Photographic DesignThe Image Frame

Frame Dynamics

• The shape of your frame in camera influences how you compose

• The edges of the frame can be important or not

Alignment

• Aligning with the frame edges emphasizes geometry

• Often considered formal framing

alignment

Diagonal Tension

• Diagonals interact with the frame edges to create tension

• Diagonals can also give a feeling of movement

diagonal tension

Frame Shape

The shape of your viewfinder usually dictates how you will

frame your image

The Human Eye

• Human’s see horizontally– Therefore: we tend to frame horizontally

more often– This can be pleasing, but sometimes

boring– Also, many cameras are not comfortable to

hold vertically

Aspect Ratio

• Width divided by height

• 3:2

• 4:3

• 1:1

• 16:9

The 3:2 Standard Frame

• 35mm film(36x24mm) is the 3:2 standard frame

– 2:3 when vertical

• This is the frame ratio used in SLRs• More difficult to frame with because of it’s

elongated shape• Difficult for portrait composition• Placing an object lower in the frame

enhances the sense of balance

3:2 standard frame

What not to do

Panorama

• Conducive to horizon line

• Good for long scenes that do not need to show depth

panorama

4:3 Frame

• “Fatter” frames– Have a less dominant direction but can still

be horizontal or vertical

• Used in point and shoot cameras

• Easier to compose in

• Fit better onto printing papers and computer monitors

4:3 frame

Shooting Horizontally

• More natural position to takes photos from– We see horizontally because of how our

eyes are positioned on our heads– It’s easier to hold the camera horizontally

Vertical Subject in a Horizontal Frame

• Forces you to back up and show more background

• Generally the subject is placed to one side to encourage the viewer’s eye to move horizontally across the frame

Shooting Vertically

• Not as natural to the human eye• Vertical Low:

– The tendency of most is to place the object low in the frame to create a sense of stability, but this creates a waste of space in the top of the frame

• Vertical Figure:– The standing human figure lends itself to vertical

framing as well as trees, buildings, bottles….

Horizontal Subject in a Vertical Frame

Forces you to either:– back up to fit everything into the frame– Crop out parts that don’t fit into the frame

Filling the Frame

• First you have to isolate your subject• Now you have to decide how close to get to

your subject– If you fill the frame with your subject, more detail

can be seen– If you are further away, you can show more of the

context surrounding your subject

• You need to decide whether the surrounding are important to the subject or if they help with the composition

varying size in frame

varying size in frame

varying size in frame

varying size in frame

Placement

• If your not filling your frame with your subject the problem becomes where to put your object in the frame

• To escape the bull's-eye method you can put the object to one side– But, you need a reason to put your subject

in an “unnatural” position– Ex: putting an object in a far corner when

there is nothing else in the frame

Placement

• As your subject gets smaller, where you place it gets increasingly important

• Placing the subject in the middle is stable, but putting it to one side creates more tension between the object and it’s surroundings

• A secondary subject will also affect your composition– Even the sun can be considered a secondary

subject when it is not in the frame

placement

Dividing the Frame

• The frame can be divided into infinite combinations

• In painting, the painter can create precise mathematical divisions, but the photographer has to work by eye

• The photographer can take these mathematical divisions and apply them to make pleasing composition

Horizon

• The horizon forces you to divide the frame cleanly• Placement of the horizon is extremely important,

especially if there is no other graphic elements present

• One method:– Use linear relationships like rule of thirds, fibonacci…

• Another method:– Balance by tones or colors

• A third method:– Decide whether your ground or sky is ultimately more

important to the shot

Middle horizon

Low Horizon

High Horizon

Frames within Frames

• Having an internal frame is an established design formula that almost always works, but can become cliché– It can add a feeling of stability and focuses the

viewer on your subject– It is also interesting to play with the shape of the

frame and the shape of the internal frame

• On a deeper level, it relates to perception– It helps to convert the 3D scene we see and the

2D end product of the photograph

frame in frame

frame in frame