MICHAEL FREEMAN

THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S EYE

MICHAEL FREEMAN
THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S EYE
Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos

AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON

NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
 CONTENTS
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 (ORIZONTAL LINES  0HOTOGRAPHS TOGETHER
$ESIGNER 3IMON 'OGGIN  6ERTICAL LINES  0OST PRODUCTION
$ESIGN !SSISTANT +ATE (AYNES  $IAGONAL LINES  3YNTAX
$IGITAL POST PRODUCTION 9UKAKO 3HIBATA  #URVES
 %YE LINES  )NDEX
0RINTED AND BOUND IN #HINA
 4RIANGLES  !CKNOWLEDGMENTS  "IBLIOGRAPHY
 #IRCLES AND RECTANGLES
 6ECTORS
 &OCUS
 -OTION
 -OMENT
 /PTICS
 %XPOSURE
INTRODUCTION

“ …how you build a picture, what a picture consists of,

how shapes are related to each other, how spaces are
filled, how the whole thing must have a kind of unity.” 0!5, 342!.$

0 hilosophical, lyrical, sometimes obscure

commentaries on how photographs are made
and what they mean are thick on the ground,
vital, but the best it can do is to help realize ideas
and perception. Photographers have always had
a complex and shifting relationship with their
Germany in the 1920s, talking about color in art,
told his students: “If you, unknowing, are able to
create masterpieces in color, then unknowledge
usually by non-photographers. Not that there equipment. In part there is the fascination with is your way. But if you are unable to create
is anything at all wrong with the perceptive the new, with gadgets, with bright, shiny toys. masterpieces in color out of your unknowledge,
outsider’s view; indeed, the distance of this kind At the same time there is, at least among those then you ought to look for knowledge.” This
of objectivity brings new, valuable insights. who are reasonably self-confident, a belief that applies to art in general, including photography.
Roland Barthes even held his non-understanding their innate ability overrides the mere mechanics In shooting, you can rely on natural ability or on
of photographic processes (“I could not join the of cameras. We need the equipment and yet are a good knowledge of the principles of design. In
troupe of those…who deal with Photography- cautious, sometimes even dismissive about it. other graphic arts, design is taught as a matter
according-to-the-Photographer”) as an advantage One of the things that is clearly needed for of course. In photography it has received less
in investigating the subject (“I resolved to start successful photography is a proper balance in this attention than it deserves, and here I set out to
my inquiry with no more than a few photographs, conflict. Nevertheless, there have been very few redress some of this lack.
the ones I was sure existed for me. Nothing to do attempts in publishing to deal comprehensively A relatively new element is the rapid shift
with a corpus...”). with composition in photography, as opposed to from film-based photography to digital, and
This book, however, is intended to be the technical issues. This is a rich and demanding this, at least in my opinion, has the potential
different, to explore the actual process of taking subject, too often trivialized even when not to revitalize design. Because so much of the
photographs. I think I’d like to call it an insider’s ignored outright. Most people using a camera image workflow between shooting and printing
view, though that smacks of hubris, because I’m for the first time try to master the controls but is now placed on the computer in the hands of
drawing on the experience of photographers, ignore the ideas. They photograph intuitively, the photographer, most of us now spend much
myself included, at the time of shooting. A liking or disliking what they see without stopping more time looking at and doing things to images.
great deal goes on in the process of making an to think why, and framing the view in the This alone encourages more study, more analysis
exposure that is not at all obvious to someone same way. Anyone who does it well is a natural of images and their qualities. Moreover, digital
else seeing the result later. This will never prevent photographer. But knowing in advance why some post-production, with all its many possible
art critics and historians from supplying their compositions or certain combinations of colors adjustments of brightness, contrast, and color,
own interpretations, which may be extremely seem to work better than others, better equips restores to photographers the control over the
interesting but not necessarily have anything to any photographer. final image that was inherent in black-and-white
do with the circumstances and intentions of the One important reason why intuitive rather film photography but extremely difficult in color.
photographer. What I will attempt to do here is to than informed photography is so common is This comprehensive control inevitably affects
show how photographers compose their images, that shooting is such an easy, immediate process. composition, and the simple fact that so much
according to their intentions, moods, and abilities, Whatever the level of thought and planning can be done with an image in post-production
and how the many skills of organizing an image that goes into a photograph, from none to increases the need to consider the image and its
in the viewfinder can be improved and shared. considerable, the image is created in an instant, possibilities ever more carefully.
The important decisions in photography, as soon as the shutter release is pressed. This
digital or otherwise, are those concerned with means that a picture can always be taken casually
the image itself: the reasons for taking it, and and without thought, and because it can, it often
the way it looks. The technology, of course, is is. Johannes Itten, the great Bauhaus teacher in

6 ).42/$5#4)/. ).42/$5#4)/. 7
 0 HOTOGRAPHS ARE CREATED WITHIN A
SPATIAL CONTEXT AND THAT CONTEXT IS
THE VIEWFINDER FRAME 4HIS MAY BE CARRIED
USED FOR LATER CROPPING ,ARGE FORMAT
FILM SUCH AS X INCH AND X INCH IS
LARGE ENOUGH TO ALLOW CROPPING WITHOUT
EDGES ASSUME A CONSIDERABLE IMPORTANCE AS
OBJECTS MOVE INTO FRAME AND IMMEDIATELY
INTERACT WITH THEM 4HE LAST CHAPTER IN THIS
THROUGH UNCHANGED TO THE FINAL IMAGE MUCH LOSS OF RESOLUTION IN THE FINAL IMAGE BOOK 0ROCESS DEALS WITH MANAGING THIS
WHETHER PRINT OR ON SCREEN OR IT MAY BE AND IS ALSO OFTEN CROPPED PARTICULARLY IN CONSTANTLY CHANGING INTERACTION BETWEEN
CROPPED OR EXTENDED )N WHICHEVER CASE COMMERCIAL WORK .OW DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY VIEW AND FRAME EDGES )T IS COMPLEX EVEN
THE BORDERS OF THE IMAGE NEARLY ALWAYS ADDS ITS OWN TWIST TO THIS AS STITCHING WHEN DEALT WITH INTUITIVELY )F THE SUBJECT
A RECTANGLE EXERT STRONG INFLUENCES ON BECOMES MORE WIDELY USED FOR PANORAMAS IS STATIC LIKE A LANDSCAPE IT IS EASY TO SPEND
WHAT IS ARRANGED INSIDE THEM AND OVER SIZED IMAGES SEE PAGES    ENOUGH TIME STUDYING AND EVALUATING THE
4HERE IS AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION )N TRADITIONAL SHOOTING TO THE FINAL FRAME 7ITH ACTIVE SUBJECTS HOWEVER THERE
NEVERTHELESS BETWEEN COMPOSING COMPOSITION PHOTOGRAPHY THE FRAME PLAYS IS NOT THIS PERIOD OF GRACE $ECISIONS ABOUT
PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE FRAME AS THEY ARE A DYNAMIC ROLE AND ARGUABLY MORE SO COMPOSITION WHATEVER THEY ARE MUST OFTEN
INTENDED TO BE AND PLANNING AHEAD TO THAN IN PAINTING 4HE REASON IS THAT WHILE BE TAKEN IN LESS TIME THAN IT TAKES FOR THEM
EITHER CROP OR EXTEND THE FRAME -OST A PAINTING IS BUILT UP FROM NOTHING OUT OF TO BE RECOGNIZED AS SUCH
MM FILM PHOTOGRAPHY HAS BEEN PERCEPTION AND IMAGINATION THE PROCESS OF &ACILITY AT USING THIS FRAME DEPENDS
CONCERNED WITH TIGHT FINAL COMPOSITION PHOTOGRAPHY IS ONE OF SELECTION FROM REAL ON TWO THINGS KNOWING THE PRINCIPLES OF
AT THE TIME OF SHOOTING AND AT TIMES THIS SCENES AND EVENTS 0OTENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHS DESIGN AND THE EXPERIENCE THAT COMES

#(!04%2 
HAS LED TO A CULTURE OF DEMONSTRATING THE EXIST IN THEIR ENTIRETY INSIDE THE FRAME EVERY FROM TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS REGULARLY 4HE
FACT BY SHOWING THE REBATES THE FRAME TIME THE PHOTOGRAPHER RAISES THE CAMERA TWO COMBINE TO FORM A PHOTOGRAPHER´S
EDGES OF THE FILM IN THE FINAL PRINT°A AND LOOKS THROUGH THE VIEWFINDER )NDEED WAY OF SEEING THINGS A KIND OF FRAME
WAY OF SAYING ±HANDS OFF² ONCE THE SHUTTER IN VERY ACTIVE FAST SHOOTING SUCH AS STREET VISION THAT EVALUATES SCENES FROM REAL LIFE

4(% )-!'% &2!-%

HAS BEEN RELEASED 3QUARE FORMAT FILM AS PHOTOGRAPHY THE FRAME IS THE STAGE ON AS POTENTIAL IMAGES 7HAT CONTRIBUTES TO
WE´LL SEE ON PAGES   IS LESS AMENABLE WHICH THE IMAGE EVOLVES -OVING AROUND A THIS FRAME VISION IS THE SUBJECT OF THE FIRST
TO COMFORTABLE COMPOSITION AND IS OFTEN SCENE WITH THE CAMERA TO THE EYE THE FRAME SECTION OF THIS VOLUME

4(% )-!'% &2!-% 9

FRAME DYNAMICS

4 he setting for the image is the picture frame.

In photography, the format of this frame
is fixed at the time of shooting, although it is
4(% %-049 &2!-%
*UST THE EXISTENCE OF A PLAIN RECTANGULAR FRAME
INDUCES SOME REACTION IN THE EYE 4HIS IS ONE
SCHEMA OF HOW THE EYE MIGHT REACT THERE ARE
always possible later to adjust the shape of the
OF COURSE MANY  )T BEGINS IN THE MIDDLE DRIFTS
frame to the picture you have taken. Nevertheless, UP AND LEFT THEN BACK DOWN AND RIGHT WHILE AT
whatever opportunities exist for later changes SOME POINT°EITHER THOUGH PERIPHERAL VISION OR
(see pages 58-61), do not underestimate the BY FLICKING°REGISTERS THE ±SHARP² CORNERS 4HE
influence of the viewfinder on composition. DARK SURROUND SEEN THROUGH A CAMERA VIEWFINDER
EMPHASIZES CORNERS AND EDGES
Most cameras offer a view of the world as a
bright rectangle surrounded by blackness, and
the presence of the frame is usually strongly felt. $)!'/.!, 4%.3)/.
Even though experience may help you to ignore 4HE DYNAMIC MOVEMENT IN THIS WIDE ANGLE
!,)'.-%.4 PHOTOGRAPH COMES FROM THE INTERPLAY OF DIAGONALS
the dimensions of the viewfinder frame in order
/NE SIMPLE DEVICE FOR WITH THE RECTANGULAR FRAME !LTHOUGH THE DIAGONAL
to shoot to a different format, intuition will work ORIGINATING AN IMAGE LINES HAVE AN INDEPENDENT MOVEMENT AND DIRECTION
against this, encouraging you to make a design THAT HAS PROMINENT LINES IT IS THE REFERENCE STANDARD OF THE FRAME EDGES THAT
that feels satisfying at the time of shooting. IS TO ALIGN ONE OR TWO OF ALLOWS THEM TO CREATE TENSION IN THIS PICTURE
The most common picture area is the one THEM WITH THE FRAME
)N THE CASE OF THIS OFFICE
shown at the top of this page: that of a horizontal
BLOCK THE ALIGNMENT OF
frame in the proportions 3:2. Professionally, this is TOP EDGES AVOIDS THE
the most widely used camera format, and holding UNTIDINESS OF TWO CORNER
it horizontally is the easiest method. As an empty AREAS OF SKY !LIGNMENT
frame it has certain dynamic influences, as the LIKE THIS EMPHASIZES THE
GEOMETRY OF AN IMAGE
diagram shows, although these tend to be felt
only in very minimal and delicately toned images.
More often, the dynamics of lines, shapes, and
colors in the photograph take over completely.
Depending on the subject and on the
treatment the photographer chooses, the
edges of the frame can have a strong or weak
influence on the image. The examples shown
here are all ones in which the horizontal and
vertical borders, and the corners, contribute
strongly to the design of the photographs.
They have been used as references for diagonal
lines within the pictures, and the angles that
).4%23%#4).' &/2 !"342!#4)/.
have been created are important features.
"REAKING THE NORMAL RULES A PANORAMIC FRAME IS
What these photographs demonstrate is that USED HERE TO EXAGGERATE AN ABSTRACT TREATMENT
the frame can be made to interact strongly with OF THE BACK OF AN ADOBE CHURCH IN .EW -EXICO
the lines of the image, but that this depends on ! CONVENTIONAL APPROACH WOULD HAVE BEEN TO SHOW
the photographer’s intention. If you choose to THE TOP OF THIS BUILDING AND THE LOWER BUTTRESSING
DOWN TO THE GROUND 4HE SUBJECT HERE HOWEVER IS
shoot more loosely, in a casual snapshot fashion,
NOT A LITERAL VERSION OF THE CHURCH BUT THE GEOMETRY
the frame will not seem so important. Compare AND TEXTURES OF THE UNUSUAL PLANES 3QUEEZING THE
the structural images on these two pages with less IMAGE AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM REMOVES SOME OF
formally composed picture taken on a Calcutta THE REALISM AND COMPELS THE EYE TO CONSIDER THE
street on page 165. STRUCTURE OUT OF CONTEXT

10 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 11

FRAME SHAPE

4 he shape of the viewfinder frame (and LCD

screen) has a huge influence on the form that
the image takes. Despite the ease of cropping it
The reason for these proportions is a matter
of historical accident; there are no compelling
aesthetic reasons why it should be so. Indeed,
The net result is that a horizontal frame
is natural and unremarkable. It influences the
composition of an image, but not in an insistent,
later, there exists a powerful intuitive pressure more “natural” proportions would be less outstanding way. It conforms to the horizon,
at the time of shooting to compose right up to elongated, as evidenced by the bulk of the ways in and so to most overall landscapes and general
the edges of the frame. Indeed, it takes years of which images are displayed—painting canvases, views. The horizontal component to the frame
experience to ignore those parts of an image that computer monitors, photographic printing paper, encourages a horizontal arrangement of elements,
are not being used, and some photographers book and magazine formats, and so on. Part of naturally enough. It is marginally more natural to
never get used to this. the historical reason was that 35mm film was place an image lower in the frame than higher—
Most photography is composed to a few long considered too small for good enlargements, this tends to enhance the sensation of stability—
rigidly defined formats (aspect ratios), unlike and the elongated shape gave more area. but in any particular photograph there are likely
in other graphic arts. Until digital photography, Nevertheless, its popularity demonstrates how to be many other influences. Placing a subject
by far the most common format was 3:2—that easily our sense of intuitive composition adapts. or horizon high in the frame produces a slight
of the standard 35mm camera, measuring Overwhelmingly, this format is shot downward-looking, head-lowered sensation,
36x24mm—but now that the physical width horizontally, and there are three reasons for this. which can have mildly negative associations.
of film is no longer a constraint, the majority The first is pure ergonomics. It is difficult to For naturally vertical subjects, however, the
of low- and middle-end cameras have adopted design a camera used at eye level so that it is just as elongation of a 2:3 frame is an advantage, and the
the less elongated, more “natural” 4:3 format that easy to photograph vertically as horizontally, and human figure, standing, is the most commonly
fits more comfortably on printing papers and few manufacturers have even bothered. SLRs are found vertical subject—a fortunate coincidence,
monitor displays. The question of which aspect made to be used for horizontal pictures. Turning as in most other respects the 2:3 proportions are
ratios are perceived as the most comfortable them on their side is just not as comfortable, and rarely completely satisfactory.
is a study in its own right, but in principle, most photographers tend to avoid it. The second
0!./2!-!
there seems to be a tendency toward longer reason is more fundamental. Our binocular
4HE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE HORIZON LINE AND THE FORMAT MAKES A
horizontally (the increasing popularity of wide- vision means that we see horizontally. There is no HORIZONTAL FRAME NATURAL FOR MOST LONG SCENIC VIEWS 4HIS IS THE FIRST
screen and letterbox formats for television), but frame as such, as human vision involves paying SIGHT FOR VISITORS OF "LENHEIM 0ALACE /XFORD AND ITS LANDSCAPED GROUNDS
(5-!. 6)3)/.
less elongated for vertically composed images. attention to local detail and scanning a scene CHRISTENED AT THE TIME IT WAS BUILT ±THE FINEST VIEW IN ALL OF %NGLAND²
/UR NATURAL VIEW OF THE WORLD IS BINOCULAR AND
rapidly, rather than taking in a sharp overall view 4HE LENGTH IS NECESSARY FOR THIS CONTROLLED SCENE BUT DEPTH IS NOT
HORIZONTAL SO A HORIZONTAL PICTURE FORMAT SEEMS
THE 3:2 FRAME all at once. Our natural view of the world is in ENTIRELY NORMAL 4HE EDGES OF VISION APPEAR VAGUE
This is the classic 35mm frame, which has been the form of a vague-edged, horizontal oval, and BECAUSE OUR EYES FOCUS SHARPLY AT ONLY A SMALL ANGLE
AND THE SURROUNDING IMAGE IS PROGRESSIVELY INDISTINCT 4(% 34!.$!2$  &2!-%
transferred seamlessly to digital SLRs, creating a standard horizontal film frame is a reasonable
.OTE HOWEVER THAT THIS IS NOT CONVENTIONAL BLURRING )TS EXTRA LENGTH WHEN COMPARED TO THE  FRAME OF CONSUMER CAMERAS
in the process a sort of class distinction between approximation. The final reason is that 3:2 AS EDGES CAN BE DETECTED WITH PERIPHERAL VISION AND MOST MONITOR DISPLAYS MAKES THIS ASPECT RATIO INTERESTING TO WORK
professional and serious amateur photographers proportions are often perceptually too elongated 4HE LIMITS OF THE VIEW HERE SHOWN IN GRAY ARE ALSO IN 4HERE IS ALWAYS A SENSE OF HORIZONTALITY )N THIS PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ,ORD
on the one hand, and everyone else on the other. to work comfortably in portrait composition. NORMALLY NOT PERCEIVED JUST IGNORED -AYOR´S 3HOW IN THE #ITY OF ,ONDON THE BASIC STRUCTURE DEPENDS ON A
BALANCE BETWEEN THE SOLDIER IN THE LEFT FOREGROUND AND THE ORNATE COACH
BEHIND WITH A CLEAR LEFT TO RIGHT VECTOR AND A DISTINCT FEELING OF DEPTH

!30%#4 2!4)/
K_`j`jk_\n`[k_$kf$_\`^_kiXk`ff]Xe`dX^\fi[`jgcXp%?\i\#
]fiZfej`jk\eZp#n\Xjjld\k_\n`[k_`jcfe^\i#lec\jji\]\ii`e^
kfXjg\Z`]`Zm\ik`ZXc`dX^\%Jf#XjkXe[Xi[JCI]iXd\`j*1)#
YlkZfdgfj\[m\ik`ZXccp`j)1*%

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4:3 AND SIMILAR FRAMES 3(//4).' 6%24)#!,,9 
8j\ogcX`e\[#k_\i\`jXjc`^_keXkliXci\j`jkXeZ\ Xe[k_\dfi\\cfe^Xk\[k_\]fidXk#k_\cfn\i#
Traditionally, and once again with digital
kfg_fkf^iXg_`e^m\ik`ZXccp#\m\ek_fl^_gi`ek gifgfik`feXk\cp#k_\fYa\Zk^f\j%K_\eXkliXc
photography and on-screen presentations, these d\[`XXZklXccp]Xmfik_`jfi`\ekXk`feY\ZXlj\f] k\e[\eZpn`k_X[fd`eXekj`e^c\jlYa\Zk`jkfglj_
“fatter” frames are the most “natural” image k_\efidXc]fidXkf]dX^Xq`e\jXe[Yffbj]fi k_\]fZljf]Xkk\ek`fe[fnenXi[#Xe[[\dfejkiXk\j
k_`ji\Xjfe#gif]\jj`feXcg_fkf^iXg_\ijljlXccp Xe`eZc`eXk`fekfXmf`[k_\lgg\igXikf]Xm\ik`ZXc
formats. In other words, they are the least insistent
dXb\Xe\]]fikkfj_ffkm\ik`ZXccpXjn\ccXj ]iXd\%Fe\\ogcXeXk`fe]fik_`j`jk_Xk#Xjn`k_
and most accommodating to the eye. In the days _fi`qfekXccpY\ZXlj\f]Zc`\ek[\dXe[j %K_\ _fi`qfekXc]iXd\j#k_\i\`jXeXjjldgk`fek_Xkk_\
when there was a rich variety of large-format film, eXkliXce\jjf]_fi`qfekXcm`j`fei\`e]fiZ\jk_\ Yfkkfdf]k_\g`Zkli\`jXYXj\1Xc\m\cjli]XZ\fe
\p\Ëj[\j`i\kfjZXe]ifdj`[\kfj`[\#Xe[X n_`Z_fk_\ik_`e^jZXei\jk%K_`jnfibjlei\dXibXYcp
formats included 5×4-inch, 10×8-inch, 14×11-
Zfii\jgfe[`e^i\clZkXeZ\kfjZXelgXe[[fne% n`k_*1+gifgfik`fej#Ylkk_\)1*gifgfik`fejf]Xe
inch, and 8½×6½-inch. There is now a reduced  N`k_Xefe$\cfe^Xk\[jlYa\Zk#dfjkg\fgc\ JCI]iXd\Xi\Xc`kkc\\oki\d\#Xe[k_`jf]k\ec\Xm\j
choice, but the proportions all work in much the k\e[kfgcXZ\`kY\cfnk_\Z\ek\if]k_\]iXd\# k_\lgg\igXikf]k_\g`Zkli\le[\i$lj\[%
same way, and equally for rollfilm formats, digital
backs, and lower-end digital cameras.
In terms of composition, the frame dynamics
impose less on the image, because there is less of
a dominant direction than with 3:2. At the same
time, that there is a distinction between height
and width is important in helping the eye settle
into the view, with the understanding that the
view is horizontal or vertical. Compare this with
the difficulties of a square format, which often
suffers from lack of direction. As noted opposite, 37)4#().' /2)%.4!4)/. 6%24)#!, 35"*%#43 ). (/2):/.4!, &2!-%3
these proportions are very comfortable for most )N THESE PHOTOGRAPHS OF A MAN !LTHOUGH THIS FORMAT IS NOT VERY WELL SUITED TO
SLEEPING ON THE +HYBER RAILWAY VERTICAL SUBJECTS LIKE STANDING FIGURES AND TALL
vertically composed images.
THE NATURAL BALANCE OCCURS WHEN BUILDINGS INERTIA OFTEN ENCOURAGES PHOTOGRAPHERS
HIS HEAD IS PLACED SLIGHTLY LOW IN TO MAKE IT WORK AS WELL AS POSSIBLE /NE TECHNIQUE IS
THE VERTICAL SHOT AND TO ONE SIDE TO OFF CENTER THE SUBJECT LIKE THIS SO AS TO PERSUADE
IN THE HORIZONTAL THE EYE TO MOVE HORIZONTALLY ACROSS THE FRAME

,/7 ). 4(% &2!-% 34!.$).' &)'52%

4HE EYE IS NATURALLY RELUCTANT TO SCAN UP AND 4HE STANDING HUMAN FIGURE IS ONE OF SEVERAL
DOWN AND THE BOTTOM EDGE OF A PICTURE FRAME CLASSES OF SUBJECT WHICH SUITS A VERTICAL FORMAT
REPRESENTS A BASE THUS GRAVITY AFFECTS VERTICAL /THERS INCLUDE TALL BUILDINGS TREES MANY
37)4#().' /2)%.4!4)/.  COMPOSITION 3UBJECTS TEND TO BE PLACED BELOW PLANTS BOTTLES AND DRINKING GLASSES DOORWAYS
3EEN VERTICALLY FROM THE AIR THE THE CENTER THE MORE SO WITH TALL FORMATS AS IN AND ARCHWAYS
MULTI HUED 'RAND 0RISMATIC THIS SHOT OF A "ANGKOK RIVER BOAT THE DIRECTION
3PRING IN 9ELLOWSTONE .ATIONAL OF MOVEMENT ALSO SUGGESTED A LOW PLACEMENT 
0ARK NATURALLY FITS A HORIZONTAL
FRAME .EVERTHELESS A VERTICAL !. 5.).3)34%.4 &2!-%
WAS ALSO NEEDED FOR POSSIBLE FULL   AND SIMILAR ±FATTER² FRAME SHAPES TEND TO
PAGE USE 3WITCHING TO VERTICAL DOMINATE COMPOSITION LESS THAN  OR PANORAMAS
MEANT PLACING THE SUBJECT LOWER 4HERE IS USUALLY MORE FLEXIBILITY AT THE TIME OF
IN THE FRAME AND FINDING ANOTHER SHOOTING )NDEED THIS HORIZONTAL OF !NGKOR 7AT
ELEMENT ANOTHER SPRING TO FILL IN #AMBODIA WAS EVENTUALLY CROPPED IN AT THE
THE VOID ABOVE SIDES AND USED FOR A BOOK COVER

14 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 15

 0!44%2.3 7)4(/54 ")!3 35"$)6)$).' 4(% 315!2%
0ATTERNS AND OTHER FORMLESS 4HE EQUAL DIMENSIONS OF A SQUARE FRAME MAKE
ARRANGEMENTS FIT WELL INTO A IT SUSCEPTIBLE TO SYMMETRICAL DIVISION AS THESE
SQUARE FORMAT BECAUSE THE FRAME EXAMPLES SHOW 6ERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL LINES
HAS NO DIRECTIONAL EMPHASIS ENHANCE THE SQUARE´S STABILITY DIAGONALS ARE
5NDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES IT MORE DYNAMIC
DOES NOT INTRUDE ON THE IMAGE
(%N`k_`kjjkife^cp`dgc`\[Z\ek\iXe[\hlXcj`[\j#X
jhlXi\]fidXkkXb\jm\ip\Xj`cpkfXiX[`XcZfdgfj`k`fe%
IX[`XcXe[fk_\iZfdgc\k\cpjpdd\ki`ZXcjlYa\ZkjXi\
gXik`ZlcXicpn\cc$jl`k\[kfk_\g\i]\Zk\hl`c`Yi`ldf]
k_\jhlXi\%K_\`igi\Z`j`fe`jZfdgc\d\ekXip#Ylk\oXZk
Xc`^ed\ek`j\jj\ek`Xc%

)%K_\i\`jXgi\Z`j\i\cXk`fej_`gY\kn\\ek_\jhlXi\
Xe[Z`iZc\%=`kk`e^fe\ZfeZ\eki`ZXccp`ek_\fk_\i
\dg_Xj`q\jk_\j\ejXk`fef]]fZljXe[ZfeZ\ekiXk`fe
fek_\Z\ek\i%
( +
*%8eXkliXcjlY[`m`j`fe`jYpm\ik`ZXcXe[_fi`qfekXc
c`e\j#Xck_fl^_k_\\]]\Zk`j\oki\d\cpjkXk`Z%

+%8dfi\[peXd`Z#Ylkjk`ccZ\ek\i\[#jlY[`m`j`fe
`jYpd\Xejf][`X^feXcjXe[[`Xdfe[j%

SQUARE they have no alignment. Most things are longer with a square frame, and the symmetry of the
While all other photographic frames are in one direction than in another, and it is natural sides and corners keeps reminding the eye of
rectangular, with varying proportions, one is to align the main axis of an image with the longer the center.
fixed: the square. A few film cameras have this sides of a rectangular picture frame. Hence, most Occasionally a precise symmetrical image is
unusual format—unusual in that very few images broad landscape views are generally handled as interesting; it makes a change from the normally
lend themselves well to square composition. In horizontal pictures, and most standing figures imprecise design of most photographs. However,
general, it is the most difficult format to work as verticals. a few such images quickly become a surfeit. It
with, and most design strategies for a square The square, however, has absolutely no bias. is fairly normal for photographers who work
frame are concerned with escaping the tyranny Its sides are in perfect 1:1 proportions, and its consistently with a square-format camera to
of its perfect equilibrium. influence is a very precise and stable division imagine a vertical or horizontal direction to the
We ought to look a little more closely at of space. Here lies the second reason for the picture, and to crop the resulting image later.
why most subjects are ill-suited to a square unsympathetic nature of square proportions: they Practically, this means composing fairly loosely in
arrangement. In part, this has to do with the axis impose a formal rigidity on the image. It is hard the viewfinder, to allow a certain amount of free
of the subject. Few shapes are so compact that to escape the feeling of geometry when working space either at the sides or at the top and bottom. *

16 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 17

STITCHING AND EXTENDING

$ igital stitching software has evolved into

a widely used tool for creating images
that are larger and wider. These are actually
Panoramas have a special place in photography.
Even though proportions that exceed 2:1 seem to
be extreme, for landscapes and other scenic views,
the image. All of this depends, however, on the
photograph being reproduced fairly large and
viewed from sufficiently close.
two separate functions. Shooting a scene with they are actually very satisfying. To understand This virtue of the panorama—to draw the
a longer focal length in overlapping frames is why, we have to look again at the way human viewer in and present some of the image only to
one technique for achieving higher resolution vision works. We see by scanning, not by taking in the peripheral vision—is regularly exploited in
and so larger printed images—an equivalent a scene in a single, frozen instant. The eye’s focus the cinema, where an elongated screen is normal.
of large-format photography. From the point of attention roams around the view, usually very Special projection systems, such as Cinerama
of view of this book, however, the interest is in quickly, and the brain builds up the information. and IMAX, are premised on the realistic effect
changing the shape of the final image. This tends All of the standard photographic formats—and of wrapping the image around the viewer. Still
to be panoramic, as long horizontal images have most painting formats, for that matter—are panoramic images have a similar effect.
an enduring appeal for reasons we’ll go into areas that can be absorbed in one rapid scanning The frame can also be extended in post-
shortly, but there is also complete freedom, as the sequence. The normal process of looking at the production in other ways, by stretching (using
examples here show. What is often overlooked picture is to take in as much as possible in one warping, distortion, and other geometric software
is the effect this stitching has on the process prolonged glance, and then to return to details that tools, and even by cloning). Certain images lend
of shooting, because it demands anticipation seem interesting. A panorama, however, allows the themselves to being extended in one or more %80%2)-%.4).' 7)4( 4(% &2!-%
of how the final image will look. There is no eye to consider only a part of the image at a time, directions—for instance, extending the sky ! SEQUENCE OF FIVE OVERLAPPING FRAMES WAS SHOT FOR
THIS VIEW OF WHITE CHALK CLIFFS NEAR $OVER %NGLAND
preview at the time, and this is a situation new but this is by no means a disadvantage, because it upwards, or widening the background in a studio
.ORMALLY STITCHED PANORAMAS ARE SHOT WITH THE
to photography—that of having to imagine what replicates the way we look at any real scene. Apart still-life. Magazine layouts often suggest this, CAMERA CAREFULLY LEVELLED SO THAT THE HORIZON WILL BE
the final image and frame shape will be. It gives from adding an element of realism to the picture, although there are ethical considerations with this STRAIGHT 0OINTING THE CAMERA DOWN PREVENTS THIS
stitched, extended images an unpredictability this slows down the viewing process, and, in kind of manipulation, in that the final image is BECAUSE OF THE STRONG CURVED DISTORTION BUT HERE
which can be refreshing. theory at least, prolongs the interest of exploring not necessarily as it was seen. IT WAS PUT TO DELIBERATE USE 4HE ARC SHAPED FRAME
WAS CUT AT THE END OF THE PROCESS

 0!./2!-! 34)4#().' &/2 #/.42/,

)N THIS STITCHED PANORAMIC !.$ %.,!2'%-%.4
VIEW MUCH OF THE SKY AND &OR A LARGE SCALE IMAGE AND
THE FOREGROUND ARE REMOVED EXTRA WIDE COVERAGE A
LEAVING THE EYE FREE TO FOLLOW PERSPECTIVE CONTROL SHIFT LENS
THE RHYTHM OF THE HORIZON WAS ROTATED FRAME BY FRAME
LINE AND THE INTERACTION OF AT FULL SHIFT 3TITCHING THESE
CLOUD AND MOUNTAIN 4REATED  IMAGES IS IN A SENSE THE
LIKE THIS A LARGE NUMBER OF DIGITAL EQUIVALENT OF LARGE
NATURAL LANDSCAPES FIT VERY FORMAT PHOTOGRAPHY .ORMALLY
COMFORTABLY INTO STRETCHED THIS REDENTED SHAPE WOULD BE
PROPORTIONS %IGHT OVERLAPPING CROPPED BUT HERE IT HAS BEEN
HORIZONTAL IMAGES WERE SHOT LEFT NOT ONLY TO SHOW THE
PROCESS BUT TO BE PART OF THE
FORM OF THE IMAGE

18 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 19

CROPPING

# ropping is an editing skill that was highly

developed during the days of black-and-
white photography, lapsed somewhat in the color
3#/44)3( ,!.$3#!0%
)N THE CASE OF THIS MISTY LANDSCAPE ON THE )SLE OF
3KYE LET´S LOOK AT THE KIND OF DECISIONS INVOLVED
4HE ORIGINAL FRAMING HAS CLEARLY BEEN CHOSEN TO
slide era, and is now revived fully as an integral
MAKE SOMETHING OF THE RIPPLED CLOUDS AT THE TOP
part of preparing the final digital image. Even OF THE FRAME AND THE HORIZON HAS BEEN PLACED
when the framing as shot is judged to be fine, CORRESPONDINGLY LOW 4HIS IN ITSELF REDUCES OUR
technical adjustments such as lens distortion OPTIONS A LITTLE
correction will demand it.
Cropping is one way of reworking the image
well after it has been shot; an option for deferring
design decisions, and even of exploring new ways
of organizing an image. Unlike stitching, however,
it reduces the size of the image, so demands a
high resolution to begin with. In traditional
enlarger printing, the enlarging easel itself acts
as a cropping guide, but it may be easier to
experiment first with L-shaped cropping masks
on film (on a light box) or a contact sheet. With
digital images (or scanned film), the process
is infinitely easier and clearer, using software
cropping tools.
It is important not to think of cropping as
a design panacea or as an excuse for not being
decisive at the time of shooting. The danger of
having the opportunity to alter and manipulate
a frame after it is shot is that it can lull you into
imagining that you can perform a significant
proportion of photography on the computer.
Cropping introduces an interruption in the
process of making a photograph, and most
images benefit from continuity of vision.

./24(%2. 4(!) ,!.$3#!0%

&OR THIS 4HAI LANDSCAPE THE SEVERAL VIABLE ALTERNATIVES
(%G\i_Xgjk_\]`ijk#fYm`fljZifg`jkf`^efi\k_\ )%E\ok#n_Xk`]n\kipkfZifg`eXe[jk`cci\kX`e
ARE SHOWN TOGETHER SUPERIMPOSED ON A BLACK AND _`^_Zcfl[jXe[ZfeZ\ekiXk\`ejk\X[fek_\d`jk$ df[\iXk\_fi`qfekXcgifgfik`fej6Le]fikleXk\cp#
WHITE VERSION OF THE IMAGE 4HE ABANDONED TEMPLE j_ifl[\[hlXc`k`\jf]k_\ifZbpg`ccXij%Efn#feZ\n\ `kj\\djk_Xk`]k_\i\`jkfY\Xepj`^e`]`ZXekXi\Xf]
ITSELF MUST REMAIN THE DOMINANT ELEMENT IN THE _Xm\[`jg\ej\[n`k_k_\Zcfl[j#k_\i\Xi\efc`d`kj jbp#`kj_flc[^fi`^_kkfk_\\o`jk`e^kfgf]k_\]iXd\# *%@jXm\ik`ZXcZifggfjj`Yc\6
IMAGE°THERE IS NOTHING ELSE°AND THE CHOICES ARE kf_fn]Xi[fnen\ZXeZifgk_\kfgf]k_\]iXd\%@e j`dgcp`efi[\ikfgifm`[\jfd\kfe\Xe[n\`^_k`e >`m\ek_XkXelgi`^_k`dX^\_Xj
IN THE PLACEMENT OF THE HORIZON LINE AND IN WHETHER k_`j`ejkXeZ\#@_Xm\Z_fj\ekfi\m\ij\k_\gifgfik`fe k_XkgXikf]k_\g`Zkli\%:ifgg`e^`eXkk_\j`[\j[f\j \m\edfi\e\\[f]k_\kfeXc
OR NOT TO INCLUDE THE CLUMP OF BAMBOO ON THE LEFT f]cXe[kfjbp#Xe[kfkXb\k_\fggfikle`kpkfdXb\X m\ipc`kkc\kf\e_XeZ\k_\`dgfikXeZ\f]k_\g`ccXij% n\`^_kf]k_\Zcfl[j#k_\Y\jk
gXefiXdX%K_`j`jXm`XYc\Xck\ieXk`m\kfk_\fi`^`eXc K_\fecpi\XjfeXYc\fgk`fen`ccY\kfZifgk_\Yfkkfd# k_Xkn\ZXe[f`jkfZifg`eXkk_\
0LACING THE HORIZON LOW PURPLE AND GREEN FRAMES
g`Zkli\#Xck_fl^_`ki\Xccpe\\[jkfY\Zfej`[\iXYcp Xe[^f]fiX_fi`qfec`e\k_XkXcdfjkZf`eZ`[\jn`k_ j`[\j%K_\Z_f`Z\jXi\`e]fid\[
GIVES A MORE SPACIOUS OPEN FEELING AND EMPHASIZES
\ecXi^\[]fik_\Y\jkgfjj`Yc\\]]\Zk% k_\YXj\f]k_\g`Zkli\% Ypj\c\Zk`e^k_\dfjk`ek\i\jk`e^
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE SKY SUNRISE AND SOME
j_Xg\jfek_\_fi`qfe%
THREATENING CLOUDS  2AISING THE HORIZON LINE RED
FRAME DRAWS ATTENTION TO THE RICE IN THE FIELD !
VERTICAL CROP BLUE ALSO NEEDS A SIGNIFICANT AREA OF
RICE TO KEEP IT ANCHORED

20 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 21

FILLING THE FRAME

) n order to be able to talk about the different

graphic elements in composition, and to
look at the way they interact, the first thing we
6!29).' 4(% 3):% ). 4(% &2!-%

must do is to isolate them, choosing the most

basic situations for composing pictures. A little
caution is needed here, because in practice there
is usually a multitude of possibilities, and a single,
isolated subject is something of a special case. The
examples here may seem a little obvious, but at
this stage we need clear, uncluttered examples.
The most basic of all photographic situations
is one single, obvious subject in front of the
camera, but even this presents two options. We
have an immediate choice: whether to close
right in so that it fills up the picture frame, or
to pull back so that we can see something of its
surroundings. What would influence the choice?
One consideration is the information content of (%K_\jlZZ\jjf]k_`jj_fk[\g\e[jXcdfjk\ek`i\cpfeg\i]\Zkk`d`e^Xjk_\]\iip *%8[`]]\i\ekb`e[f]Zfek\okj_fk%Dfi\`e]fidXk`m\k_XeXkkiXZk`m\`e`kj[\j`^e#
the picture. Obviously, the larger the subject is XggifXZ_\jk_\ZXd\iX%8ck_fl^_`kdXpefkY\`dd\[`Xk\cpfYm`flj#dlZ_f]k_\ k_`jj_fnjljc\jjXYflkk_\]\iipYlkdfi\XYflkn_\i\`k`jXe[n_Xk`k[f\j%
[\j`^eXgg\Xcf]k_`jg_fkf^iXg_c`\j`ek_\Xcdfjk\oXZk]`kf]k_\YfXkËjj_Xg\kfk_\
in the photograph, the more detail of it can be *,dd]iXd\%8c`kkc\\Xic`\i#n`k_dfi\nXk\ij_fn`e^Xifle[k_\\[^\j#nflc[_Xm\
shown. If it is something unusual and interesting, Y\\edfi\fi[`eXip2X]iXZk`fecXk\inflc[_Xm\cffb\[c`b\Xd`jkXb\%K_\]\iip`e
this may be paramount; if very familiar, perhaps to begin with. Nevertheless, a big subject filling '5).%! 7/2- &),4%23 k_`jg`Zkli\]\\cjcXi^\2`k_Xjgi\j\eZ\%

not. For example, if a wildlife photographer has the frame of a big picture usually acquires force 4WO SOUTHERN 3UDANESE BOYS USING PLASTIC FILTERS TO
DRINK FROM A POND *UST FITTING WITH LITTLE TO SPARE LIKE
tracked down a rare animal, we would reasonably and impact. Moreover, as the examples here show,
THIS USUALLY MEANS QUICK WORK WITH EITHER FEET OR A
expect to see as much of it as possible. there can also be a satisfying precision in just
ZOOM LENS )N THIS CASE THERE IS ROOM TO SPARE AT THE
Another consideration is the relationship matching subject to frame—particularly if the TOP AND BOTTOM BUT THIS USEFULLY SHOWS THE UNIFORM
between the subject and its setting. Are the image has to be composed rapidly. COVERING OF DUCKWEED APPARENTLY LIMITLESS
surroundings important, either to the content of The shape of the subject in relation to the
the shot or to its design? In the studio, subjects format of the frame clearly has an effect. In the
are often set against neutral backgrounds; then sequence of the Hong Kong ferry on the right,
the setting has nothing to tell the viewer, and the main picture shows a very satisfactory fit:
its only value is for composition. Outside the the boat from this angle just reaches the edges all
studio, however, settings nearly always have some round. In the majority of single-subject pictures,
relevance. They can show scale (a climber on a however, the focus of attention does not fill the
rock-face) or something about the activity of frame. The shape may not coincide with the
the subject. format of the picture (cropping is always possible,
6)%7&).$%2 /2 ,#$
A third factor is the subjective relationship but it is not necessarily elegant, and it may not ;`^`kXcZXd\iXjf]]\iknfgfjj`Y`c`k`\j]fiXZk`m\
that the photographer wants to create between suit the intended display method). Another Zfdgfj`k`feÇcffb`e^k_ifl^_k_\m`\n]`e[\i`ek_\
kiX[`k`feXcnXp#fik_\e\n\id\k_f[f]cffb`e^Xk
the viewer and the subject. If presence is possible risk with running the edges of the subject
k_\knf$[`d\ej`feXcC:;jZi\\e%K_\Xi^ld\ek )%Glcc`e^YXZb^`m\jXdfi\kpg`ZXcjlYa\Zk$`e$`kj$j\kk`e^ki\Xkd\ek%JlZZ\jj]lc +%Fm\i$]`cc`e^k_\]iXd\kXb\jlj`ekfk_\jkilZkliXc[\kX`cjf]XjlYa\Zk%?\i\#k_\
important, and the subject needs to be imposing, right up to the borders of the picture is that the ]fik_\cXkk\i`jk_Xk`k\Xj\jk_\kiXejcXk`fe]ifd Y\ZXlj\f]k_\Zi`jgc`^_k`e^Ylkdfi\fi[`eXipk_Xek_\gi\m`fljg_fkf^iXg_#k_\ c`]\Y\ckj`e]fidljk_Xkk_`j`jXYfXk#Ylkk_\[\]`e`k`fef]k_\jlYa\Zk_XjXck\i\[1
then taking the viewer right up to it by filling eye may feel uncomfortable concentrating on X*;jZ\e\kfX);`dX^\%=fiXZk`m\]iXd`e^#k_`j j\kk`e^`ek_`jZXj\ZXeY\kXb\eXji\X[2n\befnk_\]\iipdljkY\fenXk\i#Xe[ k_`jg`Zkli\`jefnZfeZ\ie\[XjdlZ_n`k_k_\g\fgc\Xjn`k_k_\]\iip%
Xggc`\jfecpkfZXd\iXjn`k_flkdfm`e^gi`jd Y\ZXlj\k_\i\`jefk_`e^leljlXcXYflk`k_\XmpnXm\jfi`ek\i\jk`e^Zfcfi #`k
the frame is a reasonable option. There are points falling very near the edges of the picture.
d\Z_Xe`jdjefkJCIj %<m\en_\elj`e^k_\ X[[jc`kkc\kfk_\g`Zkli\%
some mechanical matters involved, such as the It often needs—or at least benefits from—a little m`\n]`e[\i#k_\C:;f]]\ijXm\iplj\]lci\m`\n#efk
ultimate size of the picture when displayed, the free area around a subject to be able to move aljkf]k\Z_e`ZXcdXkk\ij#YlkZfdgfj`k`feXcjf%

focal length of lens, and the scale of the subject without feeling constricted.

22 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 23

PLACEMENT

) n any construction involving one, obvious

subject, other than filling the frame with it,
there is always the decision of where to place it,
of interest is usually enough to influence the
placement of the subject. In the case of the stilted
houses, we aware of the position of the sun above
(not necessarily literally) also often fit more
comfortably so that they are offset, so that
some of the direction they “see” is in the frame.
remaining sensitive to the proportions of the and left; there is an inferred relationship here, one As a rule of thumb, when the setting
space surrounding it. As soon as you allow free that makes it natural to offset the houses slightly is significant—that is, when it can actually
space around the subject, its position becomes an in the opposite direction. contribute to the idea behind the picture—then
issue. It has to be placed, consciously, somewhere Vectors can also influence an off-center it is worth considering this kind of composition,
within the frame. Logically, it might seem that position. For instance, if the subject is obviously in which the subject occupies only a small area. In
the natural position is right in the middle with in motion, and its direction is plain, then the the case of the houses in the sea, the whole point
equal space around, and indeed, there are many natural tendency is to have it entering the frame of the picture is that people live in such unusual
occasions when this holds true. If there are no rather than leaving it. I emphasize the word circumstances: surrounded by water. Closing in
other elements in the picture, why not? natural, however, because there may always be would miss the point. Unfortunately, moving
One compelling reason why not is that it is special reasons for doing things differently—and further back would only reduce the size of the
very predictable—and, if repeated, boring. We are different usually gets more attention. In a more houses so much that they would be indecipherable, ! "%.#( ). 4(% '2!33
faced with a conflicting choice. On the one hand, general sense, subjects that “face” in one direction although it would show still more ocean. 4HIS IS AN EXERCISE IN PLACEMENT 4HE OVERALL VIEW (
SHOWS THAT THE OLD BENCH IS NEXT TO A POND AND
there is a desire to do something interesting with
SURROUNDED BY GREEN ALTHOUGH THE FOREGROUND
the design and escape the bull’s-eye method of
IS MORE CONTINUOUS THAN THE BACKGROUND WHERE
framing a subject. On the other hand, placing the PATCHES OF SKY CAN BE SEEN &OR THIS LAST REASON
subject anywhere but in a natural position needs a CLOSING IN MEANT KEEPING THE BENCH NEAR THE TOP
reason. If you place a subject right in the corner of OF THE FRAME
an otherwise empty frame, you need a justification,
(%K_\]`ijkXkk\dgknXjXk`^_k]`k#Xe[k_\^Xgj
or the design becomes simply perverse. Eccentric
dXib\[n`k_gXiXcc\cYcl\c`e\jXi\n_\i\k_\
composition can work extremely well, but as we ]iXd`e^[\Z`j`fe_XjkfY\dX[\%
will see later in the book, its success depends on
)%Glcc`e^YXZbf]]\ijknfZ_f`Z\j%@ek_`j#k_\
there being some purpose behind it.
[`X^feXcjf]k_\Y\eZ_Xi\Zfej`[\i\[[fd`eXek#
The importance of placement increases as jfk_\gcXZ\d\ek`jf]]j\kX^X`ejkk_\d#kfk_\i`^_k%
the subject becomes smaller in the frame. In
*%8ck\ieXk`m\cp#k_\Y\eZ_#nX`k`e^]fijfd\fe\
the photograph of the sentry on page 15, we are
kfj`k#ZXeY\k_fl^_kf]XjÈ]XZ`e^Éi`^_kXe[[fne%
not really conscious that the figure is actually in KfZflek\ik_`j#`k`jgcXZ\[fek_\c\]k%
any position in the frame. It is, in fact, centered ) +
+%EfnX_fi`qfekXcXkk\dgk%?\i\`k[\]`e`k\cp
but with not so much space around it as to be
dXb\jj\ej\kfZfej`[\i`kji`^_k$]XZ`e^Xjg\Zk#
obvious. With the photograph of the water- jf`k`jgcXZ\[Xkc\]k#]XZ`e^`e%
bound hamlet here, we are made very aware of
,%Glcc`e^YXZbi\m\Xcjk_\\[^\f]k_\gfe[%
its position in the frame because it is obviously
K_`j`jefnXj\Zfe[jlYa\ZkX[[\[kfk_\`dX^\#
isolated and surrounded by ocean. Some off- Xe[k_\]iXd`e^Xkk\dgkjkfYXcXeZ\k_\knf%
centeredness is usually desirable simply in order
/#%!. ,)6).'
to set up a relationship between the subject and
4HE PURPOSE OF THIS AERIAL VIEW OF STILTED HOUSES
its background. A position dead center is so BUILT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 3ULU 3EA IN THE 0HILIPPINES
stable as to have no dynamic tension at all. If IS TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THEIR UNUSUAL AND ISOLATED
slightly away from the middle, the subject tends LOCATION /FF CENTERING THE SUBJECT BRINGS SOME LIFE TO
to appear to be more in context. There are also THE DESIGN AND ENCOURAGES THE EYE TO MOVE FROM THE
HOUSES TOWARDS THE UPPER LEFT CORNER OF THE FRAME
considerations of harmony and balance, which
we’ll come to in the next chapter.
In practice, other elements do creep into
most images, and even a slight secondary point * ,

24 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 25

DIVIDING THE FRAME

! ny image, of any kind, automatically creates

a division of the picture frame. Something
like a prominent horizon line does this very
essentially static division. By contrast, a dynamic
division could be made by constructing more
interesting ratios. The Golden Section, which
is the Fibonacci series—a sequence of numbers
in which each is the sum of the previous two:
1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so on. In yet another method,
).4%'2!4%$ 02/0/24)/.3
)N PRINCIPLE ANY SUBDIVISION OF THE FRAME THAT
IS INTEGRATED INTERNALLY PRODUCES A SENSE OF
HARMONIOUS BALANCE 4HE FIRST DIAGRAM BELOW
obviously, but even a small object against a bland was known to the Greeks, is the best known the frame is subdivided according to the ratio of
DEMONSTRATES A SUBDIVISION ACCORDING TO THE
background (a point, in other words) makes an “harmonious” division. As outlined below, the its own sides. There is, indeed, a massive variety &IBONACCI SERIES SEE PAGE   4HE SECOND SHOWS
implied division. Look at any of the pictures in Golden Section is based on pure geometry, and of subdivisions that obey some internal principle, A GEOMETRIC BASE USING THE FRAME´S OWN SIDES
this book which comprise a single small subject— photographers almost never have either the need and they all have the potential to make workable -OST OF THE USEFUL SUBDIVISIONS ARE RECTILINEAR BUT
shifting the position of the subject changes the or the opportunity to construct it. Its importance and interesting images. DIAGONALS CAN BE USED TO CREATE TRIANGULAR SPACES
)N THE PHOTOGRAPH TO THE RIGHT THE COMPOSITION
areas into which the frame is divided. lies in the fact that all the areas are integrally This is all very well for a painter or illustrator,
WAS OF COURSE INTUITIVE BUT THE CHANGING ALIGNMENTS
There are, naturally, an infinite number of related; the ratio of the small section to the large but how can photography make sensible use of VERY CLEARLY SUGGESTED A RECTILINEAR DIVISION !S THE
possible divisions, but the most interesting ones one is the same as that of the large section to the it? Certainly, no-one is going to use a calculator SEQUENCE SHOWS THE INITIAL SCENE WAS OF JUST THE
are those that bear a definable relationship to complete frame. They are tied together, hence the to plan the division of a photograph. Intuitive HORIZON AND DISTANT BOATS HENCE THE EXPERIMENTS
each other. Division is essentially a matter of idea that they give a sense of harmony. composition is the only practical approach for UP AND DOWN 4HE ARRIVAL OF THE FISHERMAN IN A RED
proportion, and this has preoccupied artists The logic of this may not seem completely the majority of photographs. The most useful ROWING BOAT CHANGED THE DYNAMICS AND THE INSTANT
WHEN BOTH HE AND THE BOAT WERE ALIGNED VERTICALLY
in different periods of history. During the obvious at first, but it underlies more than just approach to dividing a frame into areas is to
IN THE FRAME MADE THE SHOT ! MOMENT LATER THIS
Renaissance, in particular, considerable attention the subdivision of a picture frame. The argument prime your eye by becoming familiar with the ALL FELL APART
was given to dividing the picture frame by is that there are objective physical principles nuances of harmony in different proportions.
geometry. This has interesting implications that underlie harmony. In this case, they are If you know them well, intuitive composition
for photography, for while a painter creates geometric, and while we may not be aware of will naturally become more finely tuned. As
the structure of a picture from nothing, a them in operation, they still produce a predictable photographers, we may be able to ignore the
photographer usually has little such opportunity, effect. The subdivision of a standard 3:2 frame geometry, but we can not ignore the fact that
so much less reason to worry about exact according to the Golden Section is shown these proportions are fundamentally satisfying.
proportions. Nevertheless, different proportions opposite. Precision is not of major importance, Notice also that, by dividing the frame in both
evoke certain responses in the viewer, whether as the photographs show. directions, an intersection is produced, and this
they were calculated exactly or not. The Golden Section is not the only way of makes a generally satisfying location for a point,
During the Renaissance, a number of painters making a harmonious division. It is not even the or any other focus of attention. Compare this
realized that proportions of division based on only method in which the ratios are integrally with the off-center placement of small subjects
simple numbers (like 1:1, 2:1, or 3:2) produced an related. Another basis, also from the Renaissance, on pages 66-69.

'/,$%. 3%#4)/. 02/0/24)/.3

4WO PARTS ARE SAID TO BE IN THE GOLDEN RATIO IF THE
WHOLE THE SUM OF THE TWO PARTS IS TO THE LARGER FIBONACCI DIVISIONS BEFORE
PART AS THE LARGER PART IS TO THE SMALLER PART 4HE
CALCULATION FOR THIS IS
A B A

A B
WHERE A IS THE LARGER PART AND B IS THE SMALLER PART

4HIS RATIO DENOTED LJPHI IS AN IRRATIONAL NUMBER

WITH THE VALUE
'/,$%. 2!4)/ &2!-%
 4HE FRAME ON THE LEFT IS IN THE RATIO  OR 
LJ  ¢ ¤ 
 WHICH ARGUES FOR ITS BEING AESTHETICALLY PLEASING
)N PHOTOGRAPHY THIS IS ANALYSIS AFTER THE EVENT NO AND BALANCED &OR MORE ON RATIOS AND THE PRINCIPLE
PHOTOGRAPHER EVER CALCULATES THIS BUT FAMILIARITY OF BALANCE SEE PAGES   &OR COMPARISON ON THE
WITH THESE PROPORTIONS MAKES IT EASY TO REPRODUCE RIGHT IS THE STANDARD MM NOW DIGITAL 3,2 FRAME
THEM MORE OR LESS IN A COMPOSITION INSTINCTIVELY IN THE RATIO  4HEY ARE BY NO MEANS DISSIMILAR GEOMETRICAL (BASED ON SIDES) AFTER

26 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 27

HORIZON

0 robably the most common photographic

situation in which the frame must be divided
cleanly and precisely is the one that includes the
Another is to balance the tones or colors (see
pages 118-121 for the principles of combining
colors according to their relative brightness).
If, on the other hand, there is some distinct
feature of interest in the foreground, this will
encourage a higher position for the horizon.
horizon line. In landscapes of the type shown Yet another method is to divide the frame Indeed, if the sky has no graphic value and the
on these pages it becomes the dominant graphic according to what you see as the intrinsic foreground has plenty of interest, it may make
element, the more so if there are no outstanding importance of the ground and sky. For instance, more sense to reverse whatever subdivision you
points of interest in the scene. the foreground may be uninteresting, distracting, choose, and place the horizon much closer to
Plainly, if the line of the horizon is the only or in some other way unwanted, while the skyscape the top of the frame.
significant graphic element, placing it becomes is dynamic, and this might argue for a very low There is, needless to say, no ideal position
a matter of some importance, and the simple horizon, almost to the edge of the frame. There are even for any one particular scene and angle
case is when it is actually horizontal (no hilly examples of this here and elsewhere in this book of view. Given this, and the kind of decisions
contours). There is a natural tendency to place (cropping, as discussed on pages 20-21, is another just mentioned, there may be good reasons
the line lower in the frame than higher, related to opportunity to explore these considerations). In for experimenting with different positions.
the association of the bottom of the picture frame the shot of Lake Inle, the form of the clouds is There is little point, however, in simply starting
with a base. We explore this later, on pages 40-43 definitely worth making part of the image, but low and moving progressively higher without
(Balance), but a low placement for most things the clouds are too delicate in tone simply to use a considering the influences and reasons. As the
in principle gives a greater sense of stability. wider angle of lens and include more of the dark pair of photographs shot in Monument Valley
This apart, the question of the exact position foreground. They can register properly only if the illustrates, different horizon positions can have
remains open. One method is to use the linear proportion of the ground is severely reduced so equal validity, depending on the circumstances
relationships described on the preceding pages. that it does not overwhelm the picture. of the picture, and also on personal taste.
&!6/2).' 4(% 3+9 ! #(/)#% /& ()'( /2 ,/7
4HE ATMOSPHERIC SKY AND MOUNTAINS IN THIS TELEPHOTO SHOT 4HE 4OTEM 0OLE AND 9EI "ICHEI 2OCKS IN -ONUMENT
OF ,AKE )NLE IN "URMA JUSTIFY A VERY LOW PLACEMENT AND AVOID 6ALLEY SEEN FROM THE FOOT OF A SAND DUNE 4HE TEXTURE
WHAT WOULD BE AN OUT OF FOCUS FOREGROUND OF THE DUNE SEEN IN RAKING SUNLIGHT AND THE CLOUD
PATTERN IN THE SKY COMPETED IN INTEREST SUGGESTING
TWO EQUALLY VALID ALTERNATIVE FRAMINGS

! .!452!, ,/7 0/3)4)/.

)N THIS VIEW OF -ONO ,AKE
#ALIFORNIA THE HORIZON IS
UNINTERRUPTED AND THE SKY
EMPTY OF CLOUDS WHICH .%',%#4).' 4(% 3+9
SIMPLIFIES THE FACTORS AFFECTING ! WIDE ANGLE VIEW OF $EATH 6ALLEY SAND DUNES PLACES
THE PLACEMENT 4HIS POSITION THE INTEREST IN THE DETAILS OF THE RIPPLES 4HE SETTING
APPROXIMATES TO THE 'OLDEN SUN GIVES SUFFICIENT INTEREST TO THE HORIZON WITHOUT
3ECTION SEE PAGE   NEEDING MORE SKY IN THE COMPOSITION

28 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 29

FRAMES WITHIN FRAMES

/ ne of the most predictably successful of all

photographic design constructions is an
internal frame. As with any established design
kind of window. There is a relationship between
the frame of the photograph and an initial step
in which the viewer’s attention is drawn inward
of our personalities. It is a fundamental part of
human nature to want to impose control on the
environment, and this has an immediate corollary
formula, it contains real risks of overuse, and has (the corners are particularly important in this). in placing a structure on images. It feels satisfying
the makings of a cliché, but these dangers are only Thereafter, there is an implied momentum forward to see that the elements of a picture have been
evidence of the fact that it does work. It simply through the frame. Walker Evans, for example, defined and placed under a kind of control.
needs a little more care and imagination when it often made deliberate use of this device. As his On a purely graphic level, frames focus the
is being applied. biographer, Belinda Rathbone, writes, “That his attention of the viewer because they establish
The appeal of frames within frames is partly to photographs saw through windows and porches a diminishing direction from the outer picture
do with composition, but at a deeper level it relates and around corners gave them a new dimension frame. The internal frame draws the eye in by
to perception. Frames like those shown here and and power and even an aura of revelation.” one step, particularly if it is similar in shape to
on the next few pages enhance the dimensionality Another part of the appeal is that by drawing a the picture format. This momentum is then
of a photograph by emphasizing that the viewer boundary around the principal image, an internal easily continued further into the picture. Another
is looking through from one plane to another. As frame is evidence of organization. A measure of important design opportunity to note is the
we’ll see at other points in this book, one of the control has been imposed on the scene. Limits shape relationship between the two frames. As
recurrent issues in photography is what happens have been set, and the image held back from we saw when we looked at the dynamics of the
in converting a fully three-dimensional scene flowing over the edges. Some feelings of stability basic frame, the angles and shapes that are set up
into a two-dimensional picture. It is more central and even rigidity enter into this, and this type between the boundary of the picture and lines
to photography than to painting or illustration of photograph lacks the casual, freewheeling inside the image are important. This is especially
because of photography’s essentially realistic roots. associations that you can see in, for example, classic so with a continuous edge inside the picture. The
Frames within the picture have the effect of pulling journalistic or reportage photography. As a result, graphic relationship between the two frames is
the viewer through; in other words, they are a frames within frames appeal to a certain aspect strongest when the gap between them is narrow.
).42/$5#).' -/6%-%.4
-UCH OF THE SUCCESS OF USING INTERNAL FRAMES IS
DUE TO FINDING THE RIGHT CORRESPONDENCE OF SHAPE
-!.(!44!. "2)$'%
FOLLOWED BY A COMBINATION OF CAMERA POSITION
4HIS PAIR OF RELATED PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN A SHORT
AND FOCAL LENGTH TO MAKE THE MATCH )N THIS CASE
DISTANCE APART OF THE %MPIRE 3TATE "UILDING AND
THE UNDULATION OF THE HEAVY SILHOUETTED BRANCH
THE -ANHATTAN "RIDGE IN .EW 9ORK SHOWS HOW
IN THE FOREGROUND CREATES A ROTATING VECTOR TO
THE FRAME WITHIN FRAME TECHNIQUE CAN ALTER THE
ENLIVEN THE IMAGE
DYNAMICS OF THE IMAGE )N THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH
THE VIEWPOINT WAS CHOSEN SO THAT THE IMAGE OF
THE BUILDING BUTTS RIGHT UP TO THE EDGE OF THE
BRIDGE´S TOWER 4HE PRINCIPAL DYNAMIC HERE IS THE
CORRESPONDENCE OF SHAPES ENCOURAGING THE EYE
TO MOVE BETWEEN THE TWO AS SHOWN IN THE FIRST
DIAGRAM &ROM A VIEWPOINT SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT THE
BUILDING CAN BE MADE TO FIT NEATLY INTO THE BRIDGE
TOWER´S CENTRAL ARCH .OW THE EYE IS DIRECTED INWARD
TOWARD THE BUILDING IN THREE STEPS AS SHOWN BY
THE ARROWS IN THE SECOND DIAGRAM /NCE AGAIN THE
INTERNAL FRAME STRUCTURES THE IMAGES MORE FORMALLY
%.(!.#).' 0%230%#4)6%
&ROM A LOW AND EXACT CAMERA POSITION ONE WITH LITTLE
LATITUDE FOR MOVEMENT THE NATURAL FRAME FORMED
BY THE TREE IN THE FOREGROUND HELPS TO STRENGTHEN A
COMPOSITION IN WHICH THE EYE IS LED UNDER THE BRANCH
AND UP THE LAWN TOWARD THE BUILDING

30 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 4(% )-!'% &2!-% 31

 #
OMPOSITION IS ESSENTIALLY ORGANIZATION IN MAKING THESE COMPARISONS BUT IT IS COMPOSITION $ENYING THE EYE PERFECT
THE ORDERING OF ALL THE POSSIBLE GRAPHIC IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE BALANCE CAN MAKE A MORE INTERESTING
ELEMENTS INSIDE THE FRAME 4HIS IS BASIC OBJECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN THAT IS THEY IMAGE AND HELP TO PROVOKE THE RESPONSE
DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY HAS THE SAME EXIST INDEPENDENTLY OF INDIVIDUAL TASTE THE PHOTOGRAPHER WANTS %FFECTIVE
FUNDAMENTAL NEEDS IN THIS RESPECT AS ANY 4HEY EXPLAIN WHY CERTAIN PHOTOGRAPHS COMPOSITION IS NOT COMMITTED TO PRODUCING
OTHER GRAPHIC ART 4HE DANGER IS THE SAME CREATE THE IMPRESSIONS THEY DO AND GENTLE IMAGES IN FAMILIAR PROPORTIONS )T IS
ALSO°THAT DETAILING A TECHNIQUE ON PAPER WHY PARTICULAR WAYS OF ORGANIZING THE USUALLY VISUALLY SATISFYING BUT ULTIMATELY
CAN LEAD TO IT BEING READ AS A DOGMATIC IMAGE HAVE PREDICTABLE EFFECTS GOOD DESIGN IS FUNCTIONAL )T BEGINS WITH
SET OF RULES )T IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO 4HE TWO MOST FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES THE PHOTOGRAPHER HAVING A CLEAR IDEA OF
TREAT BASIC DESIGN AS A FORM OF INQUIRY AN ARE CONTRAST AND BALANCE #ONTRAST STRESSES THE POTENTIAL FOR A PICTURE AND OF WHAT
ATTITUDE OF MIND AND A SUMMARY OF THE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GRAPHIC ELEMENTS THE EFFECT OF THE IMAGE SHOULD BE
RESOURCES AVAILABLE )T IS NOT A QUICK FIX IN A PICTURE WHETHER IT IS CONTRAST OF TONE &INALLY DESIGN HAS TO WORK WITHIN
4HERE IS A USEFUL ANALOGY WITH LANGUAGE COLOR FORM OR WHATEVER 4WO CONTRASTING LIMITS WHAT ITS AUDIENCE ALREADY KNOWS
5SING THE FRAME WHICH WE HAVE JUST LOOKED ELEMENTS REINFORCE EACH OTHER "ALANCE ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHS 4HIS AUDIENCE MAY
AT AS THE CONTEXT OR SETTING DESIGN BASICS IS INTIMATELY RELATED TO CONTRAST IT IS THE KNOW NOTHING OF DESIGN TECHNIQUES
FORM THE GRAMMAR THE GRAPHIC ELEMENTS ACTIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OPPOSING BUT IT HAS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE
IN THE NEXT CHAPTER ARE THE VOCABULARY ELEMENTS )F THE BALANCE BETWEEN BLOCKS CONVENTIONS BASED ON FAMILIARITY FROM
AND THE PROCESS IN THE LAST CHAPTER IS THE OF COLOR FOR EXAMPLE IS RESOLVED THERE SEEING COUNTLESS IMAGES 3HARP FOCUS

#(!04%2 
SYNTAX°THE WAY IN WHICH THE FORMS IN IS A SENSE OF EQUILIBRIUM IN THE IMAGE FOR INSTANCE IS UNDERSTOOD TO MARK
PHOTOGRAPHY ARE PUT TOGETHER ULTIMATELY )F UNRESOLVED THE IMAGE SEEMS OUT OF THE POINTS OF INTEREST AND ATTENTION
DEFINING ITS NATURE BALANCE AND A VISUAL TENSION REMAINS #ERTAIN WAYS OF COMPOSING AN IMAGE
4HE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN IN PHOTOGRAPHY "OTH EXTREMES AND ALL VARIETIES OF ARE CONSIDERED NORMAL SO THAT THERE

$%3)'. "!3)#3
ARE TO AN EXTENT DIFFERENT FROM THOSE BALANCE IN BETWEEN HAVE THEIR USES IN ARE ASSUMED STANDARDS THE PHOTOGRAPH
IN PAINTING AND ILLUSTRATION &OR THE PHOTOGRAPHY 4HE EYE SEEKS HARMONY CAN MEET THESE OR CHALLENGE THEM
MOST PART THERE IS NO PARTICULAR VALUE ALTHOUGH THIS DOES NOT MAKE IT A RULE OF ACCORDING TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER´S INTENTION

$%3)'. "!3)#3 33
CONTRAST

4 he most fundamental overhaul of design

theory in the 20th century took place in
Germany in the 1920s and its focus was the
Itten’s intention was “to awaken a vital feeling
for the subject through a personal observation,”
and his exercise was a vehicle for plunging in
example, it could be contrast in a concept, such as
continuous/intermittent, or something non-visual,
like loud/quiet. The list in the box below is from
Bauhaus. Founded in 1919 in Dessau, this school and exploring the nature of design. Here is an Itten’s original Bauhaus exercise.
of art, design, and architecture was a major adaptation of his exercises for photography. A passionate educator, Itten wanted his
influence because of its experimental, questioning The project is in two parts. The first is rather students to approach these contrasts from three
approach to the principles of design. Johannes easier—producing pairs of photographs that directions; “they had to experience them with their
Itten ran the Basic Course at the Bauhaus. His contrast with each other. The easiest way to do this senses, objectivize them intellectually, and realize
theory of composition was rooted in one simple is to make a selection from pictures you’ve already them synthetically.” That is, each student had first
concept: contrasts. Contrast between light and taken, choosing those that best show a certain to try to get a feeling for each contrast without
dark (chiaroscuro), between shapes, colors, and contrast. More demanding but more valuable is immediately thinking of it as an image, then list the
even sensations, was the basis for composing an to go out and look for images that illustrate a pre- ways of putting this sensation across, and finally
image. One of the first exercises that Itten set the planned type of contrast—executing shots to order. make a picture. For example, for “much/little,” one
Bauhaus students was to discover and illustrate The second part of the project is to combine first impression might be of a large group of things
the different possibilities of contrast. These the two poles of the contrast in one photograph, with one of them standing out because it is in
included, among many others, large/small, long/ an exercise that calls for a bit more imagination. some way different. On the other hand, it could be
3/&4 (!2$
short, smooth/rough, transparent/opaque, and so There are no restrictions to the kind of contrast, treated as a group of things with an identical object 4HE VERY FINE TEXTURE OF THIS MARSH GRASS NEAR -ONO 4HE DULL LIGHTING DRAB URBAN SETTING AND FORESHORTENING EFFECT OF A
on. These were intended as art exercises, but they and it can be to do with form (bright/dark, standing a little apart, and so isolated. These are ,AKE #ALIFORNIA IS MADE TO APPEAR EVEN MORE DELICATE TELEPHOTO LENS ALL CONTRIBUTE TO THE SPIKY AGGRESSIVE QUALITY OF THESE
translate very comfortably into photography. blurred/sharp) or with any aspect of content. For just two approaches out of several alternatives. BY CHOOSING A VIEWPOINT AGAINST THE SUN ARCHITECTURAL ROOF PYRAMIDS

)44%.´3 #/.42!343

0OINT  LINE !REA  LINE

0LANE  VOLUME !REA  BODY

,ARGE  SMALL ,INE  BODY

(IGH  LOW 3MOOTH  ROUGH

,ONG  SHORT (ARD  SOFT

"ROAD  NARROW 3TILL  MOVING

4HICK  THIN ,IGHT  HEAVY

,IGHT  DARK 4RANSPARENT  OPAQUE

"LACK  WHITE #ONTINUOUS  INTERMITTENT

/.% &,!4
4O EMPHASIZE THE ISOLATION OF THIS ABANDONED BOAT A 4HE LOW CONTRAST IN THIS VIEW OF A 3HAKER VILLAGE
-UCH  LITTLE ,IQUID  SOLID WIDE ANGLE LENS INCREASES THE PERSPECTIVE SEPARATING IN -AINE IS DUE ENTIRELY TO THE QUALITY OF LIGHTING
IT FROM THE DISTANT SHORE 4HE COMPOSITION HELPS BY EARLY MORNING FOG
3TRAIGHT  CURVED 3WEET  SOUR ELIMINATING FROM THE VIEW OTHER EXTRANEOUS POINTS
OF ATTENTION
0OINTED  BLUNT 3TRONG  WEAK
-!.9 #/.42!349
(ORIZONTAL  VERTICAL ,OUD  SOFT 4O MAXIMIZE THE IMPRESSION OF QUANTITY THIS SHOT 4HE HIGHEST CONTRAST LIGHTING EFFECT IS PRODUCED BY A HIGH SUN IN
OF DRYING FISH WAS COMPOSED RIGHT TO THE EDGES OF CLEAR WEATHER AND UNPOLLUTED AIR 4HE STRONG RELIEF OF THESE ROCK
$IAGONAL  CIRCULAR THE RACK BUT NOT BEYOND SO THAT THE FISH APPEAR ARCHES CREATES DEEP UNRELIEVED SHADOW
TO EXTEND BEYOND THE FRAME EDGES

34 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 35

 3/&4(!2$
! FLAMINGO´S PINK FEATHER
FALLEN ONTO CRACKED BAKED
MUD IN -EXICO´S 2IO LAGARTOS
RESERVE IN 9UCATAN

,)15)$
7ATER AND OTHER LIQUIDS HAVE NO INTRINSIC SHAPE
SO ONE COMMON METHOD OF REPRESENTING THEM IS
AS DROPLETS OR FALLING STREAMS AGAINST A NON LIQUID
BACKGROUND (ERE HOWEVER THE WAVE PATTERNS OF
SUNLIGHT CONVEY THE EFFECT IN A SWIMMING POOL
MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO SHOOT NOTHING BUT WATER

3/,)$,)15)$
#OMBINING THE TWO CONTRASTS SHOWN OPPOSITE IN ONE
THIS STILL LIFE SHOWS A STEEL SUPERCONDUCTING DEVICE
IN ITS COOLING BATH OF LIQUID NITROGEN BUBBLING IN
THE HIGHER TEMPERATURE OF THE STUDIO

$%,)#!4%"2!3(
#HERRY BLOSSOM WEEK IN *APAN
IS A HOLIDAY OCCASION FOR VIEWING
THE DELICATE PINK FLOWERS (ERE
3/,)$ HOWEVER THEY ARE SEEN AGAINST
(ARD LIGHTING AND ROUGH DRY TEXTURE GIVE THE GARISH HOARDINGS IN 4OKYO 4HE
IMPRESSION OF ROCKY SOLIDITY ! TELEPHOTO LENS CONTRAST IS EVEN MORE POIGNANT
COMPRESSES THE VIEW OF THESE CANYONS INTO A IN *APANESE AS THE CHARACTERS
WALL LIKE STRUCTURE FILLING THE FRAME READ ±2EALLY #HEAP
²

36 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 37

GESTALT PERCEPTION

' estalt psychology was founded in Austria

and Germany in the early 20th century, and
while some of its ideas (such as that objects seen
“completed” in viewers’ minds and understood
to animate and give balance to an image. One of
the most important and easy-to-grasp laws is that
'%34!,4 ,!73 !.$ 02).#)0,%3
4(% '%34!,4 ,!73 /& 0%2#%045!,
form similarly shaped traces in the brain) have of Closure, usually illustrated by the well-known /2'!.):!4)/.
long been abandoned, it has had an important Kanizsa triangle (illustrated opposite). We can (% ,AW OF 0ROXIMITY 6ISUAL ELEMENTS ARE GROUPED
IN THE MIND ACCORDING TO HOW CLOSE THEY ARE
revival in its approach to visual recognition. see this principle time and again in photography,
TO EACH OTHER
Modern Gestalt theory takes a holistic where certain parts of a composition suggest a
)% ,AW OF 3IMILARITY %LEMENTS THAT ARE SIMILAR
approach to perception, on the basic principle shape, and this perceived shape then helps to IN SOME WAY BY FORM OR CONTENT TEND TO BE
that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, give structure to the image. In other words, an GROUPED
and that in viewing an entire scene or image, the implied shape tends to strengthen a composition. *% ,AW OF #LOSURE %LEMENTS ROUGHLY ARRANGED

mind takes a sudden leap from recognizing the It helps the viewer make sense of it. Triangles TOGETHER ARE SEEN TO COMPLETE AN OUTLINE
SHAPE 4HE MIND SEEKS COMPLETENESS
individual elements to understanding the scene in are among the most potent of “closure-induced”
+% ,AW OF 3IMPLICITY 4HE MIND TENDS TOWARDS
its entirety. These two concepts—appreciating the shapes in photography, but the example VISUAL EXPLANATIONS THAT ARE SIMPLE SIMPLE
greater meaning of the entire image and grasping illustrated opposite is the somewhat more LINES CURVES AND SHAPES ARE PREFERRED AS IS
it suddenly and intuitively—may at first seem at unusual one of a double circle. SYMMETRY AND BALANCE
odds with what is known about how we look at As we’ll see in more detail when we come to ,% ,AW OF #OMMON &ATE 'ROUPED ELEMENTS
ARE ASSUMED TO MOVE TOGETHER AND BEHAVE
images. (The principle that we build up a picture the process of shooting (in Chapter 6), creating
AS ONE
from a series of rapid eye movements to points of and reading a photograph heavily involves the
-% ,AW OF 'OOD #ONTINUATION 3IMILAR TO THE
interest is explored more thoroughly on pages principle of making sense of a scene or an image, ABOVE THIS STATES THAT THE MIND TENDS TO
80-81.) However, in reality, Gestalt theory has of taking the visual input and attempting to fit CONTINUE SHAPES AND LINES BEYOND THEIR
adapted to experimental research, and, despite it to some hypothesis that explains the way it ENDING POINTS
its sometimes vague assertions, offers some looks. Gestalt theory introduces the idea of .% ,AW OF 3EGREGATION )N ORDER FOR A FIGURE
TO BE PERCEIVED IT MUST STAND OUT FROM ITS
valid explanations about the complex process regrouping and restructuring the visual elements
BACKGROUND &IGURE GROUND IMAGES SEE
of perception. Its importance for photography so that they make sense as an entire image—also PAGE  EXPLOIT THE UNCERTAINTY OF
lies mainly in its laws of organization, which known as the “phi-phenomenon.” However, DECIDING WHICH IS THE FIGURE AND WHICH
underpin most of the principles of composing whereas Gestalt theory is used in instructional IS THE BACKGROUND FOR CREATIVE INTEREST
images, particularly in this and the next chapter. design—for example, to eliminate confusion
'ROUPING PLAYS A LARGE PART IN 'ESTALT THINKING
The word “Gestalt” has no perfect English and speed up recognition (diagrams, keyboards,
AND THIS IS KNOWN AS ±CHUNKING²
translation, but refers to the way in which plans, and so on)— in photography it can play
something has been gestellt, that is, “placed” an equally valuable opposite role. ( *
'%34!,4 02).#)0,%3 ).#,5$%
or “put together,” with obvious relevance As we’ll see when we come to Chapter 6, (% %MERGENCE 0ARTS OF AN IMAGE THAT DO NOT
#,/352% 4/ #)2#,%3
to composition. As a way of understanding Intent, there are many advantages in slowing CONTAIN SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO EXPLAIN
4HE 'ESTALT ,AW OF #LOSURE GOVERNS MANY OF THE
perception, it offers an alternative to the down the way people view a photograph, so as THEM SUDDENLY POP OUT AS A RESULT OF LOOKING
COMPOSITIONAL TECHNIQUES THAT HELP GIVE STRUCTURE
LONG ENOUGH AND FINALLY GRASPING THE SENSE
atomistic, iterative way in which computers to deliver a surprise or to involve them more TO IMAGES )N THIS PHOTOGRAPH OF CEREMONIAL GUARDS
)% 2EIFICATION 4HE MIND FILLS IN A SHAPE OR AREA
and digital imaging work, step-by-step, and deeply in the image (Gombrich’s “beholder’s AT THE ANNUAL 'AREBEG CEREMONY AT THE PALACE OF
DUE TO INADEQUATE VISUAL INPUT 4HIS INCLUDES
stresses the value of insight. Another principle share”, page 140). For example, the principle of 9OGYAKARTA *AVA THE EYE SEES TWO APPROXIMATE
CLOSURE ABOVE 
CIRCLES LEFT AND RIGHT AND THIS HELPS ORDER THE IMAGE
from Gestalt is “optimization,” favoring clarity Emergence (see box) is valuable in explaining *% -ULTISTABILITY )N SOME INSTANCES WHEN THERE
9ET THESE ARE ENTIRELY NOTIONAL )N ;= APPLYING
and simplicity. Allied to this is the concept of how, in a sudden moment, the mind comprehends ARE INSUFFICIENT DEPTH CLUES OBJECTS CAN BE
A MEDIAN FILTER TO SIMPLIFY THE VIEW THE SHAPES
SEEN TO INVERT SPONTANEOUSLY 4HIS HAS BEEN
pragnanz (precision), which states that when something in a photograph that was visually STAND OUT MORE )N ;= THE ACTUAL CURVED SECTIONS
EXPLOITED MORE IN ART - # %SCHER 3ALVADOR
understanding takes place as a whole (“grasping “hidden” (pages 144-145, Delay, go into this ARE MARKED AND CAN BE SEEN TO BE VERY FAR FROM
$ALI THAN IN PHOTOGRAPHY
the image”), it involves minimal effort. in more detail). Normally, in presenting +!.)3:! 42)!.',% ) COMPLETED CIRCLES YET AS HIGHLIGHTED IN ;= THE
+% )NVARIANCE /BJECTS CAN BE RECOGNIZED
4HE MOST WELL KNOWN DEMONSTRATION OF CLOSURE IMPLIED CIRCLES WORK TO CONCENTRATE THE ATTENTION
The Gestalt laws of organization, listed in the information, making the viewer’s mind work REGARDLESS OF ORIENTATION ROTATION ASPECT
IS THIS DESIGNED BY )TALIAN PSYCHOLOGIST 'AETANO ON THE UNIFORMED SOLDIERS INSIDE THEM 4HIS IS
box, go a long way toward explaining the ways harder is not considered a good thing, but in SCALE OR OTHER FACTORS
+ANISZA IN WHICH THE ONLY SHAPES ARE THREE CIRCLES ESSENTIALLY THE MECHANISM DEMONSTRATED ON
in which graphic elements in photographs, such photography and other arts it becomes part of WITH WEDGES CUT OUT OF THEM YET THE EYE SEES PAGES   WHICH COVER THE THEME OF SHAPES 
as potential lines, points, shapes, and vectors, are the reward for viewing. A TRIANGLE

38 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 39

BALANCE

34!4)# "!,!.#% 63 )-"!,!.#%

! t the heart of composition lies the concept

of balance. Balance is the resolution of
tension, opposing forces that are matched to
analogies to use, because the eye and mind have
a real, objective response to balance that works in
a very similar way to the laws of mechanics. We
graphic elements equally arranged around the
center have the same effect.
The second kind of visual balance opposes
Apart from this, a more crucial consideration
is whether or not balance is even desirable.
Certainly, the eye and brain need equilibrium,
views that a photographer is likely to come across,
it is not particularly common. You would have
to specialize in a group of things that embody
5SING THE ANALOGY OF A WEIGHING SCALE THINK OF A
PICTURE AS BALANCED AT ITS CENTER )N THIS CLOSE UP OF
THE EYES ON THE "UDDHIST STUPA AT 3WAYAMBUNATH
provide equilibrium and a sense of harmony. It is can develop the physical analogies more literally weights and forces that are unequal, and in doing but providing it is not necessarily the job of symmetrical principles, such as architecture or IN .EPAL THE SIMPLE ARRANGEMENT IS SYMMETRICAL
a fundamental principle of visual perception that by thinking of an image as a surface balanced at so enlivens the image. On the weighing scale, a art or photography. Georges Seurat, the neo- seashells, to make much use of it. For this reason, 4HE ARRANGEMENT IS BALANCED EXACTLY OVER THE
FULCRUM THE FORCES ARE EVENLY BALANCED (OWEVER
the eye seeks to balance one force with another. one point, rather like a weighing scale. If we add large object can be balanced by a small one, as Impressionist painter, claimed that “Art is it can be appealing if used occasionally. On the
IF WE REMOVE ONE ELEMENT DONE HERE DIGITALLY FOR
Balance is harmony, resolution, a condition that anything to one side of the image—that is, off- long as the latter is placed far enough away from harmony,” but as Itten pointed out, he was subject of a mirrored composition in Sequoia THE EXERCISE THE VISUAL CENTER OF GRAVITY IS SHIFTED
intuitively seems aesthetically pleasing. In this center—it becomes unbalanced, and we feel the the fulcrum. Similarly, a small graphic element mistaking a means of art for its end. If we National Park, the landscape photographer Galen TO THE LEFT AND THE BALANCE IS UPSET 4HE NATURAL
context, balance can refer to any of the graphic need to correct this. It does not matter whether can successfully oppose a dominant one, as long accepted a definition of good photography as Rowell wrote, “When I photographed Big Bird TENDENCY WOULD BE TO SHIFT THE VIEW TO THE LEFT
elements in a picture (in Chapter 3 we will review we are talking about masses of tone, color, an as it is placed toward the edge of the frame. the creation of images that produce a calm,
each of these in turn). arrangement of points, or whatever. The aim is Mutual opposition is the mechanism by which satisfying sensation, the results would be very
If we consider two strong points in a picture, to find the visual “center of gravity.” most balance is achieved. It is, of course, a type dull indeed. An expressive picture is by no means 2!4)/3 (!2-/.9 !.$ "!,!.#%
for example, the center of the frame becomes Considered in this way, there are two distinct of contrast (see Contrast, on pages 34-37). always harmonious, as you can see time and again K_\Y\c`\]k_Xkk_\i\Xi\eXkliXccp`[\Xcgifgfik`fej^f\jYXZbkfk_\Gpk_X^fi\Xej#n_fj\k_fl^_knXj
a reference against which we see their position. kinds of balance. One is symmetrical or static; These are the ground rules of visual balance, throughout this book. We will keep returning [fd`eXk\[YpdXk_\dXk`Zj#p\knXjXcjfdpjk`ZXc%8Zfi\Y\c`\]nXjk_Xki\Xc`kpnXjeld\i`ZXccpfi[\i\[%
@eXi^l`e^k_\Zi\Xk`fef]k_\le`m\ij\#JkfYX\ljnifk\1ÈK_`e^jk_Xkn\i\Xc`b\Xe[f]k_\jXd\b`e[_X[
If one diagonal line in another image creates a the other is dynamic. In symmetrical balance, the but they need to be treated with some caution. to this issue, and it underlines many design efe\\[f]_Xidfep#Ylkk_fj\k_Xkn\i\lec`b\Xe[efkf]k_\jXd\b`e[Xe[f]le\hlXcfi[\iÇ`knXj
strong sense of movement in one direction, the arrangement of forces is centered—everything All we have done so far is to describe the way decisions, not just in an obvious way—where to e\Z\jjXip]fijlZ_k_`e^jkf_Xm\Y\\ecfZb\[kf^\k_\iYp_Xidfep#`]k_\pXi\kfY\_\c[kf^\k_\i`e
eye is aware of the need for an opposite sense of falls equally away from the middle of the picture. the balance works in simple circumstances. In place the center of interest, for example—but in Xefi[\i\[le`m\ij\%É@edlj`Z#]fi\oXdgc\#XjZXc\k_Xkgif[lZ\j_Xidfe`Zgc\Xj`e^ jfle[jdljk
_Xm\g`kZ_\jk_XkXi\`eXZfej`jk\ekiXk`f%K_\`[\Xf]eXkliXc_XidfepZXeY\\ok\e[\[kffk_\i]`\c[j#
movement. In color relationships, successive and We can create this by placing the subject of a many pictures, a variety of elements interact, the sense of how much tension or harmony to jlZ_Xjm`jlXcgifgfik`fej%K_\>i\\b8i`jk`[\j,*'$+-/9: nifk\XYflkgX`ek`e^k_Xk#Èn\j_Xcc]`e[
simultaneous contrasts demonstrate that the eye photograph right in the middle of the frame. In and the question of balance can only be resolved create. Ultimately, the choice is a personal one, k_Xk`k[f\jefk_`e^n`k_flkk_\_\cgf]eldY\ijXe[gifgfik`fej1`k`jk_ifl^_eldY\ijk_Xk`k_lekj]fi
will seek to provide its own complementary hues. our weighing-scale analogy, it sits right over the intuitively, according to what feels right. The and not determined by the view or the subject. k_\gifgfik`feXk\d\Xjli\jf]Yf[`\jXe[d`okli\jf]Zfcfij#Xe[]ifdk_\j\`k^`m\jk_\g`Zkli\jk_\`i
Y\Xlkp%ÉE\m\ik_\c\jj#XkdXepk`d\j`ek_\_`jkfipf]Xikk_\i\_XjY\\eZfe]c`ZkY\kn\\ek_fj\n_f
When talking about the balance of forces fulcrum, the point of balance. Another way of weighing scale analogy is fine as far as it goes— In composing the image, the poles are jfl^_k`ejg`iXk`fe]ifddXk_\dXk`ZXc#_Xidfe`Zfi[\iXe[k_fj\n_f]fle[`k[ip#jk\i`c\#Xe[jk`]c`e^kf
in a picture, the usual analogies tend to be ones achieving the same static balance is to place two to explain the fundamentals—but I would symmetry and eccentricity. Symmetry is a k_\`dX^`eXk`feÇk_\gX`ek\iN`cc`Xd9cXb\#]fi\oXdgc\%J\\XcjfgX^\j((/$()(% 
drawn from the physical world: gravity, levers, equal weights on either side of the center, at equal certainly not recommend actually using it as special, perfect case of balance, not necessarily
weights, and fulcrums. These are quite reasonable distances. Adding a dimension to this, several an aid to composition. satisfying, and very rigid. In the natural run of

40 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 41

 $9.!-)# "!,!.#%
$YNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM OPPOSES TWO UNEQUAL SUBJECTS
OR AREAS *UST AS A SMALL WEIGHT CAN BALANCE A LARGER
MASS BY BEING PLACED FURTHER FROM THE FULCRUM LARGE
AND SMALL ELEMENTS IN AN IMAGE CAN BE BALANCED
BY PLACING THEM CAREFULLY IN THE FRAME .OTE HERE
THAT THE CONTENT OF THE UPPER RIGHT AREA°#HINESE
CHARACTERS°INCREASES ITS VISUAL IMPORTANCE SEE
PAGES   FOR MORE ON VISUAL WEIGHT 

Lake with a fine reflective surface on the water, to produce it independently. In color theory, visual tension, and it can be very useful indeed
I intuitively broke traditional rules of composition this is the process involved in successive and in making a picture more dynamic. It can help
and split my image 50-50 to strengthen the patterns simultaneous contrast (see pages 118-121). draw attention to an area of a scene that would
and emphasize the similarity between the two This can be seen in action in any eccentrically normally be too bland to be noticed.
halves of my image.” To succeed, symmetrical composed picture. In the photograph of a A second factor involved in eccentrically
composition must be absolutely precise. Few farmer in a rice field on page 69, according to composed images is that of logic. The more
"),!4%2!, 39--%429
images look sloppier than an almost symmetrical the weighing-scale analogy the equilibrium extreme the asymmetry, the more the viewer "!,!.#% !.$ '2!6)49
#ERTAIN CLASSES OF SUBJECT ARE NATURALLY SYMMETRICAL
view that did not quite make it. is completely upset, yet the image is not at all expects a reason for it. Theoretically, at least, AROUND ONE AXIS AS WITH THIS 'REEK FISHING BOAT K_\i\`jXeXkliXck\e[\eZpkfXggcpfli
\og\i`\eZ\f]^iXm`kpkf`dX^\jXe[`dX^\
We ought now to consider how tension uncomfortable in appearance. What happens is someone looking at such an image will be SEEN FROM THE FRONT !RCHITECTURE ALSO OFTEN FALLS
]iXd\j%8jn\Ëccj\\`e:_Xgk\i*#m\ik`ZXcj
actually works in an unbalanced composition. that the eye and brain want to find something more prepared to examine it carefully for the INTO THIS CATEGORY AS DO HEAD ON VIEWS OF MANY
\ogi\jjX^iXm`kXk`feXcglcc[fnenXi[j#n_`c\
The mechanics are considerably more subtle closer to the center to balance the figure in the justification. Be warned, however, that eccentric LIVING THINGS SUCH AS A HUMAN FACE  0RECISION _fi`qfekXcYXj\jgifm`[\Xjlggfik`e^]cXke\jj%
IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT WITH A SYMMETRICAL K_`j`jgifYXYcpn_pk_\gcXZ\d\ekf]X[fd`eXek
than the balancing-scale analogy can show. top-right corner, and so keep coming back to the composition can as easily be seen as contrived.
COMPOSITION BECAUSE THE SMALLEST MISALIGNMENT \c\d\ek`eX]iXd\k\e[jkfY\cfn\i#gXik`ZlcXicp
While the eye and brain search for balance, it lower-left center of the frame. Of course, the only Finally, all considerations of balance must WILL STAND OUT IMMEDIATELY AND MAY SIMPLY LOOK n`k_Xm\ik`ZXc]iXd\j\\gX^\)- %8jk_\
would be wrong to assume that it is satisfying thing there is the mass of rice, so that the setting in take into account the sheer graphic complexity LIKE A FAILURE gX`ek\iXe[k\XZ_\iDXli`Z\;\JXljdXi\q
nifk\XYflkXm\ik`ZXcXYfm\X_fi`qfekXc1
to have it handed on a plate. Interest in any fact gains extra attention. The green stalks of rice of many images. In order to study the design
ÈK_\knfkf^\k_\igif[lZ\X[\\gcpjXk`j]p`e^
image is in direct proportion to the amount would be less dominant if the figure were centrally of photographs, we are doing our best in this i\jfcm\[]\\c`e^#g\i_XgjY\ZXlj\kf^\k_\ik_\p
of work the viewer has to do, and too perfect placed. As it is, it would be difficult to say whether book to isolate each of the graphic elements we jpdYfc`q\k_\_ldXe\og\i`\eZ\f]XYjfclk\
YXcXeZ\#f]jkXe[`e^\i\Zkfec\m\c^ifle[%É
a balance leaves less for the eye to work at. the photograph is of a worker in a rice field or look at. Many of the examples, such as the rice
Hence, dynamic balance tends to be more of a rice field with, incidentally, a figure working field picture, are deliberately uncomplicated. In
interesting than static balance. Not only this, in it. This process of trying to compensate for an reality, most photographs contain several layers
but in the absence of equilibrium, the eye tries obvious asymmetry in an image is what creates of graphic effect.

42 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 43

DYNAMIC TENSION

7 e have already seen how certain of the

basic graphic elements have more energy
than others: diagonals, for instance. Some design
is strong and obvious when first seen, it tends to
lack staying power. Its effect is usually spent very
quickly, and the eye moves on to the next image.
constructions are also more dynamic; rhythm The techniques for achieving dynamic
creates momentum and activity, and eccentric tension are, however, fairly straightforward, as
placement of objects induces tension as the eye the examples here show. While not trying to
attempts to create its own balance. However, reduce it to a formula, the ideal combination
rather than think of an image as balanced or is a variety of diagonals in different directions,
unbalanced, we can consider it in terms of its opposed lines, and any structural device
dynamic tension. This is essentially making use that leads the eye outward, preferably in
of the energy inherent in various structures, and competing directions. This argues against, for
using it to keep the eye alert and moving outward example, using circular enclosing structures,
from the center of the picture. It is the opposite of and suggests that good use can be made of a
the static character of formal compositions. powerful standby, eye-lines (see pages 82-83).
Some caution is necessary, simply because
introducing dynamic tension into a picture seems
such an easy and immediate way of attracting "%,, &/5.$29
attention. Just as the use of rich, vibrant colors %YE LINES AND THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THINGS APPEAR
TO FACE ARE RESPONSIBLE HERE FOR THE DIVERGING LINES
is instantly effective in an individual photograph
OF VIEW 4HE MAN FACES LEFT AND THE LINE OF HIS STANCE
but can become mannered if used constantly, so CONTRIBUTES TO THIS 4HE HOPPER FULL OF MOLTEN METAL
this kind of activation can also become wearing FACES FORWARD AND TO THE RIGHT 4HE TWO PULL AGAINST
after a while. As with any design technique that EACH OTHER VISUALLY

/!+ !,,%9 0,!.4!4)/.

$IVERGING LINES AND MOVEMENT ARE THE KEY TO
DYNAMIC TENSION (ERE THE BRANCHES OF A TREE
AND ITS STRONG CURVING SHADOW HAVE POWERFUL
OUTWARD MOVEMENT EXAGGERATED BY THE  MM
EFL EQUIVALENT FOCAL LENGTH WIDE ANGLE LENS
4HE DISTORTION AND PLACEMENT OF THE BUILDING
MAKE IT SEEM TO MOVE LEFT OUT OF FRAME

(),, /& #/44/.

3ORTING AND TRAMPING DOWN FRESHLY PICKED COTTON
SOUTH OF +HARTOUM TWO 3UDANESE WOMEN MOVE
DEFTLY AND GRACEFULLY ! WIDE ANGLE LENS EXAGGERATES
THE GEOMETRY OF THE IMAGE CLOSE TO THE EDGES OF THE
FRAME AND FROM A SEQUENCE OF SHOTS THE ONE CHOSEN
HERE HAS THE MOST ENERGY AND MOVEMENT°THE LINES
AND GESTURES PULL THE ATTENTION OUTWARD AT BOTH LEFT
AND RIGHT

44 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 45

FIGURE AND GROUND

7 e are conditioned to accepting the idea

of a background. In other words, from
our normal visual experience, we assume that
next decision may well be to choose the
background: that is, to decide which of the
locally available settings will show off the
the ambiguity is greatest, an alternation of
perception occurs. At one moment the dark tones
advance, at another they recede. Two interlinked
"52-%3% -/.+
@ek_`jj\hl\eZ\f]j_fkjZcfj`e^`efek_\jlYa\Zk#
k_\jlYa\Zk`jXdfebgiXp`e^Xkk_\j`[\f]X
9lid\j\jklgX#j`c_fl\kk\[X^X`ejkk_\^fc[\e
in most scenes that is something that we look at subject to its best advantage. This occurs so images fluctuate backwards and forwards. The nXccf]XcXi^\gX^f[X%K_\j\hl\eZ\]ifdc\]k
(the subject), and there is a setting against which often, as you can see from a casual glance at preconditions for this are fairly simple. There kfi`^_kdfm\j]ifdjkiX`^_k]finXi[Xe[fYm`flj
kfnXi[jjfd\XdY`^l`kp#Xe[k_\]`eXcZifg`j
it stands or lies (the background). One stands most of the pictures in this book, that it should be two tones in the image, and they should [\j`^e\[kfdXb\k_\c`^_kXe[[XibXi\Xj\hlXc
forward, the other recedes. One is important, and scarcely even merits mention. contrast as much as possible. The two areas `ej`q\%8jk_\YXZb^ifle[`jc`^_k#k_`jZi\Xk\jX
the reason for taking a photograph; the other is There are, however, circumstances when should be as equal as possible. Finally, there m`jlXcXck\ieXk`fe#`eZi\Xj`e^`kjXYjkiXZk`fe%

just there because something has to occupy the the photographer can choose which of two should be limited clues in the content of
rest of the frame. As we saw, this is an essential components in a view is to be the figure and the picture as to what is in front of what.
principle of Gestalt theory. which is to be the ground against which the The point of importance here is not how to
In most picture situations, that is essentially figure is seen. This opportunity occurs when make illusory photographs, but how to use or
true. We select something as the purpose of the there is some ambiguity in the image, and it helps remove ambiguity in the relationship between
image, and it is more often than not a discrete to have a minimum of realistic detail. In this subject and background. The two examples
object or group of objects. It may be a person, respect, photography is at an initial disadvantage shown here, both silhouettes, use the same
a still-life, a group of buildings, a part of to illustration, because it is hard to remove the technique as the calligraphy: the real background
something. What is behind the focus of interest inherent realism in a photograph. In particular, is lighter than the real subject, which tends to
is the background, and in many well-designed the viewer knows that the image is of something make it move forward; the areas are nearly equal;
and satisfying images, it complements the subject. real, and so the eye searches for clues. the shapes are not completely obvious at first
Often, we already know what the subject is Some of the purest examples of ambiguous glance. The shapes are, however, recognizable,
before the photography begins. The main point figure/ground relationships are in Japanese and even if only after a moment’s study. The figure/
of interest has been decided on: a human figure, Chinese calligraphy, in which the white spaces ground ambiguity is used, not as an attempt to (
perhaps, or a horse, or a car. If it is possible to between the brush strokes are just as active create and abstract illusion, but to add some
control the circumstances of the picture, the and coherent as the black characters. When optical tension and interest to the images.

7).$/73
4HE VIEW ACROSS THE COURTYARD OF A .UBIAN HOUSE IN
NORTHERN 3UDAN IS THROUGH TWO RAMMED EARTH OPEN
WINDOW FRAMES )N THE HARSH SUNLIGHT THE CONTRAST
BETWEEN LIGHT AND SHADE IS EXTREME AND CROPPING
THE FRAME CAREFULLY SO THAT THE AREAS OF LIGHT AND DARK
) * +
ARE EQUAL CREATES A FIGURE GROUND AMBIGUITY°THE
MORE SO BECAUSE LIGHT IS NORMALLY EXPECTED TO STAND
FORWARD FROM DARK

46 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 47

RHYTHM

7 hen there are several similar elements in

a scene, their arrangement may, under
special conditions, set up a rhythmic visual
so that the breeze would separate the rice from
the chaff. Each person worked independently,
but inevitably two or more would be in the same
4(% $9.!-)#3
@ec`e\#j_fkn`k_Xn`[\$Xe^c\c\ej#k_\XZk`fe`j
^iXg_`ZXccpjkife^cp[`i\Zk`feXc#Xe[]fik_`ji\Xjfe
k_\]`^li\jXi\gcXZ\[c\]kf]Z\ek\ijfk_Xkk_\
structure. Repetition is a necessary ingredient, but position at the same time. It was then a matter of [`i\Zk`fe`j`ekf]iXd\%K_\jkXeZ\f]k_\nfdXe
this alone does not guarantee a sense of rhythm. waiting for the moment in which three were in Zcfj\jkk_\ZXd\iXX[[jkfk_\Zlim\[]cfn%Kpg`ZXc
f]jlZ_Xj`klXk`fe#`en_`Z_k_\YXj`ZjXi\befne
There is an obvious musical analogy, and it makes unison, and finding a viewpoint that would align Ylkk_\i\`jefZfekifcYpk_\g_fkf^iXg_\i#Xi\k_\
considerable sense. Like the beat in a piece of them so that the rhythm has maximum graphic dXep[`jkiXZk`fejXe[jdXcc_Xgg\e`e^jk_Xk[fefk
music, the optical beat in a picture can vary from effect. These things are never certain—someone f]Zflij\ Zfe]fidkfn_Xkk_\g_fkf^iXg_\inflc[
c`b\%K_`jj\hl\eZ\j_fnjk_`e^j^iX[lXccp^\kk`e^
being completely regular to variations similar to, could simply stop work—but the possibility in a Zcfj\ikfn_Xkk_\g_fkf^iXg_\i_X[`ed`e[%
for instance, syncopation. situation like this is high.
Rhythm in a picture needs time and the ( *
movement of the eye to be appreciated. The
dimensions of the frame, therefore, set some limits,
so that what can be seen is not much more than
a rhythmical phrase. However, the eye and mind
are naturally adept at extending what they see (the
Gestalt Law of Good Continuation), and—in a
photograph such as that of the row of soldiers on
page 183— readily assume the continuation of the
rhythm. In this way, a repeating flow of images is
perceived as being longer than can actually be seen.
Rhythm is a feature of the way the eye scans the
) +
picture as much as of the repetition. It is strongest
when each cycle in the beat encourages the eye
to move (just as in the example to the right). The
natural tendency of the eye to move from side to
side (see pages 12-15) is particularly evident here, as
rhythm needs direction and flow in order to come
alive. The rhythmical movement is therefore usually
up and down, as vertical rhythm is much less easily
perceived. Rhythm produces considerable strength
in an image, as it does in music. It has momentum,
and because of this, a sense of continuation. Once
the eye has recognized the repetition, the viewer
assumes that the repetition will continue beyond 2(94(- !.$ 34/0
the frame. 7HEN THE RHYTHM IS PREDICTABLE AS IN THIS PALACE
FAlADE IN *AIPUR )NDIA THE REPETITION IS FREQUENTLY
Rhythm is also a feature of repetitive
BORING )N THIS CASE AN ANOMALY THAT INTERRUPTS THE
action, and this has real practical significance in RHYTHM CAN MAKE THE IMAGE MORE DYNAMIC (ERE
photographing work and similar activity. In the A MAN SWEEPING PROVIDES THE NECESSARY BREAK
main picture opposite, of Indian farmers in the .OTE THAT AS THE EYE NATURALLY FOLLOWS A RHYTHMICAL
countryside near Madras winnowing rice, the STRUCTURE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT IT WORKS BETTER TO PLACE
THE FIGURE ON THE FAR RIGHT SO THAT THE EYE HAS TIME
potential soon became apparent. The first picture
TO ESTABLISH THE RHYTHM
in the sequence is uninteresting but shows the
situation. The individual action was to scoop rice
,
into the basket and hold it high, tipping it gently

48 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 49

PATTERN, TEXTURE, MANY

, ike rhythm, pattern is built on repetition,

but unlike rhythm it is associated with area,
not direction. A pattern does not encourage the
2%'5,!2 0!44%2.
/RDERED ROWS AND OTHER GEOMETRIC ARRANGEMENTS OF
LARGE NUMBERS OF THINGS MAKE REGULAR PATTERNS 4HE
ALIGNMENT IN AN EXAMPLE LIKE THIS IS NOT PARTICULARLY
eye to move in a particular way, but rather to
ATTRACTIVE AND THE INTEREST OF THE PHOTOGRAPH
roam across the surface of the picture. It has at DEPENDS VERY MUCH ON THE NATURE OF THE OBJECT
least an element of homogeneity, and, as a result, BOTTLE TOPS WOULD BE LESS APPEALING THAN THESE SMALL
something of a static nature. RELIGIOUS PLAQUES .OTE THAT THE SENSE OF PATTERN
The prime quality of a pattern is that it covers DEPENDS ON SCALE AND NUMBER A CROP WOULD LOSE IT
an area, thus the photographs that show the
)22%'5,!2 0!44%2.
strongest pattern are those in which it extends
4O BE IRREGULAR AND YET STILL APPEAR
right to the edges of the frame. Then, as with AS A PATTERN OBJECTS MUST STILL BE
an edge-to-edge rhythm, the phenomenon of GROUPED CLOSELY THE IRREGULARITY
continuation occurs, and the eye assumes that IS NOT QUITE SO DISORDERED AS IT
the pattern extends beyond. The photograph MAY SEEM 4HE EFFECTIVENESS
OF A PATTERN ALSO DEPENDS ON
of the bicycle saddles illustrates this. In other
HOW MUCH AREA IT COVERS )F THE
words, showing any border at all to the pattern ELEMENTS REACH THE BORDERS OF
establishes limits; if none can be seen, the image THE FRAME ALL ROUND AS IN THIS
is take to be a part of a larger area. PHOTOGRAPH THE EYE ASSUMES
At the same time, the larger the number of THAT THEY CONTINUE BEYOND
elements that can be seen in the picture, the more
there is a sense of pattern than of a group of
individual objects. This operates up to a quantity the surface, and the texture is on a much larger -!.9
at which the individual elements become difficult scale, the cracks and ridges of the rock. Finally, 4HE MASSING OF SUBJECTS HAS ITS OWN APPEAL BOTH
to distinguish and so become more of a texture. think of a chain of mountains that contains this GRAPHIC AND IN THE SENSE OF WONDER AT SHEER
UNEXPECTED QUANTITY &ILLING OR NEARLY FILLING
In terms of the number of elements, the effective cliff face. A satellite picture shows even the largest
THE FRAME IS MORE OR LESS ESSENTIAL FOR THIS KIND
limits lie between about ten and several hundred, mountains as wrinkles on the surface of the earth: OF IMAGE TO WORK )N THIS CASE EVEN THOUGH THE
and a useful exercise when faced with a mass of its texture. This kind of repeating scale of texture ANGLE OF VIEW IS LOW A  MM TELEPHOTO LENS
similar objects is to start at a distance (or with is related to fractal geometry. COMPRESSES THE MASS
a focal length) that takes in the entire group, Texture is a quality of structure rather than
making sure that they reach the frame edges, of tone or color, and so appeals principally to the smoothest of all surfaces are reflective,
and then take successive photographs, closing in, the sense of touch. Even if we cannot physically such as polished metal, and texture is replaced
"2%!+).' 4(% 0!44%2.
ending with just four or five of the units. Within reach out and touch it, its appearance works by reflection (see page 124). 0ATTERNS TEND TO BE DIRECTIONLESS
this sequence of images there will be one or two through this sensory channel. This explains why Related to pattern and texture, but with AND SO OFTEN MAKE BETTER
in which the pattern effect is strongest. Pattern, texture is revealed through lighting—at a small content playing a stronger role, is the idea BACKGROUNDS THAN SUBJECTS IN
in other words, also depends on scale. scale, only this throws up relief. Specifically, the of many, as in a crowd of people or a large THEMSELVES )N THIS EXAMPLE
A pattern seen at a sufficiently large scale direction and quality of the lighting are therefore shoal of fish. The appeal of huge numbers HOWEVER THE MASS OF PEARLS
FRESHLY EXTRACTED AT A 4HAI PEARL
takes on the appearance of texture. Texture is important. Relief, and thus texture, appears of similar things lies often in the surprise of
FARM IS THE SUBJECT 4O SHOW
the primary quality of a surface. The structure strongest when the lighting is oblique, and when seeing so many of them in one place and at QUANTITY THEY WERE ARRANGED
of an object is its form, whereas the structure of the light is hard rather than soft and diffuse. one time. The view of the Kaaba in Mecca, TO REACH BEYOND THE FOUR EDGES
the material from which it is made is its texture. These conditions combine to create the sharpest seen from one of the minarets, for example, BUT TO MAKE AN IMAGE OUT OF
THE ARRANGEMENT A CONTRASTING /",)15% $)2%#4 ,)'(4).'
Like pattern, it is determined by scale. The shadows thrown by each element in the texture, is said to take in at least a million people, and
VISUAL ELEMENT WAS INCLUDED°A 4HE CLASSIC LIGHTING CONDITION FOR REVEALING TEXTURE
texture of a piece of sandstone is the roughness whether it is the weave in a fabric, the wrinkles this fact is itself remarkable. Large numbers AT ITS STRONGEST IS AT AN ACTIVE ANGLE AND WITH A
DISCOLOURED BAROQUE PEARL°
of the individual compacted grains, a fraction in leather, or the grain in wood. As a rule, the congregating usually constitutes an event. WHICH BREAKS THE PATTERN IN DIRECT UNDIFFUSED SOURCE 4HE SUN IN A CLEAR SKY
of a millimeter across. Then think of the same finer the texture, the more oblique and hard the Framing to within the edges of the mass allows ORDER TO EMPHASIZE IT IS THE HARDEST SOURCE AVAILABLE AND HERE ALMOST
sandstone as part of a cliff; the cliff face is now lighting it needs to be seen clearly—except that the eye to believe that it continues indefinitely. PARALLEL TO THIS WROUGHT IRON GRILL IT MAKES TEXTURE
DOMINATE THE IMAGE

50 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 51

PERSPECTIVE AND DEPTH

/ ne of the paradoxes of vision is that while

the image projected onto the retina obeys
the laws of optics and shows distant objects
resolve the inconsistencies of depth. Its impact on
photography is that the recorded image is purely
optical, so that distant objects appear only small,
the viewer. More usually, in photography it is
used to describe the intensity of the impression
of depth. The various types of perspective and
smaller than nearer ones, the brain, given and parallel lines do converge. As in painting, other depth controls will be described in a
sufficient clues, knows their proper size. And, in photography has to pursue various strategies to moment, but before this we ought to consider
one view, the brain accepts both realities—distant enhance or reduce the sense of depth, and images how to use them, and why. Given the ability
objects that are small and full-scale at the same work within their own frame of reference, not to make a difference to the perspective, under
time. The same thing happens with linear that of normal perception. what conditions will it help the photograph to
perspective. The parallel sides of a road stretching Photography’s constant relationship with enhance, or to diminish, the sense of depth?
away from us converge optically but at the same real scenes makes the sense of depth in a picture A heightened sense of depth through strong
time are perceived as straight and parallel. The always important, and this in turn influences perspective tends to improve the viewer’s sense
explanation for this is known as “constancy the realism of the photograph. In its broadest of being there in front of a real scene. It makes
scaling” or “scale constancy,” a little-understood sense, perspective is the appearance of objects in more of the representational qualities of the
perceptual mechanism that allows the mind to space, and their relationships to each other and subject, and less of the graphic structure.
The following types of perspective contain
the main variables that affect our sense of depth
in a photograph. Which ones dominate depends
7!93 /& 342%.'4(%.).' 0%230%#4)6% 7!93 /& 7%!+%.).' 0%230%#4)6%
on the situation, as does the influence that the
photographer has over them.
!LTER THE VIEWPOINT SO THAT DIFFERENT DISTANCES
#HOOSE A VIEWPOINT THAT SHOWS A RANGE OF DISTANCE IN THE SCENE APPEAR AS UNCONNECTED PLANES THE LINEAR PERSPECTIVE
FEWER THE BETTER In two-dimensional imagery, this is, overall, the
most prominent type of perspective effect. Linear
! WIDE ANGLE LENS ENHANCES LINEAR PERSPECTIVE IF ! TELEPHOTO LENS COMPRESSES THESE PLANES perspective is characterized by converging lines.
USED CLOSE TO THE NEAREST PARTS OF THE SCENE AND REDUCING LINEAR PERSPECTIVE IF USED FROM These lines are, in most scenes, actually parallel,
CAN SHOW A LARGE FOREGROUND TO DISTANCE RANGE A DISTANCE like the edges of a road and the top and bottom
of a wall, but if they recede from the camera,
they appear to converge toward one or more
0LACE WARM HUED SUBJECTS AGAINST COOL HUED 0LACE COOL HUED SUBJECTS AGAINST WARM HUED
vanishing points. If they continue in the image
BACKGROUNDS BACKGROUNDS
for a sufficient distance, they do actually meet at
a real point. If the camera is level, and the view is
5SE MORE DIRECT LESS DIFFUSED LIGHTING 5SE FRONTAL LIGHTING DIFFUSED AND SHADOWLESS a landscape, the horizontal lines will converge on
the horizon. If the camera is pointed upward, the
vertical lines, such as the sides of a building, will
5SE LIGHTING OR PLACEMENT TO KEEP BRIGHT TONES %QUALIZE OR REVERSE THE DISTRIBUTION OF TONES SO
IN THE FOREGROUND AND DARK TONES BEHIND THAT LIGHT OBJECTS DO NOT APPEAR IN THE FOREGROUND converge toward some unspecified part of the sky;
visually, this is more difficult for most people to
accept as a normal image.
7HERE APPLICABLE INCLUDE FAMILIAR SIZED OBJECTS -AXIMIZE THE DEPTH OF FIELD SO THAT IDEALLY
AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES TO GIVE RECOGNIZABLE SCALE THE ENTIRE PICTURE IS SHARPLY FOCUSED 7ITH A VIEW
)DEALLY HAVE SIMILAR OBJECTS CAMERA OR TILT LENS USE THE MOVEMENTS TO INCREASE
4),4 ,%.3
OVERALL SHARPNESS
4AKEN WITH A TILT LENS THIS IMAGE IS SHARP NOT ONLY ON
THE NEARBY CARTOGRAPHICAL TEXTS BUT ALSO AT THE FAR SIDE
OF THE ROOM ! TILT LENS PLACES THE LENS ELEMENTS AT AN
!LLOW THE FOCUS TO BECOME UNSHARP TOWARDS 2EDUCE ATMOSPHERIC HAZE BY USING ULTRAVIOLET
ANGLE TO THE SENSOR WHICH IN TURN PLACES THE FOCAL
THE DISTANCE OR POLARIZING FILTERS
PLANE OF THE IMAGE AT A CORRESPONDINGLY STRONGER
ANGLE FROM THE CAMERA´S SENSOR CHIP

52 $%3)'. "!3)#3
 #/.6%2'%.#% !.$ (%)'(4
4HE ANGLE OF VIEW TO THE SURFACE THAT CARRIES
THE CONVERGING LINES DETERMINES THE STRENGTH
OF THE PERSPECTIVE EFFECT 4OO LOW FAILS TO READ
CLEARLY TOO HIGH SHOWS LITTLE CONVERGENCE

6%29 ,/7 ,/7

-%$)5- ()'(

In the process of convergence, all or most directly towards the vanishing point of a scene, ,).%!2 0%230%#4)6%
of the lines become diagonal, and this, as we’ll the wide-angle lens will show more of the !  MM EFL WIDE ANGLE LENS AND A VIEWPOINT THAT
see on pages 76-77, induces visual tension and diagonals in the foreground, and these will tend SHOWS THE PARALLEL LINES OF A WALL (ADRIAN´S 7ALL
IN THE NORTH OF %NGLAND RECEDING DIRECTLY FROM
a sense of movement. The movement itself adds to dominate the structure of the image more.
THE CAMERA PROVIDE CLASSIC CONDITIONS FOR STRONG
to the perception of depth, along lines that Hence, wide-angle lenses have a propensity to LINEAR PERSPECTIVE 4HE HEIGHT OF THE CAMERA ABOVE
carry the eye into and out of the scene. By enhance linear perspective, while telephoto lenses THE WALL DETERMINES THE VERTICAL DISTANCE VISIBLE IN
association, therefore, diagonal lines of all kinds tend to flatten it. THE PHOTOGRAPH 4HIS IN TURN DETERMINES THE DEGREE
contain a suggestion of depth, and this includes OF CONVERGENCE SEE PAGE  
shadows which, if seen obliquely, can appear as DIMINISHING PERSPECTIVE
lines. So a direct sun, particularly if low in the This is related to linear perspective, and is in
sky, will enhance perspective if the shadows it fact a form of it. Imagine a row of identical
4%,%0(/4/ 7)$% !.',%
casts fall diagonally. Viewpoint determines the trees lining a road. A view along the road would
degree of convergence, and the more acute the produce the familiar convergence in the line appropriate place in the scene, it helps to establish #/.6%2'%.#% !.$ &/#!, ,%.'4(
angle of view to the surface, the greater this is— of trees, but individually they will appear to perspective. Also associated with diminishing 4HE SAME VIEWPOINT WITH LENSES OF DIFFERENT
FOCAL LENGTHS GIVES A MORE DIAGONAL CONVERGENT
at least until the camera is close to ground level, be successively smaller. This is diminishing perspective are placement (things in the lower
IMAGE FROM THE WIDER ANGLE LENS
at which point the convergence becomes extreme perspective, and works most effectively with part of the picture are, through familiarity,
enough to disappear. identical or similar objects at different distances. assumed to be in the foreground) and overlap
The focal length of lens is another important For similar reasons, anything of recognizable (if the outline of one object overlaps another,
factor in linear perspective. Of two lenses aimed size will give a standard of scale; in the it is assumed to be the one in front).

54 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 55

AERIAL PERSPECTIVE SHARPNESS
Atmospheric haze acts as a filter, reducing the Good definition suggests closeness, and anything
contrast in distant parts of a scene and lightening that creates a difference in sharpness in favor of
their tone. Our familiarity with this effect (pale the foreground will enhance the impression of
horizons, for example), enables our eyes to use depth. Atmospheric haze has something of this
it as a clue to depth. Hazy, misty scenes appear effect. The most powerful control, however, is
deeper than they really are because of their strong focus. If there is a difference in sharpness across
aerial perspective. It can be enhanced by using the image, through familiarity we take this as a
backlighting, as in the example below, and by depth clue—either that the foreground is out of
not using filters (such as those designed to cut focus, or the background, or both.
ultraviolet radiation) that reduce haze. Telephoto
lenses tend to show more aerial perspective than
wide-angle lenses if used on different subjects,
because they show less of nearby things that have
little haze between them and the camera. Favoring
the blue channel when using channel mixing to
convert an RGB digital image to black and white
also accentuates the effect.

TONAL PERSPECTIVE
Apart from the lightening effect that haze has on $)-).)3().' 0%230%#4)6%
distant things, light tones appear to advance and )N THIS LINE OF MEMORIAL ARCHES IN !NHUI PROVINCE #HINA THE EYE ASSUMES
THAT THEY ARE IDENTICAL 4HEIR DIMINISHING SIZE ESTABLISHES A STRONG SENSE
dark tones recede. So, a light object against a dark
OF DEPTH 4HERE IS ALSO AERIAL PERSPECTIVE PRESENT BECAUSE OF THE MIST
background will normally stand forward, with a
strong sense of depth. This can be controlled by
placing subjects carefully, or by lighting. Doing
the reverse, as we saw on pages 46-47, creates a
figure-ground ambiguity.

COLOR PERSPECTIVE
Warm colors tend to advance perceptually and
cool colors recede. Other factors apart, therefore,
a red or orange subject against a green or blue
background will have a sense of depth for purely
optical reasons. Again, appropriate positioning
can be used as a control. The more intense the
3(!20.%33
colors, the stronger the effect, but if there is a
3ELECTIVE FOCUS ESTABLISHES DEPTH BY EXPLOITING TWO
difference in intensity, it should be in favour of PERCEPTUAL TRIGGERS /NE IS ATTRACTING ATTENTION TO
the foreground. THE AREAS WITH MOST DENSITY OF INFORMATION THAT
IS FOCUSED  4HE OTHER IS OUR EXPERIENCE OF LOOKING
AT PHOTOGRAPHS IN WHICH AN OUT OF FOCUS AREA
!%2)!, 0%230%#4)6% OVERLAPPING A SHARP AREA IS KNOWN TO BE IN FRONT ,!#+ /& !%2)!, 0%230%#4)6%
0ROGRESSIVELY LIGHTER SHADOW TONES INDICATE THE )N ADDITION IN THIS IMAGE OF A HILL TRIBE VILLAGE &RONTAL LIGHTING AND CLEAR WEATHER ARE THE TWO CONDITIONS THAT REDUCE
EFFECTS OF AN INCREASING DEPTH OF ATMOSPHERIC IN NORTHERN 4HAILAND THERE IS A PSYCHOLOGICAL AERIAL PERSPECTIVE AS IN THIS EARLY MORNING DOCKSIDE PHOTOGRAPH 4HE
HAZE AND SO ESTABLISH DEPTH 4HE EFFECT APPEARS COMPONENT°THE SENSE OF STANDING OUTSIDE THE TONES AND LOCAL CONTRAST IN THE BACKGROUND AND FOREGROUND ARE VERY
STRONGLY IN BACK LIGHTING SIMILAR TO THIS COMMUNITY PEERING IN SIMILAR AND GIVE LITTLE SENSE OF DEPTH

56 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 57

VISUAL WEIGHT

3 o obvious as to be a truism is that we look

most at what interests us. This means that
as we start to look at anything, whether a real
the eyes and mouth, almost certainly because this
is where we derive most of our information for
deciding how someone will react. In fact, research
a direct aesthetic quality, unmodified by the
imposition of meaning,” but the very fact
that they had any visual quality was because
scene or an image, we bring to the task “stored into the nervous system has shown that there are they represented a language.
knowledge” that we have accumulated from specific brain modules for recognizing faces, and As well as these “informational” subjects,
experience. Recent research in perception others for recognizing hands—clear proof of how there is an even wider and harder-to-define class
confirms this; Deutsch and Deutsch (1963) important these subjects are visually. that appeals to the emotions. These include sexual
proposed “importance weightings” as a main Another class of subject that attracts the attraction (erotic and pornographic images),
factor in visual attention. This is crucial in eye with a high weighting is writing—again, cuteness (baby animals and pets, for example),
deciding how photographs will be looked something of obvious high-information value. horror (scenes of death and violence), disgust,
at, because in addition to the composition, In street photography, for example, signs and fashion, desirable goods, and novelty. Reactions
certain kinds of content will do more than billboards have a tendency to divert attention, in this class depend more on the individual
others to attract the eye. Of course, filtering and the meaning of the words can add another interests of the viewer.
out idiosyncrasy is difficult, to say the least, but level of interest—consider a word intended to There is no way of accurately balancing
there are some useful generalizations. Certain shock, as is sometimes used in advertising. Even all of these weightings, but on an intuitive level
subjects will tend to attract people more than if the language is unknown to the viewer (for it is fairly easy, as long as the photographer is
others, either because we have learned to expect example, the image on page 42 for any non- conscious of the various degrees of attraction.
more information from them or because Chinese speaker), it still appears to command All of this content-based weighting also has to be
they appeal to our emotions or desires. attention. Ansel Adams, on the subject of a set against the complex ways in which the form
The most common high-attractant subjects photograph of Chinese grave markers, wrote, of the image—the graphic elements and colors—
are the key parts of the human face, especially “Inscriptions in a foreign language can have directs attention.

"%.!2%3 342%%4 &)3( -!2+%4

)N THIS )NDIAN STREET SCENE THE CLEAR FOCUS OF INTEREST IS THE MAN DOING ! CLOSE UP OF FISH PARTS IN A +YOTO MARKET UNEXPECTEDLY OFFERS THREE ±ATTRACTANTS² IN
WHAT MUST BE AN EXTREMELY UNPLEASANT AND POSSIBLY DANGEROUS JOB IN ONE°AN EYE ADMITTEDLY SEPARATED FROM THE FISH BUT NEVERTHELESS STILL AN EYE WRITING
THE MIDDLE OF THE TRAFFIC (OWEVER AS HAPPENS ALL TOO OFTEN IN )NDIA ANY AND A STRONG COLOR PATCH 4HESE THREE FRAMINGS WERE TAKEN NATURALLY WITH NO INTENTION
DELAY IN SHOOTING RESULTS IN PEOPLE STARING AT THE CAMERA WHICH WAS OF MAKING AN EXERCISE )N THE FIRST THE EYE IS THE UNDISPUTED FOCUS AND PLACED SLIGHTLY
NOT WHAT ) WANTED BUT WAS UNAVOIDABLE GIVEN THE TIME IT TOOK TO MOVE OFF CENTER 0ULLING BACK AND UP IN THE SECOND FRAME REVEALS ONE AND A HALF *APANESE
INTO POSITION )N THE SECOND VERSION THE FACE OF THE ONLOOKER HAS BEEN CHARACTERS AND THE ATTENTION IS STRONGLY DIVERTED TOWARDS THIS CORNER 0ULLING BACK EVEN
CROPPED OUT AND WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT TO THE OVERALL FARTHER AND DOWN BRINGS A PIECE OF BLUE PLASTIC INTO VIEW SO THAT THEY EYE
IMAGE IT CERTAINLY DEMONSTRATES THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY THE EYE TRAVELS BETWEEN THE THREE POINTS OF INTEREST
NATURALLY TRAVELS AROUND THE FRAME

58 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 59

LOOKING AND INTEREST

( ow people look at images is of fundamental

importance to painters, photographers,
and anyone else who creates those images. The
knowledge,” which includes, among other things,
knowing that eyes and lips tell a great deal about
other people’s moods and attitudes.
premise of this book is that the way you compose A second type of looking is task-relevant
a photograph will influence the way in which looking, in which the viewer sets out to look for
someone else looks at it. While this is tacitly something or gain specific information from
accepted throughout the visual arts, pinpointing an image or scene. In looking at a photograph,
the how and the why of visual attention has been we can assume that the viewer is doing this
hampered by lack of information. Traditionally, by choice, and probably for some kind of
art and photography critics have used their pleasure or entertainment (or in the hope that
own experience and empathy to divine what the photograph will deliver this). This is an
a viewer might or should get out of a picture, important starting condition. Next come the
but it is only in the last few decades that this viewer’s expectations. For instance, if he or
has been researched. Eye-tracking provides the she sees at first glance that there is something
experimental evidence for how people look at unusual or unexplained about the image, this is
a scene or an image, and the groundbreaking likely to cause a gaze pattern that is searching for
study was by A. L. Yarbus in 1967. In looking information that will explain the circumstances.
at any scene or image, the eye scans it in fast The classic study was by Yarbus in 1967, in which
jumps, moving from one point of interest to a picture of a visitor arriving in a living room
another. These movements of both eyes together was shown first without any instructions, and
are known as saccades. One reason for them then with six different prior questions, including
).4%.$%$ /2$%2
is that only the central part of the retina, the estimating the ages of the people in the image.
)N THIS PHOTOGRAPH OF A HOLDING TENT AT A 2ED #ROSS
fovea, has high resolution, and a succession of The very different scanpaths showed how the HOSPITAL FOR COMBAT INJURIES IN THE 3UDAN CIVIL WAR
saccades allows the brain to assemble a total view task influenced the looking. ) WANTED TO SHOW TWO THINGS MORE OR LESS EQUALLY
in the short-term memory. The eye’s saccadic Other research in this area shows that most /NE WAS THE INJURED SOLDIER AN AMPUTEE AND
movements can be tracked, and the so-called people tend to agree on what are the most THE OTHER WAS THE RICH HISTORY OF GRAFFITI THAT HAD
“scanpath” recorded. If then superimposed on informative parts of a picture, but that this is always ACCUMULATED OVER TIME 4HIS GRAFFITI CONTAINED ONE
OBVIOUS SLOGAN THAT REMOVES THE NEED FOR A CAPTION
the view—such as a photograph—it shows how tempered by individual experience (personal stored
AND DRAWINGS OF ANIMALS IN PARTICULAR CATTLE MANY
and in what order a viewer scanned the image. knowledge makes scanpaths idiosyncratic). Also, OF THE PATIENTS HAD BEEN FROM CATTLE REARING ETHNIC
All of this happens so quickly (saccades last most painters and photographers believe that they GROUPS AND RECALLED CAVE PAINTINGS !LTHOUGH THE
between 20 and 200 milliseconds) that most can in some way control the way that other people WAY IN WHICH THE PHOTOGRAPH WOULD BE VIEWED WAS
people are unaware of their pattern of looking. view their work (this is, after all, the entire theme of NOT MAPPED OUT WITH ANY PRECISION ) IDENTIFIED THE
KEY ELEMENTS IN MY ORDER OF INTENTION OUTLINED
Research, however, shows that there are different this book), and research backs this up, in particular
AND NUMBERED IN THE UPPER ILLUSTRATION  &ROM THIS
types of looking, depending on what the viewer an experiment (Hansen & Støvring, 1988) in ) HAD AN APPROXIMATE INTENDED ORDER OF VIEWING AS
expects to get from the experience. There is which an artist explained how he intended viewers INDICATED BY THE ARROWS ON THE LOWER ILLUSTRATION
spontaneous looking, in which the viewer is “just to look at the work and subsequent eye-tracking THIS ADMITTEDLY RECONSTRUCTED FOR THE PURPOSES OF
looking,” without any particular thing in mind. proved him largely correct. Another experiment THIS PAGE 
The gaze pattern is influenced by such factors as with interesting potential is that the scanpath that
novelty, complexity, and incongruity. In the case emerges at first viewing occupies about 30% of the
of a photograph, the eye is attracted to things viewing time, and that most viewers then repeat
that are of interest and to parts of the picture that it—re-scanning the same way rather than using
contain information useful for making sense out the time to explore other parts of the picture. In
of it. Visual weight, as we saw on the previous other words, most people decide quite quickly
pages, plays an important role; this is because what they think is important and/or interesting
spontaneous looking is also influenced by “stored in an image, and go on looking at those parts.

60 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 61

CONTENT, WEAK & STRONG

2%452. 4/ 4(% +),,).' &)%,$3

) INCLUDE THIS IMAGE BECAUSE ) THOUGHT THE EVENING OF THE DAY ) SHOT
IT OF 'EORGE 2ODGER´S COMMENT ABOUT "ELSEN 4HE OCCASION WAS THE
RETURN TO #AMBODIA FOR THE FIRST TIME FOR THE PROTAGONISTS OF THE
FILM 4HE +ILLING &IELDS°BOTH $ITH 0RAN ON WHOSE EXPERIENCES THE
FILM WAS BASED AND (AING .GOR WHO PLAYED HIS ROLE IN THE FILM
AND RECEIVED AN /SCAR FOR IT 4HE CONTENT IS NOT ONLY DOMINANT BUT
HORRIBLE )T RAISED MORAL ISSUES FOR ME AND THE WRITER MY FRIEND 2OGER
7ARNER 4HE PURPOSE OF THE TRIP WAS TO MAKE A POWERFUL STORY FOR AN
!MERICAN TELEVISION SHOW 0RIME 4IME WITH OUR ASSIGNMENT FOR 4HE
3UNDAY 4IMES -AGAZINE SECONDARY 7HAT EVERYONE WANTED TO DO
PARTICULARLY $ITH 0RAN AND (AING .GOR WAS TO REMIND AS WIDE A PUBLIC
AS POSSIBLE OF THE GENOCIDE WHICH MEANT THAT EVERYONE KNEW THEY
HAD A JOB TO DO $ITH 0RAN IN PARTICULAR HAD BEEN HOLDING HIS EMOTIONS
IN CHECK WHICH MEANT THAT THE PRODUCER OF THE PROGRAM WAS HAVING
DIFFICULTY CONVEYING THE PERSONAL HORROR OF THE SITUATION 2OGER AND
) KNEW OF THIS UNTENDED OLD SCHOOLHOUSE NEAR !NGKOR WHERE SKULLS
AND BONES HAD BEEN ROUGHLY DEPOSITED )T WAS OBVIOUS THAT THE TWO
MEN WOULD BE DISTRAUGHT IF THEY VISITED HERE 7E PUT IT TO THEM THEY
BOTH ACCEPTED BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT THE DOCUMENTARY AND THE
PICTURE STORY WOULD BE MORE EFFECTIVE AS A RESULT )T WAS NOT PLEASANT
FOR ANYONE BUT WE ALL DEEMED IT NECESSARY !S YOU MIGHT IMAGINE ANY
DISCUSSION OF COMPOSITION OR TECHNIQUE WOULD BE DISTASTEFUL 9ET AS
ANY PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER WILL RECOGNIZE YOU ALWAYS BRING YOUR
SKILLS AND DECISIONS TO EVERY SHOOTING SITUATION AND PROBABLY WITH
MORE CARE AND RESPECT IN A SITUATION SUCH AS THIS

4 he relationship between the content and

the geometry of a photograph, and the
difficulty of separating them for analysis, has
be and is solving the problem of how best to
make it into an image.
Content is the subject matter, both concrete
with individual treatments. Strong content, in other
words, tends to call for straight treatment—practical
rather than unusual composition.
caused anguish, or at least sustained puzzlement, (objects, people, scenes, and so on) and abstract Perhaps at this point the following tale from
in more than a few writers. Roland Barthes, (events, actions, concepts, and emotions). The British photographer George Rodger (1908-
for example, considered photography more or role it plays in influencing the design is complex, 1995), a co-founder of Magnum, would not be
less unclassifiable because it “always carries its because it has a specific attention value. Moreover, out of place, even though fortunately most of
referent with itself ” and there is “no photograph different classes of subject tend to direct the us will never find ourselves in such an extreme
without something or someone.” shooting method, largely for practical reasons. In situation. At the end of the Second World War,
As a philosophical issue, this applies to news photography, the fact of an event is the crucial Rodger entered Belsen concentration camp with -!).,9 &/2- -!).,9 #/.4%.4
the finished image and to reverse readings of issue, at least for the editors. It is possible to shoot at Allied troops. He later said, in an interview, 4HE SUBJECT HARD TO GUESS FROM 4HIS IMAGE IS VERY MUCH ABOUT A FACT°AN OBJECT AND AN EVENT°AND
photographs, but in the context of making a a news event and treat it in a different way, perhaps “When I discovered that I could look at the THIS VIEW IS THE MELTING OF GOLD ALMOST THE ENTIRE INTEREST LIES IN WHAT IS HAPPENING NOT IN THE CAMERA
INGOTS IN A CRUCIBLE 3EEN FROM ANGLE OR GEOMETRY 4HE CAPTION READS±4HE ³"UDDHA OF THE 'OLDEN
photograph, matters tend to be simplified by looking for something more generic or symbolic, horror of Belsen—4,000 dead and starving lying
OVERHEAD THE GRAPHICS AND COLORS 3PECTACLES´ IN A SMALL TOWN NEAR 0YE "URMA 4HE "UDDHA IS REPUTED TO
knowledge of the task at hand. At some point but this then is no longer true news photography. around—and think only of a nice photographic WERE SURPRISING AND DELIGHTFUL° HAVE POWERS TO HELP EYESIGHT PROBLEMS AND THIS PAIR OF GIANT SPECTACLES
in the making of almost every photograph, the And if the facts rule the shooting, there is likely composition, I knew something had happened IN OTHER WORDS AN OPPORTUNITY TO WAS DONATED BY A "RITISH COLONIAL OFFICER IN THANKS FOR A CURE FOR HIS WIFE´S
photographer knows what the subject should to be less opportunity or reason to experiment to me and it had to stop.” CREATE A VISUALLY SURPRISING IMAGE DIFFICULTIES 4HE SPECTACLES ARE CLEANED MONTHLY²

62 $%3)'. "!3)#3 $%3)'. "!3)#3 63

 4 HE VOCABULARY OF DESIGN IS MADE UP
OF WHAT WE CAN CALL GRAPHIC ELEMENTS
THE TWO DIMENSIONAL FORMS THAT APPEAR
HIGHER THAN THESE ARE LINES WHICH ARE
VALUABLE IN DIRECTING AND CREATING VECTORS
!N ORDER ABOVE THESE ARE SHAPES WHICH
AND CIRCLE !LL OTHERS FROM TRAPEZOIDS TO
ELLIPSES ARE VARIATIONS ON THESE AND AS
THEIR IMPORTANCE IN COMPOSITION RELIES ON
INSIDE THE PICTURE FRAME )N CLASSIC DESIGN HAVE THE ROLE OF ORGANIZING THE ELEMENTS THEIR FUNDAMENTAL RECOGNIZABILITY THERE
THEORY RELATING TO PAINTING AND ILLUSTRATION OF AN IMAGE AND BRINGING STRUCTURE 7HAT IS NO NEED TO GO BEYOND THESE THREE BASIC
IT IS NOT SO DIFFICULT TO ISOLATE THESE MARKS WE CHOOSE TO IDENTIFY IN A PHOTOGRAPH AS PLANAR FIGURES 3UBTLY FORMED SHAPES THAT
AND FORMS ON THE PAPER FROM REAL SUBJECTS A POINT LINE OR SHAPE OFTEN DEPENDS ON ARE IMPLIED AND UNDERSTATED ARE AMONG
THE THINGS THAT THEY MIGHT BE USED TO HOW WE OURSELVES CHOOSE TO CONSIDER AN THE MOST USEFUL OF ALL THEY HELP TO ORDER AN
REPRESENT 0AINTING AND ILLUSTRATION OFFER IMAGE AND THIS CAN BE INFLUENCED BY THE IMAGE INTO A RECOGNIZABLE FORM AND ALLOW

#(!04%2 
NO COMPULSION TO BE REALISTIC SO THAT AN CONTENT AND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF AND THE EYE THE SATISFACTION OF DISCOVERING
ABSTRACT TREATMENT OF THE BASIC ELEMENTS INTEREST IN IT THEM BY MAKING A LITTLE VISUAL EFFORT
IS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE TO THE VIEWER !LL THREE GROUPS ARE INTIMATELY 4HESE ARE THE CLASSIC ELEMENTS IN ANY
)N PHOTOGRAPHY HOWEVER THIS IS NOT CONNECTED BECAUSE THE SIMPLEST GRAPHIC GRAPHIC ART BUT FOR PHOTOGRAPHY THERE

'2!0()# 
COMPLETELY STRAIGHTFORWARD 7E COME BACK ELEMENTS TEND TO CREATE MORE COMPLEX ARE OTHERS TOO°VISUAL QUALITIES FROM THE
TO ITS UNIQUE PROPERTY THAT ITS IMAGES ARE STRUCTURES ! ROW OF POINTS IMPLIES A LINE PROCESS THAT ARE UNIQUELY PHOTOGRAPHIC
ALWAYS TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM REAL THINGS 4HE LINES CAN DEFINE SHAPES AND SO ON 4HUS 4HESE PURELY PHOTOGRAPHIC INFLUENCES CAN
MARKS ON A PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT ARE NEVER SHAPES ARE INTIMATELY CONNECTED BOTH SOMETIMES BE LIMITATIONS FOR EXAMPLE

0(/4/'2!0()#
THE SAME AS THOSE DRAWN BY HAND 4HEY GRAPHICALLY AND EXPRESSIVELY WITH LINES INSUFFICIENT LIGHT FOR A MOTION STOPPING
ALWAYS REPRESENT SOMETHING THAT EXISTED 2ECTANGLES ARE THE PRODUCT OF HORIZONTAL SHUTTER SPEED AND SOMETIMES A KIND OF
4HIS BY NO MEANS INVALIDATES THE IDEA OF AND VERTICAL LINES TRIANGLES ARE BUILT ARTIFACT FOR EXAMPLE FLARE  (OWEVER THEY
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS BUT IT DOES MAKE THEM FROM DIAGONALS AND CIRCLES FROM CURVES CAN ALSO BE USED DELIBERATELY TO WORK FOR

%,%-%.43
MORE COMPLEX IN THE WAY THEY ACT !LTHOUGH IT MIGHT SEEM THAT THERE IS THE IMAGE FOR EXAMPLE COLOR BLUR FROM
4HE SIMPLEST ELEMENTS OF ALL ARE POINTS AN INFINITE NUMBER OF SHAPES THERE ARE DE FOCUS AND CAN BE ENJOYED AS PART OF
WHICH TEND TO DRAW ATTENTION !N ORDER ONLY THREE BASIC ONES RECTANGLE TRIANGLE THE SYNTAX OF PHOTOGRAPHY

'2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 65

A SINGLE POINT

4 he most basic element of all is the point. By

definition, a point has to be a very small part
of the total image, but to be significant it must
0,!#%-%.4 :/.%3
0RACTICALLY THERE ARE THREE ZONES IN A PICTURE FRAME
FOR PLACING A SINGLE DOMINANT POINT (OWEVER THE
LIMITS THAT ARE DRAWN HERE FOR CONVENIENCE ARE NOT
contrast in some way with its setting—in tone or
IN REALITY PRECISE ! POINT HAS TWO BASIC RELATIONSHIPS
color, for example. The simplest form of a point WITH THE FRAME )N ONE THERE ARE IMPLIED FORCES THAT
in a photograph is an isolated object seen from ARE IN PROPORTION TO ITS DISTANCE FROM EACH CORNER AND
a distance, against a relatively plain background, SIDE )N THE OTHER IMPLIED LINES SUGGEST A HORIZONTAL
such as a boat on water, or a bird against the AND VERTICAL DIVISION OF THE FRAME
sky. There is no simpler design situation in
photography than this: one element without
significant shape, and a single background.
The main consideration, then, is the matter of
placement. Wherever the point is in the frame, it
will be seen straight away. Placing it in a certain
position is chiefly for the aesthetics of the picture,
to give it whatever balance or interest is wanted,
and perhaps paying heed to background.
Some of the issues involved in positioning the
subject in the frame have already been covered on
#%.42!,
pages 24-25, and most of what was said applies 3TATIC AND USUALLY DULL
here. To summarize: from a purely aesthetic point
of view, placing a point right in the middle of
the frame may be logical, but it is also static and
uninteresting, and is rarely satisfactory. The choice
then becomes how far off center to place the
point, and in what direction? The more eccentric
the position, the more it demands justification.
Free placement, however, is never guaranteed
in photography, and the conditions are often such
that you cannot arrange things exactly as you
would like them, even with changes of lens or
#,/3% 4/ 4(% %$'%
viewpoint. This is the case with the photograph -ARKEDLY ECCENTRIC NEEDING SOME JUSTI½CATION
of the rice farmer on pages 68-69, but the result
is still not so bad. What it demonstrates is how
much leeway exists in photographic composition.
Also (and this is a personal judgment), it
is usually better to err on the side of doing
something unusual than to be predictable.

%'2%4
4HE TONAL CONTRAST BETWEEN THE WHITE EGRET AND ITS
BACKGROUND MAKE IT A NATURAL POINT .OTICE THAT ONLY
A SLIGHT REASON IS NEEDED TO INFLUENCE THE DIRECTION
OF A POINT´S LOCATION IN THIS CASE THE WEAK PATCH OF
SUNLIGHT IS SUFFICIENT TO PLACE THE EGRET TOWARD THE 3,)'(4,9 /&& #%.4%2
TOP LEFT CORNER OF THE PICTURE TO OPPOSE IT -ODERATELY DYNAMIC WITHOUT BEING EXTREME

66 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 67

2)#% &!2-%2
K_`jj\hl\eZ\j_fnjjfd\f]k_\giXZk`ZXc`jjl\j`emfcm\[`e
Zfdgfj`e^Xg_fkf^iXg_Xifle[Xj`e^c\gf`ek%K_\j\kk`e^nXj
Xi`Z\]`\c[`eefik_\ieK_X`cXe[%K_\`ek\ek`fenXjkfZi\Xk\aljk
k_`jb`e[f]j_fkÇfe\g\ijfejliifle[\[Yp^i\\ei`^_klgkf
k_\]iXd\\[^\jÇYlkY\ZXlj\k_\m`\ngf`eknXjfecpjc`^_kcp
\c\mXk\[#k_\i\nXjc`kkc\Z_f`Z\Xkk_\kfgf]k_\]iXd\%K_\]`ijk
]fli]iXd\jn\i\j_fkn`k_X(/'dd\]cc\ej#Xe[k_\i\jlckjkff
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+''dd\]c#n_`Z_Xccfn\[dfi\iffdi\cXk`m\cpXkk_\kfg2\m\ip
j_fknXj]iXd\[Xj_`^_Xjgfjj`Yc\n`k_flkc\Xm`e^k_\i`Z\]`\c[%
M\ik`ZXcmXi`Xk`fejn\i\Xcjfki`\[#Ylkk_\j_fk]`eXccplj\[feX
dX^Xq`e\[flYc\$jgi\X[nXjeldY\i,#k_\Z_f`Z\`e]cl\eZ\[Yp
k_\]Xid\iËjXZk`fe%

 

 

    

68 '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 69

SEVERAL POINTS

! s soon as even one more point is added,

the simplicity is lost. Two dominant points
in a frame create a dimension of distance, a
to be from the stronger to the weaker point,
and toward the point that is close to an edge.
Several points carry the sense of occupying
on page 71 (jade, pearls, and resin-encased
objects), too artful an arrangement may simply
insult the viewer’s intelligence. The American
measurement of part of the frame. The strength the space between them, again by implication. photographer Frederick Sommer had this to say
of the relationship between two points depends, In this way, they can unify the area. This effect, about arranged versus found compositions (he
naturally, on how dominant they are and on however, depends on their location and spacing, was actually being asked if he had rearranged
how receding the background is. The examples and with a group the eye has an almost irresistible a group of carcasses): “Things come to our
chosen here are quite strong in this respect, but tendency to create shapes from their arrangement awareness in ways that are much more complex
in complex images, additional picture elements (see Gestalt Viewing on page 36). These may serve than we could arrange. Let me give you an
reduce two-point relationships. to exclude other areas of the frame and so, in example. We could take five pebbles, just a little
The eye is induced to move from one point effect, break up the image. bit larger than dice, of a somewhat irregular
to another and back, so there is always an When several objects need to be arranged shape. We would find that we could continue
implied line connecting the points. This line for a photograph, the order and placement can throwing them endlessly, and will get interesting
is the most important dynamic in a two-point become very demanding. How structured should arrangements. Every throw of these stones would
image; being a line, it has a relationship with the grouping be? Should there be an attempt bring us a combination of relationships that
the horizontals and verticals of the frame, and at naturalness? If it is completely obvious we could not even approach by arranging them
it also has direction. The direction of the line that the image is of an arrangement, and not ourselves. In other words, the forces in nature
'%- 15!,)49 *!$%
depends on a variety of factors, but it will tend found, as is the case with the three examples are constantly at work for us.” THE STYLE OF THE IMAGE IS LOOSE NOT GEOMETRIC
! SET UP STILL LIFE ARRANGEMENT TAKEN ON LOCATION
AT A JADE DEALER´S 4HE ROUGH STONES PROVIDED THE !RRANGING NINE VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL OBJECTS SO
BACKGROUND ONE OF THEM WITH A CHARACTERISTIC THAT THEY DID NOT LOCK TOGETHER INTO AN OBVIOUS
±WINDOW² GROUND OUT OF ITS SURFACE 4HIS DETERMINED SHAPE TOOK SEVERAL MINUTES AND SOME THOUGHT
THE AREA AVAILABLE FOR LAYING OUT THE NINE CABOCHONS WAS GIVEN TO THE VECTORS 4HE GROUND ±WINDOW²
/NE OF THE MOST EYE CATCHING OCCASIONS IN UNPLANNED INITIATED A MOVEMENT INTO THE GROUP AND THE
PHOTOGRAPHY IS THE UNEXPECTED APPEARANCE OF FINAL STRUCTURE HAS LINES OF DIRECTION PULLING
REGULAR SHAPES AND PATTERNS BUT STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY OUTWARD THOUGH NOT STRONGLY IN THREE DIRECTIONS
OFTEN POSES A REVERSE PROBLEM )T IS CLEAR THAT THE #REATING DISORDER THAT STILL REMAINS COHESIVE IS
STONES HAVE BEEN ARRANGED AND NOT FOUND 9ET USUALLY MORE DIFFICULT THAN ESTABLISHING ORDER

/2!.'% 0%!2,3 30%#)-%.3 ). 2%3).

!NOTHER STILL LIFE ARRANGEMENT THIS TIME OF RARE &OR A STORY ON ARCHEOMETRY THESE FRAGMENTS OF
2!+).' 2)#% ORANGE PEARLS (ERE THE KEY DECISION WAS TO PROVIDE 2OMAN METAL TOOLS EMBEDDED IN RESIN BLOCKS
7ORKERS AT A 4HAI RICE MILL CROSS AND RE CROSS AN
A BACKGROUND OF POLISHED BLACK PEBBLES FOR TEXTURAL SUGGESTED AN ORDERED ARRANGEMENT .EVERTHELESS
OPEN SPACE COVERED WITH RICE HUSKS &ROM A ROOFTOP
AND COLOR CONTRAST 4HE EFFECT THEY HAD ON THE THERE ARE LIMITS TO THE APPEAL OF PRECISION AND HAVING
VANTAGE POINT THERE WAS PLENTY OF CHOICE OF TIMING
COMPOSITION WAS TO OFFER A LIMITED NUMBER OF GAPS FIRST BEEN PLACED IN A HIGHLY REGULAR PATTERN SEVERAL
AND PLACEMENT AND THERE IS A CASE IN FAVOR OF EACH
BETWEEN THEM FOR PLACING THE PEARLS 4HE FINAL OF THEM WERE THEN DELIBERATELY SKEWED TO AVOID
.OTE THE DIFFERENT DYNAMICS BETWEEN HORIZONTAL
STRUCTURE CHOSEN WAS A KIND OF HORSESHOE CURVE WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A RATHER ANAL COMPOSITION
AND VERTICAL FORMATS

70 '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 71

HORIZONTAL LINES

! rrangements of several points, as we have

just seen, produce the effect of being joined,
which leads naturally to the next major group
is itself constructed of lines, these invite a natural
comparison of angle and length.
Lines also have some capacity for expression.
The horizontal is, in more senses than
one, the baseline in composition. As already
described on pages 12-13, there is a distinct
of elements in an image: lines. Whereas in It is perhaps best not to make too much of horizontal component in the way we see. Our
illustration a line is often the first mark made, in this, but different forms of line have distinct frame of vision is horizontal, and the eyes scan
photography it occurs less obviously and usually associations. Horizontal lines, for instance, have most easily from side to side. Not surprisingly,
by implication. In this respect it is similar to the a more placid effect than diagonal lines; a zig-zag horizontal lines are visually the most comfortable.
way we actually see the world, where most lines can be exciting. Strong, definite lines can express Moreover, the horizon is a fundamental reference
are in fact edges. Contrast plays the biggest role in boldness; thin, curving lines suggest delicacy, line—the most familiar of any—and even gravity
defining lines visually; contrast between light and and so on. However, whereas in abstract art this is a reminder that a horizontal surface is a base
shade, between areas of different color, between can be used as the very basis for expression, it that supports. For all these reasons, horizontal
3(!$/7 #/.42!34
textures, between shapes, and so on. is not realistic to expect to make great use of it lines generally express stability, weight, calm, )N A VERY PRECISE EXAMPLE OF HOW LINES ARE FORMED BY
As you might expect, the graphic qualities in photography. These associations, which will and restfulness. Through their association with CONTRAST LIGHT AND SHADE FROM A ROW OF TREES FORM
of lines are rather stronger than those of points. be described in more detail on the following the horizon they can also suggest distance and DIMINISHING BANDS ALONG THE DRIVEWAY OF AN %NGLISH
Like the latter, they establish location, a static pages, are real enough, but in a photograph the breadth. Note, though, that such expressive ESTATE %XPRESSIVELY THIS HELPS TO GIVE A FEELING OF
STABILITY AND TRANQUILITY TO THE VIEW GRAPHICALLY THE
feature, but they also contain the dynamic subject often overwhelms them. Nevertheless, qualities usually only become important when
RECEDING PATTERN HAS INTEREST 4HIS RECESSION ALSO
features of direction and movement along their being sensitive to them pays dividends when the there is little real information to be had from GIVES A CLUE TO THE ABUNDANCE OF HORIZONTAL LINES IN
length. And, because the frame of a photograph opportunity arises. the content of the photograph. VIEWS THAT SPAN A DISTANCE ON A FLAT SURFACE SEEN
FROM ONLY SLIGHTLY ABOVE VIRTUALLY ALL DETAILS MERGE
AND CONVERGE ON THE HORIZON

(/2):/.4!,3 &2/- 0%230%#4)6%

%VEN IRREGULAR GROUPINGS OF THINGS BECOME RESOLVED
WITH DISTANCE INTO HORIZONTAL BANDS AND EVENTUALLY
LINES 4HE HORIZONTAL COMPONENTS OF THIS PHOTOGRAPH
OF FLAMINGOS IN .GORONGORO #RATER +ENYA EXIST ONLY
BECAUSE OF THE ACUTE ANGLE OF VIEW

4(% )-0/24!.#% /& 6)%70/).4

4HIS ROW OF STEEL GIRDERS AT A #ALCUTTA CONSTRUCTION
SITE BECOME A DOMINANT HORIZONTAL SETTING FOR
THE SHOT OF A WORKER DRINKING WATER ONLY THROUGH
VIEWPOINT AND FOCAL LENGTH &ROM A LOWER VIEWPOINT
THEY WOULD HAVE MERGED INTO AN INDISTINCT MASS
AND FROM A HIGHER VIEWPOINT THEY WOULD HAVE
SEPARATED ! TELEPHOTO LENS BOTH COMPRESSED THE
PERSPECTIVE AND ALLOWED A CROP THAT EXCLUDED
DISTRACTING SURROUNDINGS

72 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 73

VERTICAL LINES

4 he vertical is the second primary component of

the frame, and so is naturally seen in terms of
alignment with the format and with the sides of
the picture. A single vertical form understandably
sits more comfortably in a vertical format than a
horizontal. A series of verticals, however, acquires
a horizontal structure, as can be seen from the
photograph of the leg-rowers opposite; here, a
horizontal frame actually allows more to be made
of the series.
A vertical line is also the main component in 6%24)#!,3 ). ! (/2):/.4!, &2!-%
the main image of a human figure, and of a tree. 0ARALLEL VERTICALS FREQUENTLY FIT BETTER INTO A
Its direction is the force of gravity, or something HORIZONTAL FRAME WHICH GIVES THEM A GREATER
escaping it. Without the inbuilt associations of a SPREAD°IMPORTANT WHEN THERE IS A NEED TO SHOW
supporting base that give a horizontal line much A QUANTITY AS IN THIS TELEPHOTO SHOT OF LEG ROWERS
IN 3HAN 3TATE "URMA 4HE LONG FOCAL LENGTH USEFULLY
of its character, a vertical line usually has more
COMPRESSES PERSPECTIVE #OMPARE WITH THE SIMILAR
of a sense of speed and movement, either up or TREATMENT OF A SINGLE FIGURE ON PAGE 
down. Seen as uprights from a level viewpoint,
vertical forms can, under the right circumstances,
confront the viewer. Several vertical forms can
have associations of a barrier, like posts, or a line
of men facing the camera. To an extent, they
can express strength and power. On a practical
level, exact alignment is very important, as it is
for horizontal lines. In a photograph, both are
immediately compared by the eye with the
frame edges, and even the slightest discrepancy
is immediately noticeable.
Together, horizontal and vertical lines are
complementary. They create an equilibrium in
the sense that their energies are perpendicular
to each other; each one acts as a stop to the
other. They can also create a primary sensation
of balance, because there is an underlying
association of standing upright, supported on a
level surface. If used strongly and simply in an
image, this can produce a solid, satisfying feeling.

6%24)#!,3 &2/- &/2%3(/24%.).'

#/.4).5!4)/. 4HROUGH ITS FORESHORTENING EFFECT A POWERFUL
)N A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF THE 'ESTALT ,AW OF 'OOD TELEPHOTO LENS°MM EFL °CONVERTS WHAT
#ONTINUATION THE SLIGHTLY UNDULATING BUT DISTINCTLY WOULD OTHERWISE BE DIMINISHING PERSPECTIVE INTO
VERTICAL LINE OF THE PALM TREE ±CONNECTS² WITH A VERTICAL DESIGN !S WITH MOST IMAGES THAT FEATURE
THE PROFILE OF THE )NDIAN FARMER LEADING HIS COW DOMINANT LINES OF ONE TYPE IT ADDS INTEREST TO HAVE
TO WATER 4HE RESULTING TOP TO BOTTOM VERTICAL SOME DISCONTINUITY IN THIS CASE THE RAGGED LINE OF
LINE DOMINATES AND ORDERS THE COMPOSITION THE RIGHT EDGE OF THE STREET

74 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 75

DIAGONAL LINES

)-0/3).' !
$)!'/.!, 3425#452%
/NE SOLUTION WITH A SUBJECT
WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR
CONFUSION IS TO IMPOSE A SIMPLE
GRAPHIC STRUCTURE )N THIS EXAMPLE
MAINTENANCE WORK ON AN &
AIRCRAFT WAS JUST SUCH A DESIGN
PROBLEM ! CORNER TO CORNER
DIAGONAL LINE IS FREQUENTLY QUITE
EASY TO CONSTRUCT GIVEN A WIDE
ANGLE LENS AND SOME LENGTH TO THE
SUNSET 4HE ARM OF THE ENGINEER
HERE COMPLETES THE LINE AND
THE SILHOUETTE EMPHASIZES IT BY
REDUCING TONES

$)!'/.!, $9.!-)#3
$IAGONALS APPEAR MORE DYNAMIC
WHEN THEY FORM A STRONGER ANGLE
WITH THE LONGER SIDE OF THE FRAME
0ARALLEL DIAGONALS REINFORCE EACH
OTHER A VARIETY OF DIAGONALS GIVES
THE GREATEST ENERGY TO AN IMAGE

& reed from the need to be aligned exactly in the

picture frame, diagonal lines have a variety
of direction denied to horizontals and verticals.
diagonals appear as a result of viewpoint—
oblique views of horizontal or vertical lines.
This is very useful indeed, because they are, as
Practically, this means that in photographs which a result, much more under the control of the
do not depend on a horizon or on some other photographer than are horizontals and verticals.
absolute reference, there is an extra element of The frame edges themselves provide a certain
choice: the angle of the line. amount of contrast. This activating effect is in
Of all lines, diagonals introduce the most proportion to the angle that the diagonal forms
dynamism into a picture. They are highly with the edges of the frame. The maximum for
active, with an even stronger expression of a single diagonal, or parallel set, is 45º, but with $9.!-)# $)!'/.!,3
direction and speed than verticals. They bring two or three different diagonals combined, the
life and activity precisely because they represent strongest effect is when the relative angles are
unresolved tension. If the relative stability and all great without being equal. :)' :!'3
/BLIQUE VIEWS OF RIGHT ANGLES PRODUCE ZIG ZAGS A
strength of horizontals and verticals is due to In normal eye-level views, horizontal
CHEVRON EFFECT OF MULTIPLE DIAGONALS 4HE ANGLES ARE
their symbolic associations with gravity (see lines that run away form the eye converge JOINTED SO THE IMPRESSION OF MOVEMENT ALONG THE
pages 72-75), the tension in looking at a diagonal in a photograph; this is the normal effect DIAGONAL IS MAINTAINED BUT WITH A SHARP KINK !S
has the same source. It has an unresolved and of perspective. By converging, they become CAN BE SEEN FROM THIS PAIR OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF ROWS
unstable position; in the process of falling, if diagonals, or at least most of them do. As OF BATHING TENTS BOTH TAKEN WITHIN MOMENTS OF
EACH OTHER THIS TYPE OF DYNAMIC EFFECT IS DIFFERENT
you like. Indeed, structurally most scenes and this is entirely familiar, diagonals carry some
)N THE DIAGONAL PICTURE THE GRAPHIC MOVEMENT IS
things are composed of horizontals and verticals, associations of depth and distance, particularly SINGLE MINDED THE BIAS OF DIRECTION IS SET BY THE
rather than diagonals, particularly in man-made if there is more than one and they converge. WALKING FIGURES  )N THE ZIG ZAG VERSION THE CHANGE
environments. Through the viewfinder, most Considerable use can be made of this in 0!2!,,%, $)!'/.!,3 OF DIRECTION PRODUCES MORE INTERNAL ACTIVITY

76 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 77

trying to manipulate the sense of depth in an
image. Including or strengthening diagonals
in a landscape (often no more than a matter of
aligning objects or edges) will tend to improve
the impression of depth; even the arrangement
of subjects in a still-life can produce, quite
artificially, a feeling of distance. Related to this
is movement. A diagonal leads the eye along
it, more than any other line. This makes it an
extremely valuable device for encouraging the
attention to move in certain directions in a
photograph, something we will consider in
more detail on page 94.
These perspective diagonals appear stronger
3).',% $)!'/.!, ,).%
through a wide-angle lens, the more so from
)N THIS STRAIGHTFORWARD USE OF A CONVENIENT PROMINENT DIAGONAL
a close viewpoint. However, telephoto lenses LINE THE INTENTION WAS TO TAKE A SHOT THAT SHOWED SOMETHING OF
also have their uses in treating diagonals. By THE STADIUM WITH THE ADDED ACTIVITY OF AN ATHLETE 4HE DIFFERENCE
giving a selective view, a lens with a long focal IN SCALE BETWEEN THE TWO SUBJECTS WAS A POTENTIAL PROBLEM
length can emphasize one distinct part of a SHOWING A SUBSTANTIAL PART OF THE STADIUM MIGHT REDUCE THE FIGURE 7)$% !.',% 0%230%#4)6%
TO INSIGNIFICANCE 4HE SOLUTION WAS TO USE THIS DIAGONAL TO DIRECT ! WIDE ANGLE LENS CLOSE TO A LONG WALL PRODUCES A PREDICTABLE DIAGONAL THAT
diagonal. Oblique views from some height
ATTENTION 4HE NATURAL DIRECTION ALONG THE DIAGONAL IS DOWNWARDS RADIATES FROM THE VANISHING POINT )N THIS CASE THE WALL IS (ADRIAN´S 7ALL
typically produce the kind of diagonals seen in AND THE ATHLETE WAS ALLOWED TO RUN INTO POSITION AT THE FOOT OF IT IN NORTHERN %NGLAND THE LENS  MM EFL AND THE COMPOSITION CHOSEN TO
the photograph of the bathing tents (page 77). 4HE FRAMING WAS CHOSEN TO GIVE AS MUCH LENGTH AS POSSIBLE TO THE INTRODUCE SOME VISUAL DRAMA ! HEAD ON VIEW WOULD HAVE SHOWN THIS SECTION
What strengthens these particular images is the DIAGONAL 4HE PICTURE WAS FRAMED IN ANTICIPATION AND TAKEN WHEN OF THE 2OMAN WALL AS LITTLE MORE THAN AN ORDINARY ESCARPMENT .OTE THAT THE
repetition of diagonal lines; the compressing THE RUNNER APPEARED IN THIS POSITION 0LACING THE GROUND LEVEL RIGHT AT DIAGONALS HAVE BEEN ENHANCED BY THE USE OF A NEUTRAL GRADUATED FILTER ANGLED
THE BOTTOM OF THE FRAME GIVES THE MAXIMUM SPACE TO THE DIAGONAL TO DARKEN THE SKY IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE DIAGONAL LINE OF THE TOP OF THIS WALL
effect that a long lens has on perspective makes
them appear parallel. A wide-angle lens from
closer would cause them to converge in the image.

$)!'/.!,3 2%).&/2#%$ "9 -/6%-%.4

4HERE IS ONLY ONE SIGNIFICANT DIAGONAL LINE IN THIS
PICTURE°THE RAILING°YET THE PHOTOGRAPH IS FULL
OF ±DIAGONALITY²7HAT CREATES THIS IS SIMPLY THE
PERCEIVED MOVEMENT THE MASS OF COMMUTERS ALL
MARCHING IN THE SAME DIRECTION ACROSS ,ONDON
"RIDGE 4HIS IS REINFORCED BY THE BUS AND THE CYCLIST $)!'/.!, ).34!"),)49 0%230%#4)6%
TRAVELLING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION WHICH ACT AS A -UCH OF THE DYNAMIC QUALITY OF DIAGONAL LINES 0ERSPECTIVE EFFECTS ARE ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR MOST OF THE
COUNTERPOINT 4HE SHOT WAS COMPOSED AND TIMED COMES FROM THE UNRESOLVED TENSION OF THEIR DIAGONAL LINES THAT APPEAR IN PHOTOGRAPHS 4HE STEEPNESS OF
FOR JUST THIS OPPOSITION POSITION BETWEEN FLAT AND UPRIGHT THE ANGLE VARIES ACCORDING TO THE VIEWPOINT

78 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 79

CURVES

3 o far, we have been concerned only with

straight lines. Curves have entirely different
qualities, both graphically and expressively. As
zig-zags). The sense of movement along it, even
acceleration, is also greater. For example, if a
shot of a vehicle is animated by streaking its
controlling the way in which the viewer will
look at a photograph.
Curves are, however, harder than diagonals
a line, the unique feature of a curve is that it tail lights behind it (with a long exposure), the to introduce into a picture. While a diagonal is
contains a progressive change of direction, and greatest impression of speed would be if these usually a straight line of any direction that is
so seems to avoid, any direct comparison with were slightly curved. Curved movement like this altered by viewpoint, curves must usually begin
the horizontal and vertical edges of the frame. is smooth, and many of the other associations of as real curves. They can be exaggerated by being
Many curves are, however, aligned mainly in one curved lines are to do with being gentle, flowing, viewed at a more acute angle, but the only optical
direction or another, as can be seen from the graceful, and elegant. Curves are inherently method of actually creating them that is open to
examples shown opposite; in another way, a curve attractive to most people, particularly when photographers is to use a fish-eye lens, and this
can be thought of as a series of straight lines at they undulate. Just as diagonals have a specific simply bends all the lines into curves without
progressively changing angles. For these reasons, character—active and dynamic—and a quality of discrimination. Nevertheless, it is sometimes
curves do interact with straight lines in an image. movement, so curves have a character—smooth possible to produce a curve by implication; by an
The progressive quality of a curve gives it and flowing—and also carry the eye along them. arrangement of points, as in the photograph of the
a rhythm which straight lines lack (other than They are, therefore, a useful second device in pelicans, or with a number of short lines or edges.

#/.#%.42)# #526%3
!S WITH ANY OTHER KIND OF LINE SEVERAL CONCENTRIC 4HIS PHOTOGRAPH ALSO DEMONSTRATES HOW A LOW
CURVES REINFORCE EACH OTHER 4HE STRONG SENSE OF VIEWPOINT GIVING AN ACUTE ANGLE OF VIEW TO THE LINES
MOVEMENT CAN BE ESPECIALLY FELT EVEN WITH THESE STRENGTHENS THE CURVATURE WHITE REPRESENTS HIGH
STATIC ROWS OF CROSSES AT A MILITARY CEMETERY IN THE ANGLE PURPLE LOW IN THE SCHEMA  4HE SMALLER IMAGE
0HILIPPINES BECAUSE THE ROWS APPROACH THE CAMERA DEMONSTRATES THE SINGULAR IMPORTANCE OF VIEWPOINT
2%,!4)/.3()0 4/ 342!)'(4 ,).%3
!LTHOUGH A CURVE IS CONTINUOUSLY CHANGING DIRECTION
IT HAS IMPLIED STRAIGHT LINE COMPONENTS PARTICULARLY
AT EITHER END

'%3452%
4HE UPWARD SWEEP OF A BRIGHT )NDIAN SARI BEING #/.42!34 /& ,).%
ADJUSTED BY A PILGRIM ON A BOAT IN THE 'ANGES CREATES #URVED LINES MAKE A MORE
A STRONG CURVE THAT ACTS GRAPHICALLY LIKE A CONVERGING SUBSTANTIAL CONTRAST WITH STRAIGHT
LENS DRAWING THE ATTENTION IN TOWARDS THE CENTER AND LINES THAN DO THE DIFFERENT
RIGHT OF THE IMAGE TYPES OF STRAIGHT LINES AMONG
THEMSELVES (ERE THE CONTRAST IS
2%,!4)/.3()0 4/ #)2#,%3 )-0,)%$ #526% USED QUITE GENTLY THE INTRICATE
! CURVE CAN ALSO BE SEEN AT LEAST IN PART AS A /NE METHOD OF CREATING A CURVE IS BY ALIGNING OTHER ELEMENTS CURVED PATTERN OF OIL GLOBULES IN
SECTION OF A CIRCLE 4HIS HELPS TO EXPLAIN THE )N THIS CASE PELICANS IN FLIGHT APPEAR FROM THE CAMERA POSITION TO SEAWATER FORMS A BACKGROUND FOR
ENCLOSING SENSATION OF CURVES FORM A CURVE AND THIS BECOMES THE STRUCTURE OF THE PHOTOGRAPH THE DIAGONAL LINE OF BABY SHRIMPS

80 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 81

EYE-LINES

-!.$!,!9 (),,
4HROUGH A COMBINATION OF DESIGN
ELEMENTS THIS PHOTOGRAPH OF
NOVICE MONKS IN A "URMESE
TEMPLE IS ORGANIZED TO BE SEEN
IN JUST ONE WAY !LTHOUGH THE
MOMENT FOR TAKING THE SHOT
WAS VERY SHORT°JUST THE TIME
TAKEN FOR THE GESTURE AND
GLANCE OF THE SECOND BOY°THERE
WAS PLENTY OF TIME TO PREPARE
AND TO ANTICIPATE MOST OF THE
POSSIBILITIES INCLUDING THE FACT
THAT THE GILDED STATUE IN THE
BACKGROUND COULD BE TAKEN AS
LOOKING AT THE FOREGROUND 4HE
ACTUAL COINCIDENCE OF EXPRESSION

4 his brings us to one of the most valuable but owe their insistence to the high importance $)!'/.!, %9% ,).% OF THE FACE OF THE TWO BOYS
implied lines that can be used in designing a attached to any image of the face, particularly 4HE PAINTING OF THE 6IRGIN FOR A PUBLIC CELEBRATION WAS OF COURSE UNPLANNED BUT
HELD IN THE 0HILIPPINES WAS OF COURSE ALREADY ANTICIPATION MADE IT EASY TO
photograph. So strong is our attraction to images on the eyes (see pages 58-59). While direct eye
POSITIONED TO APPEAR TO LOOK AT THE CARDINAL ON RECOGNIZE THE POTENTIAL AND
of the human face that we pay instant attention contact between the person photographed and SHOOT IN TIME 4HE RESULT IS A
THE STAGE 4O MAKE THE MOST EFFECTIVE USE OF THIS
to any face that appears clearly in a photograph. the viewer is always the strongest attractant, we IN THE PHOTOGRAPH THE PAINTING WAS PLACED AT THE VERY STRUCTURED IMAGE DUE TO
In particular, if the person in the photograph is still want to know what people are looking at, on EXTREME EDGE OF THE FRAME SO THAT THE EYE LINE THE WAY IN WHICH THE THREE
looking at something, our eyes naturally follow the reasonable grounds that if that something WOULD DOMINATE )N OTHER WORDS AS THE EYE IS EYE LINES COMBINE TO PROJECT
NATURALLY DRAWN FIRST TO THE STRONG IMAGE OF THE OUTWARD TO THE VIEWER
that direction. It is simple, normal curiosity, to is interesting to one person, it might interest us
6IRGIN´S FACE PLACING THIS AT THE EDGE MEANS THAT
see where the eyes are looking, and it creates a too. The gaze “points” us at another element in
THERE IS NO DISTRACTION ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE
strong direction in the image. Known as eye- the image or, if it is directed out of the frame—as FRAME 4HE ATTENTION STARTS AT ONE PREDICTABLE PLACE
lines, whenever they occur they are nearly always in the image of the spectators on page 141—it is AND MOVES IN ONE PREDICTABLE DIRECTION
important elements in the structure of the image. unresolved and creates some doubt in the viewer’s
Eye-lines are an example of the Gestalt Law mind. This is by no means a fault, and can be
of Good Continuation at work (see page 38), useful in creating ambiguity (see pages 140-143).

82 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9%

TRIANGLES

) n photographic composition, triangles are the

most useful shapes, for a number of reasons.
They are common, partly because they are simple
42)!.'5,!2 #,/352%
K_`jj\hl\eZ\f]]iXd\j`ccljkiXk\jn\cc_fnXe
`dgc`\[ki`Xe^lcXijkilZkli\ZXejki\e^k_\ek_\
fi^Xe`jXk`feXe[[peXd`Zjf]Xe`dX^\%K_\j\kk`e^
to construct or imply (they need only three `jk_\dXcXi`XnXi[f]X_fjg`kXc`eJl[Xe#n_\i\
points for the apices, and these do not need to gXk`\ekj_Xm\kfj_Xi\Y\[j%8n`[\$Xe^c\c\ejnXj
Z_fj\ekfj_fndXo`dld`e]fidXk`fe%N_`c\k_\
be in any particular arrangement) and partly `e`k`Xcknfj_fkjn\i\jXk`j]XZkfip#k_\dfm\d\ek
because of convergence—the natural graphic f]k_\[fZkfi#Xe[`egXik`ZlcXi_`jjki\kZ_`e^^\jkli\#
effects of perspective make convergent diagonals jl[[\ecpfi^Xe`j\[k_\\ek`i\`dX^\%8dfd\ek
cXk\i#k_`jjkife^^\fd\kipn\Xb\e\[%
very common in photography, particularly with
wide-angle lenses. They are also the most basic
of all geometric shapes, having the least number
of sides. Moreover, they have the interesting
combination of being both dynamic, because of
the diagonals and corners, and stable—provided
that one side is a level base.
The triangle is such an inherently strong
shape that it appears easily to the eye. With lines,
often two are sufficient; the third can be assumed,
42)!.',%3 "9 )-0,)#!4)/. 42)!.',%3 "9 #/.6%2'%.#%
or else an appropriate frame edge can be taken
!NY ARRANGEMENT OF THREE OBJECTS EXCEPT IN #ONVERGENCE CAUSED BY LINEAR PERSPECTIVE
as one side. As for points, any three prominent A STRAIGHT LINE PRODUCES AN IMPLIED TRIANGLE PARTICULARLY A WIDE ANGLE LENS CREATES AT LEAST
centers of interest will do, particularly if they TWO SIDES OF A TRIANGLE 6ERTICAL SURFACES WHICH
are similar in content, tone, size, or some other 6%24)#!, #/.6%2'%.#% RECEDE TO THE HORIZON CREATE TRIANGLES THAT
quality. Unlike rectangles and circles, both of !N UPWARD TILTED VIEW WITH A WIDE ANGLE APPEAR TO LIE ON ONE SIDE 4HE PRINCIPAL APEX
LENS CREATES A TRIANGLE BY CONVERGENCE IS DIRECTED TOWARDS THE VANISHING POINT
which need to have their principal components in
an exact order, triangles can be formed in almost
any configuration. The only arrangement of three
points that does not create a triangle is a straight
row. For example, a portrait of three people will
almost inevitably contain a triangle, with each
face an apex.
The natural tendency of linear perspective is
for lines to converge on a vanishing point in the
distance, and form two sides of a triangle. It the
camera is level, the prime apex of the triangle will
be pointing more or less horizontally (you could
think of the triangle formed by a receding row
of houses as lying on its side, with the apex on
the horizon and the base the nearest upright to
the camera). If the camera were pointing upward
instead, at a building, trees, or any other group of
vertical lines, the apex would be at the top of the
picture, and the base level at the bottom. This is
also the most stable configuration of a triangle.
The sense of stability inherent in many
triangles comes from structural association; it

84 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 85

is the shape of a pyramid, or of two buttresses
leaning in towards each other. Therefore,
arranging three objects so that two form a base
and the third an apex above creates a stable form,
and this association is carried into the image. It is
the classic three-figure shot, and in photography
that allows the subjects to be manipulated, it is
a standard and usually successful technique to
reposition things in this way. The two diagonals
in such a triangle help it to escape the heaviness
of a square or rectangular arrangement.
The reverse configuration, with the base at the
top of the picture and the apex at the bottom, is
an equally useful shape to introduce into a design.
It has different association: less stable, more
).6%24%$ 42)!.',%
aggressive, and containing more movement. The )N ITSELF THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE
apex points more obviously, probably because it TWO SEATED FIGURES ONLY MILDLY
appears to face the camera and viewer, and there SUGGESTS A TRIANGULAR SHAPE
is the kind of tension that you would expect from BUT A STANDING SHOT LOOKING
DOWN WITH A  MM LENS
a shape that symbolizes extremely precarious
STRENGTHENS THE STRUCTURES
balance. A special use for inverted triangles in BY CONVERGENCE
design occurs in still life and other group pictures 4(2%% 3(/4
where objects are of different sizes yet need to be 4HREE FIGURE SHOTS USUALLY CONTAIN THE POTENTIAL FOR
unified in one shot—placing the smallest nearest A TRIANGULAR STRUCTURE (ERE IT HAS BEEN DELIBERATELY
the camera, at the apex of the triangle, and the STRENGTHENED BY THE VIEWPOINT WHICH NOT ONLY
SHOWS A TRIANGULAR RELATIONSHIP IN THE HEADS BUT A
rest of the objects behind. A wide-angle lens, used
TRIANGLE IN THE OUTLINE OF THREE FIGURES
from a raised position looking slightly down,
will emphasize the proportions of an inverted
triangle, just as a wide-angle lens pointing up
will create upward-converging verticals.
Under what circumstances is it useful to try
to impose a triangular structure? It is important
to see implied triangles as one of a few devices for
bringing order to an image, or of arranging the
things being photographed. The occasions when
such organization is needed are usually those
when there is a need for clarity. This is common
in still-life photography and in various forms of
reportage when the most important thing is to ).6%24%$ 42)!.',% &/2 &/#53
make a clear representation of something, often ! TRIANGLE WITH ITS APEX AT THE FRONT OF THE PICTURE
in a visually untidy setting. As this is a common MAKES A USEFUL CONFIGURATION NOT ONLY FOR GROUPS OF
OBJECTS AS IN A STILL LIFE BUT ALSO TO FOCUS ATTENTION
condition in professional photography, the idea
MORE STRONGLY ON THE APEX WHEN THE CONVERGING
of structuring an image in a simple graphic SIDES DRAW THE EYE TOWARD THIS FOREGROUND POINT
arrangement is principally professional. )N THIS INSTANCE THE DEVICE WAS CHOSEN BECAUSE THE
SUBJECT THE RICE WAS VISUALLY BLAND

86 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 87

CIRCLES AND RECTANGLES

! fter the frequency of triangular structure, the

other basic shapes—circles and rectangles—
tend to be rarer in photography and so less of an
standard digital post-production procedure, as
for example in Photoshop’s Filter > Distort >
Lens Correction facility.
0%!2,3
K_`jXiiXe^\d\ekf]XmXi`\kpf][`]]\i\ekkpg\jf]
g\XicjnXj]fiXdX^Xq`e\Zfm\i#Xe[jfefkfecp_X[
kfY\Zc\Xi`e[`jgcXp`e^k_\g\XicjYlkXcjf_X[kfY\
option in composition. As with triangles, they Rectangles have associations of gravity, XkkiXZk`m\Xe[j`dgc\#n`k_iffdXkk_\kfg]fik_\
are more interesting when implied—suggesting a solidity, precision, and sharp limitation, a result dXjk_\X[%K_\gifYc\dnXjk_Xkj\m\iXcg\Xicje\\[\[
kfY\j_fne#kffdXepkfXiiXe^\`eXj`e^c\^iflg%
shape rather than being a pre-formed one. of their connotations with the two kinds of K_\jfclk`fenXjkfjgc`kk_\dlg`ekfk_i\\^iflgj
Circles have a special place in composition. lines—vertical and horizontal—that compose p\kk`\k_\dkf^\k_\im`jlXccp`ejlZ_XnXpk_Xkk_\
Unlike triangles and lines, they are not so easy to them. They tend to be static, unyielding, and XiiXe^\d\ekcffb\[]X`icpeXkliXcXe[k_\\p\Zflc[
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imply, because they need to be almost complete formal. As the perfect form of the rectangle, the  K_\b\pkfk_\g`Zkli\ËjjlZZ\jj`j`ek_\Z_f`Z\
and have a very precise, recognizable shape. square exhibits these qualities the most strongly. f]fpjk\ij_\ccjf][`]]\i\ekjg\Z`\j#n`k_k_\`i`[\jZ\ek
Nevertheless, they do occur often, both man-made For a rectangular form to appear rectangular in Zfcfi`e^kpg`ZXcf]dfk_\if]g\Xic%Jg\Z`]`ZXccp#k_\
&)3( %9% ,%.3 knfgi`eZ`gXcj_\ccjgifm`[\Z`iZlcXi\eZcfjli\j#fe\
and naturally. In nature, radial growth, as you the picture, it must be photographed square-on 4HE SUBJECT IS A FAIRLY DENSE OAK FOREST BUT THE DESIGN ]`kk`e^`ekfk_\Zlim\f]k_\fk_\i%K_\(,ddJflk_J\X
would find in a flower head or a bubble, tends to and level. Angled views and wide-angle lenses PROBLEM IS ITS LACK OF STRUCTURE 4HE SOLUTION HERE WAS g\XicXki`^_k`jcXi^\\efl^_kfY\`kjfneZ`iZc\#Xe[
make a circle. Circles are valuable in composing tend to distort rectangles into trapezoids. Hence, TO FIND ONE VIEW WITH A LITTLE POTENTIAL STRUCTURE THE k_\k_i\\Z`iZc\jXi\c`eb\[`eknfnXpjÇ]`ijkYpk_\`i
PROMINENT CURVING BRANCH AND THEN EXAGGERATE THIS ki`Xe^lcXii\cXk`fej_`g#Xe[XcjfYpk_\j`elflj
a picture because they have an enclosing effect. the manner of shooting that uses rectangular J$Zlim\#n_`Z__\cgjkf[`i\Zkk_\\p\Y\kn\\ek_\d%
BY USING A FULL FRAME FISH EYE LENS !LTHOUGH ALMOST
They “contain” things placed within them, and structures is itself usually formal and considered. FULLY CORRECTED IN REGULAR LENSES CURVILINEAR DISTORTION  8j`eXepjk`cc$c`]\#k_\XiiXe^\d\ek`jYl`cklg
they draw the eye inward, and for this reason they ZXi\]lccp#n`k_k_\ZXd\iXcfZb\[`egfj`k`fe%K_\dX`e
IS DELIBERATELY MAINTAINED IN FISH EYE LENSES !LL LINES
^iflgnXjXjj\dYc\[`ek_\cXi^\j_\cc]`ijk#k_\eX
are useful in arranged photographs, particularly EXCEPT RADIAL ONES ARE CURVED THE FARTHER FROM THE jdXcc\i^iflgnXjX[[\[kfk_\j_\ccY\cfn#Xe[jfd\
still-life, when the photographer sets out to CENTER THE MORE EXTREME THE CURVE X[[`k`fejdX[\kfk_\]`ijk^iflg%=`eXccp#k_\cXi^\
/2$%2 ). 3(!+%2 $%3)'.
create a composition from scratch. The effect of 4HIS IS AN EXAMPLE FROM A BOOK WHICH WAS g\XicnXjgcXZ\[X^X`ejkX[Xib\ij_\cc]fiZfekiXjk%
 K_\gi`eZ`gXc[\j`^ejkilZkli\jXi\k_\Z`iZc\j#k_\
focusing the viewer’s attention can be so strong as PHOTOGRAPHED ENTIRELY WITH A MOTIF OF RECTANGULAR
knfcXi^\jk]fid\[Ypk_\j_\ccj%@eklie#k_\j\k_i\\
SHAPES 4HE SUBJECT IS 3HAKER ARCHITECTURE AND
to make the surroundings visually less important, Z`iZc\jXi\`e\m`kXYcpc`eb\[`ekfXki`Xe^lcXigXkk\ie%
CRAFTS AND THE SEVERE FUNCTIONAL NATURE OF THE =`eXccp#k_\XiiXe^\d\ekf]k_\YXZb^ifle[[\c`Y\iXk\cp
so circles should be used with caution. There is
MATERIAL SUGGESTED AN APPROPRIATE TREATMENT dXb\jlj\f]k_\i\m\ij\Zlim\f]k_\cXi^\j_\cckf
some slight implication of movement around the 4HE DEFINED REGULARITY OF RECTANGLES MAKES THEM Zi\Xk\XeJ$j_Xg\[Zlim\%
circumference, because of associations of rotation. ESPECIALLY ADAPTABLE TO DESIGN THAT STRESSES
Derivatives of circles are ellipses, other BALANCE AND PROPORTION
flexing, cyclic shapes, and more or less any
squat shape made up of curves rather than lines
and corners. Ellipses represent a special case in
photography, because this is the shape that a real
circle projects onto the film when seen from an
angle. To an extent, the eye resolves ellipses into
assumed circles.
Rectangles abound in man-made structures,
more rarely in nature, and are useful in
composition in that they are the easiest form for
subdividing the frame. Indeed, the shape that
bears the closest correspondence to the frame
of a photograph is a rectangle. A high degree of
precision is called for, as the most usual way of
arranging rectangular shapes in a frame is to align
them with the horizontals and verticals of the
frame itself. Misalignments are then easy to spot,
and easy to correct digitally. In fact, correcting
distortions due to lens design and to tilting is )-0,)%$ #)2#,%3 42)!.'5,!2 2%,!4)/.3()0 3 #526%

88 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 89

VECTORS

7 e have seen how readily the eye follows a

line, or even the suggestion of one. This
tendency is the most important single device
The strongest lines that can be used in this
way are those with the clearest sense of direction
and movement. Diagonals, therefore, are
be of points, or of different short lines, such as
the edges of shadows.
Another device is any representation of
available to a photographer in designing an image particularly useful, and if there are two or more, movement. The image of a person walking
so that it will be looked at in a certain way. In and they converge, so much the better. Curves contains a suggestion of direction, and this has
principle at least, if you can balance a picture so also have feeling of movement, and on occasion momentum. The eye has a tendency to move a
that the attention is first taken by one predictable even of speed and acceleration. However, the little ahead of the person, in the direction that is
point, and then provide a line which suggests opportunities for using real lines are limited by being taken. The same is true of any object that is
movement in one direction, you will have the scene, naturally enough, and they are often obviously in movement, such as falling or flying.
provided a route for the eye. Vectors are graphic not available when you want them. Implied lines Because movement in photographs is frozen, even
elements (or combinations) that have movement, are not as definite and obvious, but can at least be the direction in which an object is facing imparts
and so impart a dynamic quality to the image. created by the photographer, using viewpoint and a slight suggestion of movement; it needs to be
Kinetics is another term sometimes used. lens to make alignments. These alignments may recognizable, as in the case of a car, for example.

30)2!, 2/4!4)/.
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 $)2%#4).' 4(% !44%.4)/.
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#/.6%2').' $)!'/.!,3
4HIS IS AN ARRANGED SHOT INTENDED TO SHOW THE CONVERGING ON THE SEED SO THAT DESPITE THE BULK
EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURE FOR SEEDING A PEARL OYSTER OF THE OYSTER AS IT APPEARS IN SILHOUETTE THE SEED IS
)T WAS DECIDED THAT THE STYLE OF THE PHOTOGRAPH VERY MUCH THE CENTER OF ATTENTION 4HE ANGLE OF THE
WOULD BE CLEAN SPARE AND CLINICAL IN KEEPING WITH LINES WAS CHOSEN SO AS NOT TO BE SYMMETRICAL WHICH
THE IDEA THAT THE PROCESS IS RATHER LIKE A SURGICAL WOULD HAVE BEEN A LITTLE PREDICTABLE AND DULL
OPERATION 4HE INGREDIENTS NEEDED WERE THE OYSTER 4HE INSTRUMENTS ON THE RIGHT WERE FANNED TO
THE SPECIAL SURGICAL TOOLS THE SEED ACTUALLY A SMALL AVOID EVERY LINE POINTING SEVERELY AT THE CENTER AND
SPHERE AND OF COURSE THE ACTION OF INSERTING IT THE OPEN MOUTH OF THE OYSTER INTRODUCES A SENSE OF
4HE SEED IS THE CENTRAL ELEMENT BUT ALSO THE MOVEMENT 4HE EYE MOVES TO THE SEED AT THE CENTER
SMALLEST HENCE THE GRAPHIC STRUCTURE IS DESIGNED TO AND THEN A LITTLE DOWN AND LEFT TO THE OYSTER 4HE
FOCUS ATTENTION ON IT 4HE BASIC FORM IS THREE LINES ACTION IS MADE CLEAR BY THE LINES

#)2#,%3 &/#53 !44%.4)/. 425.+ !$$3 4/ 6%#4/2 6%#4/2 &2/- &)'52%

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FOCUS

3 harp focus is such an accepted standard

in photography that it is rarely treated as
anything other than a way of producing a “correct”
seen in one photograph, from soft to sharp. As
the sharp area is expected to coincide with the
main point of interest—where the eye is expected
Shorter focal lengths give images with better
depth of field than do longer focal lengths, and we
are accustomed to seeing wide-angle views that
image, just like inserting the memory card before finally to rest—the range of focus contains a sense are sharp throughout. With a typical telephoto
shooting and other obvious essentials. Only of direction from unsharp to sharp. This is not image, loss of focus either in the background or
occasionally does it occur to most people to vary nearly such a strong inducement to the eye as the foreground is such a familiar condition that we
the focus for the effect it has on the design. Yet, lines of view that we have just looked at, but it expect it. With a wide-angle view, on the other
under the right circumstances, this can be effective. works nevertheless. What is important is that it hand, out-of-focus areas are not expected, and
The question of where to focus seldom works through the familiarity of the viewer with when this happens with a fast wide-angle lens
arises, because the normal practice of making the way his or her own eyes will focus on used at maximum aperture on a deep subject,
a photograph is first to decide what the subject an object. it can easily look in some way wrong.
should be and then to aim the camera. Natural
enough, certainly, and the usual focus problems
3%.3% /& -/6%-%.4 ). &/#53
are those of accuracy rather than of selection.
7ITH A  MM LENS FOCUSED ON THE DISTANCE DEPTH
Under normal circumstances, the point to OF FIELD IN THIS SHOT OF ,AKE -AGADI IN .GORONGORO
be focused on—the eyes in a face, or a figure #RATER 4ANZANIA IS VERY SHALLOW &ROM A SLIGHTLY
standing in front of a background—presents ELEVATED VIEWPOINT THE ROOF OF A VEHICLE THE FOCUS
itself without an alternative. IS PROGRESSIVE LEADING THE EYE RAPIDLY UPWARD TO THE
POINT OF FOCUS WHERE A HYENA HAS TAKEN A FLAMINGO
Certain situations, however, do offer a choice,
0LACING THIS MAIN SUBJECT OF INTEREST HIGH IN THE
and this lies mainly in how you define the image. FRAME MAKES THE BEST USE OF THIS EFFECT
When photographing a group of objects, should
they all appear in sharp focus? Would it be more
effective if just one or a few were sharp and the rest
progressively soft? If so, which ones should be in
focus and which not? Moreover, there might not
necessarily be such a choice of deep or shallow
focus. If the light level is low for the combination
of film and lens, it may only be possible to have
one zone of the image in focus, and in this case
you will be forced into a selective decision.
Whatever the reasons, never underestimate
the visual power of focus. The fact that sharpness
#/,/2 7!3( 3%,%#4)6% &/#53
is the virtually unquestioned standard is enough
3HALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD IS TYPICAL 4HE GREAT VALUE OF LIMITED FOCUS IS THAT IT
to show that whatever is focused on becomes the OF MACRO IMAGES°INDEED CONCENTRATES ATTENTION ON A SPECIFIC PART OF THE
de facto point of attention. Deliberate misuse— VIRTUALLY UNAVOIDABLE 4HE IMAGE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER´S CHOOSING AND ALL
or rather, unexpected use—works extremely EXTREME BLURRING ON EITHER SIDE WORKS WELL PROVIDED THAT THE OUT OF FOCUS ELEMENTS
well because it flouts established procedure. OF THE POINT OF FOCUS CREATES A REMAIN INTELLIGIBLE )N THIS CASE A SCRIBE WORKING
WASH OF GREENS AND YELLOWS SO IN A SCRIPTORIUM THE PURPOSE OF THE TECHNIQUE WAS
If you are using focus in an expected way,
THAT THE MAIN SUBJECT BECOMES TO REGISTER THE CALLIGRAPHY DESPITE ITS RELATIVELY
it is important to appreciate its different uses THE PURE COLORS OF 3PRING SMALL SIZE IN THE FRAME 4HE SELECTIVE FOCUS IS
with different focal lengths. Even without any PARTICULARLY EXTREME HERE THROUGH THE USE OF A
knowledge of the techniques of photography, X INCH VIEW CAMERA WITH THE LENS PANEL TILTED
most people looking at a photograph are familiar TO GIVE THE MINIMUM DEPTH OF FIELD WITH THE
LENS AT FULL APERTURE
with the way the focus is normally distributed.
With a telephoto lens, the depth of field is shallow,
and there is typically a range of focus that can be

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MOTION

4 he range from sharp to unsharp in independent subject movement (as in the seagull Cartier-Bresson railed against what he called “an 42)0/$ 7)4( 35"*%#4 -/6%-%.4 &/,,/7 &/#53 -/4)/. ",52
photography is not confined to focus. It also example on page 97), and the now familiar insatiable craving for sharpness of images. Is this ! DIMLY LIT CHAPEL IN THE *OKHANG ,HASA SHOT WITH ! SEAGULL IN FLIGHT AGAINST A DARK BACKGROUND
THE CAMERA ON A TRIPOD WITH A HALF SECOND SHUTTER PHOTOGRAPHED WITH A  MM LENS AT A SHUTTER
occurs in a different form as motion blur. As rear-curtain shutter technique in which motion the passion of an obsession? Or do these people
SPEED 4HE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE IS INEVITABLY BLURRED SPEED OF ONE SECOND REVEALS ITS WING MOVEMENTS
users of digital filters in Photoshop and other streaking from a long exposure is crisply finished hope, by this trompe l’œil [a realist art school] BUT THIS IS ACCEPTABLE BECAUSE THE SETTING IS SHARP IN A JUST RECOGNIZABLE PATTERN
applications know, there are also different kinds off with a sharp flash image superimposed. technique, to get closer to grips with reality?”
of motion blur, and each has its own character As on pages 94-95, which deal with focus, here Motion blur, in the appropriate circumstances,
and sense. There is the jerky blur from camera I’m concerned with uses for unsharpness rather can convey movement and actuality, and the
shake, usually producing ghosted double edges. than ways of avoiding it. Convention suggests element of uncertainty in capturing it with
There is the complex streaking from a subject that that motion blur is a fault, but this very much slow exposures brings a sense of experiment to
moves during the exposure, and the more linear depends on the effect that the photographer is shooting. Perhaps the most important decision
one from panning the camera or shooting from looking for. As an expressive element it can work is knowing whether to deal with motion in this
a moving vehicle. There are many combinations very well, and there are strong arguments against way or to freeze a particular moment in time.
and permutations, such as panning plus being constantly fixated on sharpness. Henri We will examine the latter on pages 98-99.

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MOMENT

2%0%4)4)6% !#4)/.
#ERTAIN KINDS OF ACTION ALLOW ANTICIPATION IN
THIS CASE A WORKER SHOVELLING SALT INTO MOUNDS
!FTER SEEING THIS SEVERAL TIMES ) CHOSE THIS
MOMENT WITH A LOAD OF SALT SUSPENDED IN THE
AIR TAKING A LOW CAMERA POSITION SO THAT IT
WOULD SHOW CLEARLY

4 iming is not only an essential quality in

taking most photographs, it has a direct effect
on the actual design of the image. Photographs
have been many attempts to argue against it, most
recently in a post-modernist vein. The American
photographer Arnold Newman, for example,
and when the person doing the evaluating is
the photographer, the judgement is even more
critical. I think the real problem is that Henri
of all except completely static subjects—so the made this not wholly convincing criticism: Cartier-Bresson was a hard act to follow, and that
majority of photographs—must be timed. To “Every moment is a decisive moment, even if you good reportage photography that goes for the
take a photograph is to make a picture of an have to wait a week for it.... It’s a good phrase, decisive moment is a relatively uncommon skill.
event. The event may be brief—a matter of like all simplistic catchphrases, that really gets Whatever the action, whether it is a person
milliseconds—or it may be long enough, as in students questioning their own way of working. walking through the scene or clouds gathering
the change of daylight over a landscape, that the The real problem is that so often they think, over a mountain, it will certainly have to move
timing is chosen in terms of hours. ‘Well, if it’s the decisive moment, that’s what across the frame. The action, therefore, inevitably
!.4)#)0!4)/.
The very word, of course, invokes one of I’m looking for.’ What they should be looking affects the design of the picture, because it alters
)N THIS SCENE OF ITINERANT ACROBATS IN AN )NDIAN TOWN
photography’s most famous expressions, “the for is photographs, not the decisive moment. the balance. Take, for example, a scene in front IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE GIRL IS ABOUT TO BE TOSSED IN THE
decisive moment.” Henri Cartier-Bresson, the If it takes an hour, two hours, a week, or two of which someone is about to pass. Before this AIR BUT HOW FAR 4HERE MAY NOT BE A SECOND CHANCE
consummate photojournalist who applied the seconds, or one-twentieth of a second—there’s happens, the composition that suggests itself FOR THE REASON THAT THIS IS )NDIA AND AS SOON AS THE
phrase to photography, took it from the 17th- no such thing as only one right time. There are is likely to be different from the one including CAMERA IS NOTICED THERE ARE LIKELY TO BE PASSERS BY
STARING AT IT 4HE SCENE IS FIRST FRAMED APPROXIMATELY
century Cardinal de Retz, who wrote, “Il n’y a many moments. Sometimes one person will the person. Anticipating the changed dynamic
AND THEN AS THE GIRL IS THROWN UPWARD THE CAMERA
rien dans ce monde qui n’ait un moment decisif,” take a photograph one moment; another person is always vital. It may seem obvious, but the IS PANNED UPWARD TO FOLLOW 4HE ASSUMPTION IS THAT
(“There is nothing in this world without a will take a photograph the other moment. One natural reaction in any photographic situation AT THE PEAK THE IMAGE OF THE GIRL WILL CLEAR THE TOP OF
decisive moment”) and defined it as follows: may not be better, they’ll just be different.” is to follow movement and to make what seems THE BUILDINGS AND THIS DOES IN FACT HAPPEN THOUGH
“Inside movement there is one moment at Newman’s view is full of common sense, intuitively to be the most satisfying composition THERE IS TIME ONLY FOR ONE FRAME 4HE SHUTTER SPEED
&)'52% ). ! ,!.$3#!0% OF  SEC IS ENOUGH TO FREEZE THE MOVEMENT
which the elements in motion are in balance. but also compromise, and is in effect making an at any moment. If, however, an image is planned
)N THIS SCENE OF RICE TERRACES IN "ALI LANDSCAPE IS THE LEFT TO OCCUPY THE BRIGHTEST PART OF THE FLOODED RICE
Photography must seize upon this moment excuse for the less-good moments. Photography, in advance, it is important to imagine the result
SUBJECT BUT WILL CLEARLY BE ENHANCED BY THE FARMER TERRACE AND SO BE CLEARLY VISIBLE 4HE FIRST SHOT WITH
and hold immobile the equilibrium of it.” as any art, plays to an audience and is judged. when everything will be in place. Then, it is BEING IN A CLEAR APPROPRIATE POSITION 4HE SITUATION THE MAN IN A LESS SATISFACTORY POSITION FARTHER AWAY
This makes such complete sense that it has Some images, and therefore some moments, are usually easier to frame the view as it will be and WAS FAIRLY SIMPLE TO PLAN IN ADVANCE 4HE IDEAL POSITION WAS TAKEN FOR SAFETY )N THE EVENT THE MAN MOVED
dogged many photographers since, and there indeed considered to be more telling than others, wait for that movement to pass into the frame. FOR THE MAN PLANTING RICE WAS FELT TO BE AT THE FAR AS ANTICIPATED BACK TO THE BASKETS AT LOWER LEFT

98 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 99

OPTICS

! s the image in photography is formed

optically, so the choice of lens is an essential
part of the design process. The choice of focal
opposite. (See pages 52-57 for more on the
techniques of enhancing depth perception.)
The diagonalization of lines is linked to this
/.% 3#%.% 47/ ,%.3%3
K_`jgX`if]g_fkf^iXg_j#f]k_\jXd\jlYa\ZkYlk
]ifd[`]]\i\ek[`jkXeZ\j#`ccljkiXk\jk_\gi`eZ`gXc
Z_XiXZk\i`jk`Zjf]n`[\$Xe^c\Xe[k\c\g_fkfc\ej\j%
length does much more than alter the coverage effect on apparent perspective. The angle of view K_\]`ijkg`Zkli\nXjkXb\en`k_X)'ddc\ej#
of a scene. Focal length determines much of the is great, so more of the lines that converge on k_\j\Zfe[n`k_X+''ddc\ej%K_\i\]\i\eZ\]fi
Yfk_g`Zkli\j`jk_\n`[k_f]k_`jYl`c[`e^%@eYfk_
geometry of the image, and can deeply affect its the scene’s vanishing points are visible, and these g_fkf^iXg_j`kfZZlg`\j_Xc]k_\]iXd\n`[k_%
character also. In addition there are some special are usually diagonal. Moreover, the correction of
optical constructions, especially fish-eyes and barrel distortion in the construction of a normal MM
shift lenses, which will also change the shape of wide-angle lens results in rectilinear distortion, ›J`q\i\cXk`fej_`gj\oX^^\iXk\[2k_\Yl`c[`e^
Y\_`e[Xgg\XijdlZ_jdXcc\i%
things in the photograph. a radial stretching that is strongest away from ›;`X^feXcc`e\jgifd`e\ek%
Although all that varies with a change of focal the center of the frame. A circular object, for ›8e^lcXiZfm\iX^\^i\Xk\i%
length is the angle of view, this has pronounced example, is stretched to appear as an oval in the ›Jc`^_klgnXi[ZXd\iXXe^c\ZXlj\j
Zfem\i^\eZ\f]m\ik`ZXcc`e\j%
effects on the linear structure of an image, on corner of the frame. ›C\ejc`e\jkilZkli\1dX`ecp[`X^feXc%
the perception of depth, on size relationships, Wide-angle lenses tend to be involving for ›C\ejgcXe\jkilZkli\1[\\g#Xe^c\[%
and on more expressive, less literal qualities of the viewer because, if used as shown here and
MM
vision. Focal length can, for example, affect the reproduced large enough, they pull the viewer ›JdXccXe^c\f]Zfm\iX^\%
involvement of a viewer in the scene, so that a into the scene. The foreground is obviously ›?fi`qfekXcXe[m\ik`ZXcc`e\jdfi\gifd`e\ek
telephoto lens tends to distance a subject, while a close and the stretching toward the edges and k_Xe[`X^feXcj%
›J`q\i\cXk`fej_`gjXck\i\[YpZfdgi\jj`fe2
wide-angle lens will draw the viewer into the scene. corners wraps the image around the viewer. Yl`c[`e^Y\_`e[Xgg\Xiji\cXk`m\cpcXi^\i%
The reference standard is the focal length that In other words, the viewer is made aware that ›8ck_fl^_k_\ZXd\iX`jjk`ccjc`^_kcpcfn\i
gives approximately the same angle of view as we the scene extends beyond the frame, and this is k_Xek_\Yl`c[`e^j#^i\Xk\i[`jkXeZ\e\\[j
jdXcc\ilgnXi[k`ckXe[k_\i\`jm`iklXccp
have ourselves. Only approximation is possible, a style widely used in photojournalism—fast, efZfem\i^\eZ\%
because human vision and lens imagery are quite loosely structured, and involving. The things ›C\ejc`e\jkilZkli\1dX`ecp_fi`qfekXcXe[
different. We see by scanning, and do not have an photographed are mostly people and movement. m\ik`ZXc%
›C\ejgcXe\jkilZkli\1]cXk#Zcfj\%
exactly delineated frame of view. Nevertheless, for In the cinema, the equivalent style is known
a 35mm camera, a focal length of around 40 to as subjective camera, and its characteristics
50mm gives roughly the same impression. are all the qualities you would associate with
Wide-angle lenses have shorter focal lengths participating in an event. This is eye-level SLR
and the angle of view is directly proportional photography, using wide-angle or standard lenses
to the focal length. They affect the structure (never a telephoto, which gives a cooler, more
of the image in three main ways. They change distanced character to the image). At its most
the apparent perspective and so the perception effective, the framing includes close foreground,
of depth; they have a tendency to produce and truncates figures and faces at the edges; this
diagonals (real and implied) and consequently seemingly imperfect cropping extends the scene
dynamic tension; and they induce a subjective at the sides, giving the viewer the impression that
viewpoint, drawing the viewer into the scene. The it wraps around. Imperfections in framing and
perspective effect depends very much on the way depth of field can help to give a slightly rough-
the lens is used, specifically the viewpoint. Used edged quality which suggest the photograph had
from the edge of a clifftop or the top of a tall to be taken quickly, without time to compose
building, with no foreground at all in the picture, carefully. Note, however, that photographs taken
there is virtually no effect on the perspective; just by experienced photojournalists are usually well
a wider angle of view. However, used with a full composed, even under stress.
scale of distance, from close to the camera all the On the other side of the standard lens is the
way to the horizon, a wide-angle lens will give telephoto (actually a construction of long focus
an impressive sense of depth, as in the example lens, but now the most commonly used term),

100 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 101

and it too has various effects on the structure can be attractive for its own sake), and also unbalancing elements. Precise balance is also often 7)$% !.',% 0%230%#4)6% %&&%#43 7)$% !.',% $9.!-)# ,).%3
of the image. It reduces the impression of depth because it makes it possible to compose in a easier, needing only a slight change in the camera 4WO PERSPECTIVE EFFECTS ARE COMBINED HERE BY 7ITH THE APPROPRIATE CAMERA ANGLE A
A MM LENS LINEAR PERSPECTIVE FROM THE LINES WIDE ANGLE LENS PRODUCES STRONG DIAGONALS
by compressing the planes of the image; it gives two-dimensional way, with a set of planes rather angle; the arrangement of areas of tone or color
THAT CONVERGE ON THE HORIZON AND DIMINISHING PARTICULARLY IF THE FOREGROUND IS INCLUDED
a selective view, and so can be used to pick out than a completely realistic sense of depth—with can be altered without changing the perspective. PERSPECTIVE FROM THE APPARENTLY SIMILAR SHAPES
precise graphic structures; it generally simplifies obvious comparisons to traditional Chinese For the same reason, the direction of lines tends
the linear structure of an image, with a tendency and Japanese painting. A specific practical use is to be more consistent. Whereas a wide-angle lens
towards horizontals and verticals; it facilitates to give some height to an oblique view of level used close pulls lines into a variety of diagonals, a
juxtaposing two or more objects; and it creates ground. With a standard lens, the acute angle of telephoto leaves parallel lines and right angles as
a more objective, cooler way of seeing things, view tends to interfere; a telephoto lens from a they are. Expressively, this often makes for a more
distancing the viewer from the subject (as the distance gives the impression of tilting the surface static, less dynamic character.
photographer is distanced when shooting). upwards, as the photograph on page 105 shows. Juxtaposition is a major compositional use
The compression effect is valuable because The selectivity from the narrow angle of of telephoto lenses (see pages 178-179). This can
it is a different way of seeing things (the unusual view makes it possible to eliminate distracting or be done with any lens simply by changing the

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viewpoint or by moving one of the objects, but
only a telephoto lens allows it to be done without
major changes to the rest of the image. Moreover,
when the two things are a distance apart, the
compression effect of a telephoto lens helps to
bring them together.
Finally, the way that a telephoto lens is
normally used—from a distance—communicates
itself to the viewer and leaves an objective, less
involved impression. There is a major difference
in visual character between shooting within a
situation with a wide-angle lens and an across-
the-street view away from the subject.
Certain other designs of lens, apart from
variations in focal length, alter the shape of the
image. Their intended uses are specialized, but
enable the image to be stretched or curved in
various ways. One such is the fish-eye, of which
there are two varieties, circular and full-frame.
Both have an extreme angle of view, 180º or
more, but in the full-frame version, the projected
circle is slightly larger that the normal rectangular
SLR frame. The pronounced curvature is highly
abnormal, and at best it has only occasional use.
Little subtlety is possible with this type of lens,
unless the subject lacks obvious straight lines
(such as in the forest photograph on page 88).
Another way of changing the image structure
is by tilting the lens or camera back, or both—a
procedure relatively common in view camera
4%,%0(/4/ #/-02%33)/.
photography. Tilting the lens tilts the plane of /NE OF THE DISTINCTIVE VISUAL
sharp focus, so that, even at maximum aperture, IMPRESSIONS OF A TELEPHOTO
the sharpness in an image can be distributed DISTANT VIEW IS AS IF THE PLANES
more or less at will. Tilting the sensor or film also OF THE SUBJECT HAVE BEEN TILTED
UPWARD TO FACE THE CAMERA
controls the sharpness distribution, but distorts the
image, stretching it progressively in the direction in
which the sensor or film is tilted. The example of
the raindrops here shows how this works.
4),4 ,%.3 !,4%2).' 3(!20.%33 $)342)"54)/.
35"*%#4)6% #!-%2!
"Y TILTING EITHER THE LENS OR THE BACK OF THE CAMERA THE LATTER ONLY POSSIBLE
! WIDE ANGLE LENS USED CLOSE INTO A CROWD SCENE
WITH SPECIALIST CAMERAS THE PLANE OF SHARP FOCUS CAN BE TILTED FROM
GIVES THE SENSE OF BEING IN THE THICK OF THINGS THAT
ITS NORMAL VERTICAL POSITION FACING THE CAMERA )N THIS EXAMPLE A CLOSE
IS TYPICAL OF SUBJECTIVE CAMERA SHOTS 4RUNCATION AND
VIEW OF RAINDROPS FRONT TO BACK SHARPNESS WAS POSSIBLE DEPTH OF FIELD
LOSS OF FOCUS AT THE SIDES AND EXTREME FOREGROUND
ADJUSTMENT BY MEANS OF THE APERTURE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENT 
HELP THIS IMPRESSION OF BEING INSIDE THE VIEW

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EXPOSURE

) n the same way that focus is most commonly

used in a standardized way, to produce a kind
of technical accuracy in a photograph, exposure is
contrast in a scene, therefore, is likely to direct
attention from shadow to light, while lower
contrast allows the eye to wander across the
exposing for the highlights that has dominated
color photography, more or less, ever since—
with particular significance in digital capture.
often also assumed to have a “correct” role. I should frame, as the two versions of the hills at sunrise Two dominant features of exposure in
stress that this is how it is seen conventionally, show. A variation of this is the radial difference in photography that could be considered graphic
not how it can or ought to be used. Deciding brightness due to vignetting, quite common with elements in their own right are silhouette and
on the right exposure involves both technical wide-angle lenses, because their typical design flare, and we’ll return to these at the end of the
considerations and judgement. From the technical allows less light to reach the edges than the center. book when we consider the changing syntax of
side of things, the upper and lower limits of In color, exposure can have a critical effect on photography. Exposing for the highlights is a
exposure are set first by what is visible, second by saturation, depending on the process. Kodachrome precondition for silhouette, in which the complete
the expected appearance. In other words, part of film, first produced in 1935, achieved prominence absence of detail in the unlit foreground shape
the task of the exposure setting is to normalize the in professional photography from the 1950s leads to a technique of choosing orientation,
view—to approximate how we see the real scene. onward when it was used by widely reproduced viewpoint, and timing to communicate by means
6)'.%44).'
The conventions of exposure have much photographers such as Ernst Haas and Art Kane. of outline only. On the opposite side of the
2ADIAL DARKENING TOWARD THE CORNERS IN THIS
in common with those of focus. The eye has a Its unique technology favored underexposure to exposure scale is flare, which can take many forms, WIDE ANGLE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SPACE BETWEEN
tendency to move towards the areas of “normal” give rich, saturated colors, but it was intolerant but the key one for photographic composition is TWO 3HAKER BUILDINGS IN -AINE FOCUSES ATTENTION
exposure, particularly if these are bright. Higher of overexposure. This initiated the strategy of an intense glow with diffuse edges. INWARD REINFORCING THE STRONG DIAGONALS

+/$!#(2/-% %80/352% #/.#%04

4HE WIDELY USED COLOR TECHNIQUE OF EXPOSING TO
HOLD THE HIGHLIGHTS BEGAN WITH +ODACHROME FILM
5NDER EXPOSED MID DARK TONES RETAIN RICH SATURATION
AND THIS CAN BE OPENED UP DURING REPRO OR IN DIGITAL
POST PRODUCTION )T IS ESSENTIAL NOT TO OVEREXPOSE
SIGNIFICANT HIGHLIGHTS AND IN A DIGITAL CAMERA THE
HIGHLIGHT WARNING DISPLAY IS A CRUCIAL HELP

&,!2%
,ENS FLARE IS A GRAPHIC ENTITY IN ITS OWN RIGHT AND
$)&&53).' /2 #/.#%.42!4).' !44%.4)/. WHETHER CONSIDERED A FAULT OR A CONTRIBUTION TO THE
%XPOSURE CAN NARROW OR BROADEN THE ATTENTION IN A DIGITAL IMAGE !UTOMATIC OPTIMIZATION OPENS UP CONCENTRATES ATTENTION ON THE BRIEFLY LIT EDGE IMAGE DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON THE PHOTOGRAPHER´S TASTE
PICTURE IF THERE ARE TWO DISTINCT AREAS OF BRIGHTNESS THE SHADOWS WITH THE RESULT THAT THE EYE SLIDES MAKES THIS THE SUBJECT AND INCREASES THE AND CHOICE 4HIS AERIAL VIEW OF THE /RINOCO 2IVER IN
AS IN THIS SINGLE DIGITAL IMAGE OF THE EARLY MORNING AWAY FROM THE SUNLIT AREA TO THE REST OF THE DRAMA OF THE LIGHTING )T ALSO HEIGHTENS THE 6ENEZUELA COULD HAVE BEEN SHOT WITHOUT THE FLARE
SUN STRIKING THE SPUR OF A 7ELSH MOUNTAIN THROUGH SCENE 4HE EXPOSURE HAS THUS HELPED TO RADIATE SENSE OF TIMING WE ARE CONSCIOUS THAT IN THE STREAKS FROM THE SUN BY SIMPLY SHIELDING THE LENS
THE CLOUDS 4HERE ARE TWO INTERPRETATIONS MEANING THE ATTENTION OUTWARD )NCREASING THE CONTRAST FIRST MOMENTS OF THE DAY THE SUN IS PICKING )NSTEAD THEY ARE USED TO HELP UNITE THE COMPOSITION
TWO WAYS OF PROCESSING THE 2AW IMAGE FILE IN THIS AND LOWERING THE EXPOSURE ON THE OTHER HAND OUT ONE SMALL AREA JUST FOR AN INSTANT AND GIVE THE SENSE OF BLINDING SUNLIGHT

106 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% '2!0( )#  0(/4/'2!0( )# %,%-%.43 107

 ! NOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON COMPOSITION IN
PHOTOGRAPHY IS THAT OF THE DISTRIBUTION
OF TONES AND COLORS 4HIS IS INTIMATELY
POSSIBLE WITHOUT DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY -OST
SERIOUS PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE NOW THOROUGHLY
FAMILIAR WITH WHAT USED TO BE CONSIDERED
PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO WERE SUSPICIOUS
NATURALLY ENOUGH BECAUSE IT CHALLENGED
THEIR HARD WON SKILLS AND WAYS OF SEEING
CONNECTED WITH EXPOSURE AND WITH THE ARCANE FEATURES SUCH AS HISTOGRAMS CURVE BUT ALSO CRITICS AND SOME PHILOSOPHERS A
WAYS IN WHICH THIS IS LATER INTERPRETED° ADJUSTMENTS BLACK POINTS AND WHITE POINTS NUMBER OF WHOM CONSIDERED IT TAINTED
TRADITIONALLY IN THE DARKROOM DURING !DJUSTING IMAGES WITH ,EVELS #URVES AND WITH THE COMMERCIALISM OF ADVERTISING
PRINTING AND DEVELOPMENT NOW IN DIGITAL (UE 3ATURATION "RIGHTNESS SLIDERS MAKES AND SELLING PRODUCTS
POST PRODUCTION WHEN THE IMAGE FILE IS IT PERFECTLY OBVIOUS HOW CLOSELY CONNECTED .EVERTHELESS COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY WAS
OPTIMIZED AND ADJUSTED 4HIS INTERCONNECTS ARE TONE AND COLOR EMBRACED BY MANY PROFESSIONALS AND
WITH THE HANDLING OF GRAPHIC ELEMENTS THAT !T THE SAME TIME COLOR HAS ITS OWN ARTISTS AND OF COURSE BY THE PUBLIC 4HE
WE EXAMINED IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER° INFLUENCES ON OUR PERCEPTION AND ITS MULTI INFLUENTIAL 3WISS PHOTOGRAPHER %RNST (AAS
INDEED THE TWO ARE INSEPARABLE ! POINT LAYERED COMPLEXITY HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED WHO MOVED TO THE 5NITED 3TATES IN 
FUNCTIONS IN A PHOTOGRAPH BECAUSE IT HAS A FROM THE BEGINNINGS OF ART 4HERE ARE COLOR IDENTIFIED HIS LOVE OF COLOR IN PHOTOGRAPHY
TONAL OR COLOR CONTRAST WITH ITS BACKGROUND OPTICAL EFFECTS LIKE SUCCESSIVE CONTRAST THAT WITH THE %UROPEAN WARTIME EXPERIENCE

#(!04%2 
,INES AND SHAPES ALSO HAVE AN EFFECT IN WORK INDEPENDENTLY OF TASTE CULTURE AND ±) WAS LONGING FOR IT NEEDED IT ) WAS READY
PROPORTION TO HOW DISTINCT THEY ARE AND EXPERIENCE BUT THERE ARE ALSO EMOTIONAL FOR IT ) WANTED TO CELEBRATE IN COLOR THE NEW
ULTIMATELY THIS COMES DOWN TO TONAL ANDOR AND CONTEXTUAL EFFECTS THAT WHILE NOT TIMES FILLED WITH NEW HOPE² !S WE WILL SEE
COLOR RELATIONSHIPS 4HESE ARE THE SPECTRAL COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD ARE NEVERTHELESS THE INTERPRETATION OF COLOR HAS SINCE THEN
COMPONENTS OF DESIGN VERY POWERFUL )NTERESTINGLY ENOUGH BEEN THE SUBJECT OF ONGOING EXPERIMENT

#/-0/3).' 7)4(
4ONE AND COLOR ARE RELATED YET REMAIN PHOTOGRAPHY ITSELF HAS HELPED TO PROMOTE AND ARGUMENT
DISTINCT IN A COMPLEX INTER RELATIONSHIP THIS DISTINCTION BETWEEN TONE AND COLOR "LACK AND WHITE MEANWHILE REMAINS
/NE OF THE LESS OBVIOUS BENEFITS OF THROUGH ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT VIGOROUSLY HEALTHY AND FAR FROM SUCCUMBING
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY IS THAT THE PROCESS OF #OLOR ARRIVED RELATIVELY LATE ON THE TO COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY CONTINUES TO BE USED

,)'(4 !.$ #/,/2

OPTIMIZING IMAGES ON THE COMPUTER HAS PHOTOGRAPHIC SCENE°IN TERMS OF MASS USE WITH ENTHUSIASM NOT JUST BY ARTISTS AND
TAUGHT MORE PEOPLE ABOUT THE SCIENCE ONLY IN THE S°AND WAS NOT UNIVERSALLY TRADITIONALISTS BUT BY ART DIRECTORS AND
OF IMAGING THAN WOULD EVER HAVE BEEN WELCOMED )T WAS NOT ONLY TRADITIONALIST PICTURE EDITORS IN PUBLISHED MEDIA

#/-0/3).' 7)4( ,)'(4 !.$ #/,/2 109

CHIAROSCURO AND KEY

# ontrast, as we saw at the beginning of

Chapter 2, underpins composition, and
one of the most basic forms of contrast is tonal.
photography works mainly in these “safe” tonal
areas. Shadows and highlights, however, can
contribute strongly to the mood and atmosphere
Using these two axes, contrast and brightness
(contrast and key), as a guide, the choice of
style for an image depends on three things: the
The Italian expression chiaroscuro (literally of a photograph. characteristics of the scene (dark vegetation, pale
“light/dark”) refers specifically to the dramatic The schematics below show all the possible skin, bright sky, and so on), the way the scene is
modeling of subjects in painting by means kinds of tonal distribution for a photograph—in lit, and the photographer’s interpretation. The last
of shafts of light illuminating dark scenes. In a sense, the lighting styles. If we ignore color of these is now, through digital post-production,
a more general sense, it conveys the essential for the time being, these variations are defined more influential than ever. On pages 112-113, I’ve
contrast that establishes tonal relationships. by two axes—contrast and brightness—which taken one image, of elephants under an acacia
Johannes Itten (see pages 34-35) identified it are immediately familiar to anyone working tree, and shown how it can be simply rendered in
as “one of the most expressive and important on digital images in Photoshop. Within these different keys—and how any of these can be valid.
means of composition” in his basic course at groupings, there is an infinite variety of ways in One interesting feature of key is its different
the Bauhaus art school. It not only controls the which the tones can be distributed. Chiaroscuro appearance between black and white and color,
strength of modeling in an image (and so its in its limited sense occupies the high-contrast end specifically that it is more difficult to make high
three-dimensionality), but also the structure of of the scale. The second axis, of overall brightness, key work in color. Whereas high-key black-and-
an image and which parts draw the attention. defines much of the mood of an image. When the white images seem luminous and graphic (with
Whether or not to use the full range of general expression is dark, favoring shadow tones, the right choice of subject), color images are more
tones from pure black to pure white is a basic the image is low key. The opposite, with all the often interpreted in negative terms, as washed out
decision, all the more important now in digital tonal modulation taking place in light tones, is and wrongly exposed. Partly this has to do with
!-")'5)49 #!534)#3
photography, which offers the histogram and high key. Plotting one against the other, the range color photography being more literally connected
!N )BAN FARMER IN "ORNEO RESTING BY A WINDOW IN THE LONGHOUSE #AUSTIC LIGHT PATTERNS LIKE THESE ARE FORMED WHEN LIGHT IS STRONGLY
levels controls in post-production. Most of the of possibilities forms a wedge-shaped pattern, with reality, and partly to do with taste and 4HE EXTREME CONTRAST MAKES IT DIFFICULT AT FIRST TO MAKE SENSE OF REFLECTED OR REFRACTED AND PARTIALLY FOCUSED ONTO A DIFFUSE SURFACE
information content in photographs is carried because maximum contrast in an image demands familiarity—the Kodachrome-induced strategy THE IMAGE AND THIS DELAY AND AMBIGUITY GIVE IT ITS APPEAL SUCH AS THIS PAPER
in the midtones, and a great deal of conventional roughly equal areas of black and white. of exposing to hold the highlights.

#/,/2 ).4%.3)49
%XPOSED°AS ALWAYS IN THIS KIND
OF PICTURE°FOR THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE CHIAROSCURO OF MORNING
SUNLIGHT THROUGH A WINDOW ON A
,/7 #/.42!34 #HINESE OPIUM PILLOW ENHANCES
BY CONTRAST THE IMPRESSION OF
RICH SATURATED COLOR

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2%).&/2#).' 0!44%2. ,/7 +%9 ). #/,/2

4HE SHADOWS IN A HIGH CONTRAST SCENE CAN ALSO REINFORCE SHAPE AND /NLY THE EDGES OF THE GIRL AND HER FISHING LINE BRIEFLY CAUGHT BY THE
PATTERN WITHIN THE SCENE AS IN THE UNDULATING SHADOW THAT PICKS UP LAST RAYS OF THE SUN DEFINE THIS IMAGE TAKEN ON A RIVER BANK IN 3URINAM
THE CURVES OF THE WOMAN´S HEADSCARF AND THE BANANAS 4HE SHADOWY FORMS OF THE TREES BEHIND COMPLETE THE SCENE WHICH IS
ALL EXCEPT FOR THE THIN EDGES IN THE LOWER REGISTER OF THE TONAL SCALE
()'( #/.42!34

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 3#%.% !.$ +%9 6!2)!4)/.3
/NE IMAGE TREATED IN DIFFERENT TONAL REGISTERS 4HE
ORIGINAL WAS +ODACHROME BUT AFTER SCANNING IT WAS
OPTIMIZED AS A DIGITAL FILE ,OW KEY BY REDUCING THE
BRIGHTNESS INTERPRETS THE SCENE AS GLOWERING AND
STORMY WITH EMPHASIS ON THE CLOUDS (IGH KEY GIVES
AN IMPRESSION OF PERMEATING BRIGHT LIGHT FROM THE
WIDE !FRICAN SKY AND IS MORE GRAPHIC WITH THE TREE
AND ELEPHANTS ALMOST FLOATING IN LIMBO .OTE THAT
THE LEAST SUCCESSFUL VERSION IS HIGH KEY IN COLOR WHICH
SEEMS MORE WRONGLY EXPOSED THAN INTENTIONAL

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COLOR IN COMPOSITION

29" 6%2353 2'"

4HE THREE REFLECTED LIGHT PRIMARIES RED YELLOW AND
BLUE MIX AS PIGMENTS INKS OR DYES ON PAPER AND GIVE
THE INTERMEDIATE COLOURS GREEN VIOLET AND ORANGE
AND CLOSE TO BLACK WHEN ALL THREE ARE COMBINED 4HE
THREE TRANSMITTED LIGHT PRIMARIES RED GREEN AND
BLUE COMBINE BY PROJECTION AND THEY COMBINE QUITE
DIFFERENTLY TO GIVE CYAN MAGENTA AND YELLOW WITH
WHITE AS THE RESULT OF ALL THREE TOGETHER

digital cameras. The core reason is that painters’

primaries are those of reflected light, on paper or
canvas, while the RGB familiar to photographers
are those of transmitted light. The actual red
and blue of each system differ. Comparing the
two sets of primaries is not, in any event, a very
useful exercise, because one deals mainly with the
perceptual effect of color (RYB) while the other
is concerned mainly with the creation of color
digitally and in film. As our purpose here is color
effect, I’ll stick to the painters’ primaries.
Strong hues are perceived in multi-leveled
4(% #/,/2 #)2#,%
ways, with various associations that have as much
(UE IS TYPICALLY MEASURED IN DEGREES FROM › TO › DIGITAL COLOR WHEEL SHOWS THAT THE PRINTER´S PRIMARIES
to do with culture and experience as with optical AND IN THIS ARRANGEMENT THE RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS THE CYAN MAGENTA AND YELLOW LIE DIRECTLY OPPOSITE RED
reality. Red is perceived as one of the strongest CIRCLE ARE IMPORTANT #OLORS OPPOSITE EACH OTHER ARE GREEN AND BLUE 4HE PAINTER´S PRIMARIES HOWEVER
and densest colors. It tends to advance, so that KNOWN AS COMPLEMENTARIES AND THESE FORM THE BASIS DO NOT PRODUCE SUCH EVEN SPOKES WITH VARYING
when in the foreground it enhances the sense of OF THE PRINCIPLE OF COLOR HARMONY (ERE THE CLASSIC DEFINITIONS OF BLUE AND GREEN
depth. It is energetic, vital, earthy, strong, and

# olor adds a completely different dimension

to the organization of a photograph, not
always easy or possible to separate from the other
with in front of the camera tend to be muted in
various ways. The strength of color is determined
mainly by its saturation, and this is one of the
the hue is dark or light. Another way of looking
at this is that saturation and brightness are both
modulations of hue.
warm, even hot. It can connote passion (hot-
bloodedness) and can also suggest aggression
and danger (it is a symbol for warning and
many people have difficulty in judging precisely.
The primary symbolism of blue derives from its
two most widespread occurrences in nature: the sky
associations of green tend toward sickness and
decomposition. We can perceive more varieties
of green, between yellow on the one hand and
dynamics that we have been looking at. The ways three parameters in the color model that is most Color effects naturally work most strongly prohibition). It has temperature associations, and water. Thus, airiness, coolness, wetness are all blue on the other, than any other color.
in which we sense and judge color are in any case useful for our purposes. One of the side benefits when the colors involved are intense, and the and is commonly used as the symbol for heat. possible associations. Photographically, it is one of Violet is an elusive and rare color, both to
complex, from the optical to the emotional, and of digital photography is that post-production examples shown on the next few pages favor these Yellow is the brightest of all colors, and the easiest colors to find, because of sky reflections. find and capture, and to reproduce accurately. It
the general subject of color in photography is, like in Photoshop and similar applications has made for clarity. Hue is the essence of color, and in its does not even exist in a dark form. Expressively, The secondary colors that are complementary is easily confused with purple. Violet has rich and
color in art, a huge one. My earlier book, Color, most of us familiar with the technical language of simplest representation, the hues are arranged it is vigorous, sharp, and insistent, sometimes to these primaries are green (opposite red on sumptuous associations, and also those of mystery
in the Digital Photography Expert series, goes into color. The three most widely used parameters, or in a circle. In the centuries of thought that aggressive, sometimes cheerful. It has obvious the color wheel), violet (opposite yellow), and and immensity. The similar color purple has
much more detail than is possible here, including axes, of color are hue, saturation, and brightness. have gone into color in art, the idea of primary associations with the sun and other sources of orange (opposite blue). Green is the first and religious, regal, and superstitious connotations.
color theory and management (see bibliography). Hue is the quality that gives each color its name, colors has been central, and general opinion has light, and especially against a dark background foremost color of nature, and its associations and Orange borrows from red on the one side and
The critical color issue before us in these pages is and is what most people mean when they use the settled on three—red, yellow, and blue—known appears to radiate light itself. symbolism, usually positive, come principally yellow on the other. It is warm, strong, brilliant,
how it can affect a photograph’s composition. word “color.” Blue, yellow, and green, for example, as painters’ primaries (refined to CMY(K) by Blue recedes more than yellow, and tends to from this. Plants are green, and so it is the color of and powerful, at least when pure. It is the color
We’ll begin with strong colors, because the are all hues. Saturation is the intensity or purity printers). These obviously do not square with be quiet, relatively dark, and distinctly cool. It has growth; by extension it carries suggestions of hope of fire and of late afternoon sunlight. It has
effects and relationships work most strongly with of hue, with the minimum being a completely the three primaries—red, green, and blue—that a transparency that contrasts with red’s opacity. and progress. For the same reasons, yellow-green associations of festivity and celebration, but also
these, although the broad range of colors met neutral gray, and brightness determines whether are used in color film, computer monitors, and It also appears in many forms, and is a color that has spring-like associations of youth. Negative of heat and dryness.

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 ) ,

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COLOR RELATIONSHIPS

5 ltimately, colors have to be treated in

relationship to each other—and they are
perceived differently according to the other
colors they are seen next to. Red next to blue
appears to have a different nature from red next
to green, and yellow against a black background
has a different intensity from yellow against
white. Digital photography now gives a huge
degree of control over the appearance of color
in a photograph, and the hue, saturation, and
brightness are all adjustable. To what extent and
in what direction these adjustments should be
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made is a relatively new issue for photography.
4HE WARMTH OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT CONTRASTS WITH
Arguably the greatest problem with color THE HIGHER COLOR TEMPERATURE OF REFLECTED SKY
in photography and in art is the notion of
rightness and wrongness. As we’ve just seen
(pages 114-115), colors evoke reactions in the
viewer that range from the physiological to the
emotional, yet few people are able to articulate
why they like or dislike certain colors and certain
combinations. Indeed, few people are interested
in analyzing their visual preferences, while at the
same time expressing definite reactions.
As early as the fourth century BC, the
Greeks saw a possible connection between the
scale of colors and the scale of music, and even
'2%%. /2!.'%
applied color terminology to music by defining
4HE GREEN COLOR HERE CONTRASTS WITH THE
the chromatic scale, which was divided into ORANGE OF REFLECTED LIGHT IN THIS POOL
semitones. This relationship has persisted,
and it was a short step from this to theories of
harmony. Harmony in both music and color
has had different meanings throughout history,
from the Greek sense of fitting together to the
more modern one of a pleasing assembly. Taste
and fashion enter this, with the result that there
have been many, and conflicting, theories about
how colors “ought” to be combined. This is a
huge subject, dealt with at some length in my
book Digital Photography Expert: Color, and in
the greatest detail of all in John Gage’s Color
and Culture, but here I’m concerned with the
need to take a balanced, non-dogmatic view.
On the one hand, there are ways of combining /2!.'% ",5% 0).+ '2%%. 2%$ '2%%.
colors that tend to be acceptable to most viewers, ! CLASSIC AND BY NO MEANS UNCOMMON 4HE PINK OF THIS MAN´S ROBE IS IN ALMOST DIRECT 2ED FEATHERS CONTRAST WITH THE GREEN FOLIAGE
and it would be foolish to ignore them. On PHOTOGRAPHIC COLOR COMBINATION OPPOSITION TO THE HUE OF THE GRASS BENEATH SEEMING TO LIFT THE BIRDS FROM THE BACKGROUND

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 #/,/2 02/0/24)/.3
!CCORDING TO CLASSIC COLOR THEORY COLORS
HARMONIZE MOST COMPLETELY WITH EACH OTHER
WHEN THEIR AREAS ARE IN INVERSE PROPORTION
TO THEIR RELATIVE BRIGHTNESS !S PROPOSED BY
'OETHE RED AND GREEN ARE EQUALLY BRIGHT
SO COMBINE  ORANGE IS TWICE AS BRIGHT AS
BLUE AND SO THEIR IDEAL COMBINATION IS 
WHILE YELLOW AND VIOLET ARE AT THE EXTREMES
OF THE BRIGHTNESS SCALE WITH IDEAL COMBINED
PROPORTIONS OF  4HREE WAY COMBINATIONS
FOLLOW THE SAME PRINCIPLE

/RANGE  AND "LUE  /RANGE  'REEN  AND 6IOLET 

the other, the creative use of color demands color circle. There is a similar but less dramatic #/,/2 !##%.4  #/,/2 !##%.4 
personal expression—meaning not following effect when colors are seen side by side, in which !GAINST THE DRAB DESERT COLORS IN THIS VILLAGE ON THE 4HE PURPOSE OF THIS SHOT WAS TO SHOW A MASS OF
BANKS OF THE .ILE IN .UBIA THE WOMAN´S MAUVE TITANIUM PROSTHETIC KNEE JOINTS BUT WITHOUT THE
rules. This dualism—acknowledging that certain the eye tends to compensate; while in the color
HEADSCARF BRINGS A VISUAL RELIEF AND ALSO A POINT OF ONE TAPED IN RED THE COMPOSITION WOULD HAVE BEEN
relationships and techniques work, yet not circle, mixing two opposites produce a neutral.
FOCUS FOR THE ATTENTION DIRECTIONLESS 4HE RED COLOR PROVIDES A POINT FOR THE
necessarily using them—takes us back to the Harmony of similarity is more obvious.
EYE TO RETURN TO AFTER LOOKING AROUND THE FRAME
fundamental principle of balance that we looked Colors next to each other in any color model,
at in Chapter 2 (pages 32-63, specifically page 40). from a color circle to a three-dimensional shape
If we treat harmony in the sense of pleasing, such as a Munsell solid, simply go well together As the color bars on page 121 show, for the most Color accent is an important variation on
acceptable relationships, there are two well- because they present no conflict. “Warm” colors, predictable harmony, colors are combined in color combinations. In the same way that a small 2ED  AND 'REEN  9ELLOW  AND 6IOLET 
established classes. One is complementary from yellow through red, have an obvious inverse proportion to their light values. subject that stands out clearly from its setting
harmony (hues across the color circle), and the similarity, as do “cold” colors from blue to green, Do theories of harmony mean that colors can functions graphically as a point (see pages 66-69),
other is harmony of similarity (hues from the or a group of greens, for example. be discordant? Maybe. Colors can appear to some a small area of contrasting color has a similar
same sector of the color circle). The experimental Another consideration is relative brightness. people at some time to clash, yet to others at a focusing effect. The color relationships that we
basis for complementary harmony, which we Different hues are perceived as having different different time they may be perfectly acceptable. just looked at continue to apply, but with less
don’t need to go into in great detail here, rests light values, with yellow the brightest and violet The painter Kandinsky certainly thought so, force because of the size disparity in the areas.
on successive and simultaneous contrast, and the darkest. In other words, there is no such declaring in 1912 that “Clashing discord … The most distinct effect is when the setting is
on the arrangement of the color circle, in which thing as a dark yellow, nor is there a light violet; ‘principles’ overthrown … stress and longing relatively colorless and the two more pure hues
hues are laid out in sequence according to their instead, these colors become others—ochre, … opposites and contradictions … this is our occupy localized areas. This special form of color
wavelength. Simply put, in successive contrast, for example, or mauve. The German poet and harmony.” Pink and lime green, for example, contrast inevitably gives greater prominence to 9ELLOW  2ED  AND "LUE 
if you stare at a colored patch for at least half playwright J.W. von Goethe was the first to assign may not be everyone’s idea of color harmony, what painters call “local color”—the supposedly
a minute and then shift your gaze to a blank values to hues—yellow as nine, orange as eight, but if you like kitsch, and in particular the true color of an object seen in neutral lighting,
area of white, you will see an after-image in the red and green both six, blue as four, and violet as Japanese “cute” use of it, their combination is without the influence of color cast. Color accents
complementary color—the opposite across the three—and these are still considered workable. close to ideal. above all stress object color.

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MUTED COLORS

% xcept in manmade environments, strong

colors are relatively scarce in the world. We
may remember them more clearly, as in the colors
more subtlety and a quieter, even more refined
pleasure, as the images on these pages illustrate.
How the colors of real life are translated
The Color Formalists (see page 152) approached
color more circumspectly, even when, as in the
case of William Eggleston, they used Kodachrome
(%..!
"ROWN WHICH IS TECHNICALLY A
HEAVILY DESATURATED RED IS THE
CLASSIC BROKEN COLOR WITH EARTHY
of flowers or sunsets, but they occupy much less into an image by sensor or film is yet another from which to make prints. Yet in the wider
CONNOTATIONS (ERE HENNA IS
visual space than the subdued greens, browns, matter. Indeed, translation is a more accurate world of photography, saturation continued, BEING APPLIED TO A 3UDANESE
ochers, flesh tones, slate blues, grays, and pastels term than recording, because the process, both and the film that was partly responsible for WOMAN´S HAND
that make up most natural scenes. Anyone in film and digitally, involves separating complex Kodachrome’s demise, Velvia from Fuji, was also
doubting this need only go out and try to capture colors into three components—red, green, and manufactured to create rich and vivid hues. Now,
with a camera the six strong colors that we’ve blue—and then recombining them in certain with digital photography, the translation is entirely
just been looking at (pages 114-121)—without proportions. There is considerable room for in the hands of users, and muted colors can be
resorting to manmade colored objects. decision-making here, and in the heyday of color enlivened as easily as rich colors can be subdued.
There are several ways of describing this film, manufacturers devised different strategies Photographers now have a palette as controllable
majority of less-than-pure colors: muted, broken, for different brands. Kodachrome, which was the as that of any painter.
muddy, desaturated, shadowy, washed out. first color film generally available to the public,
Neutrals that have a tinge of color are sometimes but also the professional film of choice for several
referred to as chromatic grays, blacks, or whites. decades, was known for its rich, saturated colors,
Technically, they are all pure hues modulated particularly when underexposed to an extent (see
by desaturating, lightening, or darkening, or a page 112). Paul Simon even wrote a song called
combination of these. High-key and low-key “Kodachrome” in 1973, drawing attention to the
color images are by necessity muted, unless there “nice bright colors” and the way the saturated effect
is an added strong color accent. Complementary “makes you think all the world’s a sunny day.”
and contrasting color relationships are, of This translation of color, however, gained
course, less obvious, but there are greater little favor in the art world, even in the hands
possibilities for working within one sector of the of a master like Ernst Haas, and was generally
color circle. In general, muted colors can offer considered tainted by commercialism and excess.

!. /2)%.4!,)34 0!,%44%
3UNSET OVER THE .ILE BELOW +HARTOUM ! RANGE FROM
PALE ORANGE TO MAUVE IS SET OFF AGAINST PALE BLUE
REFLECTIONS WHERE A BREEZE HAS RUFFLED THE WATER IN
A MUTED RELATIONSHIP OF COMPLEMENTARY COLORS

122 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 123

 -%4!,,)#3
(AZY SUNLIGHT REFLECTED IN THE PATINATED BRONZE OF A
6IETNAMESE DYNASTIC URN DEFINES THE METALLIC QUALITY
OF THE SURFACE BY MEANS OF REFLECTION AND A DELICATE
HUE CHANGE

).4%2&%2%.#% #/,/23
! FUGITIVE RAINBOW EFFECT OCCURS WITH SOME
SURFACES NOTABLY SOAP BUBBLES AND OIL SLICKS
MOST OBVIOUSLY IN A HARD BRIGHT LIGHT AND WITH
-/339 '2%%.3 A DARK BACKGROUND 2EFLECTIONS FROM A SANDWICH
3OFT GREENS AS IN THIS MOSS COVERING AN OF TRANSPARENT SURFACES AS HERE CAUSES LIGHT
!NGKOREAN BAS RELIEF FIGURE CONNOTE RAIN WAVES TO INTERFERE WITH EACH OTHER PRODUCING
DAMPNESS AND UNDERGROWTH A SHIMMERING SPECTRAL RANGE OF HUES

124 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% #/-0/3).' 7)4( ,)'(4 !.$ #/,/2 125
BLACK AND WHITE

4 he black-and-white photographic image

occupies a unique place in art. It is not
that black and white is in any way new to
that it makes less attempt than color at being
literal. In visual terms, black and white allows
more expression in the modulation of tone, in
47/ 42%!4-%.43
4WO PHOTOGRAPHS BOTH TAKEN OF THE SAME SUBJECT
AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME 4HE COLOR IMAGE SHOT ON
TRANSPARENCY FILM IS NATURAL AND REALISTIC LEADING
art—drawing, charcoal sketches, woodcuts, conveying texture, the modeling of form, and
ATTENTION DIRECTLY TO THE ACTIONS AND ATTITUDE OF
and etching have been executed without color defining shape. What is no longer true, however, THE LIONESS AND CUB 4HE BLACK AND WHITE VERSION
throughout history—but that in photography is the former argument of committed black-and- IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT ,ACKING COLOR THE IMAGE
it was the norm, initially entirely for technical white photographers that it allows the greatest IS SLIGHTLY MORE ABSTRACT AND THE SHAPE AND
reasons. More interesting still is that when freedom in darkroom interpretation. This was the LINE OF THE LIONESS BECOME MORE IMPORTANT
TO THE OVERALL EFFECT OF THE IMAGE
the technical limitations were swept away by case, but now digital post-production and archival
the invention of color film, black and white desktop inkjet printing have made full expressive
remained embedded as the medium of choice interpretation in color photography a reality.
for many photographers. This continues today. Black and white, incidentally, has also benefitted
In the popular view, photography is more from digital post-production in that the three
realistic than any other graphic art because the channels—red, green, and blue—can be mixed in
4%8452% !.$ &/2-
camera takes its images directly, optically from any proportion for an even greater control over
2EMOVING THE QUALITY OF COLOR FROM AN IMAGE
reality. By extension, color photography must be the tonal interpretation of color than was ever ENHANCES ITS OTHER QUALITIES 7ITH THE MODULATION
more realistic than black and white because it possible by using colored filters when shooting. ENTIRELY IN TONE THE EYE PAYS MORE ATTENTION TO
reproduces more information from the real world. Whereas the range of effects were usually limited TEXTURE LINE AND SHAPE 4HE TEXTURAL QUALITIES OF
However, all art is illusion (see E. H. Gombrich’s to a handful, including a darker sky from a red THE SURFACES PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THIS PRINT
AND HAVE BEEN ENHANCED BY USING A HARD PAPER
classic study Art and Illusion), and a photograph filter, increased atmospheric haze from a blue filter,
GRADE TO KEEP THE BACKGROUND A RICH DARK BLACK
as much as a painting is a two-dimensional and lighter vegetation and darker skin tones from
exercise in triggering perceptual responses, not a a green filter, channel mixing in Photoshop and
two-dimensional version of the real world. The similar applications allows any hue to be rendered
argument for black-and-white photography is anywhere between black and white.

126 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% #/-0/3).' 7)4( ,)'(4 !.$ #/,/2 127
 7 HAT GIVES COMPOSITION A BAD NAME
IS THE SUGGESTION THAT THERE ARE
RULES 7E HAVE CERTAINLY SEEN EXAMPLES OF
REPRODUCE AND BECAUSE IT IS SO WIDELY
USED NON PROFESSIONALLY BOTH MITIGATING
THE EVOLUTION OF CLEAR INDIVIDUAL STYLE
THAN SUBTLE )N MOST PHOTOGRAPHS IT IS THE
CONTENT THAT DOMINATES AND MOST OF THE
STYLISTIC TECHNIQUES THAT A PHOTOGRAPHER
HOW THINGS WORK HOW THE PRINCIPLES AND 3TYLE IN PHOTOGRAPHY WITH WHICH WE WILL CAN USE PREDICTABLY ARE LIMITED
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN CAN HAVE PREDICTABLE CONCLUDE THIS CHAPTER IS MORE ELUSIVE THAN 3O FAR WE HAVE BEEN CONCERNED WITH THE
EFFECTS ON VIEWERS BUT THESE ARE VERY FAR IN PAINTING )T MEANS ESSENTIALLY A CERTAIN VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR OF COMPOSITION
FROM RULES 4O SAY THAT A SMALL AMOUNT OF GRAPHIC STAMP ON A BODY OF WORK BUT THE BUT THE PROCESS USUALLY BEGINS WITH
YELLOW COMPLEMENTS A LARGE AREA OF VIOLET ELEMENTS AND TECHNIQUES THAT GO TOGETHER PURPOSE°A GENERAL OR SPECIFIC IDEA OF WHAT
IN A REASONABLY SATISFYING WAY IS TRUE BUT TO MAKE IT ARE NOT ALWAYS AS DISTINCTIVE KIND OF IMAGE THE PHOTOGRAPHER WANTS
TO CLAIM THAT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS STRIVE FOR AS SOME PEOPLE WOULD LIKE 'EOFF $YER (OWEVER IT IS PERFECTLY POSSIBLE TO START
THIS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO COLORS IS IN 4HE /NGOING -OMENT IS NOT THE FIRST WITH NO IDEA WHATSOEVER AND SIMPLY REACT
SILLY 7HAT DETERMINES COMPOSITION IS THE COMMENTATOR TO NOTE THIS )N HIS STUDY 4HIS IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE CENTRAL PROBLEMS
PURPOSE°THE INTENT !S A SIMPLE EXAMPLE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHERS OF THE !MERICAN IN PHOTOGRAPHY°OVERCOMING THE SHEER
IS THE PURPOSE TO PLEASE AS MANY PEOPLE AS $EPRESSION HE WRTE ±!GAIN AND AGAIN MINDLESS EASE OF TAKING A PICTURE 4HE
POSSIBLE OR TO BE DIFFERENT AND UNEXPECTED WE COME UP AGAINST ;IT= WHEN STUDYING PROBLEM IS COMPOUNDED BY THE EVIDENCE
)NTENT DOES NOT EVEN HAVE TO BE THAT PHOTOGRAPHY A SUBJECT STRONGLY IDENTIFIED THAT OCCASIONALLY A STRONG IMAGE CAN RESULT
SPECIFIC IT MAY BE AN UNSPOKEN INDIVIDUAL WITH ONE PHOTOGRAPHER°SO MUCH SO FROM NO INTENTION 4HE EMPHASIS THOUGH IS
PREFERENCE .EVERTHELESS AWARENESS OF THAT ONE IDENTIFIES THE PHOTOGRAPHER BY ON ±OCCASIONAL ² AND EVEN RELYING ON INSTANT
WHAT YOU WANT SHOULD GENERALLY COME THE SUBJECT°TURNS OUT TO BE SHARED AND REACTIONS TO THE CHANGING SCENE BEFORE YOU
BEFORE YOU MAKE COMPOSITIONAL DECISIONS REPLICATED BY SEVERAL OTHERS² IS A KIND OF PLAN 0REVIOUS SHOOTS MAY LEAD
-OST PHOTOGRAPHY TENDS TOWARDS )N PAINTING THE VERY PROCESS OF MAKING YOU TO EXPECT THAT SOMETHING PROMISING
THE PRAGMATIC SIMPLY BECAUSE THE AN IMAGE DEPENDS ON THE PERCEPTION OF THE MAY TURN UP AS LONG AS YOU TAKE THE CAMERA
CAMERA IS SO WELL SUITED TO RECORDING AND ARTIST AND THE WAY IN WHICH THE MATERIALS AND GO OFF ON A VAGUE SEARCH 4HE KEY IS TO
PRESENTING VISUAL INFORMATION )N TERMS ARE APPLIED 4HERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A REMAIN AWARE OF WHAT YOU ARE SETTING OUT
OF QUANTITY PHOTOGRAPHY IS USED MORE NEUTRAL CHARACTERLESS IMAGE EVEN IMITATIVE TO DO AND WHAT RESULTS ARE LIKELY TO SATISFY
IN MASS COMMUNICATION THAN IN FINE ART TECHNIQUES ARE BASED ON SOME STYLE  4HE YOU )T MATTERS LITTLE THAT THE INTENTION MAY
4HE LEADING !MERICAN GRAPHIC DESIGNER REVERSE IS TRUE OF PHOTOGRAPHY 0HOTOGRAPHS BE ONLY SKETCHY KNOWING IT WILL ALWAYS HELP
-ILTON 'LASER WROTE ±!S SOCIETY DEVELOPED CAN BE AND UNFORTUNATELY OFTEN ARE TAKEN THE DESIGN 4HE DIFFERENT KINDS OF INTENT FALL

#(!04%2 
THE INFORMATION AND THE ART FUNCTIONS WITH LITTLE THOUGHT FOR THE WAY THEY LOOK NATURALLY INTO CONTRASTING PAIRS AND THAT IS
DIVERGED AND DISTINCTIONS WERE MADE 4HE CAMERA CAN PRODUCE A PHOTOGRAPH BY THE WAY ) WILL EXAMINE THEM IN THIS CHAPTER
BETWEEN HIGH ART AND COMMUNICATING ITSELF AND TO INFLUENCE THE COMPOSITION BEGINNING WITH THE MOST BASIC BETWEEN
INFORMATION TO INCREASING NUMBERS OF AND CHARACTER OF THE IMAGE TAKES EFFORT CONVENTIONAL AND CHALLENGING )T MAY ALSO

).4%.4
PEOPLE² 4HAT MOST PHOTOGRAPHY FALLS AS WE HAVE SEEN 4O MAKE AN IDENTIFIABLE BECOME MORE USEFUL TO SEE THEM AS SCALES
ON THE MASS COMMUNICATIONS SIDE OF DIFFERENCE TO THE STYLE OF AN IMAGE THE BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY POSITIONS THAT CAN
THIS DIVIDE IS BECAUSE IT IS SO EASY TO TECHNIQUES USED NEED TO BE DEFINITE RATHER BE TAKEN BETWEEN THE TWO EXTREMES

).4%.4 129
CONVENTIONAL OR CHALLENGING

/ ne of the most important decisions in

intent is how much you want to stay within
the boundaries of what a viewer is expecting
work around this a little farther. If you need to
be clear and acceptable, then the goal is precise
and straightforward. More than this, the known
#!.%#544%2
)N CONTRAST TO THE *APANESE SCENIC VIEW BOTH
TECHNIQUE AND CONTENT HERE ARE NOT WHAT MOST
VIEWERS WOULD ANTICIPATE 4HE SUBJECT IS A SOUTHERN
to see. Throughout the first five chapters we techniques based on the psychology of perception
3UDANESE CANECUTTER ON PIECEWORK SLASHING AWAY
saw demonstrated time and again how certain are on your side. They are working for you in AT THE BLACKENED CANE STALKS AFTER THE LOT HAS BEEN
compositional techniques and relationships the same direction. However, if you want to BURNED AS DAWN AND THE END OF HIS SHIFT APPROACHES
deliver predictably satisfying results. For example, move away from this and exercise more creative HE WORKS EVEN HARDER TO FILL HIS QUOTA %XPERIMENT
placement and division that more or less fit the imagination, the definitions become fuzzy. AND LUCK WENT INTO THE SHOOTING THE CONDITIONS
WERE CHOKING AND DARK AND THE ONLY SAFE WAY TO
proportions of the Golden Section (or, in a more Moving away from conventional images means
SHOOT FROM CLOSE WITH A WIDE ANGLE LENS WAS TO HOLD
rough-and-ready way, the rule of thirds) really moving away from what is known to work, and THE CAMERA AT ARM´S LENGTH CLOSE TO THE GROUND
are considered by most people to be appropriate so ultimately into uncharted territory, What may #APTURING THE HEADLAMP AND THE PRE DAWN LIGHT
and fitting. Similarly, complementary colors in the work for you may not work for a viewer. There MEANT A TIME EXPOSURE ADDED TO REAR CURTAIN FLASH
proportions shown on page 121 create a pleasing are two things to consider: how far to move WHICH MADE IT HIGHLY UNPREDICTABLE 4HERE WERE
effect—again, for most people. What is important towards the unconventional in composition, MANY FAILURES BEFORE THIS SHOT

to remember, however, is that efficacy doesn’t and for what exact reason. Move too far (such
make a rule. Just because something suits the as placing the subject of the photograph right in
average taste does not make it better. Predictably one corner) and you would need a good reason for the different, is in danger of becoming
efficient composition is perfect for some purposes, to avoid it looking contrived or silly. As for conventional itself. Photography—for the reasons
but not for others. It is not, of course, exciting and “exact reason,” there are many possible shades we are exploring in this chapter but have already
risky. This is where intent comes in. of purpose, and simply being different is the seen through the book—has a special tendency to
For instance, if you need to show something least convincing. Writing about the American encourage originality, but the obvious danger is
as clearly as possible, or at its most attractive, then photographer Garry Winogrand, whose most in trying to be different simply for its own sake.
certain rules apply. The composition, lighting, productive years were between the mid-’60s and Different is not necessarily better, and is a poor
and the treatment in general will be geared the mid-’70s, and whose work was contentious goal to aim for without good reason and some
toward the conventional and toward the tried and due to its evident lack of skill or clear purpose, skill. Treatments become conventional because,
tested. In a landscape, for example, this argues the then-director of photography at the Museum in general, they work, and there are many more
strongly for a viewpoint that has been used by of Modern Art, John Szarkowski, who promoted situations in photography that call for the
other photographers many times before (because this photographer, wrote, “Winogrand said that workmanlike rather than for the unusual.
it is known to be attractive), and for the “golden if he saw a familiar picture in his viewfinder he The search for originality, for a visual
light” of late afternoon or early morning in good ‘would do something to change it’—something treatment that is different from what has been
weather. This would be the kind of shot that the that would give him an unsolved problem.” This done before, has a special place in photography. -/5.4 &5*)
publisher of a travel brochure would want—a is weak purpose and weak reasoning. A more More, I would argue, than in other visual arts, 4HIS IS A COMPLETELY ±SAFE² IMAGE IN THAT IT FULFILS THE
good, workmanlike stock photograph, with good valid reason might be to choose a compositional and we can see constant attempts at this. Why EXPECTATIONS OF A LARGE AUDIENCE°A VIEW OF -OUNT
&UJI UNDER GOOD CONDITIONS OF SEASON SNOW CAPPED
sales potential. On the other hand, the very fact style that more accurately reflects the way the this should be so is due to two things: the sheer
WEATHER CLEAR WITH GOOD VISIBILITY AND LIGHT JUST
that such an image is similar to many others photographer sees the subject—as Robert Frank quantity of photographs that we are exposed AFTER SUNRISE  -OREOVER THE VIEWPOINT HAS BEEN
already taken might be reason enough to avoid did when he travelled across 1950s America to, and the recording process directly and CHOSEN WITH CARE AND PLANNING TO INCLUDE AN ICON
it, and in that case you might be actively looking on the Guggenheim grant that resulted in his optically, from scene through lens to sensor. The OF TRADITIONAL *APAN AND FRAMED EFFICIENTLY )N ALL
for an original treatment—to surprise the viewer seminal book The Americans. combination of these two makes it relatively COMPLETELY CONVENTIONAL WITH REGARD TO SUBJECT
and perhaps show off imaginative skill. In case all that sounded like unqualified difficult to escape from making similar images of MATTER AND TREATMENT

The issue then becomes how far to go praise for individuality and breaking the rules, similar scenes. Well-known scenes and subjects
in unusual composition without the result I’d like to give the counter-argument in favor have inevitably been photographed endlessly, and
looking forced or ridiculous. In fact, on this of convention. It is very easy to praise attempts as the ways of doing this are fairly limited (a few
all-important scale between conventional and at originality, with some implication that the obvious viewpoints, a few commonsense ways of
unconventional, all the difficult decisions are conventional treatment is ordinary and less composing), most photographers naturally feel
in the direction of the unconventional. Let me imaginative. In fact, this basic advice, to look dissatisfaction at creating an image that may be

130 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% ).4%.4 131

 -53,)- 7/-%.
)N BOTH IMAGES SHOT WITHIN A NUMBER OF MINUTES
OF EACH OTHER WHAT APPEALED PHOTOGRAPHICALLY WAS
THE MASS OF WHITE CLAD FIGURES AND THE APPROACH
TAKEN WAS THE OBVIOUS ONE OF A SLIGHTLY ELEVATED
VIEWPOINT AND A TELEPHOTO LENS TO COMPRESS THE
PERSPECTIVE AND SO EXCLUDE EXTRANEOUS SURROUNDING
DETAILS  4HE FIRST SHOT IS A VARIETY OF A ±FIELD² IMAGE
SEE PAGES   AND STRAIGHTFORWARD 4HE SECOND
WAS THE RESULT OF EXPLORING DIFFERENT CAMERA
POSITIONS AND THE CHANCE APPEARANCE OF THE YOUNG
GIRL WHO STEPPED OUT OF LINE BECAUSE SHE WAS BORED

indistinguishable from many others. Except as useful to taking photographs, but it has its roots .5"! 6),,!'%
a record of having been there, it may even seem in the fact that all unmanipulated photographs 4HE MORE ECCENTRIC THE COMPOSITION AS WE SAW
ON PAGES   THE LESS CONVENTIONAL BUT THE
rather pointless. It is not as if there is any choice show what was actually there, in place and time
MORE A GOOD REASON IS REQUIRED )N THIS VIEW
in how the details or shapes are rendered, as there and in reality. Therefore, unless the subject or
OF A VILLAGE AT SUNRISE IN THE .UBA -OUNTAINS
is in painting. The camera works impartially and its treatment have something special about 2//&).' 4(!4#(
THE REAL REASON FOR HAVING THE MAN AND CHILD
!KHA HILL TRIBE GIRLS IN NORTHERN 4HAILAND WERE
without character. This is largely what motivates them, there is a constant risk of the image being IN THE FAR TOP LEFT OF THE FRAME IS THAT THE BEST
RETURNING TO THE VILLAGE AT THE END OF THE DAY
photographers to search for new ways of framing ignored, being thought of as uninteresting. Jean- AREA OF THATCHED ROOFS IN TERMS OF PATTERN AND
CARRYING ON THEIR BACKS LARGE SHEAFS OF GRASS FOR
shots, because design is the route most accessible Paul Sartre wrote that “Newspaper photographs CONSISTENCY WAS BELOW HIM AND TO THE RIGHT
THATCHING (AVING ALREADY PHOTOGRAPHED THIS IN
for individual interpretation. can very well ‘say nothing to me’ .... Moreover, MORE CONVENTIONAL LIGHTING ) WAS INTRIGUED BY THE
This leads on to a more fundamental cases occur where the photograph leaves me so STRANGE APPEARANCE THEY HAD IN SILHOUETTE FROM THE
issue—that of the role of surprise in photography indifferent that I do not even bother to see it ‘as gamut of surprises (though none that he cared BOTTOM OF THE SLOPE SHOT WITH A TELEPHOTO LENS

in general. Ultimately this is a philosophical an image.’ The photograph is vaguely constituted for much), and these included rarity of subject,
concern, and indeed has attracted the attention as an object...” This is ultimately why so many capture of gesture normally missed by the eye,
of philosophers such as Roland Barthes. I want to photographers want to break the ordinariness technical prowess, “contortions of technique,”
touch on this here only in as much as it could be and surprise the viewer. Barthes identified a and the lucky find.

132 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% ).4%.4 133

REACTIVE OR PLANNED

! nother choice of intent is between shooting

that relies on observational skills and speed
of reaction to capture events as they unfold in
taken handheld from real life. The role of the
photographer’s personality is crucial. Even Edward
Weston, who famously took hours to make
$%,() 342%%4
3PONTANEOUS AND REACTIVE THIS PHOTOGRAPH OF A
HOMELESS BOY WAKING UP NEXT TO A GARBAGE CAN ON A
-/5.4 0/0!
/NE WIDELY PRACTISED FORM OF PLANNING IS ANTICIPATING NATURAL LIGHTING IN
AN EXTERIOR VIEW 7ITH BOTH LANDSCAPE AND ARCHITECTURE EXPERIENCE AND
$ELHI STREET WAS THE RESULT OF NOTHING MORE PLANNED LOCAL KNOWLEDGE MAKING USE OF SUNRISE AND SUNSET TABLES '03 COMPASS
front of the camera, and photography that is to exposures in natural light and was extremely
THAN WALKING AROUND THE STREETS FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS AND WEATHER FORECASTS MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO TAKE AN INFORMED GUESS
some extent organised from the start. The issue rigorous in composition, claimed to react rather FROM SUNRISE ONWARD ABOUT HOW A SCENE WILL LOOK AT A LATER TIME )N THIS CASE -OUNT 0OPA ON
is one of control, or at least attempted control, than to pursue a worked-out plan: “My way of THE OUTSKIRTS OF 0AGAN "URMA THE RECCE WAS MADE EARLIER IN THE DAY AND
over the circumstances of the shoot. There is no working—I start with no preconceived idea— THIS SHOT TAKEN SHORTLY BEFORE SUNRISE WAS MORE OR LESS PREDICTED
question of legitimacy here, and a purely reactive discovery excites me to focus—then rediscovery
reportage photograph does not have any claim to through the lens—final form of presentation seen
being truer than a still-life that has been carefully on ground glass, the finished print pre-visioned
arranged over the course of a day. It is instead complete in every detail of texture, movement,
very much a matter of style, influenced by the proportion, before exposure—the shutter’s release
nature of what is being photographed. automatically and finally fixes my conception,
The usual view is that the amount of control allowing no other manipulation—the ultimate
exercised when shooting is determined by the end, the print, is but a duplication of all that I saw
subject. Thus, street photography is the most and felt through my camera.”
reactive because it has to be, and still-life the However closely a shot is planned and art-
most planned because it can be. Largely this is directed, as tends to happen in advertising, there
true, as we explore in the next chapter, Process, are moments during the shoot when new ideas
but it is by no means inevitable. Just because and possibilities occur. American photographer
most people tend to tackle a particular type of Ray Metzker commented, “As one is making
subject in a predictable way does not mean that images, there’s this flow; there are certain images
other approaches are not possible. Personal style that one stumbles on. Sometimes it’s with great
can override the obvious treatments. Take street delight and sometimes it’s with puzzlement.
photography, normally the hallowed ground of But I can recognize that signal...” This is the
slice-of-life realism. The American photographer subject of the next chapter, Process, but when
Philip-Lorca diCorcia approached the traditional photographers know from experience that this
subjects in a different way, by installing may happen, it becomes part of the intent. There
concealed flash lights that could be triggered are many shades of what we could call half- -!+% 50 &/2 $!.#).'
by a radio signal, to add “a cinematic gloss to planned photography, in which the photographer ! HALF PLANNED PHOTOGRAPH IN WHICH THE EVENT°
BEHIND THE SCENES AT A DANCE PERFORMANCE IN +ERALA
a commonplace event,” in the photographer’s goes part-way towards creating favorable
SOUTHERN )NDIA°WAS KNOWN AND PERMISSIONS AND
words. An earlier, well-known example is Kiss conditions for shooting, and then allows reaction
ATTENDANCE SECURED 7HAT THEN REMAINED WAS
by the Hotel Ville, taken by French photographer to play its part. Making a reconnaissance for EXPLORATION WITHIN THIS LOCALIZED SITUATION
Robert Doisneau in 1950, a photograph that a landscape shot to check possible viewpoints
became a romantic icon and popular poster. and the way the light falls, then returning when
Seemingly spontaneous, it was in fact posed. As weather and lighting conditions seem favorable,
Doisneau later said, “I would have never dared is one example. Researching an event and then
to photograph people like that. Lovers kissing in turning up on the day prepared for an anticipated
the street, those couples are rarely legitimate.” set of possibilities is another.
4(!) +)4#(%.
Equally, while the studio still-life image
! SET PIECE INTERIOR IN WHICH A TRADITIONAL NINETEENTH
epitomizes control in photography, with some CENTURY 4HAI KITCHEN WAS FITTED OUT AND PUT TO WORK
shoots taking days, from sourcing subjects and WITH COSTUMED MODEL OWES MOST OF ITS EFFECT TO
props, building the lighting and the set, to finally PLANNING AND LOGISTICS INCLUDING THE ACQUISITION OF
constructing the image, it is also possible to do PROPS TIMING FOR THE NATURAL LIGHT AND PROVISION OF
PHOTOGRAPHIC LIGHTING
the opposite—guerilla still-life photography

134 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% ).4%.4 135

DOCUMENTARY OR EXPRESSIVE

#!,+% !""%9 3().4/ 3(2).%

$OCUMENTATION WAS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS !T THE 3HINTO SHRINE OF )TSUKUSHIMA ON -IYAJIMA
PROJECT°THE LAST WEEK OF AN %NGLISH COUNTRY )SLAND *APAN DOCUMENT WAS LESS IMPORTANT THAN
ESTATE THAT HAD BEEN UNTOUCHED FOR MORE THAN A AN EVOCATION OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE PRIESTS AND
CENTURY BEFORE IT WAS HANDED OVER TO THE .ATIONAL A SUB PLOT OF PERMANENCE IMPERMANENCE ! TIME
4RUST WHO WERE ABOUT TO MAKE AN INVENTORY EXPOSURE WITH ITS ATTENDANT UNCERTAINTY WAS THE
AND THEN RESTORE THE PROPERTY BEFORE OPENING CHOSEN METHOD
IT MUCH LATER TO THE PUBLIC 4HIS BEDROOM ALONE
WAS A TIME CAPSULE )N CAMERA POSITION LIGHTING
AND ANGLE OF VIEW THE APPROACH IS ARTLESS°THE
PURPOSE IS TO SHOW IN AS NEUTRAL A FASHION AS
POSSIBLE HOW THE ROOM LOOKED UPON ENTERING

The first of these, exploring the world

(the manifesto of Life magazine, launched in
4%!0/4
1936, was “to see life; to see the world; to eye-
! CLEAN AND PRECISE PRODUCT SHOT OF A
witness great events; to watch the faces of the TRADITIONAL IRON *APANESE TEAPOT WITH THE
poor and the gestures of the proud...”), seems BACKGROUND DROPPED OUT IN POST PRODUCTION
initially to be the more practical, but it is a little MAKES A DOCUMENTARY STILL LIFE RECORD
more complicated than that. Shorn of creative
or artistic pretensions, this could be called
documentary photography, and indeed, the photographed.” This is just one interpretation,
original definition stressed the relative absence of and is a kind of loose, open-to-everything
the photographer’s own ego. Authenticity, even approach. There are others, including the
truth, were considered to be attainable ideals, deliberate application of an already worked-out
as in the Farm Security Administration (FSA) style—perhaps strong angles with a wide-angle
photographic program in the United States lens, or deliberate blur of one kind or another,
during the Depression. Archetypal documentary or strange manipulations of color.
photographers include Walker Evans, Eugene The complication is that neither document
Atget, and August Sander, among others. nor expression are pure ideals. Interpretation
Walker Evans’ biographer Belinda Rathbone, is involved in making a record, and expressive
commenting on Evans’ description of the wealth photography needs content to work on. The bias
of detail in one of his pictures, wrote that, “This of intent is usually in one direction or the other,
eclectic mix of information, delivered in even, but photographers themselves may not always
unspectacular description, exemplified to Evans be able to separate one from the other—or even
those photographs that were ‘quiet and true’.” need to, to be honest. A completely deadpan

/ ne way of dividing the multitude of

reasons why people take photographs
attempts to draw a line between the content
the visual possibilities of a frame. But when it
comes to intent—the self-assigned purpose of
photographers—there is a bipolar difference
At the other pole is the desire to do something
untried and unique photographically, whatever
the subject. That the subject might already have
view, as in a police crime-scene photograph or a
catalogue of coins, is by definition not particularly
interesting other than as a data source, and the
and the interpretation (or content and form, if between exploring the world and exploring one’s been endlessly photographed by others may photographer’s eye usually intrudes. To quote
"!$25443 0!,!#%
you like). Exploration has always been central own imagination. At one end we have the desire to even be an advantage—a challenge to one’s own Walker Evans again, “It’s as though there’s a PRECISE AND ORGANISED HOTEL BROCHURE STYLE
/N AN ASSIGNMENT TO MAKE AN ANNIVERSARY BOOK FOR
to photography, and it’s perfectly possible to go out and discover what people, things, and places creativity. Garry Winogrand, in a frequently wonderful secret in a certain place and I can THE OLDEST HOTEL IN 3T -ORITZ 3WITZERLAND THE ART 4HIS SHOT MAKES USE OF THE VAGUE AND SLIGHTLY
look at all the ways of placing subjects, dividing look like, and on the other the impulse to see what quoted declaration of intent, said, “I photograph capture it. Only I, at this moment, can capture it, DIRECTOR´S BRIEF STRESSED IMAGES THAT WERE OBLIQUE DISTORTED REFLECTIONS IN THE GLASS COVERING AN
frames, juxtaposing colors, and so on, as exploring we ourselves can do with them through the camera. to find out what something will look like when and only this moment and only me.” AND AMBIGUOUS DELIBERATELY TO AVOID THE NORMAL OLD PAINTING IN THE LOBBY

136 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% ).4%.4 137

SIMPLE OR COMPLEX

3 implicity and reduction to essentials have

been so much a part of modern art and
design that the advice to “simplify” often passes
2%$ 3/&!
! MINIMALIST INTERIOR IN WHICH THE WHITE FINISH
TO WALL CEILING AND FLOOR TOGETHER WITH THE
*!)052
)N THIS COMPLEX IMAGE OF A
STREET SCENE IN *AIPUR )NDIA
BALCONY SERVE TO EMPHASIZE THE DOMINANT RED THE HIGH CONTRAST SUNLIGHT AND
without question. It became one strand of
OF THE MODERN SOFA MANY PHYSICAL ELEMENTS CREATE
Modernism, particularly in Constructivism, AN INTERLOCKING COMPOSITION ON
which laid the foundations for Minimalism and one viewer may be a perfectly recognizable and SEVERAL LEVELS 4HE PRINCIPAL ONES
its central tenet “Less is more.” Its application not so interesting representation to another. The ARE SHOWN SCHEMATICALLY BELOW
to photography is particularly intriguing, American photographer Paul Strand was known
because the natural messiness of uncomposed for his abstract compositions that often destroyed
real-life scenes seems to call out for a solution perspective, but he saw it somewhat differently:
like this. One very convincing argument for “I [...] made The White Fence and I have never
holding simplicity as a principle in composing made a purely abstract photograph since! I have
photographs is that it is a natural extension always tried to apply all that I learn to all that I
of creating order out of chaos—which is, of do. All good art is abstract in its structure.” Ansel
course, one definition of composition itself. Adams, too, was suspicious of the term when
For this reason, simplification almost always applied to photography: “I prefer the term extract
works, at least to the extent that it helps make an over abstract, since I cannot change the optical
effective, workmanlike image, but to make a rule realities, but only manage them in relation to
out of it would just be restrictive. It may well be that themselves and the format.”
photography itself helps to keep simplicity alive as Abstract composition, if we can call it that,
a regular goal, because without care and attention tends to be rigorous in its organization, with
most scenes from real life tend to record rather an emphasis on excluding clues to realism. An
messily and untidily. Bringing some kind of graphic appropriate choice of subject matter helps, and
organization to a photograph is easiest to do by angular, manmade structures are among the most
reducing the mess, cutting out the unnecessary adaptable to this kind of composition. Closing #()!2/3#52/ #/,/2 !##%.43
(such as by cropping or changing viewpoint) and in on details that would normally be beyond the
imposing a structure which is then simpler. The normal range of the eye is another approach,
ability to bring order from chaos has become one aided by cropping that takes the view out of
of the skills most admired in photography. context. Patterns respond to abstraction also. One
Nevertheless, there are arguments in favor general problem, however, is that the real basis
of a more complex arrangement, in which the of the abstracted photograph tends to encourage
structure is dense and rich, offering more for the a viewer response of “what-is-it?”, as if it were a
eye to explore and examine. Handling several kind of test or puzzle (as indeed, it often has been
interlocking components in an image rather than in newspapers and magazines).
a minimalist one or two takes considerable skill
if the result is still to have some kind of order. As
,).%3 0%/0,%
we saw in Chapters 2 and 3, adding (or finding)
more points of interest in the frame increases representational and towards more purely graphic among others, was more interested in playing
complexity and is demanding, but after a certain forms. In the case of Picasso and Cubism, one with forms. Photography, on the other hand, is
number the points of interest merge into a “field” motive certainly was the desire to represent things more or less compelled to begin with raw material &),-
image, and as such become simple once again— in simple forms that retained depth. In painting from real life, which makes abstraction much 4HIS PHOTOGRAPH OF VARIOUS TYPES OF FILM ACHIEVES
EXTREME SIMPLICITY THROUGH A CAREFULLY PLANNED
from a single person to a group to a crowd. and sculpture, the starting point can be real more of a challenge, and more difficult to pull
GEOMETRIC CONSTRUCTION FEATURING CORNERS AND EDGES
One of the more interesting developments objects (as in the Cubist paintings of Picasso and off. Moreover, the question of whether or not an IN EXACT ALIGNMENTS 4HE IMAGES ON THE FILMS WERE
of simplification is abstraction. In art, to abstract Braque, and in Constantin Brancusi’s sculptures), image is abstract, or is to a degree abstract, can SELECTED TO BE AMBIGUOUS SO AS TO GIVE PROMINENCE
involves an extreme translation away from the but it does not need to be. The painter Paul Klee, be a matter of opinion. What may be abstract to TO THE REBATES

138 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% ).4%.4 139

CLEAR OR AMBIGUOUS

( ow obvious should an image be? This is an

interesting problem for a photographer,
because in photojournalism in particular, the
!$!-´3 0%!+
2EFERENCE TO THINGS OUTSIDE THE FRAME ALMOST
ALWAYS CREATES AMBIGUITY AND UNCERTAINTY 7ITHOUT
A CAPTION THE FULL STORY HERE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GUESS
search is usually for the single powerful image
4HIS IS THE SUMMIT OF !DAM´S 0EAK A SACRED SITE IN
that encapsulates the issue. When it becomes 3RI ,ANKA WHERE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE GATHER EACH
powerfully obvious and striking to you, the NIGHT TO AWAIT THE SUNRISE /F COURSE THIS STILL LEAVES
photographer, it becomes the same for the picture THE QUESTION OF WHY THESE PEOPLE ARE SO AWED BY A
editor and the reader. The great single shot that DAILY EVENT
says it all was very much part of the ethos of Life
magazine, which was hugely influential on at
least two generations of photographers. Partly
it was the way I was taught, by editors such as
Life’s Ed Thompson. Great value is attached to
images that say it all, and say it instantly, but such "52-%3% ')2,3
photographs tend not to ask too much of the !MBIGUITY CAN BE MORE SUBTLE THAN THE EXAMPLE
viewer. As Roland Barthes put it, writing about ABOVE (ERE IT RESIDES IN THE EXPRESSION ON THIS
"URMESE GIRL´S FACE PERHAPS ENHANCED BY THE
a Paris-Match cover photograph, the picture
TANAKA BARK POWDER THAT SHE HAS APPLIED TO HER
“is already complete.” The dilemma, then, is CHEEKS AND FOREHEAD )T IS NOT A HAPPY EXPRESSION
that clarity packs a punch and so is a goal of BUT WHETHER SHE IS SIMPLY LOST IN THOUGHT OR
photojournalism, but more ambiguous images BROODING OVER SOMETHING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL
that are slower to read are likely to absorb more
attention—and last longer, in other words.
It boils down essentially to the matter of
ambiguity, and this, declared Ernst Gombrich,
the influential art historian, “is clearly the key
to the whole problem of image reading.” The
less obvious the point of the photograph, the
more it involves the viewer in reading it and
thinking about it. This is what Gombrich called
the “beholder’s share”—the involvement of the
viewer, the viewer’s experience and expectations,

-!. ). "!2
4HERE IS NOTHING AMBIGUOUS IN EITHER CONTENT OR
TREATMENT ABOUT THIS IMAGE OF A MAN TAKING HIS FIRST
SIP OF BEER IN AN !MSTERDAM BAR 4HE MOMENT IS
CAUGHT AND THE LIGHTING ATTRACTIVE AND APPROPRIATE
FOR A GLASS OF BEER BUT THERE IS NOTHING TO PONDER
4HE IMAGE COMMUNICATES QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY

!00,% 34/2%
4HE NEWLY OPENED !PPLE 3TORE ON .EW 9ORK´S &IFTH
!VENUE 4HE GLASS SPIRAL STAIRCASE DESCENDING TO
BELOW GROUND LEVEL OFFERED A VERY DIFFERENT VIEW
FROM WHAT WOULD BE EXPECTED FROM A STORE°THE
SHADOWY SEQUENCE OF FEET

140 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% ).4%.4 141

in enjoying and completing the experience of like hearing a clever joke—just understanding straightforward, as in the picture on page 140, formally displayed, whether on a gallery wall, in a order (not so far, perhaps, from the photographer’s or misdirection, that it gives the viewer. The way
looking at a work of art. This works just as well the point is rewarding. the viewer sees, understands, and moves on. But magazine or book, or on a website, they acquire a need to bring order to a scene when shooting). someone will read a photograph will definitely
in photography as in painting. In particular, Ambiguity comes in many forms, from when it is not at all clear what is going on, or why, caption. This creates a new relationship between The conventions vary according to the be influenced by the caption, and the most basic
there is a kind of flattery involved when the content to the composition. We’ll come to the then so long as the viewer can be persuaded to the image and its content, and between the image, display. For a gallery, the minimum is a title influence is what the photographer (or caption
photograph is not so obvious at first glance, yet role of composition on pages 144-145, but we go on looking for some time more, he or she will the creator, and the viewer. This is a fertile ground and date, with a subtitle describing the medium writer) declares the subject of the picture to
the viewer with a little effort finally does “get” have already seen (on pages 130-139) something begin to make interpretations. for analysis, but also likely to stray far from the (such as “archival digital pigment print”) and be. For instance, a landscape taken at the site
it. This has been known in art for centuries, of the role of content—in particular the contrast Sometimes, of course, these interpretations main purpose of this book, and so I’ll limit my anything unusual about the process (such as of a battle or a disaster acquires a different
and the 17th century French art theorist Roger between times when the content is so strong that are wrongly made, in what Gombrich calls “traffic comments to the strictly relevant. I say “acquire” “pinhole camera exposed for four hours”). For significance if we know this fact. And, needless
de Piles put it well when he wrote in favor of it can carry poor composition, and times when accidents on the way between artist and beholder.” advisedly, because few photographers to my a magazine or book, more is usually required, to say, the stronger the content of the image, the
“employment for the spectator’s imagination, the actual subject is much less important to This may matter not at all, but it does suggest knowledge take pictures with a label in mind. It is at but how detailed a description is very much more viewers will want to know the story behind
which pleases itself in discovering and finishing the image than the way it is put together by the giving some thought to captions, if only as a means the point when the image becomes a useful object up to individual preference and the style of the it. Too little information can be intriguing, but it
things which it ascribes to the artist though in photographer. Here, let’s take the role of content of holding the viewer’s attention for long enough. that people want to identify it. At its simplest, this publication. Where this becomes relevant to can also be frustrating and annoying, depending
fact they proceed only from itself.” In a sense, it is farther. When it is blindingly obvious and Almost without exception, when photographs are is because of the basic human need to classify and composition and process is in the extra direction, on your point of view.

3()0 0!).4%2
4HE SMALLER IMAGE TO THE RIGHT
THE FIRST ) TOOK IS COMPLETELY
STRAIGHTFORWARD°A MAN PAINTING
A SHIP°BUT THE ANGLE OF THE SUN
CASTING A CLEAR SHADOW ON THE
SIDE OF THE VESSEL SUGGESTED A LESS
OBVIOUS AND SO POTENTIALLY MORE
INTERESTING WAY OF FRAMING THE
SHOT 4HE SHADOW COMMUNICATES
WHAT IS HAPPENING WELL ENOUGH
ON ITS OWN

4(% )-0/24!.#% /& #!04)/.3 42!#%3 !.$ !"3%.#%

4HIS IMAGE SHOT DURING AN ASSIGNMENT ON "UDDHIST *UST AS EVENTS OUT OF FRAME CAN BE INTRIGUING
SCULPTURE GARDENS BEGS FOR MORE INFORMATION 4HE SEE PAGE  SO CAN THE TRACES OF THINGS
ORIGINAL CAPTION READS ±!T THE SCULPTURE GARDEN OF 7AT THAT HAVE ALREADY HAPPENED BE MYSTERIOUS
0HAI 2ONG 7UA A GIRL PAUSES TO LOOK AT THE PUNISHMENT 4HIS OUTLINE OF A MAN LOOKS MORE OMINOUS
BEING METED OUT TO AN ADULTERER !S A DEMON DEVOURS THAN IT IS°POWDER SPRINKLED ON A DEVOTEE
HIS ARM THE WORDS ON THE MAN´S BACK READ PLAINTIVELY OF A 6ENEZUELAN CULT CALLED -ARIA ,IONZA
³7HY DID YOU TAKE MY WIFE AWAY FROM ME´²

142 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% ).4%.4 143

DELAY

4 he compositional route to being less obvious

and promoting ambiguity in an image
depends ultimately on delay. Specifically, while
to the discovery of the key subject relies on a
relationship between the two, often with some
surprise. The figure in a landscape is probably
placing it eccentrically away from the center,
and misleading the eye by using geometry and
organization to direct attention elsewhere first.
"5$$(!
4WO THINGS CONTRIBUTE TO THE TIME LAG IN SEEING THE
KNEELING FIGURE OF A MAN PRAYING°WHICH IS ESSENTIAL
TO APPRECIATING THE SCALE OF THE "UDDHA /NE IS THE
inviting the viewer to look at the image, a key the best known of this kind of composition, Also, reversing any of the several techniques
DRAMATIC AND UNEXPECTEDLY HIGH ANGLE OF VIEW THE
element is embedded in the composition in and has a long history in painting preceding discussed earlier that emphasize a subject (such OTHER IS THE GREAT DIFFERENCE IN SCALE BETWEEN THE
such a way that it reveals itself only slowly, or that in photography. Notable examples are The as differential focus and lighting) can help to TWO FIGURES
after a pause. Instead of rapid communication, Martyrdom of Saint Catherine by Matthys Cock “hide” a subject.
the photographer aims for the equivalent of a and The Sermon on the Mount by Claude Lorrain. There are other delaying tactics that are not
punchline delivered after the viewer has already In these paintings the landscape dominates so readily classifiable. One is to refer or “point”
entered the image. Doing this at the time of human affairs, for a variety of reasons, and to a subject that is outside the frame, for instance
shooting means essentially stepping or pulling often it is only on the second look that the key by showing just its shadow, or by showing the
back instead of the more natural reaction of human element becomes obvious. The small reaction of someone to this unseen element.
closing in on a subject of interest. It also often figure serves not just to enhance the scale of the Another, shown opposite, is the surprise of
means seeing and treating the subject in context. landscape and to comment on human events unexpected phenomena, when something is not
Perhaps the most common class of delaying in the scheme of things, but in the reading of what it first appears to be—in this case a line of
tactic is spatial reorganisation, in which the the image creates a small event for the viewer. men who are not standing, but caught in mid-air.
critical subject or key is made smaller or less It prolongs the experience of looking at the In all this, it’s important to be aware of the risk
central in the composition. This automatically picture and encourages a re-examination. of there being insufficient clues, to the point at
places the first attention on the surroundings, Within this class, ways of temporarily “hiding” which the viewer gives up before recognizing the
and the jump from this background context the subject include not just making it small, but point being made.

35&) 3%#4
!DHERENTS OF A 3UFI SECT IN /MDURMAN 3UDAN MAKES THE MID AIR SUSPENSION LESS OBVIOUS AT FIRST
"!.'+/+ +,/.'
PRACTICE A FORM OF MEDITATIVE JUMPING IN UNISON GLANCE AND THIS ENHANCES THE SURPRISE WHEN AFTER
4HE INTEREST IN THIS PHOTOGRAPH
#ATCHING THEM AT THE PEAK OF THE JUMP WAS AN A FEW SECONDS IT IS SEEN
IS NOT REALLY THE BOAT ON A KLONG
OBVIOUS CHOICE BUT THE PATTERN OF THE MATTING
CANAL IN "ANGKOK BUT THE
FACT THAT IT IS STILL THERE AFTER A
MASSIVE MOTORWAY HAS BEEN
BUILT RIGHT OVER IT 4HE CONCRETE
PILLARS MAKE A LANDSCAPE
WHICH ONE WOULD NOT NORMALLY &)3( -!2+%4 '/!
ASSOCIATE WITH A TRADITIONAL WAY 4HIS IS A CHANCE PHOTOGRAPH FOR WHICH THERE WAS VERY
OF LIFE (ENCE A CLOSE VIEW OF LITTLE WARNING 4HE FRAMING IS RIGHT FOR GIVING SOME
THE BOAT WOULD NOT HAVE SERVED HUMOR TO THE SITUATION BY MAKING SURE THAT THE BOY
THE PURPOSE (OWEVER SIMPLY STEALING THE FISH APPEARS JUST AT THE BOTTOM OF THE
A LONG SHOT WITH THE BOAT VERY FRAME THERE IS A SMALL DELAY BEFORE HE IS NOTICED
SMALL MIGHT JUST LOSE IT FROM 4HE VIEWER FIRST SEES THE WOMEN IN A CONVENTIONAL
VIEW )NSTEAD THIS VIEWPOINT AND MARKETPLACE SHOT AND THEN NOTICES THE PETTY
PLACING THE BOAT AT THE FAR RIGHT THIEVING GOING ON BELOW 4HIS OF COURSE IS HOW
OF THE FRAME HELPS TO POINT IT OUT THE FISHERWOMEN THEMSELVES SAW THE EVENT
THROUGH THE CONVERGENCE OF THE
MOTORWAY PILLARS

144 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% ).4%.4 145

STYLE AND FASHION

when critics struggle hard for the definition of photography, they railed against the sins of
something they feel ought to be there, it may be pictorialism. “In the early ’30s,” Adams wrote,
that the style is at best tenuous. “the salon syndrome was in full flower and
Whether we like or approve of them, there the Pictorialists were riding high. For anyone
have been a number of photographic styles that trained in music or the visual arts, the shallow
are generally acknowledged. Because style is sentimentalism of the ‘fuzzy-wuzzies’ (as Edward
intimately connected with current fashion, most Weston called them) was anathema, especially
of these have already had their day—although, in when they boasted of their importance in ‘Art’
the manner of fashion, they are always available ... We felt the need for a stern manifesto!”
for revival. Roughly in date order, they include As an antidote to this, I like the dry comment
Pictorialism, the Linked Ring, Photo-Secession, of M. F. Agha, who became art director of Vogue
Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), Straight in 1928, on the then-current modernist style
photography, Modernism, Constructivist, in photography: “Modernistic photography
Minimalism, Color Formalism, and post-modern is easily recognized by its subject matter. Eggs
new realism. (any style). Twenty shoes, standing in a row. A
Also, surrealism in its time and beyond has skyscraper, taken from a modernistic angle. Ten
had a powerful influence on photography, with teacups standing in a row. A factory chimney
Man Ray its best-known practitioner. But while seen through the ironwork of a railroad bridge
most people would probably think of surrealist (modernistic angle). The eye of a fly enlarged
photography nowadays as being versions of 2000 times. The eye of an elephant (same size).
the themes of René Magritte and Salvador Dali The interior of a watch. Three different heads of
(endlessly reworked), it had a more fundamental one lady superimposed. The interior of a garbage
effect. Peter Galassi, in his book, Henri Cartier- can. More eggs ...”. All conscious styles start to
Bresson, The Early Work, wrote, “The Surrealists pall after a while.
34 *!-%3´3 0!,!#%
approached photography in the same way that The concept of beauty is not far removed
4HIS ±STRAIGHT² PHOTOGRAPH OF 3T *AMES´S 0ALACE
Aragon and Breton ... approached the street: with from style, and receives less rigorous attention IN ,ONDON DISPLAYS SEVERAL OF THE CHARACTERISTICS
a voracious appetite for the usual and unusual ... than perhaps it should; indeed, it largely goes OF FORMALISM 4HE COMPOSITION IS CONSIDERED THE
The Surrealists recognized in plain photographic unquestioned. But if we understand how it comes ESSENTIAL ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES ARE INCLUDED THE
fact an essential quality that had been excluded to be agreed at any one time and in any one VERTICALS ARE CORRECT THE DETAIL IS AS SHARP AS ONLY A
LARGE FORMAT CAMERA CAN MAKE IT AND THE EXPOSURE
from prior theories of photographic realism. place, we can tighten the composition of images
AND PRINTING HAVE BEEN MANAGED CAREFULLY TO RETAIN
They saw that ordinary photographs, especially by using or rejecting it. Although beauty is an BOTH SHADOWS AND HIGHLIGHTS
when uprooted from their practical functions, elusive concept, we all nevertheless employ it in
contain a wealth of unintended, unpredictable judgment, and generally assume that everyone
meanings.” Cartier-Bresson himself wrote, “The else knows what we are talking about. It is
only aspect of the phenomenon of photography certainly true that some scenes and some faces,
that fascinates me and will always interest me, for example, will be considered beautiful by most Fashion is an extension of beauty, with more
is the intuitive capture through the camera of people. Yet we don’t know why, and as soon as we edge added. It is what is considered good, a little

$ espite the inherent vagueness of the idea

of style in photography, it can and does
influence the way in which some people work.
than a trick or straightforward technique, and
opinions vary greatly. When a style can be easily
defined—for instance, in lighting, two from the
(%!24(
! LONG EXPOSURE BLENDS IN AND AROUND THIS FIRE BEING
USED FOR COOKING 4HE FULL EXPOSURE AND THE YELLOW
what is seen. This is exactly how [André] Breton
defined objective chance (le hasard objectif) in
his Entretiens.”
try to explain the reason for a general consensus
that shafts of evening sunlight breaking through
a clearing storm over Yosemite or the English
challenging (not too much), elitist, and above
all now. Fashion, in photography as much as in
clothing and make-up, is a way of challenging
TO ORANGE COLORS ALSO HELP TO UNIFY THE ELEMENTS
There is some distinction between an individual past that come to mind are “painting with light” A tendency of photographers who work Lake District make a beautiful scene, it quickly the existing order of appreciation—trying out
GIVING A SWISHING FLOWING IMAGE
photographer’s style and the more general style using customized light “hoses,” and ringflash that consciously to a style is to take the whole unravels. The point is that there is a consensus, something a little different (not usually radical) to
subscribed to at any one time by a number of gives a shadowless, hard effect from a special tube thing very seriously. For example, when Ansel and it shifts with time and fashion—and of see if other people will take it up. It is, therefore,
photographers. The difficulty lies in agreeing that surrounds the front of the lens—it might be Adams, Edward Weston, and others set up course, from culture to culture. That beauty is in slightly experimental, very much geared to being
on what legitimately constitutes a style rather better called a mannerism. On the other hand, their “f64” group to promote “straight,” “pure” the eye of the beholder is only partly true at best. adopted, and of course highly competitive.

146 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% ).4%.4 147

 0%2&5-% "/44,% ",!.+3
4HE APPROACH HERE ASSEMBLING
A COLLECTION OF RESIN MODELS FOR
PERFUME BOTTLES COULD BE CALLED
CONSTRUCTIVIST -OST OF THE SHAPES
ARE ABSTRACT IN ANY CASE AND BY
INCLUDING ONE RECOGNIZABLE BOTTLE
SHAPE CLOSE TO THE CENTER THE
OPPORTUNITY WAS LEFT OPEN SIMPLY
TO PLAY WITH THE GEOMETRY USING
DIAGONALS AS A GENERAL THEME

"!95$ $%3%24
!NOTHER MINIMAL APPROACH IN A DIFFERENT CONTEXT USES FRAME SHAPE FRAME
DIVISION AND THE ISOLATION OF ONE SMALL PATHETIC BUSH TO CONVEY THE EMPTINESS
OF THIS BLEAK DESERT IN NORTHERN 3UDAN )NCLUDING THE SMALL BUSH CLOSE TO THE
CAMERA ENHANCES RATHER THAN DIMINISHES THE EMPTINESS AND CONSIDERABLE
THOUGHT WAS PUT INTO EXACTLY WHERE IN THE FRAME TO PLACE IT°VERY SLIGHTLY
OFF CENTER HELPS CREATE A BALANCE WITH THE LOW SAND HILL BEHIND

35$!.%3% 7%$$).' 3-/#+

2EAR CURTAIN FLASH OF WHICH THIS IS A TYPICAL EXAMPLE HAS GENERATED A RELATIVELY NEW %MPLOYING TECHNIQUES OF MINIMALISM THE ESSENCE OF THIS NINETEENTH
KIND OF PHOTOGRAPH THAT COULD ALMOST BE CONSIDERED A STYLE EVEN THOUGH IT IS IN A CENTURY LINEN SHIRT HANGING IN A 3HAKER MEETING HOUSE IN +ENTUCKY HAS
SENSE A TECHNICAL ARTIFACT 7ITH AN 3,2 THE FLASH CAN BE TRIGGERED AT THE END OF A TIME BEEN CONVEYED WITH THE LEAST DETAIL AND FEWEST COLORS !LL NECESSARY
EXPOSURE RATHER THAN MORE NORMALLY AT THE BEGINNING $EPENDING ON THE RELATIVE INFORMATION OF TEXTURE AND SHAPE IS AVAILABLE FROM LITTLE MORE THAN
EXPOSURE OF AMBIENT LIGHTING WITH INEVITABLE MOTION BLUR AND FLASH LIGHTING WHICH HALF OF THE GARMENT AND THE TIGHT CROP AT LEFT AND TOP FRAMES THE
EFFECTIVELY ±CLOSES² THE MOVEMENT THE MIXTURE OF BLUR AND SHARP DETAIL IS DISTINCTIVE SCENE "ARE SIMPLICITY CHARACTERIZES THIS STYLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY

148 ).4%.4 149

 ) N ART CRITICISM OF ALL KINDS BUT POSSIBLY
MORE SO IN PHOTOGRAPHY PROCESS HAS
BEEN GIVEN LESS ATTENTION THAN IT DESERVES
WORLD THAT DOES NOT BEND TO YOUR CONTROL
3ZARKOWSKI´S OWN PHOTOGRAPHY ) SHOULD
NOTE IS OF THE DELIBERATE NON REACTIVE KIND
A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN HOW PHOTOGRAPHERS
GO ABOUT CREATING AND COMPOSING IMAGES
4HE GOAL OF A WELL DESIGNED IMAGE MAY BE
0ERHAPS IT IS BECAUSE THE VIEWER OR CRITIC -ANY PHOTOGRAPHERS SIMPLY SAY EACH THE SAME BUT THE PROCESS IS NOT 2EACTION
HAS TO EXTRAPOLATE BACKWARDS FROM THE SHOT DERIVES FROM ±INTUITION²7ITHOUT AS IN STREET AND NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY TENDS
IMAGE TO GUESS THE SITUATION AND WHAT DENYING THE POWER OF INTUITION THIS CHAPTER TO RELY ON INTUITION AND EXPERIENCE AND
WENT THROUGH THE PHOTOGRAPHER´S MIND WILL INVESTIGATE ITS FOUNDATION !NDRm BECAUSE OF THE LATTER GENERALLY GETS BETTER
4HIS CAN BE DONE BUT IT NEEDS THOROUGH +ERTmSZ HAS DECLARED THAT FROM THE START WITH TIME  )N ANY CASE THE PROCESS HAS
PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE (ERE PHOTOGRAPHY OF HIS PHOTOGRAPHY IN  AT AGE  TO BE VERY FAST OFTEN ALLOWING NO TIME FOR
BECOMES ARGUABLY MORE DIFFICULT TO ANALYZE ±&ROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF COMPOSITION ) THINKING THINGS THROUGH IN A STEP BY STEP
THAN PAINTING BECAUSE THE PROCESS IS WAS READY 4HE VERY EARLIEST THING ) DID WAS LOGICAL WAY $ELIBERATION WHICH IS AT THE
MUCH SHORTER°OFTEN TOO SHORT FOR THE ABSOLUTELY PERFECTLY COMPOSED "ALANCE AND OPPOSITE END OF THE SPECTRUM AND APPLIES
PHOTOGRAPHER TO BE COMPLETELY AWARE OF LINE AND EVERYTHING WERE GOOD INSTINCTIVELY STRONGLY IN STILL LIFE AND ARCHITECTURAL
THE STEPS AT THE TIME OF SHOOTING 4HIS IS NOT TO MY MERIT ) WAS BORN THIS WAY² PHOTOGRAPHY IS SLOWER AND CALLS ON POWERS
4HIS TENDS TO CONFOUND ART CRITICS WITH ,OGICALLY THIS WOULD SUGGEST THAT +ERTESZ OF REFLECTION AND CONSTANT QUESTIONING
LIMITED PERSONAL EXPERIENCE -O-!´S *OHN DID NOT REFINE OR EVOLVE HIS COMPOSITION BUT )T IS BY NO MEANS LESS CREATIVE FOR BEING
3ZARKOWSKI WRITING ABOUT A WELL KNOWN THIS IS NOT TRUE (E LIKE SO MANY OTHERS WAS MEASURED BUT THE CREATIVE ENERGY IS CALLED
REPORTAGE SHOT BY -ARIO 'IACOMELLI SAID SIMPLY NOT INTERESTED IN EXAMINING HIS OWN UP AND USED IN A DIFFERENT WAY
±!NALYSIS WAS SURELY USELESS TO 'IACOMELLI PROCESS &ORTUNATELY SOME PHOTOGRAPHERS )N THIS CHAPTER )´LL BEGIN BY LOOKING AT
DURING THE THIN SLICE OF A SECOND DURING OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE INCLUDING #ARTIER REACTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY THOSE OCCASIONS
WHICH THIS PICTURE WAS POSSIBLE BEFORE "RESSON !NSEL !DAMS 7ALKER %VANS %DWARD WHEN ANTICIPATION AND SKILL ARE PUT TO
THE BLACK SHAPES SLID INTO AN IRRETRIEVABLY 7ESTON AND *OEL -EYEROWITZ DID AND THEIR THE TEST "UT WHAT MAY BE EVEN MORE
ALTERED RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER AND ANALYSES ARE USEFUL°AND USED HERE IMPORTANT IS KNOWING IN ADVANCE THE KIND
WITH THE GROUND AND FRAME )T SEEMS IN FACT 4HE TERM ±PHOTOGRAPHY² SEEMS ON THE OF IMAGE YOU COULD MAKE FROM A SITUATION
MOST IMPROBABLE THAT A PHOTOGRAPHER´S FACE OF IT TO BRING CONSISTENCY TO A WIDE 7HEN THE SCENE DOES NOT IMPOSE ITSELF THE
VISUAL INTELLIGENCE MIGHT BE ACUTE ENOUGH RANGE OF SUBJECTS AND WAYS OF MAKING PHOTOGRAPHER MAKES IT FIT INTO WHAT ) WILL
TO RECOGNIZE IN SUCH A BRIEF AND PLASTIC IMAGES BUT AS AN UMBRELLA DESCRIPTION CALL A ±REPERTOIRE² 4HIS IS A SORT OF MENTAL
INSTANT² AND SO ON (E CONCLUDES BY IT SUGGESTS MORE SIMILARITIES IN PROCESS IMAGE BANK OF WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

#(!04%2 
INVOKING LUCK AS A HIDDEN INGREDIENT THAN THERE ACTUALLY ARE 4HE TECHNOLOGY OF KNOWS CAN BE DONE AND LIKES AS A
CLOSING WITH THE CURIOUS ±WHETHER GOOD CAMERA AND SOFTWARE MAY BE COMMON TO TREATMENT &OR ME IT INCLUDES IMAGES THAT
OR BAD LUCK IS THE ATTENTIVE PHOTOGRAPHER´S THE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH PEOPLE ) MADE IN THE PAST AND FOUND SATISFYING
BEST TEACHER FOR IT DEFINES WHAT MIGHT SHOOT BUT IT DOES NOT GO MUCH FARTHER ) NOW KNOW THAT THEY WORK FOR ME AND )

02/#%33 BE ANTICIPATED NEXT TIME² )T DOES NOT

OF COURSE 'OOD OR BAD LUCK IS SIMPLY
A REMINDER THAT YOU ARE SHOOTING IN A

02/#%33
"ETWEEN THE EXTREMES OF REACTIVE SHOOTING
IN UNPREDICTABLE SITUATIONS AND THE TOTAL
CONTROL OF A PURPOSE BUILT STUDIO THERE IS
KEEP THEM MENTALLY IN RESERVE°NOT TO BE
COPIED SLAVISHLY BUT AS A KIND OF DESIGN
TEMPLATE TO ADAPT TO ANY NEW SITUATION

151
THE SEARCH FOR ORDER

! ll the visual arts depend heavily on ordering

the various elements according to the
artist’s preference, with the assumption that the
aesthetic” (a term Winogrand, for one, hated).
The critical argument for “informal” composition
was that when used by non-photographers, the
#,544%2 ).4/ 3425#452%
4HE AIM HERE WAS TO SHOW A KINDERGARTEN
WITH CHILDREN USING IT AND TO CRAM AS MUCH
INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE INTO THE IMAGE )N OTHER
visual impressions presented by the world are camera occasionally delivered “happy accidents,”
WORDS A RECIPE FOR A BUSY SCENE°PERHAPS TOO
disordered and often chaotic. Photography is in which what would normally be seen as BUSY 4HE MOST OBVIOUS VARIABLE WAS EXPRESSION
no exception. In fact, it requires more effort in tilted camera angles and bad framing created AND ACTION FROM THE CHILDREN 4HIS WAS WHAT YOU
organizing the image than do other arts, for the interesting, unexpected juxtapositions and WOULD NORMALLY EXPECT TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
reason that the camera records everything in geometry. Sometimes artifacts like camera shake BETWEEN A GOOD AND AN ORDINARY SHOT AND WAS
THE FIRST PRIORITY ! MEMBER OF STAFF WAS BRIEFED
front of it. A painter selects from the view, but a and flare would contribute, again “happily.” In
TO ORGANIZE THE CHILDREN AND ENCOURAGE THEM
photographer has to subdue, diminish, or hide the hands of an expert, and made deliberately, INTO DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES IT WAS THEN A MATTER OF
the elements that are unwanted. Photographers’ vernacular composition could have artistic value. OBSERVATION AND WAITING ( ,
writings on this stress this time and again. The critic Sally Eauclaire, writing on the !S USUAL HOWEVER DESIGN CAN ADD AN EXTRA
Edward Weston, early in his career, in 1922, Color Formalist photographer William Eggleston, LAYER OF IMPROVEMENT AS THE SEQUENCE SHOWS IN
wrote that for photography, landscape was too typifies the view at the time: “In the careless TIME ORDER 4HE TWO FINAL SHOTS BOTH SUCCESSFULLY
INCLUDE ALL THE NECESSARY INFORMATION TABLE
“chaotic... too crude and lacking in arrangement,” cropping, negligent alignments, and imprecise
ACTIVITIES PLAYHOUSE CHILDREN TEACHER BUT IN A
and it took him several years of work to meet the exposures of amateur snapshots, Eggleston GRAPHICALLY COHERENT WAY PRECISELY BECAUSE THEY
challenge. Ansel Adams wrote, “For photographic recognized potent effects that under his direction HAVE STRUCTURE 4HE MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
compositions I think in terms of creating could produce mesmerizing contrasts and shifts THE TWO IS IN THE ATTITUDE°AND SO VISUAL
configurations out of chaos, rather than following of conventional emphases.” More recently, IMPORTANCE°OF THE BOY CLOSEST TO THE CAMERA
any conventional rules of composition.” Cartier- Graham Clarke, on Lee Friedlander’s composition
Bresson called it “a rigorous organization of the in the image Albuquerque (1972), writes, “At first
interplay of surfaces, lines, and values. It is in glance it appears as a bland and nondescript )
(%K_\`e`k`Xcj_fk#]ifdXjkXe[`e^gfj`k`fe#j`dgcp
this organization alone that our conceptions and image, but then begins to resonate with a rich
X`djkfkXb\`ek_\k_i\\dXafi\c\d\ekj1Z_`c[i\e
emotions become concrete and communicable.” and profuse meaning... It resists any single focal n`k_k\XZ_\i#kXYc\#Xe[XZ_Xc\k$jkpc\gcXp_flj\
The mountaineer-photographer Galen Rowell, point, so that our eye moves over and over the Y\_`e[%K_\i\jlck`jZc\Xi\efl^_#XZZ\gkXYc\#Xe[
XjkXik`e^gf`ek]fi`dgifm\d\ek%
writing specifically about a composition in Death image without any point of rest, any settled
Valley, begins with, “At first the scene appeared or final sense of unity (and unitary sense and )%8]`ijkjk\gkfnXi[jcffb`e^]fik_\jkife^\jk
very jumbled to me....” He is about to leave, when meaning).” Tellingly, he uses the very absence of m`\ngf`ekXe[Zfdgfj`k`fe`jkfnXcbXifle[
k_\kXYc\%K_\gX`ek\[dliXc`jXeXck\ieXk`m\
he thinks again and returns: “The zones that had apparent skill to justify the artistic value of the
]\Xkli\f]`ek\i\jkkfk_\gcXp_flj\#Xe[fe\f]
first seemed so jumbled now converged in strong image. “Resonate” and “profuse meaning” are, of k_\Z_`c[i\e_XjZ_fj\ekfj`kXkk_\fggfj`k\
diagonals that I was able to compose by moving course, tell-tale signs that the art critic is avoiding j`[\f]k_\kXYc\%9lkk_\j_fk[f\jeËknfib#fe
dfi\k_Xefe\c\m\c%K_\i\Xi\kffdXepYXZbjf]
my camera position back and forth.” analysis and invoking mysterious insight on the
_\X[j2]iXd`e^k_\YfpY\kn\\ek_\_\X[jd\Xej
In Chapters 1 through 5 we have examined part of a viewing elite, in which the reader is `eZcl[`e^k_\[`jkiXZk`e^cpYXi\nff[\enXccXkc\]k2 * -
the tools available for imposing order on an invited somehow to participate. Xe[efk\efl^_f]k_\gX`ek`e^XZk`m`kp`jm`j`Yc\%
+%K_`jm`\ngf`ekdX[\dfi\j\ej\%K_\i\`jX^ff[ \p\ZfekXZkaljkdXb\jk_`jX[`]]\i\ekb`e[f]g`Zkli\%
image, and doing this would seem to be so This is the argument, though of dubious j\ej\f][\gk_]ifdk_\Yfp`ek_\]fi\^ifle[kfk_\ @]n\XeXcpq\k_`j`dX^\#n\ZXej\\k_Xkk_\\p\$c`e\
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to address this because a significant proportion to be successful and accepted, they can only be Z_`c[i\e`jflkf]]iXd\%
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of art photography from the 1960s onward occasional. Willful disregard for the principles iX`eYfngXkk\ieXe[#n`k_k_\jXd\n`[\$Xe^c\c\ejXj Xe[Ypk_\[`jkfik`e^\]]\Zkf]k_\)+dd\]cc\ej#n_`c\
does challenge these norms. It began with of composition and design can only be justified lj\[k_ifl^_flk#^`m\jXdfi\[peXd`ZZfdgfj`k`fe% k_\]XZ\j#p\ccfnYfo#Xe[Ycl\n`e[fnXZkXjjkfgj
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photographers such as Garry Winogrand and Lee conceptually—by saying, in effect, “this is not
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of what art critics began to call the “snapshot snapshot aesthetic has developed in recent years, \p\%@e]XZk#Yfk_f]k_\j\cXjkknf`dX^\jXi\]`e\2k_\ k_\]XZ\f]k_\Yfp%

152 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 153

as self-referential questioning. Notably, many of
those who work in this way identify themselves
as artists who happen to use a camera, not as
photographers. This is photography as conceptual
art, and concept is being substituted for skill.
Understanding this makes it easier to fit “artless
composition” into the scheme of things, even
though most traditional photographers dislike
it. It is valid as art, but I would argue that it falls
outside the canon of photography.
It’s important to note at this point that art
photography increasingly has its own paradigm
and its own rhetoric, not to mention lexicon.
To a growing extent its aims and ideals are
diverging from those of photography practised
for professional or amateur reasons. This is
not a criticism, but an observation that affects
the way these two purposes of photography
have to deal with each other. In this light,
certain commentaries of art critics become
less confusing. So, when Graham Clarke, in the
Oxford History of Art’s The Photograph, written
in 1997, states that “The problem with Bresson
is that his images confound the critical eye” and
“Winogrand has the ability to freeze rather than
make still a moment”, both of which verge on
the ridiculous to a photographer, the problem is
solved when we realize that he is writing with the
rhetoric of art criticism and most certainly not
for photographers. Cartier-Bresson’s images do
not confound the photographer’s eye; rather we
2/7).' #2%7
admire his consummate skill. ! MEDIUM TELEPHOTO VIEW OF A
GROUP OF )TALIAN ROWERS PREPARING
TO TAKE PART IN A REGATTA #OLOR
AND MACHISMO DOMINATE THE
SCENE AND THE LONGER FOCAL
LENGTH IS GOOD FOR COMPRESSING
AND CONCENTRATING ON THESE 4HE
PROBLEM AGAIN IS STRUCTURAL AND
$2!'/.&,9 FOR A WHILE NOTHING PRESENTED
)NSECTS IN SITU RARELY PRESENT NEATLY ORGANISED IMAGES ITSELF AS A REAL SHOT TOP  !S
BUT WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY DOES ARISE AS WITH THIS THE MEN PREPARED HOWEVER
DRAGONFLY PERCHED ON THE EDGE OF A POINTED LEAF THE CROSSED OARS HANGING LOOSE
FRAMING AND CAMERA POSITION CAN CREATE ORDER &IRST SHOWED POTENTIAL FOR BRINGING
THE POSITION WAS CHOSEN FOR AN EXACT HEAD ON VIEW ORDER ABOVE AND BY MOVING TO
SECOND THE SHOT WAS FRAMED A LITTLE UNUSUALLY TO THE RIGHT THIS HELPED FINALLY TO PULL
INCLUDE THE SECOND IDENTICAL LEAF THE FINAL IMAGE LEFT TOGETHER

154 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 155

HUNTING

& undamental to mainstream photography

is the process of finding situations which
can be resolved into meaningful images. Some
walking around—but anything that does will be
entirely due to your own choosing. A great deal of
self-determination is involved, because not only is
seemed natural to go straight to the street. That
was the stream. That’s where the fish were.”
Not surprisingly, there is a physical
2%0%24/)2%

images, in controlled situations, can of course this a “hunt”, but it is one in which the prey—the accompaniment to this. Reportage photography
be constructed, first in the imagination, then by final image—is determined only by you. It, the is a very physical activity, and the process of
assembling, removing, and making other physical subject of the successful image, does not know hunting for images often involves a kind of
changes. But when the situation is outside the that it is photogenic. “dance.” Meyerowitz watched both Cartier-
photographer’s control—as with street life in a This unplanned, reactive shooting of Bresson and Robert Frank at work on different
city—images are potential, unknown, waiting situations involving people’s normal lives—this occasions. About the former he wrote, “It was
to be put together by that special interaction street photography, if you like—completely astonishing. We stood back a few paces, and we
between observer and reality that makes engages the photographer with the uncertainties watched him. He was a thrilling, balletic figure,
photography unique in the visual arts. and surprises of everyday life. This is the basis on moving in and out of the crowd, thrusting
Essential to an understanding of this process which you can claim the purity of this form of himself forward, pulling back, turning away.
is the psychology of perception itself, and while photography, although this is clearly a sweeping He was so full of a kind of a mime quality. We
there are different theories even today, the and challenging statement. The way the argument learned instantaneously that it’s possible to
dominant ones derive largely from Hermann runs is that the essence of photography is its efface yourself in the crowd, that you could
von Helmholtz (1821-1894). As explained by direct optical relationship with the real world. turn over your shoulder like a bullfighter doing
R. L. Gregory, they hold that the brain actively However the camera is used, it takes from what a paso doble.” And about Frank: “ I think what
seeks to interpret the sensory input from the is actually happening in front of it. There is moved me more than anything else was the fact ,%.3 &/#!, ,%.'4( )3/ 3%44).'
eye, and throws up hypotheses as to what is no replay, no going back, and with any normal that he was in motion while he was making still
being represented. Now, photography takes shutter speed, what is captured is from a moment photographs. It seemed to me some kind of irony ,%.3 !0%2452% 7()4% "!,!.#%
perception a large step further—to the creation in time and a single place. As Cartier-Bresson that you could flow and dance and keep alive, and
of a permanent image. The photographer not wrote, “...for photographers, what has gone at the same time chip things away and just cut &/#53  $%04( /& &)%,$ 3(544%2 30%%$
only has to perceive accurately, but to try and has gone forever. From that stem the anxieties them off. I liked the physicality of that.” Robert
make the perceptions “fit” a coherent image and strengths of our profession.” Given this, Doisneau even made apologies for it: “I’m a little
that he or she knows (or believes) will work. the crux comes when the photographer has to ashamed of my illogical steps, my gesticulations.
As a photographer, you are essentially react to whatever happens with no possibility I take three steps to this side, four to that side,
“hunting” for a photograph that meets your of improving the odds by directing events or I come back, I leave again, I think, I come back,
own creative needs yet is drawn from a fluid, setting things up. It is in this sense that street then all of a sudden I get the hell out of the place,
evolving set of events. This is the essence of photography has a purity. then I come back.”
reportage, or photojournalism, and I want to Those few reportage photographers who have
begin with this, the most elusive and difficult area articulated their working method tend to use real
of photography, because to my mind it is one of hunting analogies. Here is Cartier-Bresson again,
the purest and most basic forms. Within much the master of this genre: “I prowled the streets all -/$%, &/2 4(% 02/#%33 /&
of professional photography it is highly admired day, feeling very strung-up and ready to pounce, ±(5.4).'² &/2 ! 0(/4/'2!0(
"ASED ON 2 , 'REGORY´S SCHEME FOR PERCEPTION
precisely because it is so difficult to perform determined to “trap” life—to preserve life in the
IN WHICH CONCEPTUAL AND PERCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE
well. Some would argue that it is the ultimate in act of living. Above all, I craved to seize, in the
WORK ACTIVELY AT SOLVING THE PROBLEM OF WHAT
creative, expressive photography because it is a confines of one single photograph, the whole THE VISUAL SIGNALS RECEIVED BY THE EYE REPRESENT
wonderful combination of the actuality of the essence of some situation that was in the process 0ERCEPTION IS A CONSTANTLY CHANGING HYPOTHESIS
world and the photographer’s eye. of unrolling itself before my eyes.” And Joel AS THE MIND TRIES TO ORGANIZE THE SIGNALS INTO
There is frequently nothing to begin with as a Meyerowitz, who began as a street photographer MEANING )T IS THE RESULT OF TOP DOWN INTERPOLATION
ON BOTTOM UP SIGNAL PROCESSING WITH CERTAIN RULES
likely image. This is not Monument Valley from a in New York: “It’s all out there. Every day I would
TO ORGANIZE ACTING FROM THE SIDE )N THIS MODEL THE
known vantage point, more likely a messy set of look out of my office at the action on the street, RESULTING PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS
streets in a city somewhere. There is no guarantee some thirty stories below, and I would wish I ±CREATIVE PERCEPTION²°IN OTHER WORDS PERCEPTION
3#%.% /00/245.)4)%3 02%3%.4).' 4(%-3%,6%3
that anything will come of the time you spend were out there. So, when I got my first camera, it WITH AN PHOTOGRAPHIC END RESULT

156 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 157

 -/315%
4HE SUBJECT HERE IS THE 3UDANESE RELIGIOUS 2ATHER LESS THAN A MINUTE GOES BY BEFORE
AND POLITICAL LEADER 3ADIQ AL -AHDI AND 3ADIQ EMERGES AND ) START SHOOTING 
THE OCCASION HIS ATTENDANCE AT A MOSQUE CONCERNED MOST OF ALL THAT ) GET A CLEAR
FOR &RIDAY PRAYERS !T THIS POINT 3ADIQ SHOT OF HIS FACE NOT OBSTRUCTED AS IS VERY
IS LEAVING THE MOSQUE SURROUNDED BY LIKELY BY ANYONE APPROACHING HIM FROM
SUPPORTERS°AN OPPORTUNITY IF ALL WORKS THE LEFT ACROSS MY FIELD OF VIEW ) OPEN
WELL TO CATCH GESTURES AND EXPRESSIONS BACK UP TO MM FOR SAFETY OF COVERAGE
THAT MAY SHOW THE RESPECT IN WHICH HE 4HE FOURTH SHOT  IS ONE SECOND AFTER
IS HELD )N THE FIRST SHOT  HE IS PRECEDED THIS ME PANNING TO THE RIGHT°NOT SO
BY OTHERS AND THIS IS A KIND OF RANGING GOOD AS 3ADIQ HAS HIS HAND RAISED FOR
SHOT TO PREPARE ) READJUST MY POSITION A HANDSHAKE COVERING HIS FACE AND THE
CLOSER TO THE EXIT OFF CAMERA RIGHT WHICH FOREGROUND FIGURE AT LEFT LOOKS SOMEHOW
) HOPE MAY GIVE ME A FEW SECONDS MORE DISCONNECTED FROM THE EVENT 4HE LAST
FOR SHOOTING %XACTLY ONE MINUTE GOES BY SHOT  IS MORE THAN LUCKY°ONE SECOND
BEFORE THE SECOND SHOT  IN THIS NEW LATER )´M CONTINUING TO PAN STOPPING AT
( +
POSITION AGAIN WITH OTHER PERSONALITIES THE SILHOUETTED MAN ON THE RIGHT SIDE )´M
) ZOOM IN VERY SLIGHTLY FROM MM TO EXPECTING THIS AND BY GOOD FORTUNE ALL THE
MM TO CROP TIGHTLY JUST ABOVE THE HEADS FIGURES ARE IN PLACE 4HE MAN ON THE RIGHT
) NOTE THE SILHOUETTE OF THE SUPPORTER AT FAR HAS HIS HANDS RAISED IN A PRAYING POSITION
RIGHT AGAINST THE OPEN DOOR ° THIS MAKES THE ONE BEHIND HAS HIS HAND TO HIS HEART
A USEFUL COMPOSITIONAL STOP ON THE RIGHT AND ON THE LEFT IS 3ADIQ´S SON ANCHORING
SIDE OF THE FRAME .OW )´M READY THE LEFT OF THE FRAME

*
,

158 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 159

CASE STUDY: JAPANESE MONK

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160 02/#%33 02/#%33 161

REPERTOIRE

4 he model for searching for an image,

described on the previous pages, has real
practical importance in that the “repertoire” can
types that they like. The illustrations here are
an attempt to show a partial example of this,
although I’m fully aware of the dangers of being
Needless to say, these are drawn from my
own repertoire, and happened to be the first
two dozen that I could think of in the abstract.
be analyzed. Even if the visual processes involved too specific. The repertoire does not actually The schemas are a kind of shorthand, and the
in shooting are too rapid to be deliberated at the present itself (at least, not to me) as a stack accompanying photographs are examples from
time, what you can do when not shooting is to of images, but more as a set of compositional actual shoots. As you can see, images like that
review this mental library. possibilities—templates or schemas, if you like. of the two Burmese monks on page 180 fit two
My argument, based on the “active” theories In all probability, this is not one hundred percent possibilities at least. Most images, I suspect, fit
of perceptual psychology, conversations with conscious, and so these illustrations are too exact a number of possibilities, and you can make
other photographers, and analyzing my own and specific. Nevertheless, with this in mind, they an exercise of this by playing a kind of domino
experiences, is that most photographers bring show the principle of bringing possibilities to the game—one schema fits one image, which in turn
#()!2/3#52/ $%,!9
to a shooting situation a mental set of image situation—basically, to see what fits. suggests another schema, and so on.

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162 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 163

REACTION

4 he repertoire of “images that are known to

work” is the key to a high success rate when
shooting quickly, but bringing it into play calls
whatever one does, there must be a relationship
between the eye and the heart. One must
come to one’s subject in a pure spirit.” He also
An important concept here is a “letting go,”
an emptying of the mind that follows acquiring
and honing the skills. From archery, a key text
on a number of techniques that range from the emphasized the goal, when photographing in an old archery manual, Yoshida Toyokazu
practical to the observational. I even hesitate to people, of revealing their inner look. In particular, tosho, lists the techniques and then says that
call them techniques, because the word suggests he referred to the short but highly influential they are not needed, but continues: “Not being
a well-defined procedure, yet some of them are work Zen in the Art of Archery, written by Eugen needed does not mean that they are unnecessary
elusive. Here we are looking at tactics for rapid- Herrigel. The author, a German, describes how from the beginning. At the beginning when one
reaction, unpredictable situations—how to he sought a closer understanding of Zen by knows nothing, if the beginner does not first
prepare and how to exploit chance. Back again studying archery under a Master, Awa Kenzo. The completely learn...” and so on. Herrigel, toward
to Cartier-Bresson: “Photography is not like argument was that archery, with its intense focus the end of his book, concludes that the student #!,#544! 342%%4
painting,” he said in 1957. “There is a creative of skill and concentration on a single instant of must develop “a new sense, or, more accurately, &OR STREET PHOTOGRAPHY )NDIA IS NOTABLE NOT ONLY
fraction of a second when you are taking a release in order to achieve a precise hit, could a new alertness of all his senses,” which will FOR THE WEALTH OF EVENTS AND ANIMATION BUT FOR THE
picture. Your eye must see a composition or an promote spiritual focus and “the ability to see allow him to react without thinking. “He no EXTREME ALERTNESS OF PEOPLE IN THE STREETS )F THE AIM
IS TO SHOOT WITHOUT HAVING ANYONE IN FRAME LOOKING
expression that life itself offers you, and you must true nature.” The parallels between archery and longer needs to watch with undivided attention
AT THE CAMERA ALMOST THE ONLY WAY IS TO FRAME THE
know with intuition when to click the camera.” fast-reaction photography are clear enough, ... Rather, he sees and feels what is going to SHOT IN THE MIND´S EYE AND THEN RAISE THE CAMERA
He added that once missed, the opportunity both in what is trying to be achieved and in the happen ... This, then, is what counts: a lightning AND SHOOT ALL IN ONE MOTION
was gone forever, a salutary reminder. concentration of focus. Zen training teaches reaction which has no further need of conscious
I can think of four different areas of a way through that leaps over the obstacles of observation.” All this has direct application to
preparation: camera handling, observation, deliberation and conceptualization. reactive photography, and in particular can be
familiarity with compositional techniques, and That said, a true practitioner of Zen would a solution to a fairly common problem—that
state of mind. Probably the most straightforward see it as an abuse and extremely trivial to use Zen of missing shots by trying to think at the time
part of the preparation is in dexterity at handling in order to improve photography. Nevertheless, of all the compositional and technical issues.
the camera so that it becomes, as more than one a significant number of photographers have The training involves two kinds of practice.
photographer has described it, an extension of expressed an almost spiritual communion The first is at learning and using the techniques,
the body, like any familiar tool. In the model between their consciousness and the reality including all those in Chapters 1 through 5.
for hunting for images on page 157, this means around them while shooting, and this surely is The second is practice at maintaining a direct
practice at the “sideways” input so that the not far from the spirit of Zen. Robert Frank connection with the situation and subject,
controls can be applied faster and faster. The spoke of identifying with the subject: “I watch a while clearing the mind of the much slower
second type of preparation is in developing man whose face and manner of walking interest deliberations such as, “Where should I place this +(-%2 $!.#%23
more acute observation of people and events— me. I am him. I wonder what’s going to happen.” in the frame?” or “How closely should I align ! TROUPE OF CLASSICAL +HMER DANCERS WERE PREPARING
THEMSELVES FOR A PERFORMANCE IN AN !NGKOR TEMPLE
“situational awareness” (originally an aviation For Ray Metzker, “As one is making images, this edge to the side of the frame?” In summary,
4HE SITUATION ALLOWED TIME TO EXPLORE WITH THE
term) in other words—by constant attention there’s this flow.” the procedure is “learn, empty, react,” or at least CAMERA AND BECAUSE THE USUAL MAKE UP AND
and alertness. This can be practiced all the time, Daisetz Suzuki, a famous Zen scholar of the “learn, put aside, react.” In Zen in the Art of DRESSING WAS FAIRLY PREDICTABLE ) WAS LOOKING EXACTLY
without a camera. The third, compositional skills, twentieth century who provided the introduction Archery, the Master exclaims, “Don’t think of FOR ODD AND CLEARLY UNPOSED MOMENTS LIKE THIS
means trying out all the options described in the to Herrigel’s book, wrote, “If one really wishes to what you have to do, don’t consider how to carry
bulk of this book and deciding which suit you be master of an art, technical knowledge of it is it out!” Herrigel learned, having acquired the
best. Finally, state of mind, probably the most not enough. One has to transcend technique so technical skills through endless repetition, to
difficult and elusive of the four, is highly personal, that the art becomes an ‘artless art’ growing out detach himself, and wrote: “Before [the task] the ')2, 7)4( "2//-3
and requires finding ways of helping yourself to of the Unconscious.” When we consider the role artist summons forth this presence of mind and 4HE TIMEFRAME AVAILABLE FOR MAKING THIS SHOT OF A
be alert and connected for a shoot. of instinct and intuition in finding and framing makes sure of it through practice.” 4HAI WOMAN CARRYING TRADITIONAL BROOMS WAS SO
SHORT THAT ) HAD LITTLE IDEA IF IT WOULD BE WELL FRAMED
There are more esoteric methods of a shot, this rings true in photography. One of
7HILE ) WAS CONCENTRATING ON SOMETHING ELSE ) SAW
preparation, and one that perhaps deserves the goals of Zen is to expect the unexpected
HER MOVING QUICKLY BEHIND ME OUT OF THE CORNER OF
attention is Zen. Cartier-Bresson professed a and adapt oneself to it, and this certainly has MY EYE AND HAD TIME ONLY TO SWING RIGHT ROUND AND
Buddhist influence on his way of working: “In relevance to photography. SHOOT WITHOUT THINKING

164 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 165

ANTICIPATION

4 he less control you have over a shooting

situation, the more valuable it is to have
an idea of what may happen next. Though
together in the frame, and the way to improve
this is to keep in mind as many types of
successful image composition as possible—the
#!44,% #!-0
4HIS EXAMPLE INVOLVED SEEING A POTENTIAL SUBJECT
KNOWING WHAT WAS GOING ON AND SPOTTING A
POSSIBLE JUXTAPOSITION°WITH JUST ENOUGH TIME TO
largely irrelevant in studio work and other repertoire on pages 162-163, in other words.
MOVE INTO POSITION AND SHOOT 4HIS WAS A -ANDARI
kinds of constructed photography, it is hugely On the behavioral front, the number CATTLE CAMP WHERE YOUNG MEN AND BOYS LIVE WITH
important in reportage. Anticipation is a skill of situations is infinite, but there are some THE CATTLE FOR PART OF THE YEAR AT A DISTANCE FROM THE
that goes much deeper than photography, and identifiable types. There is a general situation in VILLAGE #ATTLE PLAY AN IMPORTANT SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
draws mainly on observation and a knowledge one location, of the kind described particularly ROLE AS WELL AS AN ECONOMIC ONE IN THIS ETHNIC
GROUP IN SOUTHERN 3UDAN 4HE ANIMALS HAVE NAMES
of behavior. Using it for photography gives it well by the French reportage photographer
AND A FINE PAIR OF HORNS IS PARTICULARLY PRIZED 4HE
a particular edge, because the aim is not just Robert Doisneau: “Often, you find a scene, a LOCATION WAS RIPE WITH IMAGE POSSIBILITIES AND )
to work out how a situation might unfold and scene that is already evoking something—either ALREADY HAD A NUMBER OF SUCCESSFUL SHOTS
how a person may react, but how the results stupidity, or pretentiousness, or, perhaps, charm.
will work graphically. The example opposite, So you have a little theatre. Well, all you have to
from a cattle camp in southern Sudan, shows do is wait there in front of this little theatre for
this combination. The aim is always to translate the actors to present themselves. I often operate in
the event into an organized image. As Henri this way. Here I have my setting and I wait. What
Cartier-Bresson put it, “To take photographs I’m waiting for, I don’t know exactly. I can stay
means to recognize—simultaneously and half a day in the same place.” There is a specific
within a fraction of a second—both the fact type in which the shot as framed is good provided
itself and the rigorous organization of visually that some element, such as a person, moves into
perceived forms that give it meaning.” a particular position. Another type is focused
Therefore, there are two strands to on a subject that you have already identified but
anticipation. One is concerned with behavior which is not yet graphically a picture—imagine
and action, and also the way in which things that, in wildlife photography, you have found the
move across the field of view and the light animal but the shot depends on it moving into
changes. This can be honed by staying focused a particular view. When photographing people,
and attentive, and by practice. The other expression and gesture form yet another class.
strand is graphic, predicting how shapes,
lines, and all the other elements that we saw
in Chapters 3 through 5 will shift and come

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166 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 167

EXPLORATION

% xploration becomes possible when we expand

the timescale a notch up from a pure reaction
situation. While you could justifiably argue that
with a wide-angle lens for a substantial change
to the image. The juxtaposition effects that
make telephotos so valuable are controlled by
exactly how the situation, the scene, is going to
unfold.” On top of that, of course, you cannot
afford to leave any gaps because the situation
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when there is more time, as in these examples, farther to see the relationship change. Zoom Ultimately, exploration has to be limited,
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—and only a small change of viewpoint is needed shooting, because you cannot be sure in advance

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kfj\kk_\8Zifgfc`j`ek_\Zfek\okf]k_\jliifle[`e^
cXe[jZXg\#n`k_gc\ekpf]jbp%8ck_fl^_`kXgg\Xijk`ep
`ek_\]iXd\#k_\Yi`cc`Xekn_`k\f]k_\jkfe\_\cg\[`k
kfjkXe[flk%N`k_k_`jki\Xkd\ek#dXb`e^lj\f]k_\
]fi\^ifle[#\m\ek_\Z`kp`j[`d`e`j_\[`ei\cXk`fej_`g
kfk_\fm\iXccj\kk`e^%

,%=`eXccp#kfdXb\X[`jk`eZkZfekiXjkn`k_df[\ie
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,

170 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 171

RETURN

! nother kind of exploration is over an

extended period of time. Ansel Adams
wrote, in relation to his chosen field, landscapes,
!.'+/2
Dp]`ijkm`j`kkfk_\9XpfeÇXe`dgfikXekk\dgc\f]
dfi\k_Xe,']XZ\$kfn\ij`e8e^bfi#:XdYf[`XÇnXj
nXjefXck\ieXk`m\%@i\klie\[]flidfek_jcXk\ikf]XZ\
X[`]]\i\ekc`^_k`e^`jjl\%<m\e`eZc\Xin\Xk_\i#k_\
`e8l^ljk#k_\iX`epj\Xjfe%8kefk`d\`ek_\n\\bËj jliifle[`e^ki\\jZlkf]][`i\Zkjlec`^_klek`cXcdfjk
“Repeated returns may be more rewarding than j_ffk`e^nXjk_\i\Xep`ek\i\jk`e^c`^_k]fik_`jb`e[ d`[$dfie`e^]ifdk_\\Xjk#Xe[Xkc\XjkXe_fliY\]fi\
f]fm\iXccm`\n#Xe[n_`c\Zcfj\$lgjf]k_\]XZ\$kfn\ij jlej\k]ifdk_\n\jk* %LejXk`j]XZkfip#n`k_X[Xib
prolonged waiting for something to happen at
n\i\\]]\Zk`m\#k_\k\dgc\]ifdk_`j[`jkXeZ\k\e[jkf dXjjXkk_\YfkkfdXe[XYfi`e^jbp%FeXefk_\ii\klie#
a given spot.” This clearly makes more sense Xgg\XiXjXaldYc\f]dXjfeip#Xe[i\Xccpe\\[jk_\ jfd\p\XijcXk\i#@nXj]`eXccpXYc\kf^\kk_\_\cgf]
in the photography of place than most other _\cgf]Xcfnjle(Xe[) %K_\fecpi\Xjfen_pk_\j\ Zcfl[j#Xe[_X[[\Z`[\[k_XkYcXZbXe[n_`k\#n`k_`kj
]`ijkknfj_fkjn\i\kXb\eXkXccnXjY\ZXlj\k_\i\ ]fZljfek\okli\Xe[df[\c`e^#nXjXY\kk\i`[\X+ %
subjects, but it brings with it a new set of issues
and expectations. With a landscape, what the
photographer expects to have changed is the
lighting in the short term, and perhaps seasonal
variations over a few months. But the unexpected
becomes more likely as time goes by and as more
of the hand of man is evident. The exploration of
one subject over a period of time takes on a very
different form from the single-session exploration
that we began with. In addition to unpredictable
changes that might include demolition and new ( ( * +
construction in the manmade landscape, we
should also factor in our own changing attitudes.
What appeals to a photographer at one point in
time might at a later date seem boring.
There is considerable risk in actually relying
on a return to deliver an improvement, not )
least because the combination of things that
first attracted a photographer’s attention with
the possibility of making an image can be quite
a subtle mix, and may simply not be there
at another time. This is especially true when *
unpredictable lighting is involved. Actually relying
on a return visit to produce results is out of the
question, which is why most photographers in
, E\n_flj\
these situations quickly learn to shoot what they
can at the time. The two examples here illustrate
how idiosyncratic any return experience can be.
)

7).$-),,
Gli\cp]fik_`jYffb#Xe[n`k_flkXepgXik`ZlcXi k_\]XZkk_Xkk_\jX`cj_X[Y\\eklie\[`eXefk_\i n_\i\`knflc[Y\ZfeZ\Xc\[Ypm\^\kXk`feÇefkXYcp
\og\ZkXk`fej#@i\klie\[kfk_\j`k\f]k_\n`e[d`cc [`i\Zk`fe`emXc`[Xk\[k_\jXd\m`\ngf`ekj#Xe[@dX[\ XjdXccki\\%N`k_k_`jb`e[f]n\Xk_\i#@]\ccYXZbfe
j_fnefegX^\(-0#).p\XijcXk\ikfk_\dfek_Ale\ % Xe\ok\e[\[i\ZZ\f]k_\Xi\X]fiX[`]]\i\ekm`\n%K_\ kiX[`k`feXcc`^_k`e^ÇcfnjleÇXe[k_`jd\XekXe`ekf$
@e(0.0k_\n\Xk_\iXe[c`^_k`e^_X[Y\\ejfjg\Z`]`ZÇ fecpgfjj`Y`c`kpnXj]ifdk_\Xi\Xkfk_\\Xjk#]Xik_\i k_\$c`^_kj_fk`ek_\\m\e`e^%K_\i\ZZ\nXjXkd`[[Xp2
leljlXccpZc\Xi#Yi`^_kXe[ZfekiXjkp#n`k_XgXjjX^\ XnXp#n`k_Xjki\Xdilee`e^k_ifl^_X]`\c[%E\XiYp @i\klie\[Xk(0''_flij%K_\YXZb$c`^_k`e^gcXZ\[dfi\
f]]X`i$n\Xk_\iZldlcljÇk_Xkk_\p_X[Zfdgc\k\cp klie\[flkkfY\XZ_fj\ejgfk]ficfZXcgX`ek`e^ f]k_\`ek\i\jkfek_\k\okli\f]k_\jliifle[`e^jXe[
Zi\Xk\[k_\fggfikle`kp%8kk_\jXd\k`d\f]p\Xi#k_\ ^iflgj%8eX[[`k`feXc`jjl\nXjXe\n_flj\k_Xk[`[ c\jjfek_\n`e[d`cc#n_`Z_jl^^\jk\[Xn`[\$Xe^c\j_fk
n\Xk_\iefnnXjdfi\kpg`ZXcf]Xe<e^c`j_jldd\i# efk_`e^]fik_\jZ\e\Xe[p\knXj_`^_cpm`j`Yc\]ifd k_XkdX[\lj\f]k_\]fi\^ifle[%K_\[Xp_`^_c`^_k\[
Xe[c\jjjg\Z`Xc%K_\jf]k\ic`^_kXe[n_`k\ijbp#Xe[ k_`j[`i\Zk`fe%K_`jc`d`k\[k_\m`\ngf`ekjkfk_fj\]ifd _fnjg\Z`Xc_X[Y\\ek_\fi`^`eXcZ`iZldjkXeZ\j%
+

172 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 173

CONSTRUCTION

! t the far end of the scale from fast-reaction

street photography is the deliberate, time-
consuming process of shooting static subjects with
>iX`ejXe[niXgg`e^Y`kj
JgXZ`e^kf `dgfikXek]fiYXcXeZ\#Ylk
the camera on a tripod. Still-life and architecture \[^\f]]iXd\ dljkcffbeXkliXc#efkZfeki`m\[
are the two subject areas that most embody
this kind of composition, in which the image
is constructed, either through selecting and
positioning the subjects themselves (as in
still-life) or by carefully exploring the camera
viewpoints in relation to lens focal length.
Or both.
Having the time and facility to work on
image composition like this does not necessarily
make it easier than reportage. Rather, the skills
are different, and require prolonged attention
and a rigorous and thoughtful approach. Stephen :limXkli\
f]k_`i[
Shore, describing his large-format pictures of
le`kZi\Xk\j
American urban settings, compared the process cXi^\^Xg
with fly-fishing and the unwavering attention
needed to feel the end of the line. “Without
constant pressure the timing falters, and so does
the fly line, leaving the caster with a disconnected,
where-did-it-go feeling. Of course, it’s very B\\g
possible to take pictures without constantly kflZ_`e^
fij\gXiXk\6
paying attention to every decision that needs
to be made, but my experience was that when
my attention wandered and I started making
decisions automatically, there was something
missing in the pictures and I was left with that
where-did-it-go feeling.”
;`]ÔZlckkfdX`ekX`ek_`j
This is an instructive passage because
JgXZ`e^kf\[^\f]]iXd\ eXiifnj\gXiXk`fe 8]\njZXkk\i\[
it expresses very accurately the complexity ^iX`ejkfÔcc
of organizing a detailed image with many >XgY\Zfd\jle[lcXk`e^ k_`jZfie\i
i`YYfej_Xg\
interlocking components. To viewers accustomed
›Cffj\ZcldgjXe[^iX`ejf]k\XZXeY\lj\[kfYXcXeZ\fk_\in`j\ ›K_\i\cXk`m\n\`^_kjf]d`[$kfe\niXgg`e^#e\Xi$YcXZbYXccjf]k\X#
to more spontaneous kinds of photography, the \dgkpXi\Xjf]k_\]iXd\#Ylkk_`jdljkcffbeXkliXc#efkgcXZ\[% jZXkk\i\[^iX`ejf]k\XXe[i\[cXY\ce\\[kfY\Zfej`[\i\[Xe[YXcXeZ\[%
painstakingly ordered still-life or architectural ›Gfj`k`fe`e^le`kjZcfj\dXb\j`kgfjj`Yc\kfnfibfeX]`^li\$^ifle[ ›=`eXccp#k_\[`jkXeZ\jY\kn\\ek_\fYa\ZkjXe[k_\]iXd\\[^\je\\[
#().%3% 4%! i\cXk`fej_`g`en_`Z_k_\jgXZ\jY\kn\\eY\Zfd\j`elfljZlim\j# X[aljkd\ek#k_ifl^_]iXd`e^Xe[&fiZifgg`e^%
view may at first appear cold and overcalculated. ›Kf_Xm\j\m\iXciXk_\ik_Xefe\#n`k_fe\fg\e\[kf
4HE PARAMETERS FOR THIS STILL LIFE ARE ALMOST Ypf]]j\kk`e^fe\X^X`ejkk_\fk_\im\ik`ZXccp%9\ZXlj\f]k_`j#k_\p
In actuality, there is a constant stream of intricate LUDICROUSLY SIMPLE°AN EXPOSITORY SHOT OF j_fnZfek\ekj% dljkefkkflZ_%
and intuitive decisions to be made, most of which TRADITIONALLY WRAPPED #HINESE TEA BOUND IN ›K_\le[lcXk`e^i_pk_df]Yfle[j\^d\ekj`jnfik_ ›K_\_fi`qfekXcjgXZ`e^k_ljY\Zfd\j`dgfikXek%K_\fg\e\[le`k_Xj
\ogcf`k`e^#YlkXmf`[`e^jpdd\kip% XgifefleZ\[Zlim\#n_`Z_dXb\jXYifX[\iZ\ekiXc^Xg`e\m`kXYc\#
spring up during the process with a domino-like DRY LEAVES ON A PLAIN WHITE BACKGROUND WITH NO
›K_\i\`jXe\\[kf]`e[Xe`e]fidXcXiiXe^\d\ekk_Xk Xe[]fiXn_`c\@Zfej`[\ii\gcXZ`e^`kn`k_Xefk_\i#Ylk]`eXccp[\Z`[\
effect on other parts of the image. What Shore PROPS 9ET EVEN WITH SUCH A MINIMAL INTENTION fZZlg`\jk_\]iXd\Xe[_Xjjfd\[peXd`Z`ek\i\jk% k_Xkk_`jcffbjdfi\eXkliXcXe[`eXepZXj\dXb\jXeXkkiXZk`m\
MANY INTERLOCKING COMPOSITIONAL DECISIONS ›Fg\e`e^fe\i\m\Xcj\m\edfi\`ek\i\jk`e^
describes is the need for total concentration, and [`m\i^\eZ\n`k_`kjniXgg`e^fek_\i`^_k%
ACCUMULATE NOT ALL OF THEM POSSIBLE TO RESOLVE le[lcXk`fejXe[i\g\Xk\[nXm\$c`b\gXkk\iej%
the need for absolute rigor. ›8jdXccYlkZfek`elfljj\gXiXk`fef]k_\j\gXiXk\[niXgg`e^fek_\
COMPLETELY 4HE MAIN DECISIONS WERE ›@[\Z`[\[kfZfekiXjke\Xke\jjf]niXgg\[le`kjn`k_ c\]kf]k_\fg\e\[le`knflc[_Xm\Y\\e`[\Xc#Ylkk_\Zfe]`^liXk`fe
ZildYc`e^[`jfi[\if]k_\fg\efe\% f]k_\Yi`kkc\c\Xm\jdXb\jk_`j`dgfjj`Yc\%

174 02/#%33 02/#%33 175

 &).% 0/).43 /& 0,!#%-%.4
8jXe\o\iZ`j\#`kËjnfik_cffb`e^Xkgfjj`Yc\mXi`Xk`fej
`egfj`k`fe`e^f]Xb\p\c\d\ek`ek_`jjk`cc$c`]\#n_`Z_
j_fnjnfib`egif^i\jjfeXe`ccld`eXk\[dXeljZi`gk%
K_\[i`\[jXcXdXe[\i`jXjg\Z`d\eY\`e^lj\[`eXe
`ccljkiXk`fe#Xe[k_\`ek\ek`fenXjkfgcXZ\`k`ek_\
lgg\igXikf]k_\`dX^\%@ei\Xc`kp#]iXd`e^Xe[k_\
XiiXe^\d\ekf]k_\[`]]\i\ekj_\\kjf]gXg\iXe[
dXeljZi`gknflc[Y\X[aljk\[Xkk_\jXd\k`d\#Ylk
k_\j\Xck\ieXk`m\j]fik_\jXcXdXe[\ij_fnjfd\
f]k_\[\kX`c\[[\Z`j`fejk_Xke\\[kfY\dX[\%=fi
\oXdgc\#j_flc[k_\Zi\Xkli\Xe[`kjj_X[fnk_\
cfe^j_X[fn`j`ek\^iXc ]`ke\Xkcpn`k_`eXYcXebXi\X#
Xj`e*#fi[f\jk_`jj\\dXeefp`e^cpZfeki`m\[6P\k
k_\Zfdgfj`k`fe`je\Z\jjXi`cpZfeki`m\[`eXepZXj\%
9i\Xb`e^c`e\j#Xj`e+#d`^_kj\\ddfi\eXkliXc#
n`k_c\jjXik`]`Z\%@ek\ek#`efk_\infi[j#gcXpjXifc\
\m\e`ek_\d`elk`X\f]i\]`e\d\ekj`eZfdgfj`k`fe%

( )

/2'!.):).' 3425#452%3
/. ! ,!2'% 3#!,%
"UILDINGS STREET SCENES AND LANDSCAPES OFTEN MAKE
HEAVY DEMANDS ON FINDING THE EXACT CAMERA POSITION
WITH SEVERAL COMPROMISES NEEDED AND A FINAL
POSITION MEASURED IN INCHES &OR THIS PHOTOGRAPH OF
A NEW *APANESE VILLA IN THE HILLS ABOVE (IROSHIMA
WITH ITS MINIMALLY DESIGNED GARDEN THE DECISION
TO GO FOR A SYMMETRICAL VIEW MADE THE WORK EVEN
* + HARDER°PRECISION BECAME INTEGRAL TO THE IMAGE

176 02/#%33 02/#%33 177

JUXTAPOSITION

0 hotography relies hugely on the simple

compositional device of bringing two or
more subjects together in the frame. I say hugely
!,0).% 2%&,%#4)/.
#ONTENT CAME FIRST IN THIS SHOT OF A SNOW COVERED
RIDGE REFLECTED IN THE SILVERWORK OF A 2OLLS 2OYCE 4HE
DISTINCTIVE EMBLEM IS THAT OF A HOTEL IN 3T -ORITZ
because of our innate tendency to assume a
"ADRUTTS 0ALACE AND THE AIM WAS TO COMBINE IT
relationship between things seen side by side. At WITH THE MOUNTAINS 3IMPLE IN CONCEPT THIS WAS
the very least, juxtaposition brings two things to MORE DIFFICULT IN EXECUTION DEMANDING A PARTICULAR
our attention at the same time, and as soon as the ALIGNMENT 3EVERAL POSITIONS FOR THE CAR WERE TRIED
viewer starts to wonder why the photographer AROUND THE AREA BEFORE SETTLING ON THIS AND EVEN
THEN THE CAR HAD TO BE MOVED AROUND SEVERAL TIMES
chose that viewpoint, and if the juxtaposition
4HE EXACT COMBINATION OF LENS FOCAL LENGTH AND
was intentional, this sets off a train of thought. CAMERA POSITION TOOK TIME TO FIND AND THIS NEEDED
There are two sources for juxtaposition, TO BE DONE WELL IN ADVANCE OF SUNSET -INIMUM
although one inevitably triggers effects on APERTURE ENSURED MAXIMUM DEPTH OF FIELD
the other, and these are the content and the
graphics. Perhaps “motives” might be a better
term than “sources,” because in the first case the
initiative comes from subject, and in the second
the inspiration more often comes from chance
appearances (as in, for example, the reflection of
one thing in a window through which can also
be seen a second subject). The two, content and
graphics, are never completely separated.
The amount of deliberation can vary
enormously, from a planned expedition to find
#%,,0(/.% .%47/2+ !$6%24)3%-%.4
a way of juxtaposing two subjects, to spur-of-
)N NORTHERN 3UDAN THE POSTER SEEMED QUITE OUT OF
the-moment coincidences, and if the final image PLACE FOR THE RAGGEDY STREET MARKET THOUGH NOT
is the only thing that a viewer sees, in itself it is WORTH PHOTOGRAPHING JUST FOR THIS REASON (OWEVER
not at all a reliable indicator. The examples here, THE POSITION AND LIGHTING OF THE CONTRASTING SECOND
described in more detail, cover this range. The FACE°THAT OF THE MERCHANT°MADE THE SHOT )T
DEPENDED ON TIGHT CROPPING TO EXCLUDE ANYTHING
reflection shot of the mountains was planned days
ELSE AND OF COURSE ON SPEED ) WAS HIGHLY VISIBLE
in advance, while the cellphone advertisement AND WITHIN A SECOND OR TWO THE MAN WOULD LOOK
was seen and shot within seconds. DIRECTLY AT ME AT WHICH POINT THE SHOT WOULD LOSE
ALMOST ALL ITS VALUE AS FAR AS ) WAS CONCERNED

*)% ')2,
3()"59! #2/33).' )N A *IE VILLAGE IN SOUTHEASTERN 3UDAN ARMS ARE
!T 3HIBUYA CROSSING IN CENTRAL 4OKYO THE ENTIRE COMMON BECAUSE OF RIVALRY WITH OTHER ETHNIC
FAlADE OF THIS BUILDING IS A DIGITAL DISPLAY !T ONE GROUPS !S A TEENAGE GIRL GRINDS SORGHUM A
POINT IN THE SEQUENCE A GIANT EYE APPEARS WITH THE +ALASHNIKOV ASSAULT RIFLE LIES CASUALLY PROPPED
OBVIOUS "IG "ROTHER INFERENCE &RAMING THE IMAGE NEARBY *UXTAPOSITION HERE INVOLVED SIMPLY
LIKE THIS WITH THE EYE AT THE TOP AND A 3TARBUCKS MOVING CLOSE TO THE RIFLE AND USING A WIDE
COFFEE SHOP BELOW EXPLOITS THIS POSSIBILITY ANGLE LENS ADDING DEPTH TO THE CONTENT

178 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 179

PHOTOGRAPHS TOGETHER

) mages behave differently in groups, juxtaposed,

than when displayed individually. In a sense,
a new kind of image is created—one in which
the frame is a gallery wall or a two-page spread
in a magazine or book, and the few or several
images themselves become picture elements. The
arrangement can be time-based or spatial, or a
mixture of the two, and according to the medium
the viewer has more, or less, choice in the order of
seeing the photographs. A slideshow is inflexible
and highly controlled, while a magazine or book
allows the reader to flick backward and forward.
One of the classic uses of photographs in an
assembly is the picture story, and some of the best
examples come from the heyday of large-format,
general-interest illustrated magazines, from the
early days of the Münchner Illustrierte Presse and
Ilustrated Weekly in London, to Life, Picture Post
and Paris-Match. Well executed, the picture story
is a complex entity, involving not just the talents
of the photographer, but of the editor, picture
editor, and designer. The individual visual unit is
the “spread” (a double-page layout), and it is the
sequencing of spreads that gives the picture story
both its narrative and dynamic flow.
From the point of view of shooting, the
knowledge that the end product will be a
grouping of images introduces new demands, but
perhaps eases the pressure on getting one single
all-encompassing shot. Only very occasionally do
all the important elements in a complex situation Æ ,! 4)-% ,)&%
come together in a single composition, and when !N EXAMPLE OF A PICTURE STORY IN BOOK FORM CONSTRUCTED BY EDITORS AT
4IME ,IFE "OOKS FIVE DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS ON A THEME OF THE LIFE OF THE
they do, this is often noteworthy enough for the
SEAFARING INHABITANTS OF THE REMOTE 3ULU ARCHIPELAGO IN THE SOUTHERN
photographer to breathe a sigh of relief. Dorothea
0HILIPPINES 4HE BOOK WAS A  PAGE VOLUME ON 3OUTHEAST !SIA IN THE
Lange wrote about one of her iconic images of SERIES ,IBRARY OF .ATIONS IN WHICH THE CONSTRUCTION WAS SIX CHAPTERS
the Depression that it was one of those occasions ONE FOR EACH COUNTRY OR GROUP INTERLEAVED WITH PICTURE ESSAYS LIKE THIS
when “you have an inner sense that you have %ACH ESSAY IS A GLIMPSE IN DETAIL AT ONE SPECIFIC ASPECT OF WHAT HAD BEEN
encompassed the thing generally.” The alternative, COVERED IN THE PRECEDING CHAPTER AND THIS ONE WAS CHOSEN UNPLANNED
ON THE STRENGTH OF WHAT EMERGED DURING THE LONG SHOOT )N ALL EIGHT
if the aim is telling a story, is to shoot different
IMAGES WERE SELECTED FROM A TOTAL TAKE OF AROUND  USEFUL FRAMES
aspects of it as a set of images. Cartier-Bresson
likened a typical situation to a “core” with sparks #/).#)$%.#%3 /. ! '!,,%29 7!,,
4HERE ARE AS MANY WAYS OF HANGING GROUPS OF PRINTS WAS GIVEN TO A COINCIDENCE OF COLOR AND FORM°TWO
being struck off it; the sparks are elusive, but can
IN A GALLERY SHOW AS THERE ARE CURATORS AND THIS IS RED ROBED "URMESE NOVICE MONKS OVER THE VERTICAL
be captured individually. JUST ONE INCIDENTAL EXAMPLE /NCE THE IMAGES HAVE RED REFLECTION OF THE SUN IN THE -EKONG 2IVER BOTH
There are technical matters such as knowing BEEN DECIDED UPON AND FRAMED WHAT REMAIN ARE IMAGES FROM A SHOW ON !SIA 4HE LOWER PICTURE IS
that the “gutter” between two facing pages can THE PERMUTATIONS OF GROUPING (ERE CONSIDERATION USED DIFFERENTLY IN THE LAYOUT ON PAGE 

180 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 181

 #2%!4)6% !24 $)2%#4)/.
"OTH OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS OF
'REEK %VZONES PALACE GUARDS ON
PARADE WERE SHOT FROM THE SAME
POSITION WITH THE SAME MM
LENS SEVERAL SECONDS APART !
GREATER DISTANCE SEPARATED THE
OFFICER FROM THE SOLDIERS THAN
APPEARS HERE AS THE ART DIRECTOR
ALLOWED THE GUTTER TO REDUCE THE
SEPARATION VISUALLY

ruin a centrally composed image, and editorial a kind of interleaved text narrative. Caption eye. The color relationships between the several
ones such as the need for graphic variety, and writing is an editorial skill in its own right, but images impose their own structure. Sequence
the need for vertical images to fill full pages. again, the importance for us is in how it changes is always involved in whatever form they are
We can extend this use of assembled images to the viewer’s perception of the image by directing displayed, because the eye travels from one to
illustrated books, where there is greater variety attention to one element or another, as we saw another. Because the units of color are entire
of style than in magazines and more pages to on pages 140-143. images, the juxtaposition of photographs tends
expand a story. The spread remains the visual The classic picture story is just one of the to favor those with a dominant color.
unit, but in the case of a highly illustrated book ways in which photographs achieve a new life
(that is, mainly images with little text), the when combined. The other important one is
large number of pages introduces more of a a gallery show; pictures framed and hung on
time sequence. In other words, there is likely to a wall. Time-based collections of images are
be more of a sense of seeing images one after sequences such as slide shows, whether shown
another rather than side by side. The dynamics of as an event or offered online. In all of these, the
/0%.).' 302%!$3
sequencing are subtly different from the spatial graphic relationships tend to impact more than
/F THE ENDLESS WAYS OF COMBINING IMAGES ON A
relationship on one spread left open. An extra relationships of content (first-glance syndrome), PAGE ONE THAT ART DIRECTORS SEEM TO LIKE TO USE
component is the captions, and these need to and this places a special importance on color, WHEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES PERMIT IS EMBEDDING
work together, typically long enough to provide which if strong registers very rapidly on the ONE IN THE RELATIVELY FEATURELESS AREA OF ANOTHER

182 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 183

POST-PRODUCTION

$ igital photography has created, more than

anything else, a culture of post-production.
To those brought up to respect the purity of the
shot to the best of its technical potential. Typically,
the procedures include setting black and white
points to present the dynamic range to its best
words are truthful in themselves. Quite apart
from early feats of retouching that included
printing other skies onto landscape scenes and
4)-% ,!03%
!N INVASIVE STYLE OF POST PRODUCTION BUT STILL
ARGUABLY WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF HONESTY AND
REALISM IS DEMONSTRATED BY A SERIES OF FRAMES
moment as captured and the frame as the sacred advantage, adjusting contrast, color temperature, removing purged Communist Party officials
OF A 2OMAN RUIN AT %PHESUS 4URKEY SHOT AS A
boundary of the image (printing the rebates—the hue, brightness, and saturation, and removing from propaganda photographs, there was also SOLUTION TO THE HORDE OF UNWANTED TOURISTS )N
frame edges—in the final image is the clearest artifacts such as noise and dust specks. Even this, falsification of the subject and event. The debate THIS POST TECHNIQUE SEVERAL FRAMES ARE LAYERED
expression of this cult), this may seem anathema. however, raises such questions of interpretation as continues around one famous image, by Robert IN REGISTER THEN SELECTIVELY ERASED TO REMOVE
But the argument to counter this reaction is that how bright, how colorful, how contrasty? Moving Capa, of a Republican soldier in the Spanish Civil THE PEOPLE 4HIS METHOD IS INTRINSICALLY MORE
ACCEPTABLE THAN CLONING IN THAT THE PATCHES
digital post-production returns the photographer on to greater changes calls for reassessment, War falling, apparently at the moment of being
BROUGHT TO THE FRONT WERE ACTUALLY CAPTURED
to the days of black and white as the only medium, which may include questioning the nature of shot in battle. There are strong arguments that
with the darkroom as the place where images were photography itself, certainly when out-and- this was in fact posed during training.
made special. Of course, post-production is open out special effects are involved. All of this, from One of the major effects of post-production
to abuse, but another way of looking at this is that optimization up to rearranging the content of the on process is the ways in which it can affect the
it throws photographers back on their sense of image, falls on what I call a “scale of intervention,” shooting. Knowing what can later be done to an
what is right and what is wrong. To my mind this and how far along that scale a photographer is image inevitably affects the decisions made at the
is no bad thing at all—it’s a way of saying “take prepared to go is an important decision. time of capture. At the very least, for example,
full responsibility.” Ethical issues are now in sharper focus faced with an unknown color temperature
The range of post-production activities than ever before, because all constraints have or a difficult exposure situation, most digital
is potentially huge, and this is not the place been removed. Manipulating images, whether photographers would opt to shoot in Raw format,
to list them, but what is useful is to attempt a openly for special effects, as in advertising, or confident that this will give more choice in
subdivision into the kinds of procedure that clandestinely to fool the viewer, has always gone recovering a technically satisfactory image. Or
photographs are put through in the computer. on, but demanded great effort. Now, Photoshop imagine another case, in which the subject is a
The minimum is optimization, and the maximum and other software allow anything to be changed view intermittently interrupted by passing people,
is total manipulation to the extent that the image in an image, and the only limitation is the visual when what the photographer wants is an image
no longer resembles the original. These may seem judgement of the computer user. In the early with no-one in sight. A traditional solution would
like clear definitions, but in practice they conceal days of digital photography, a number of critics be to return at a time when the site was empty, but
many shades of decision, purpose, and effect. bemoaned the whole idea, as if the only thing a digital solution would be to shoot several frames
A general definition of optimization is holding photographers in check from cheating with the passers-by in different positions, then
“the procedures to make a system or design as constantly was technical difficulty. In reality, trust in post-production make a layer stack of these
effective or functional as possible.” Translated into in the inherent truthfulness of the medium was and selectively delete the people. In ways like this,
photography, this means preparing the image as simple-minded, as meaningless as believing that digital photography can change the way we shoot.

).4%202%4).' 2!7
2AW FORMAT PRESERVES THE ORIGINAL DATA AS CAPTURED
AND PERMITS A HIGHER DYNAMIC RANGE TO BE RECORDED
DEPENDING ON THE SENSOR MAKING IT THE FILE FORMAT
OF CHOICE FOR POST PRODUCTION #OLOR TEMPERATURE
HUE SHIFTS CONTRAST AND SEVERAL OTHER SETTINGS
CAN BE ASSIGNED LATER RATHER THAN AT THE TIME OF
SHOOTING !S THIS EXAMPLE ILLUSTRATES IMAGES CAN
BE OPTIMIZED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS TO SUIT INDIVIDUAL
TASTE 4HE ORIGINAL SETTINGS AS OPENED IN THE 2AW
EDITOR HAVE LOW CONTRAST AND AN EXPOSURE THAT LOSES
NEITHER HIGHLIGHTS NOR SHADOWS 3HOWN NEXT ARE THE
AUTOMATIC CONVERSION AND THEN A VERSION THAT AIMS
FOR EXTREME SATURATION TO EMPHASIZE THE BANDS OF
COLOR 4HESE ARE TWO OF MANY POSSIBLE TRANSLATIONS

184 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 185

SYNTAX

%6/#!4)6% &,!2%
3HOT ON BLACK AND WHITE FILM
DELIBERATELY WITHOUT ADDED
LIGHTING THIS MORNING VIEW OF
3T *OHN´S #HAPEL IN THE 4OWER OF
,ONDON ATTEMPTS TO CAPTURE THE
FLOOD OF LIGHT AS THE SUN STREAMS
DOWN ON THE ALTAR AND TO DO
THIS MAKES FULL USE OF THE FLARE
CHARACTERISTIC OF WELL EXPOSED
HIGH CONTRAST IMAGES

3),(/5%44%
4YPICAL OF +ODACHROME IMAGES
EXPOSED FOR THE HIGHLIGHTS°IN
THIS CASE THE SUN RISING BEHIND
THE *EFFERSON -EMORIAL
IN 7ASHINGTON $#°THIS
PHOTOGRAPH TREATS ITS SUBJECT
AS A SILHOUETTE RELYING ON
VIEWPOINT AND A RECOGNIZABLE
PROFILE OUTLINE 4HE MULTI SPIKED
FLARE STAR AROUND THE SUN IS
TYPICAL FROM A LENS AT SMALL
APERTURE WITH UNDEREXPOSURE

3 yntax, as normally defined, is the study of

the rules governing the way words are put
together to form sentences. In photography
to print in another sky, those who remained true
to the medium learned to compose around the
limitation. Timothy O’Sullivan, for example,
($2)
! GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE NEW STYLE OF (IGH $YNAMIC
2ANGE )MAGING IN WHICH THE ENTIRE DYNAMIC RANGE
exposed), led to another way of working. Even
in the handful of labs that could process it, there
was almost no latitude for correcting mistakes
terrible, in the knowledge that a repro house
could “open up” the shadows.
Color Formalism, born in 1970s America,
unquestioned until now—flare and silhouettes.
Flare is actually inefficient, an artifact in digital
terminology, but has that made it wrong? Of
OF THIS .EW 9ORK SUBWAY SCENE IS CAPTURED WITH
we need something similar, particularly in the treated the white sky as a shape, exploiting the by altering the processing. The transparency and the later love affair that many fashion course not. Photographers have had decades to
FULL COLOR SATURATION FROM THE DARKEST SHADOWS TO
digital era, to account for the changes in the figure-ground relationship. This approach, in THE INDIVIDUAL BARE LAMPS .O ADDITIONAL LIGHTING went straight to the repro house, so Kodachrome and advertising photographers have had with make it work and be attractive and evocative.
general visual character of photographs. If we turn, came to be accepted by its audience as WAS USED FOR COMPARISON A LOW DYNAMIC RANGE photographers learned to put all their effort into color negative film processed and printed Audiences have had the same time to learn it and
compare a late nineteenth-century landscape the natural way that a photograph should look. SINGLE FRAME IS SHOWN BELOW  4HIS KIND OF IMAGE getting the exposure and framing right—more idiosyncratically, were in part a reaction to the enjoy it. Flare brings the impression of flooding
from a wet plate, a Tri-X 35mm black and white, Syntax in linguistics explains what makes an WAS INCONCEIVABLE UNTIL THE ST CENTURY BUT ITS FULL than at any time previously. Remember that Kodachrome generation, as we saw in Chapter light and the view out. The same with silhouettes,
PRESENTATION OF ALL THE INFORMATION IN A SCENE MAY
a 35mm Kodachrome, and a modern digital admissible sentence. Syntax in photography with black and white, photographers shot in 5, but the greatest change of all in the rules of which I would argue are an invention of
TAKE SOME GETTING USED TO
night scene shot on Raw and using HDRI (high explains how a photograph ought to look. the knowledge of what they, or a skilled printer, what makes an acceptable photographic image photography (I’m excluding cameos). With digital
dynamic range imaging), there are some obvious The invention of 35 mm created a different could later achieve. W. Eugene Smith’s darkroom are happening right now. Post-production is photography, neither flare nor silhouettes are
differences in how the images look, and in how syntax for photography, with the camera used marathons became legend, but they were also the possibly the major change wrought by digital inevitable. HDRI can remove them. Is this good?
they were and are perceived by audiences. off the tripod, handheld. The smaller film frame epitome of printing as a second, essential stage in photography, certainly from the point of view Is it acceptable or desirable? These are questions
To take the first example, the dead-white sky revealed the grain in an enlargement onto a the process. This disappeared with Kodachrome of process. Particularly interesting is how post- still to be answered, not only by photographers
of early photography was due to the inefficient print, so photographers learned to live with the for reproduction in magazines and books. production can change the syntax of photography but by the audience, too. There is now the
response of emulsions, which were blue-sensitive. texture. Kodak’s Tri-X in particular had a tight, This film, which dominated professional color by eliminating or altering the graphic elements possibility of making photographs that are closer
When the exposure was good for the ground, in distinct grain structure, and this was enjoyed by photography during the 1960s and 1970s, also special to cameras, lenses, and film. to the way we see, but whether or not this is
the print a clear sky appeared white and most some photographers, and eventually by viewers. created the practice of deliberate underexposure. Digital possibilities include the ability to something that photography should aim for is
clouds were invisible. While some photographers The invention of Kodachrome, with its rich, Photographers exposed to hold the highlights, make everything technically “correct.” Consider open for discussion. As always with photography,
responded with artifice, using another negative deeply saturated colors (the more so when under- which when overexposed on Kodachrome looked those two components of photographic syntax nothing is agreed, and all is still in flux.

186 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% 02/#%33 187

INDEX

 FRAME FORMAT    #INERAMA  ±CONSTANCY SCALING²  MOVEMENT AND  FOCAL LENGTH FOCUS ¯
 FRAME FORMAT   CIRCLES ¯ CONSTRUCTION OF COMPOSITION ¯ PERSPECTIVE AND ¯ LENSES  HORIZONTAL LINES ¯
#LARKE 'RAHAM   #ONSTRUCTIVISM   WIDE ANGLE LENS  PERSPECTIVE AND   MOMENT ¯
! CLEAR INTENT ¯ CONTENT ZIG ZAGS  FOCUS USE OF ¯ MOTION BLUR ¯
ABSTRACTION  ¯ CLOSURE AMBIGUITY ¯ DIAGONAL TENSION  FORESHORTENING  OPTICS ¯
ACCENT COLOR   ,AW OF   WEAK AND STRONG ¯ DI#ORCIA 0HILIP ,ORCA  FRAME RECTANGLES ¯
!DAMS !NSEL       TRIANGULAR  CONTRAST ¯ DIGITAL CAMERAS VIEWFINDER OR ,#$   FORMAT    SEVERAL POINTS ¯
AERIAL PERSPECTIVE   COLOR CHIAROSCURO  DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY  FORMAT   SINGLE POINT ¯
!GHA - &  ACCENT   FLATCONTRASTY  COLOR EFFECTS   ALIGNMENT WITHIN  TRIANGLES ¯
ALIGNMENT WITH FRAME  BLUE   LIQUIDSOLID  POST PRODUCTION ¯ CROPPING ¯ VECTORS ¯
AMBIGUITY CONTENT ¯ BRIGHTNESS ¯  MANYONE  SYNTAX ¯ DIVISIONS ¯ VERTICAL LINES ¯
ANTICIPATION  ¯ COMPLEMENTARY    SOFTHARD  DIMINISHING PERSPECTIVE   DYNAMICS OF ¯ GRAVITY BALANCE AND 
ARRANGEMENT COMPOSITION WITH ¯ SOLIDLIQUID  DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY ¯ EMPTY  GREEN COLOR  
OF OBJECTS ¯ EXPOSURE AND   TONAL ¯ $OISNEAU 2OBERT    EXTENDING ¯ 'REGORY 2 , 
OF PHOTOGRAPHS  GREEN   CONVENTIONAL COMPOSITION ¯ $YER 'EOFF  FILLING THE FRAME ¯
ART PHOTOGRAPHY  HUE ¯ CONVERGENCE DYNAMICS HORIZON POSITION ¯ (
ASPECT RATIO  INTERFERENCE COLORS  PERSPECTIVE ¯ BALANCE  HORIZONTAL ¯ (AAS %RNST  
!TGET %UGENE  METALLIC  TRIANGLES  DIAGONALS  INTERNAL FRAME ¯ HARMONY
MUTED ¯ CROPPING ¯ OF FRAME ¯ PLACEMENT WITHIN ¯ BALANCE AND 
" ORANGE   #UBISM  TENSION ¯ RECTANGLES AND  COLOR AND ¯
BACKGROUND ¯ PERSPECTIVE  CURVES ¯ SHAPE OF ¯ (ELMHOLTZ (ERMANN VON 
BALANCE PRIMARIES ¯ % SQUARE ¯ (ERRIGEL %UGEN 
CONCEPT OF ¯ PROPORTIONS  $ %AUCLAIRE 3ALLY  VERTICAL  HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE IMAGING ($2) ¯
DYNAMIC  RED   DECISIVE MOMENT ¯ ECCENTRICITY  &RANK 2OBERT    HORIZON ¯
SYMMETRY ¯ RELATIONSHIPS ¯ DELAY AMBIGUITY ¯ %GGLESTON 7ILLIAM   &RIEDLANDER ,EE  HORIZONTAL FRAME ¯
"ARTHES 2OLAND   SATURATION ¯ DEPTH ELLIPSES  &UJI 6ELVIA FILM  VERTICALS IN 
"AUHAUS  SECONDARIES  DIAGONALS ¯ %MERGENCE PRINCIPLE OF   HORIZONTAL LINES ¯
BEAUTY CONCEPT OF  TEMPERATURE  PERSPECTIVE AND ¯ ETHICAL ISSUES IMAGE MANIPULATION  ' HUE COLOR ¯
±BEHOLDER´S SHARE²   VIOLET   $E 3AUSMAREZ -AURICE  %VANS 7ALKER    'ALASSI 0ETER  HUMAN VISION 
BLACK AND WHITE ¯ YELLOW   DESIGN EXPLORATION ¯ GALLERIES ARRANGEMENT OF PHOTOGRAPHS   HUNTING FOR A PHOTOGRAPH ¯
BLUE COLOR   COLOR CIRCLE   BALANCE ¯ EXPOSURE ¯ GAZE ¯ ¯
"RETON !NDRm  #OLOR &ORMALISM     BASICS OF ¯ EXPRESSIVE PHOTOGRAPHY ¯ GEOMETRY DIVIDING THE FRAME  )
BRIGHTNESS #OMMON &ATE ,AW OF  CONTENT AND ¯ EXTENDED IMAGES ¯ 'ESTALT THEORY ¯ )-!8 
COLOR ¯  COMPLEMENTARY COLORS    CONTRAST ¯ EYE LINES ¯ 'IACOMELLI -ARIO  ±IMPORTANCE WEIGHTINGS² 
KEY  ¯ COMPLEXITY ¯ DYNAMIC TENSION ¯ EYES SCANPATHS ¯ 'LASER -ILTON  INTENT
COMPOSITION FIGURE AND GROUND ¯ 'OETHE * 7 VON  CLEAR OR AMBIGUOUS ¯
# CLEAR OR AMBIGUOUS ¯ 'ESTALT THEORY ¯ & 'OLDEN 3ECTION   COMPOSITION 
CALLIGRAPHY  CONSTRUCTION OF ¯ PATTERN ¯ FACES VISUAL WEIGHT   'OMBRICH %RNST    CONVENTIONAL OR CHALLENGING ¯
#APA 2OBERT  CONVENTIONAL OR CHALLENGING ¯ PERSPECTIVE ¯ FASHION PHOTOGRAPHIC STYLES ¯ 'OOD #ONTINUATION ,AW OF     DOCUMENTARY OR EXPRESSIVE ¯
CAPTIONS ¯  CREATING ORDER ¯ RHYTHM ¯ &IBONACCI SERIES ¯ GRAPHIC ELEMENTS  REACTIVE OR PLANNED ¯
#ARTIER "RESSON (ENRI       DELAY ¯ TEXTURE ¯ FIGUREGROUND RELATIONSHIP  CIRCLES ¯ SIMPLE OR COMPLEX ¯
     DOCUMENTARY OR EXPRESSIVE ¯ VISUAL WEIGHT ¯ FIGURES TRIANGULAR STRUCTURE  CURVES ¯ STYLE ¯
CASE STUDY HUNTING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS ¯ INTENT  DIAGONAL LINES FISH EYE LENS   DIAGONAL LINES ¯ INTEREST
CHALLENGING COMPOSITION ¯ JUXTAPOSITION ¯ CONVERGING  FLARE    EXPOSURE ¯ FOCUS OF ¯
CHIAROSCURO  REACTIVE OR PLANNED ¯  DYNAMICS  FLASH REAR CURTAIN STYLE  EYE LINES ¯ VIEWING ORDER ¯

188 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% ).$%8 189

INTERNAL FRAMES ¯ -EYEROWITZ *OEL   INTUITION  3 4 :
INTUITION  -INIMALISM    REPERTOIRE ¯ SACCADES  TELEPHOTO LENS ¯  :EN 
)NVARIANCE PRINCIPLE OF  -ODERNISM  STYLE ¯ 3ANDER !UGUST  TEMPERATURE COLOR  ZIG ZAG LINES 
)TTEN *OHANNES   MOMENT DECISIVE ¯ PHOTOGRAPHS TOGETHER ¯ 3ARTRE *EAN 0AUL  TENSION ZOOM LENS 
MOTION BLUR ¯ PHOTOJOURNALISM SATURATION COLOR ¯ DIAGONAL 
* MOVEMENT HUNTING FOR A PHOTOGRAPH  ±SCALE CONSTANCY²  DYNAMIC ¯
JUXTAPOSITION ¯ CURVES  OBVIOUS IMAGES  SCANPATHS ¯ TEXTURE PATTERN ¯
DIAGONAL LINES  WIDE ANGLE LENS  SECONDARY COLORS  TILT LENS ¯ 
+ MOMENT AND ¯ SEE ALSO STREET PHOTOGRAPHY 3EGREGATION ,AW OF  TIME LAPSE ¯
+ANDINSKY 7ASSILY  MOTION BLUR ¯ 0HOTO 3ECESSION  SEQUENCES OF PHOTOGRAPHS  TIMING DECISIVE MOMENT 
+ANISZA TRIANGLE  VECTORS ¯ 0HOTOSHOP  3EURAT 'EORGES  TONAL PERSPECTIVE 
+ERTmSZ !NDRm  -ULTISTABILITY PRINCIPLE OF  0ICASSO 0ABLO  SHAPES TONE CONTRASTS  ¯
KEY TONAL ¯ MUSIC COLOR AND  0ICTORIALISM  CIRCLES AND RECTANGLES ¯ 4RI 8 
KINETICS ¯ PICTURE STORIES ¯ TRIANGLES ¯ TRIANGLES ¯
+LEE 0AUL  . 0ILES 2OGER DE  SHARPNESS INVERTED  
+ODACHROME    ¯ .EUE 3ACHLICHKEIT .EW /BJECTIVITY  PLACEMENT FOCUS ¯
.EWMAN !RNOLD  PHOTOGRAPHS TOGETHER ¯ PERSPECTIVE  5
, WITHIN THE FRAME ¯ ¯  3HORE 3TEPHEN  UNCONVENTIONAL COMPOSITION ¯
,ANGE $OROTHEA  / PLANNED COMPOSITION ¯  SILHOUETTE  
LENSES OPTICS LENSES ¯ POINTS 3IMILARITY ,AW OF  6
CHOICE OF ¯ OPTIMIZATION  SEVERAL ¯ SIMPLICITY VECTORS ¯
FISH EYE LENS   ORANGE COLOR   SINGLE ¯ COMPOSITION ¯ 6ELVIA FILM 
TELEPHOTO LENS ¯  ORDER SEARCH FOR ¯ POST MODERN NEW REALISM  ,AW OF  VERTICAL FRAME 
TILT LENS ¯  ORIGINALITY ¯ POST PRODUCTION DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY 3MITH 7 %UGENE  VERTICAL LINES ¯
VARYING VIEWPOINTS ¯ /´3ULLIVAN 4IMOTHY  ¯ ±SNAPSHOT AESTHETIC²  VIEWER INVOLVEMENT OF    ¯
WIDE ANGLE LENS ¯     PREPARATION  3OMMER &REDERICK  VIEWFINDER
LIGHTING NATURAL   0 PRIMARY COLORS ¯ SPIRALS ¯ EXPLORING WITH 
LINEAR PERSPECTIVE ¯ PANORAMAS  ¯ PROCESS OF PHOTOGRAPHY  SQUARE FRAME ¯ AS FRAME 
LINES PATTERN ¯ PROPORTIONS COLOR  STILL LIFE ¯ VIEWPOINT VARYING ¯
CURVES ¯ PERCEPTION 0ROXIMITY ,AW OF  STITCHING ¯ VIGNETTING  
DIAGONAL ¯ 'ESTALT THEORY ¯ 3TRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY  VIOLET COLOR  
EYE LINES ¯ PSYCHOLOGY OF   2 3TRAND 0AUL  VISUAL WEIGHT ¯
HORIZONTAL ¯ PERSPECTIVE 2AW FORMAT  STREET PHOTOGRAPHY    
VERTICAL ¯ AERIAL   REACTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY ¯  SEE ALSO PHOTOJOURNALISM 7
,INKED 2ING  COLOR  ¯ STYLE PHOTOGRAPHER´S INTENT  ¯ 7ESTON %DWARD    
LOOKING DEPTH AND ¯ RECTANGLES ¯ SUBJECT ±HIDING² OF ¯ WIDE ANGLE LENS ¯    
EYE LINES ¯ DIAGONAL LINES ¯ RED COLOR   SURPRISE IN COMPOSITION  ¯ 7INOGRAND 'ARRY  ¯ 
SCANPATHS ¯ DIMINISHING   2EIFICATION PRINCIPLE OF  SURREALISM  WRITING VISUAL WEIGHT  
LINEAR ¯ REPERTOIRE ¯ 3UZUKI $AISETZ 
- SHARPNESS  REPETITION RHYTHM ¯ SYMMETRY 9
MAGAZINES PICTURE STORIES ¯ TONAL  REPORTAGE   BALANCE ¯ 9ARBUS ! , 
MANIPULATION POST PRODUCTION ¯ WIDE ANGLE LENS   RETURN VISITS ¯ BILATERAL  YELLOW COLOR  
-AN 2AY  ±PHI PHENOMENON²  RHYTHM ¯ SQUARE FRAME ¯
MANY PATTERN OF ¯ PHOTOGRAPHERS 2ODGER 'EORGE  SYNTAX ¯
-ETZKER 2AY   INTENT  2OWELL 'ALEN ¯  3ZARKOWSKI *OHN  

190 4( % 0(/4/'2!0( %2´3 %9% ).$%8 191

) would like to thank my publisher, Alastair Campbell,
an old friend, for his encouragement and many
suggestions; my editor, Adam Juniper, for finding ways
to make many of the ideas here work in published form;
another old friend, Robert Adkinson, who many years
ago commissioned my earlier book on this subject,
The Image; and special thanks to Tom Campbell,
whose suggestions initiated the writing of this book.

3%,%#4 ")",)/'2!0(9

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