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Framed

One of the singular things about photographs is that they represent a collection of elements that are framed by the photographer using a combination of a particular camera and lens. Strangely those things left out of the frame (either wholly or partially) have as big an influence on the composition of the final image as those that are included. Hmm...

As photographers we use the edges of the frame to delineate what's in our photos, what's out and what's cut off at the borders. This act of choosing is a major ingredient in image composition and a significant part of the critical "photographer's eye" that defines the good from the mediocre to the downright bad.

 

We place the frame over a portion of the "real" world we see in front of us and encapsulate the result within our image implying relationships between the elements within the frame that may well not really exist in the bigger picture. 

Compare the top image with third image below to see what a huge difference the choice of framing makes on the final image and the relationship between the elements contained within it - it is quite stark. What is interesting is how much emphasis this places on edges of the frame and how these edges themselves impact upon the shapes and forms that are delineated by them. See what a difference the objects around the edges of the third image make to its overall balance. Interesting!

Contrast the first two images with the bigger picture of the third; hardly the same subject really? The messiness of the detail in the third image makes you look to frame a tighter composition to gain dynamic visual impact and gives rise to IMO the best of the three, namely the second image from the top though the first image is interesting with the branch lower left pointing out of the picture.

 

Thus a critical aspect of photography is framing the subject to select what's in and out of our composition and it's impact upon the visual dynamics of the final image we create. Fascinating!

✧ Jokul Frosti ✧

A space containing the thoughts, experiences, photos and collected curiosities of a walkabout photographer with a snapshot style.