Exercise 11 - Balance

This exercise required me to choose 6 of my existing photos and analyse the balance between the subjects within the image. This was a really interesting exercise because its the first time I have looked back at my older photos with a new perspective and a particular analytical tool.

Each of the six photos have been duplicated with the main subjects identfied as a coloured shape. These shapes were then copied onto a scale above the image.

Image 1 - Family Portrait

There are some technical issues with this picture which I took about 18 months ago when practising with off camera flash. My sister on the back row is out of focus slightly and the composition isn't framed as symmetrically as it could be. That being said, it does have a nice balance as the three sitters are arranged in an equilateral triangle shape and are roughly the same size.

Image 2 - Fish Eyed Cat

I took this photo shortly after delivery of my fish eye lens and I must admit it is one of the few I have put on the wall at home. The photo is an interesting balance because the main subject's nose draws the eye and the fish-eye lens pulls the eye around the scene in a circular motion.

This creates and interesting sense of balance and the main subject is exaggerated to the point where the only thing that balances it out is the bed on which he lays. It could be argued that the image is unbalance and I think I've put the subjects on the scales wrong.

Image 3 - Wedding Album Stock

This image is from a wedding I did in June and I decided to choose it for this exercise as it was shot purely for an album background. The wedding dress and hanger become one subject within the frame despite being separate objects in reality. The wardrobe balances out the dress and hanger by being cropped and almost part of the background.




Image 4 - Circuit Board City

This photo was taken when I was dismantling an old PC and I decided to take a macro shot of the motherboard components. The balance in this photo is interesting as despite the circuitry being of different sizes, because of the way they are positioned, they balance quite well.

Image 5 - Laycock Abbey

This picture was taken when I was on an RPS Wedding Photography course in Laycock and is the abbey where Wiliam Fox Talbot perfected his negative film processing system. I took the picture from an adjoining field with a telephoto lens and it balances nicely with the abbey forming a counter weight between the close bushes and the lawn. it could be argued that the lawn are overbalances the other subjects but I think the sky can be counted in with the tree branches and it balances out.

Image 6 - Crosby Beach Buddies





This image was taken at the Anthony Gormley installation at Crosby Beach called Another Place.
The balance here is interesting as the man on the right is leaning back further away from the statue, his larger size balances out the closer proximity that the woman has to the statue. If the man was stood closer, he would have unbalance the whole shot but it works well as it is.