Advanced techniques for photographic composition

Introduction: Intentional abandonment of important thematic elements during photography will make many photographers feel surprised, confused, and even quite repelled. However, if someone does not know how to use this composition method, it means that he has given up an effective method. It can make the viewer feel imminent when viewing the photo and make him willing to stay on the photo for a long time. . Because not everything has to be reflected in the photo? Content that is not fully represented can also have an important impact on the photo.

Complete image

We often say that a harsh cropping of the subject will confuse the viewer. The reason is that this is what the viewer expects to see when viewing the photo. A complete outline of a theme. This expectation does not apply to all image elements, but only to the most important image elements. This is because each photo reflects a part of reality. It cannot fully present all image elements. For example: when photographing a single house on a lawn, including the path in front of the house and the surrounding trees and shrubs, the viewer does not expect to see the entire lawn or path, but expects to see the full view of the house and nearby trees. The overall view of the house forms the main subject of this photo in a simple way - especially when it is further emphasized by some way of composition. Not cutting is also a way to emphasize and highlight elements of the image.

The human brain can mentally complete a subject that only partially sees it. You can slice image elements. This way you can shift the focus of your subject from the gecko's body to its head.

Reduce the dominance of vision

If the photographer only shoots part of a house, then the image area occupied by the house in the photo will be reduced, and its importance will also be reduced. As it decreases, the content of the entire photo will change? Perhaps it is a certain detail of the house, perhaps the relationship between the house and the surrounding environment, or perhaps another image theme, such as the color of the scene. Cropping an image while shooting can reduce the importance of certain image elements and highlight elements of the image that are otherwise less important. We can see this especially clearly in the facial portrait on the right: even a slight cropping of the hair can reduce the prominent features of the head shape (see page 94), allowing the hairstyle to dominate and the character to Image elements such as eyes, nose, and mouth can also stand out in the foreground.

Slight cropping at the top or bottom will give a subject a visual support and prevent it from looking lonely and hopeless in a larger space.

Many people dare not make large cuts on images. In fact, such cutting will not only bring a high degree of concentration to a certain image element, but also give the entire photo a high value of attention.

Does the intensity of image cropping affect the position and weight of image elements in the photo? Compared with intentional cropping, slight cropping is (sometimes) barely noticeable. It can visually support image elements in a monotonous area and prevent them from being isolated or even disconnected from the theme. Cropping an image element to a large extent or very completely during shooting can significantly reduce the importance of an element in the photo, or even completely separate it from the content of the image.

Use cropping to get closer

Image cropping can not only visually highlight the importance of image elements, but also bring the viewer closer to the subject in a very simple way. distance. The more cropped a subject is, the closer it is to the viewer, and the more detailed and immediate the image appears, making it easier for the viewer to bridge the emotional distance. When someone or something appears directly in front of a person, he is forced to study it deeply, and similarly, the viewer of such a photo will feel as if he is standing in front of the subject.

The above content is basically applicable to all topics, but its effect is particularly obvious in the field of portrait photography: due to certain social factors, there will be a certain distance between two (strangers) people who want to For both people to feel comfortable, they need to be about an arm's length apart. At this distance, they can fully see each other's heads when talking, so we also have this expectation when looking at photos. Only when we face those people we are very familiar with - partners, family members, friends - do we get closer to them. At this time, we cannot fully see the other person's head or even face.

For people we are unfamiliar with, we will instinctively keep the shortest social distance (about an arm's length) with them and avoid getting too close to them. This distance allows us to fully see each other's heads, so we expect this when viewing photos. Only when we are close friends, family members, or partners do we approach them without scruples, and all we can see is their face. Through the selected image areas we can bring the viewer into the situation and convey to him a feeling of proximity, intimacy and acquaintance with the people in the photograph.

As a photographer, you can clearly express this sense of intimacy and visually reduce the distance between people by cropping the heads of the people in the photo. This forces the viewer to get closer to the person in the photo. The result of this is that the photo is either very charming, because the viewer can experience this feeling, or it makes the viewer resist from the inside and try to widen the distance from the character. It depends on whether the character created by the photographer is Can make people feel good.

Crop rather than cut

In addition to having emotional power, image cropping can also prompt the viewer to study the photo for a long time: if the viewer does not look at it completely to a particular image element, then he will be disappointed with the idea the photo is trying to express. However, this disappointment can also strongly stimulate his fantasy, because the viewer knows that this element is complete in reality, and he will unconsciously begin to imagine the content of the element not shown in the photo. In this process, the lines of the image elements are extended infinitely, and so are their patterns or structures (without changing their direction or appearance). Therefore, when sculpting a character, it is very inappropriate to crop the widest part of the body, and you will soon feel that this is not good.

Depending on the different shapes, appearances, and positions of the cropped elements in the image area, the viewer's process of completing the cropped subject part may be difficult or easy (see page 96). But he does it in every situation, difficult or easy, that is, the viewer studies the image for a long time, as if the subject of the photo had not been cropped. Therefore, image cropping can attract the attention of the viewer.

The cropping of the photo cannot always be done through the edge of the photo, but can also be achieved by overlapping an image element with another element within the scope of the photo. In this case, the hat cuts off the child's face and renders his true identity unrecognizable.

Commonly used positions

Generally speaking, we can crop image elements in two different ways: one is by overlapping with another element, and the other is by The outer edge of the photo. The latter has a stronger effect and a clearer effect. However, cropping does not have the same effect on all four sides of the photo: if an element is cropped by the lower edge of the photo, the viewer will hardly notice it - unless an extreme cropping method is used that cuts off important image areas, such as Crop the person's facial portrait between the nose and mouth. However, if the image element has content and the portion that can be separated from the content is cropped off the lower edge of the photo, it will still give the viewer a complete feeling. For example, by cropping at the height of a person's abdomen, the viewer will still have a complete feeling when viewing a photo of the person's upper body taken from a full-body portrait.

Image elements are cut by different sides of the photo, resulting in strong or weak effects. Right and top cuts can give a photo a strong effect and greatly reduce the visual dominance of image elements.

Cropping the upper edge of an image is often unconsciously accepted by viewers, especially when this cropping can create a closer sense of proximity, or can make an originally helpless person When reliable image elements create a sense of solidity. In this case, however, the extreme cropping of key image elements is easily noticeable to the viewer.

Generally speaking, cuts on the side of an image are more noticeable and can emphasize certain image elements more permanently, making the other side of the photo stand out more. If the viewer completes the cropped image through his/her imagination, then this process will be completed more intuitively and quickly on the right side of the photo? Because we are accustomed to reading from left to right. In short, geometric shapes are more likely to extend beyond the edges of the image than natural shapes, and regular patterns or structures are more likely to extend beyond the edges of the image than irregular ones. This rule applies equally no matter which side of the image.

If an image element is cropped not only on one side, but on multiple sides, then the uncropped side will be particularly prominent, and the more sides are cropped, the The viewer’s sense of familiarity and intimacy will be stronger.

Background segmentation

Of course, the cropping of image elements not only affects itself, but also affects its background and surrounding environment. Especially when the background content is a uniform, monochrome, or area of ??the same texture, cropping image elements can help reduce the dominance of the background. Because once an element in the foreground exceeds the edge of the photo, the photo background will be divided into two parts. When a large area is divided into two small areas, its visual weight will be reduced. If there are crops on many sides of the photo, it will lead to multiple segmentations of the background, which will weaken the role of the background even more.

In order to achieve this effect, the crop itself should not be very obvious. Just having the image elements slightly touch the edge of the photo is enough to weaken the background.

By cropping image elements, you can not only reduce the visual weight of image elements, but also reduce the importance of the background.

In a monochromatic background, a single, connected area is divided into two smaller, less important, isolated areas.