • For images 10, 14 and 16; having only concentrated on the composition in part of the image, areas of distraction have been missed which take the viewers eyes away from the focal point.  However, for image 16 this has added a dimension to the story of the picture that none of the others do.
  • No 2 has strong lines which take your eyes into and around the image.  When I took this I was only looking at the sofa at the top of the image, so was pleasantly surprised by this image.

Reflection:

Trying different areas of the frame to compose the photograph, almost forces you to look at things from different angles and give very different images of the same subject, which makes for more interesting results.

I have used settings that mean that pretty much everything in the frame is in focus.  I would like to try this again, using a shallower depth of field to see how this effects the results.

Exercise 1.4 – research

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Research :

researching what is the difference between framing and cropping:

why-framing-should-be-your-first-priority-and-cropping-second

Difference Between Framing and Cropping

Framing is the arrangement of elements within the confines of the imaging device. In other words, you have a rectangular surface area (film or digital sensor) that is going to image your photograph. The act of framing is you making a determination as to how you are going to fill that surface area with your subject. So, what is cropping?

Cropping is a tool meant to fine-tune an image in post-production. With film it’s done using an enlarger and with digital it’s done by cutting down the size of the resolved image.

From this I understand, that in order to maximise the full potential of your camera, you should fill as much of the frame as possible with what you actually want in the finished image.  That means that you should take a little more time, wherever you can to compose the image in the frame.

As I have a 36 megapixel camera and I know that I am sometimes lazy about moving closer or composing, because I know have plenty of  resolution and can crop what I don’t want.  However, I am now thinking how much sharper my photos could be if I make more effort to frame the photos properly.

For Victor Burgin (b. 1941), composition is ‘a device for retarding…recognition of the frame’ (Burgin, 1980, p.56). Looking back at some of your compositional exercises from earlier in Part One, would you agree that in the less successful shots there is the feeling of a ‘cropped view’ rather than a ‘transparent window to the world’?

Alfred Stieglitz’s (1864–1946) cloudscapes, the Equivalents, illustrate Burgin’s point. They don’t appear to be composed at all; instead they’re ‘equivalent’ in that any section of the sky would seem to do as well as any other. Because there’s no sense of composition our eye is drawn to the edges, to the frame. The sense of a cropped rather than a composed view is what makes the Equivalents so uniquely photographic – ‘a naked function of the cut’ (Foster et al., 2004, p.147).

I think this means that if an image is composed well, the viewer will be engaged with the contents of the image, whereas if it isn’t the viewers eyes are likely to go to the edges of the frames, wondering what they’re not seeing.

 

Exercise 1.3 (1) & (2) Line

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Exercise 1.3 (1) Line
Take a number of shots using lines to create a sense of depth. Shooting with a wide-
angle lens (zooming out) strengthens a diagonal line by giving it more length within
the frame. The effect is dramatically accentuated if you choose a viewpoint close to
the line.

Exercise 1.3.1-croppedExercise 1.3 (2) Line
Take a number of shots using lines to flatten the pictorial space. To avoid the effects
of perspective, the sensor/film plane should be parallel to the subject and you may
like to try a high viewpoint (i.e. looking down). Modern architecture offers strong
lines and dynamic diagonals, and zooming in can help to create simpler, more
abstract compositions.

Exercise 1.3.2-croppedReview your shots from both parts of Exercise 1.3. How do the different lines relate
to the frame? There’s an important difference from the point exercises: a line can
leave the frame. For perpendicular lines this doesn’t seem to disrupt the composition
too much, but for perspective lines the eye travels quickly along the diagonal and
straight out of the picture. It feels uncomfortable because the eye seems to have no
way back into the picture except the point that it started from. So for photographs
containing strong perspective lines or ‘leading lines’, it’s important that they lead
somewhere within the frame.

 

Exercise Review:

There is definitely a different feel to both sets of photographs. In exercise 1.3 (1), I tried placing the leading lines in different parts of the frame and I noticed that in most of them, I have left space around the line which emphasizes it, whereas, in exercise 1.3 (2) many the lines are terminated at the edges of the photograph.  The flat views are great for detail shots or strong regular shapes.

The hypothesis above states that ” So for photographs containing strong perspective lines or ‘leading lines’, it’s important that they lead somewhere within the frame”

To test this I took a photo where there appeared to be a definite ‘thing’ at the end of the ‘lead line’ namely two traffic cones.  In the second photograph I took them out of the picture, to see if it did indeed affect the viewers comfort.  Personally, I didn’t think it made much difference, but this may be because the line extends almost to the other side of the frame anyway.

_DJF1817_DJF1817a

Although the photo below was taken with flat lines in mind, those being the different horizons between land, sea and sky, the addition of the people and boat, give it perspective which create an invisible line.  So for the image to have worked as a flat photo, I would have to taken it without either of those elements in it.

_DJF1809-Edit-Edit

Here the people and ship have been removed to show how the flat image would look.

_DJF1809-Edit-Edit1

Exercise 1.2 – Point

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Exercise 1.2 – Point 

  1. Take two or three photographs in which a single point is placed in different parts
    of the frame.

 

_DJF8632

Image 1: – ISO 200, 85 mm, f/4, 1/320 sec

The point I chose to photograph was the small black hollow in the stalk of this ‘munchkin’ pumpkin.

I started by placing the point directly in the centre of the image. Something most people try to avoid, I think it works for this image.

 

_DJF8615-2

Image 2: – ISO 200, 85 mm, f/4, 1/160 sec

The second photograph is zoomed in much closer, but still uses the same ‘point’ but in the bottom right hand corner on the intersection of the thirds.

This is something I tend to use a lot in my compositions so it feels comfortable to me.

_DJF8627

Image 3: – ISO 200, 85 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec

The final point is again on the right of the picture.  Again I feel more comfortable placing my focal point on the right.

Is this because I read left to right?

The point seems clearer in the first two images. The point is formed by the whole end of the stalk which appears lighter.

 

 

I was interested to discover if this still works without the contrasting colours and therefore, I have converted the same images to black and white to see if that alters the feel of the composition.

This was a simple black and white conversion in Lightroom, but I did add a little contrast and brightened the oranges.

Logic to evaluation:  How can you evaluate the pictures? How do you know whether you’ve got it right or not? Is there a right place and a wrong place for the point? For the sake of argument, let’s say that the right place shouldn’t be too obvious and that the point should be clear and easy to see. As there’s now a ‘logic’ to it, you can evaluate your composition according to the logic of the point.

Using the ‘logic’ given above I would evaluate the photos as follows:

Image 1: The ‘point’ is directly in the centre of the image, the colour surrounding it and the raidial lines on the pumpkin draw your eye towards it.   The foliage around the pumpkin also appears to be circular, although on the black and white version the whites on the left of the photo are more distracting.  I would evaluate this is a successful composition.

Image 2: The ‘point’ is on intersection of the bottom third and right third.  It is surrounded by a block of colour which draws the eye to the darker colour in the centre of it. So again I would evaluate this as a successful composition.

Image 3: The ‘point’ is not in an specific place, but I would estimate it to be in a quarter way down the photograph on the right hand side. Although the point is very small in this photo, and there are other elements such as a large plant in the bottom left corner, your eyes still settle on the stalk in the middle of the pumpkin. It is also the most in focus element in the photograph. The single Ivy to the left of the pumpkin, is a bit distracting though.  I would evaluate this photo as mostly successful.

It is very illuminating to see that the same point of interest can be captured in may different ways and each tells a different story even though you are looking at the same thing.

2. Take a number of images in which a point is placed in relationship to the frame

Staying with the pumpkin idea, I made a series of photos where the point was place in different places in relation to the frame.  I also chose to change the angle and plane of some of the photos.

pumpkins contact sheet.jpg

the ‘Point’ in relation to the frame

I reviewed all of the photos with a view to observing the way my eye ‘scans’ the surface of the image.

Noting how:
• a point attracts attention out of proportion to its size
• the eye looks for connections between two points
• placing a point close to the edge seems to animate both the point and the frame.

Deb’s ‘Scan’ of the photos
Ralph’s ‘scan’ of the photos

As a comparison to my results, I asked my husband to also undertake the exercise, having not seen the photos before. This was to see if my knowledge of the photos effected the way I scanned the photos.

In general both results are very similar, we found that:

  • bright highlights draw the eye first
  • the ‘point’ was the first or second point of view in the majority of cases.
  • other elements in the image can either lead they eye to the point or become a distraction.

I also looked at some photos from the BBCs Week in Pictures page.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-41776819 to see if they contained a point and whether it’s placement had an impact on the image:

PhotoScan

Exercise 1.2 – Point – research

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Exercise 1.2 – Point – research

“The point is the most fundamental design element. It has to be small within the
frame and its position is generally more important than its form (see the example of
the white polystyrene cup underneath the chair opposite).”

So the first thing I want to understand is the meaning of the word ‘Point‘ in the statement above.

point

student image from cg_ph4eyv_240117

As you review your photographs, observe the way your eye ‘scans’ the surface of the
image. Note how:
• a point attracts attention out of proportion to its size
• the eye looks for connections between two points
• placing a point close to the edge seems to animate both the point and the frame.

 

from:    http://www.gdbasics.com/html/point/point.html

Point A point marks a position in space. In pure geometric terms, a point is a pair of x, y coordinates. It has no mass at all. Graphically, however, a point takes form as a dot, a visible mark. A point can be an insignificant fleck of matter or a concentrated locus of power. It can penetrate like a bullet, pierce like a nail, or pucker like a kiss. A mass of points becomes texture, shape, or plane. Tiny points of varying size create shades of  gray.

https://creativemarket.com/blog/10-basic-elements-of-design

 

https://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/6-elements-of-design-for-striking-photographs–photo-2574