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Composition

The ‘Rules’ of Composition

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CompositionThe word composition means combining or putting together parts to form a whole.

Composition can apply to many works of human endeavor including music and writing – in fact anything that is arranged or ‘put together’ using conscious thought.

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In this presentation we are going to look at some of the most important ‘rules’ or conventions of composition:

Eliminate DistractionsAvoid MergersRule of Thirds

Rule of Even & OddRule of Triangles

Use of SpaceSimplification

SymmetryPattern & Repetition

JuxtapositionFraming & Cropping

Aspect RatioThe Gaze

Learning ‘rules’ about art can seem stifling or constricting – if all artists just follow a set of rules then their art would look very similar and become very boring!

Many original artists manage to break or ‘bend’ these rules or conventions, but to do so successfully they first had to fully understand the rules and conventions.

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Eliminate Distractions

It’s easy to see the problem here!

Filtering phenomenon - Through the process of paying attention, we filter out unnecessary information. When we pay attention to something, it means we ignore everything else around.

• Basketball study

Photographers often fall victim to this same phenomenon. For example, when we are taking a picture of our friend, our attention is focused on them. We fail to notice that there's a tree "growing" out from behind their head, and that someone else's elbow is intruding into the picture space.

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Avoid Mergers

Mergers = Overlaps

If the overlap is slight, it can actually be distracting. Try to adjust your position to separate all the objects in the frame, or wait for them to move

into a better position.

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Mergers can also happen with the edge of the picture frame. If just a little bit of your subject is cut off at the edge of the frame, it is distracting because we immediately want to see the missing bit. The positioning looks (and usually is) accidental. 

Avoid Mergers

Mergers = Overlaps

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Rule of Thirds

Divide the image into thirds as shown – If the main visual components (things in the image) lie on or near the lines then the image often tends to look ‘right’. In this image the horizon line is on one of the bisectors.

[Remember, rules are there to be broken - once you understand and can follow them!]

Chris Monaghan

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Which image do you prefer?

Which image more closely follows the rule of thirds?

Chris Monaghan

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Gary Winogrand

Sometimes an image does not follow the rule of thirds exactly, but the main visual components (‘things’) in the image are close to the 1/3rd bisectors.

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Fay Godwin

Landscape photography often uses the rule of thirds – how?

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Fay Godwin

Landscape photography often has the horizon line on or near one of the two horizontal lines

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The Rule of Even and Odd

Norman Parkinson

Dianne Arbus

An even number of ‘things’ in an image can sometimes create a feeling of tension or a slightly un-natural look.

… while an odd number of ‘things’ can often create a feeling of harmony or balance

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An odd number of subjects in an image often has a more ‘natural’, symmetrical or balanced feel than an even number.

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Rule of Triangles

Triangles have 3 sides and tend to form stable, solid looking compositions.

Arnold Newman

Can you spot any triangles?

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Rule of Triangles

Triangles have 3 sides and tend to form stable, solid looking compositions.

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Victorian Family Portraits

Can you spot any triangles?

Why were triangular compositions often used for family portraits?

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Victorian Family Portraits

Think about what the triangle connotes ….

…….stability & solidity

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Use of Space

Which composition is more dynamic?

Which composition is more ‘restful’, allowing the subject to ‘look dreamily into space’?

Nadar

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Use of Space

The empty space in the right-hand image creates a more contemplative or thoughtful feel to it.

Nadar

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Swimmers diving into the water

(shot from beneath the water, looking upwards).

Space can also help create an impression of movementIn this image there is not much unfilled space

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The swimmers now appear to be moving into the empty space ahead of them, helping to create an impression or feeling of movement.

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Simplification

↓Focus on one element of art

How does Rembrandt draw our attention into the face?

Rembrandt, Self Portrait.

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Simplification

ANSWER:1. Lighting - the face

has more light on it than other areas.

2. The brush-strokes are finer and more detailed in the facial area but become broader and less detailed for other areas.

3. Vignette – the painting becomes darker towards the edges.

4. Use of colour – dark ‘drab’ colours except for the face.

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Chris Monaghan

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Is this picture ‘simplified’ ? If not, why not … and so what might the photographer Joel Meyerowitz be saying about life in the modern city?

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Symmetry

In this photograph the building seems to be ‘balanced’ by the white cloud. The line of symmetry runs from the bottom left to top right corner.

Chris Monaghan

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Symmetry

Line of symmetryChris Monaghan

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Norman Parkinson

Where is the line of symmetry in this image?

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Norman Parkinson

Note: unlike in mathematics where perfect symmetry can be found, in art symmetry is often an approximation.

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Does this image exhibit any symmetry?

When something has no symmetry we say that it is asymmetrical

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David Seymour (Chim)

How does being asymmetrical (not symmetrical) help or add to the viewing experience and meaning of this image?

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Answer: War is chaotic & random – death can come at any moment and does not follow beautiful aesthetic rules of composition. The asymmetry of the image helps to convey this.

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Repetition & Pattern

Jackson Pollock

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When something is repeated, it can create a visual pattern.

Paul Strand

Edward Weston

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Andreas Gursky Paul Strand

Pattern can be used to suggest texture, or can produce an abstract visual experience.

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Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is the placing of things close to one another in order to emphasize their difference.

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Juxtaposition

What is the major difference being emphasized here?

Robert Frank

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Framing & Cropping

TogethernessChris Monaghan

When you take (or make) a photograph you determine the composition by choosing the camera viewpoint and what to include (and what not to include) within the frame.

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Framing & Cropping

Loneliness

This is the same photograph as the previous image but with a different crop, produced in post-production.

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Aspect Ratio

(the ‘shape’ of an image)

Chris Monaghan

The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of image length to width.Example: 6:4 for 6 inch by 4 inch prints (which also equals 3:2)

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Images in which the subject looks directly at the viewer can have a powerful or disconcerting effect.

Richard Avedon August Sander

The GazeWhen we look hard at someone else our gaze can sometimes be interpreted as if we are saying “I am the powerful one here”. We also tend to follow the gaze of others.

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Summary

• Eliminate Distractions• Avoid Mergers• Rule of Thirds• Rule of Even & Odd• Rule of Triangles• Use of Space• Simplification• Symmetry• Pattern & Repetition• Juxtaposition• Framing & Cropping• Aspect Ratio• The Gaze

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Assignment

Chose a focus or theme – Think person, place or thing

Your final project will be a series of 6 photographs highlighting your focus/theme.

The 6 photographs should demonstrate understanding of the composition ideas we discussed.