Object in Different Positions in the Frame

A farmer's field in a neighbouring village provided the subject for this exercise. I had planned to visit the field due to it being a large, even background for my photos, but was not entirely sure what my subject would be; I imagined it would probably be a tree. On arrival I found a group of sheep grazing, and in the golden light of the rising sun I took the images required for the exercise.

300mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO 200

In this first image, the sheep is dead centre in the frame. The image lacks what Michael Freeman calls 'dynamic tension'; it is too stable and there is no real relationship between the subject and the background.

300mm, f/5.6, 1/160, ISO 200

Here, I have moved the position of the subject to the top and middle of the frame. This certainly feels like an improvement; with more grass at the bottom of the frame the sheep feels more in context, and this particular position gives the effect of 'looking up' at the subject, as if it is elevated from my own position. The left-to-right axis still feels uncomfortable though.

300mm, f/5.6, 1/250, ISO 200

The sheep is still at the top of the frame, but shifted to the right-hand side. There is certainly more 'tension' now that the subject is off-centre on both axis, but there is no real reason for it being there. There is a lot of vacant space behind the sheep which doesn't add to the impact of the image, and there is not enough space in front of the sheep, which gives the feeling that it has nowhere to 'go' as it continues grazing.

300mm, f/5.6, 1/320, ISO 200

Still keeping the sheep at the top of the frame, but moving it to the left hand side results in a more comfortable image than the previous. The sheep, in motion, now has somewhere to go within the frame. Being tucked so far into the corner however leaves the frame with lots of 'empty' space. Looking at the sheep in the corner of the frame makes me feel almost like it's in a physical corner, when it was in fact in a wide-open field.

300mm, f/5.6, 1/200, ISO 200

This final image works the best, and is most comfortable to view. Being near the bottom of the frame, the subject feels 'grounded' under a solid base. It is offset to the right-hand side, but not too much, creating dynamic tension, and there is space in the frame in the direction the subject is looking.

This was an interesting exercise, and placement was something I'd thought about before starting this course; however it gave me the opportunity to think about the concept in more depth.