EMOTION AND GEOMETRY

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I rarely have success with silhouettes, but I do enjoy this (almost silhouette) photograph of a young boy in the Magdalen Islands. There is enough exposure to see the boy without blowing out the background, and the low sun supplies the image's warmth.

In most of my images I try to combine two major elements; emotion and geometry. My favorite images emote a sense of mystery or contemplation, set in a composition of rectangles, circles, and/or triangles.

When learning how to craft good photographs, ask yourself what emotion is presented to the viewer, and what compositional design elements are supporting the subject matter. In this case, the boy presents the viewer with a contemplative scene, set within a triangular composition.

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com
Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

EMPTY SPACE

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While it is often not advisable to take photographs like the attached sample image, in certain circumstances strange compositions can be quite valuable as art photography. I took this photo in Amsterdam, during a time when people from every house would open their windows and play a musical instrument. The melody was prearranged by a central conductor on a tall crane. The sound was haunting and beautiful.

I felt that the surreal aspects of the musical endeavor required an equally surreal composition. Giving more weight to the clouds encourages the viewer to ask more questions of the artist, which is always a good thing (regardless of a negative or positive response).

Experiment with different compositions, and don't feel bad when your photography club or association judges you harshly. A lot of the time the judges wish that they too could express such freedom in their work!

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Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com

Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

CENTERED COMPOSITIONS

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When learning photography composition for the first time, the rule of thirds is no doubt the first lessoned learned. These compositional guidelines are essential to learning how to frame great images, and move forward in your exploration of photography.

Centered compositions tend to take back seat to off-centered images in the early years of studying photography, no doubt because centered framing tends to be a normal (and possibly boring) method of composing.

If the subject matter is naturally symmetrical however, you may find that the most powerful choice of composition is to keep the subject matter perfectly centered. Symmetrical scenes, when framed perfectly in the middle, offer a sense of mystery, power, and authority.

I took this photo a few days ago in a Mexican cemetery, and was pleased to see that it contained both framing methods; the rule of thirds (tree) and centered symmetry (everything else).

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 Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com

Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

COLOR AND COMPOSITION

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When considering composition, we mainly arrange our picture space according to physical variances of objects in front of us.

Color is another compositional dimension that can be exploited to great ends. Look for geometrical color patterns such as rectangles, triangles, circles, and "s" curves".

Apply the same rules of composition to your color images, and experiment with breaking those rules!

This photo was taken by me yesterday in San Miguel, Mexico. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is a stunning location for photography!

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Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com

Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

EXTERIOR ARCHITECTURE

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Photographing building exteriors is both easy and difficult. The easy part is finding subject matter . . . the difficult part is composing in a way that is both dynamic and original.

The above image is a nice mixture of old and new architecture, and the vertical lines of both structures compliment each other. As the old west-facing architecture is more aesthetically pleasing than the newer building, this photo was meant to be taken with warm, evening light. A morning shot would have illuminated the newer building at the expense of the great sandstone detail.

Architecture is a classical subject, and because of its permanence, a traditional rule of thirds composition may be the best choice. In this photo, the older building takes up 1/3 of the picture space, while the background texture (newer building) takes up the remaining 2/3rds. One could argue that the older building should be more prominent, but if altered, I believe that it would lose its visual strength.

These building were taken in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com

Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

COMPOSE TO ANNOY

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

If you have come from a photography school, or have been part of a photography organization that judges your photos, you may have lingering phobias of improperly composing your photographs (due to the heavy hand that is about to "correct" you!). When it comes to fine art photography, there is no need to follow the rules set out by those above you . . . and often it is in breaking these established rules that the most dynamic and thought provoking works arise.

I took this photo for the purpose of hanging on my own wall. I liked the wallpaper design, from the Arts and Crafts movement, I believe. As I didn't want to have the full painting on my own wall, I decided to throw it off-center in a jarring manner, to grab the attention of the viewer. The wallpaper design and placement of the historic painting takes the image from documentary to abstract, and provides for an interesting work to hang on a wall.

A good location to find textured wallpaper is at an historic settlement, if there is one near where you live. This image was taken at a settlement called King's Landing, in New Brunswick, Canada.

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com

Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

COMPOSITIONAL FRAMING

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

Regardless of where you travel to, if you have a camera in hand there will usually be an interesting landmark or building to photograph. As you already know, the subject matter that is in front of you has already been photographed ad nauseam. To set your photo apart from all the millions of other similar images, try a simple framing technique where the main subject is encased within a secondary point of interest. In the case of this image, my goal was to photograph the Budapest parliament building, but to have the image framed by a secondary subject, the famous Buda Castle.

There are many examples of this technique throughout the history of photography, and the one that stood out for me the most was a snapshot that an acquaintance took of the Taj Mahal in India. There are countless Taj Mahal photographs in existence, but this one was framed within a minaret shaped archway or gate, and the effect was very dramatic.

If you are a nature photographer, you no doubt have already employed framing devices in your images. An often-used example is autumn tree branches surrounding your main subject. Outdoor portrait photographers often use similar techniques to add drama to their images.

Experiment with different angles, and try shooting your main subject through another subject. It may just be the extra touch that takes an ordinary photo to something mysterious and compelling.

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com

Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

THE "S" CURVE

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

In compositional theory, certain geometric shapes are often used by artists to guide the viewer's eye throughout a picture space. Triangles, circles, arches, and curves have shown up in countless images throughout the history of photography and painting, and the "S" curve is one that bears mentioning.

While this image of a spiral staircase is an interior, S curve compositions can be found in any location. Look for elements within a potential picture space that aid in allowing the viewers eye to follow the winding path from a starting point to an ending point. In this photograph, we naturally begin our exploration of the photo at the bottom, working our way up the banister until we reach the top of the image. While not always the case, the viewer will usually begin a photo with an S curve viewing from the bottom left to the top right.

Other geometric designs within your compositions can evoke a sense of authority, empathy, rigidity, and countless other emotions. The S curve composition has a sensual feel to it, slightly dangerous and very compelling. The next time you have a camera in hand, keep an eye open for visual pathways that mimic this serpentine geometry.

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com

Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com