Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/11/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I've been reading this thread and differ with most. I think that she meant that the photographer didn't have a good place in his photograph(s) for the viewer to begin looking at the picture in hand. Look at any great photo or painting and find the element that draws your eye first. Then let your eyes travel around the picture until you've finished seeing everything. You should end up at the first element. Now, find some pictures, (we all have a few) which don't seem to "look right." I submit that in pictures with a poor composition, that there isn't a single element which draws your eye first... a point of departure for the viewer to use to look at the rest of the picture. I see a lot of split compositions in some folk's PAWS, and because of the split, one doesn't have a good point of departure. Also, another common problem is the one where because of a "loose" composition, the viewer's eyes don't complete the circuit and instead exit the picture at one of the edges without returning to the the starting element, that is, the point of departure. BD showed us a picture of his son Nick. The first thing that I see in that shot is Nick' eyes and then his smile and mutton chops. Then my gaze travels left-right-left to his arms, then the background and then the top of the automobile, which because of the reflection of Nick, brings my eyes back to Nick's eyes. To me, the point of departure for viewing the rest of the picture is the eyes of the subject. All those who don't agree with are probably Republicans :>) - -- Best Regards, Jim Hemenway Photo web site at: http://www.hemenway.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html