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If you place every element of interest in a photograph on one side or another, leaving little or nothing to look at on the opposite side, the picture is unbalanced, like a seesaw with a child at one end and no one on the other. The best pictures have an inherent balance that makes them look graceful. Photos are frequently put in frames for a good reason: A border around a picture defines the picture's shape and concentrates attention on the image within the frame.
The following sections describe how to balance and frame an image.
Balancing an image
To balance your image, arrange objects so that anything large on one side is balanced by something of importance on the other side. This is not the same as having multiple centers of interest. A group of people arrayed on one side need only be balanced by having a tree or building on the other. Or, a chess piece Queen can be balanced by other pieces on the opposite side of the image, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Other elements of the photo can balance the composition.
You can balance objects in the following two ways:
- Symmetrical balance: Have the objects on either side of the frame be of roughly similar size or weight.
- Asymmetrical balance: Have the objects on opposing sides be of different size or weight.
Framing an image
You can use framing to provide an attractive border around your own pictures by using these tips:
- In the foreground, look for obvious framing shapes in which you can place your composition.
You won't easily miss the most readily apparent frames: doorways, windows, arches, and the space between buildings. These have the advantage of being a natural part of the scene, like the cliffs in Figure 2, and not something you contrived to create a frame. In this illustration, the cliffs at the left side of the image partially frame the ocean inlet at right.
Figure 2: Existing objects can be used to create a frame for your photo.
- Make your own frames by changing position until foreground objects create a border around your image.
Find a curving tree branch and back up until the scenic view you want to capture is wrapped in its leafy embrace. Climb inside something and use an opening as a frame.
- Place your frame in the foreground.
Shapes in the background that delineate your image don't make an effective frame. You want something that appears to be in front of your subject matter, just like a real frame would be.
- Use a frame to create a feeling of depth.
A flat-looking image can jump to 3-D life when it's placed in a frame. Usually, you want to have the frame and your main subject in focus, but you can sometimes use an out-of-focus frame to good effect.
- Use a telephoto lens setting to compress your frame and your subject; use a wide-angle lens setting to add distance between the frame and your main subject.
With a telephoto lens, however, you have to be especially careful to keep the frame in focus.
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