How to effectively organize and compose your frame in photography composition:
What is the best way to sub-divide your frame?
Deconstruct to learn.
1. Think of sections and sectors
A photo is a frame. How will you organize and divide the frame is the first question.
2. Think of color blocks and building blocks
For example, I am inspired by this photo I shot of Cindy in Mexico City, inspired by primary colors (Piet Mondrian):
Anyways taking the original photo of Cindy (her elbow in bottom left), we identify the primary colors: red, yellow, blue, white, black:
Here’s the general division of the frame:
You can slideshow the photos below:
3. Analyzing the proportions of the frame
Let’s start by figuring out the proportions of the frame:
Note the magenta on left, teal on the right. If I draw a rough center line, it looks like:
Let’s examine closer:
4. The sub-divisions are never perfectly equal
The takeaway thus far:
On the right of the frame have a section filled 50%, and on the left side have a sub-division between 30/70%.
Similar to Parettos’s power law of the “80/20â€rule.
So if we can approximate:
Make one side of the frame ~20%, and make the other side of the frame ~80%:
A rough visualization:
The power law of dynamic photography composition?
The basic idea is this:
Don’t make symmetrical photos. Don’t center your photos.
Photos or visual art works which are perfectly symmetrical and centered are boring, static, and lack dynamic force and energy.
How to test this?
Take photos you like and draw a 50/50 line directly through it. Note that it isn’t symmetrical:
The more dynamic movement, force, and asymmetry, the better.
80/20 as just a rough generalization.
The 80/20 rule shouldn’t be taken literally. The basic notion is that inequality makes for more dynamic force. For example the proportions can be:
- 90/10
- 99/1
- 60/40
- 70/30
- …
For example in a venture capital firm, 99% of their returns may come from 1% of their investments. Or if you’re a trader, 99% of your profits can come from a very speculative 1% of your investments (like if you invested in Bitcoin early on).
80/20 in real life.
In business and life this applies. 80% of the stress of your life can be attributed to 20% of the individuals in your life. Or 80% of the productivity in your office can be attributed to 20% of the individuals in your office.
Figuring out your Archimedes lever in life
“Give me a spot to stand, and I can move the world†– Archimedes
The interesting notion of the “Archimedes leverâ€â€”
How to create the biggest impact on the world by determining your greatest strength, and by focusing all your energies and power into that one strength.
For me, my Archimedes lever seems to be blogging. Therefore to maximize my impact, I destroy all distractions and superfluities and dedicate 110% of my energies on blogging.
You can increase motion by determining your fulcrum, and applying maximal force and effort in that one spot!
