I then looked to see if I could ascertain why I had chosen a vertical orientation in those particular images. There seems to be several different factors involved; sometimes it is obviously to include the entirety of a tall structure, sometimes to generate a stronger feeling of length and distance (looking straight down one of the canals for example), and sometimes to include more interesting foreground. I also realised I often shot vertically to cut out extraneous material from the frame, which is much easier to do than when shooting horizontally.
What I enjoyed about this exercise was that it encouraged me to try each scene both ways. Normally I'd have a firm idea of the orientation I wanted for a particular scene and go with that, whereas in this exercise I sometimes had to go against my better judgement in shooting the other orientation, with sometimes surprising and pleasing results.
18mm, f/5, 1/125, ISO 200
18mm, f/5, 1/250, ISO 400
The bombed-out ruins of Coventry cathedral. The horizontal shot feels more natural, and shows the scale of the width of the building. The vertical shot better shows the length of the building, but with the long expanse of flagstones this length seems almost exaggerated. I could also have taken this vertical shot in a way that gave the sky more prominence, but then I don't think the main subject would have been as clear, and the sky was a dull grey, so not very exciting for photos!
22mm, f/5, 1/200, ISO 400
28mm, f/5, 1/250, ISO 400
The main subject here is the tall church spire, framed by the tall window frame. I think the vertical frame works better here, as it accentuates the 'tall and thin' proportions. With that being said, the horizontal frame includes more of the cathedral ruins which gives better context, and perhaps the ruins take the role as main subject, with the church spire being secondary. I think both of these offer interesting perspectives.
38mm, f/5, 1/100, ISO 400
38mm, f/5, 1/100, ISO 400
I think these two images offer a similar scenario to the previous two. The horizontal frame gives context, with the vertical frame emphasising the dimensions of the sculpture, as well as making it perfectly clear to the viewer what the main subject is.
45mm, f/5.3, 1/250, ISO 400
32mm, f/5, 1/320, ISO 400
The horizontal frame in this pair of images I feel definitely works better than the vertical one, simply because it brings maximum focus to the subject. With that being said, I think the vertical frame could work exceptionally well with an interesting sky, at sunrise or sunset. As it stands, there is far too much grey dominating the vertical image.
24mm, f/5, 1/125, ISO 400
24mm, f/5, 1/100, ISO 400
I like both of these images, but it is interesting because I think that before this exercise, I would have taken only the vertical one when in fact I think the horizontal one works better. Even though the horizontal image doesn't include the whole sculpture, it includes the important part - the embrace. Also with the wider frame I am able to include the whole archway which creates a better internal frame.
19mm, f/5, 1/250, ISO 400
23mm, f/5, 1/125, ISO 400
The choice in these images is between more building provided by the horizontal frame, or the leading line of the path offered by the vertical frame. I think both options are equally good, although I do like leading lines, and use them in my photos often. Both images feel compact and tidy, so I think it falls to personal preference.
24mm, f/5, 1/250, ISO 400
22mm, f/5, 1/320, ISO 400
This scene was a choice between including the spire of the church, or including all of the church frontage. I do enjoy the imposing look of the church in the horizontal image, but the spire seems too important to miss out. With hindsight I'd probably want to shoot this scene with a vertical frame, but move further back so I could include the whole church. If this wasn't possible in any given situation, I'd use my wide angle lens, and if the entire scene still didn't fit I'd have to make a choice as in the images above.
50mm, f/1.8, 1/60, ISO 200
50mm, f/1.8, 1/125, ISO 200
Later in the day the light had faded, but luckily I had my fast 50mm 1.8 prime lens, which allowed me to complete this exercise even in low light. I prefer the horizontal image in this pair, as it includes more vendors and more shoppers, giving the impression of a busy street scene. There is also little space wasted in the frame. In the vertically shot image, there is more focus on a single vendor, and there are less people captured in the scene. Shooting in this orientation shows more of the dull building in the background, and the tops of the trees where no Christmas lights have been used.
50mm, f/1.8, 1/80, ISO 200
50mm, f/1.8, 1/125, ISO 200
I changed my viewpoint slightly between these two images, just because I saw two different backdrops to the merry-go-round; the colour of the helter skelter in the horizontal image, and the contrasting waterfall-like lights in the vertical image. The two different orientations don't appear to have much effect on what we see of the merry-go-round, perhaps because it is a wide rather than tall object, and because I have photographed the same small portion of it in each image. The proximity of the 'waterfalls' to the merry-go-round made the vertical orientation make sense in the second image, otherwise I would have included a lot more material which may have proved too complicated and distracting to the viewer. Like the previous pair of images the horizontal orientation is useful if you want a scene to look particularly busy.
50mm, f/1.8, 1/100, ISO 200
50mm, f/1.8, 1/50, ISO 200
In the first image I combined the big wheel, helter skelter, 'waterfalls', tree lights and the lit-up windows to create a large colourful scene without an isolated subject. This amount of material would only have been possible with a horizontal viewfinder. In the final image I used a vertical frame to isolate the big wheel, making it the only subject in the scene.
Reflection
Thinking of frame orientation in a new way feels like I have a new creative tool at my disposal. Both viewpoints have their own advantages and subtleties, but where before I thought that there was a 'correct' orientation for any particular scene, I now realise that both can be used in most situations to give different creative perspectives. There are certainly some images in the set above that I wouldn't have taken before, as an immediate horizontal or vertical orientation would have come to mind and I would have used that one. In my future images I'll definitely be trying the same subject in both a vertical and horizontal frame, even if at first I think it wouldn't work in one of the two formats.
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