It’s important to know what’s in a frame, and what’s NOT in a frame. When taking a photo, a frame adds layers and layers in depth. It’s just like how we want to incorporate layers in digital art. To paraphrase Joel Meyerowitz, he says it best where you have two eyes. One eye looks into the lens of a leica camera, while the other looks at the rest of the world. When taking a picture, you are only capturing a certain aspect of the world, leaving out the rest “out of the picture” like they say. Sure you can take straight forward pictures of stuff. No certain angles means no dynamic. With certain angles, a certain distance and maybe some objects in between, you have a good frame. A frame, within a frame, creates depth. It mostly makes it to better show a focal point with rule-of-thirds. It makes the quality of a certain subject crispier.
Category: Discussion 2 (Page 1 of 3)
The role of any rule of composition is to draw the eye into a photograph. Framing refers to using elements of a scene to create a frame within your frame. Aside from directing attention, the use of framing gives a photo context. Foreground elements around your subject, for example, add to the story told by your image. The frame can act as a boundary between the painting and the background surface, it helps focus the attention of the viewer on the paintings. Some might argue that the frame adds a level of value to the painting: it finishes it off. Framing can make an image more aesthetically pleasing and keep the viewer’s focus on the framed object. It can add depth to an image, and can add interest to the picture when the frame is thematically related to the object being framed.
Through deliberate framing, a photographer can define their style, aesthetic and perception of the world around. Framing allows the photographer to a create visual composition, or narrative that can reshape the context of an object or scene by excluding the surrounding environment that exist outside the frame. Similarly the frame can also bring unrelated subject matter together, that would have otherwise been overlooked.
According to Joel Meyerowitz, “What you put in and what you leave out are what determines the meaning or potential of your photograph”. You want to consider what continues outside the frame because you might want to use that as dramatic though unseen content. The way you choose to frame the photo make that photo pop and stand out more. According to Peter, ” Photos that have good composition are just easier to look at. They’re more balanced. There’s just something about them that when you look at that photo you’re like: Ah! That’s a great photo!”. Which I 100% agree with, you want to make sure your photo doesn’t have too much of a distracting background so it doesn’t take away from the subject your photographing. Unless you want the background to be messy, you want to make sure your photographing the right kind of background and framing it right so it doesn’t look like too much.
Choosing what to put and what not to put in the frame of a photograph is one of the most important decisions a photographer can makes, and what distinguishes a good photograph from a bad one.
Joel Meyerowitz places a heavy emphasis on what is not in the frame just as much as what he chooses to place in the frame, because as he describes it, although a photograph is a 2d representation, we have eyes that extend past the frame, in 360 degrees. Joel also heavily explores the relationship between the subjects in his photo, so that plays a big role in what he decides to frame as well. His approach is very subjective and I find it to be a very unique way of approaching photography.
Peter McKinnon, on the other hand, employs a very technical when it comes to what goes into his frame, using techniques such as frame within a frame, leading lines, lighting and cast shadows to frame his subject in unique and interesting ways. He pays very close attention to the composition of his photographs, and while different from Joel’s approach, he manages to capture some very eye catching photos of his subjects using his techniques.
Deciding what to put in the frame and what to leave out of the frame says who you are as a photographer. If you want an image that makes the viewer feel claustrophobic, you may want as much as you can possibly fit in the frame or have multiple things up close. On the other hand, you may want to make the audience calm, so having less action in the frame can translate that emotion. Having extra stuff in the frame can also distract from the main focus in an image. Deciding what is in the frame is everything when taking a photograph.
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