Balance

I thoroughly enjoyed undertaking this exercise, and got me looking at my photos in a new way. The most difficulty I had was finding suitable images to use for the exercise, as I found most of my images didn't have multiple subjects. Five of the six images I have chosen I feel are balanced, and I also chose one that doesn't have perfect balance, but which I also feel is an effective image nonetheless. I enjoyed learning about the technique of placing bigger objects closer to the middle of the frame, and smaller ones nearer the edge, and was pleased to discover I had done this intuitively on previous occasions. It is also interesting to see how apart from size, the nature of the subject can carry more or less weight than others. In Ben Long's photographic video course on composition, he states how humans can balance a much larger but inanimate object. Michael Freeman in his book The Photographer's Eye notes that objects feel better balanced when placed at the bottom of the frame, because the viewer gives it a sense of 'gravity'. I personally also feel that heavier or harder objects or materials can balance a larger amount of a lighter or more fragile material, as in my first image below. Balance can also be achieved with light and shadow, but Freeman also mentions in his book, but which is probably out of the scope of this exercise.  

 18mm, f/3.5, 1/200, ISO 800

This image taken earlier in the course has symmetry in the vertical axis, in other words bilateral symmetry that is balanced left to right. This is also known as static balance, as it produces very limited dynamic tension. It is however very useful in certain circumstances, and I think it works well here with this avenue of trees. I also feel the tarmac path balances the tree foliage well. Even though the path appears smaller in the frame, the fact that it is lower in the frame giving it 'gravitational' weight, and that the viewer knows it is made of heavier materials than tree leaves gives it more strength within the scene, balancing it against the larger tree foliage. 

 70mm, f/4.5, 1/1000, ISO 200

Here, the brightly coloured bracelets are roughly the same size and distance from the centre of the frame as the other main subject, the shopper's faces. The two subjects balance each other in opposing corners, and the 'human' element in one subject balances the bright colours in the other. Photographer Ben Long mentioned in his video course on photographic composition that a person is automatically given more 'weight' by the viewer than another object of similar size.

10mm, f/11, 1/160, ISO 250

The train is the larger of the two subjects in this image, and it is much closer to the middle of the frame, with the smaller subject being nearer to the edge. The red border of the sign in an otherwise greyscale image also gives it extra weight in comparison to its size.

18mm, f/3.5, 1/2000, ISO 200

The main mass of the tree is completely central in the frame. The boat, which is around 1/3 smaller, is off-centre, tipping the 'scales' to the left in my diagram. Looking at my image carefully, cropping out the empty blue sky at the top would be a successful alternate, but I also do like the blue expanse of sky which I feel gives context to the image. As mentioned in the course materials, an image doesn't necessarily have to be perfectly balanced to be effective.

195mm, f/5.6, 1/160, ISO 1600

The pot in this abstract image is the bigger and more 'solid' object. This encroaches closer to the centre of the frame, with the slightly smaller and more delicate leaf at the edge of the frame, to balance.

20mm, f/8, 1/160, ISO 200

The large object is the building, sitting almost centrally in the frame. The pink flowers are crowded more towards the bottom of the frame, which would almost tip the scales, but I don't feel the small strip of sky at the top is large enough to upset the balance in this image.