Exercise 13: Vertical and horizon frames
(20 photographs twice)
For this exercise you will need a fairly compact location, as you will have to photograph the same scene twice. Up to now, most of the pictures you have taken for the course have probably been n horizontal format. Take your next 20 photographs as vertical. Choose the settings for yourself - they could be street scenes, or landscapes - and take as short or as long a time as you like - but fit everything your shoot into a vetical frame. Some subjects will, naturally, be easier than others.
Lay out the processed result. Some of them will be of subjects that are tall and so suit this frame shape - a standing person, perhaps, or a high-rise building. Did you find that the restriction of the project encouraged you to search for tall things? With many of the pictures, you may find that you had a tendency to position the main weight of the subject lower in the frame than the centre. This tendency is a natural one.
Radial and other symmetrical subjects suit the square format - most other subjects are more difficult to frame. Here the strong vertical axis works well in sub-dividing the shape and the subject is placed so as to correspond very closely to the ideals of the Golden Section.
For this exercise you will need a fairly compact location, as you will have to photograph the same scene twice. Up to now, most of the pictures you have taken for the course have probably been n horizontal format. Take your next 20 photographs as vertical. Choose the settings for yourself - they could be street scenes, or landscapes - and take as short or as long a time as you like - but fit everything your shoot into a vetical frame. Some subjects will, naturally, be easier than others.
Lay out the processed result. Some of them will be of subjects that are tall and so suit this frame shape - a standing person, perhaps, or a high-rise building. Did you find that the restriction of the project encouraged you to search for tall things? With many of the pictures, you may find that you had a tendency to position the main weight of the subject lower in the frame than the centre. This tendency is a natural one.
Radial and other symmetrical subjects suit the square format - most other subjects are more difficult to frame. Here the strong vertical axis works well in sub-dividing the shape and the subject is placed so as to correspond very closely to the ideals of the Golden Section.
_Continue the projects with the next 20 shots, by shooting a
horizontal version of every vertical composition that you just made -or as many as are possible (some scenes are fleeting and can´t be repeated). What this and the previous exercise should show you is that, with a little effort, you can make most scenes work vertically. The result may not be quite as successful as a horizontal image, but it should make you aware that format is to a large extent a matter of habit.