Project 11

Next is Project 11 which examines how the balance of a shot is affected by the positioning of dominant elements within the image. The brief is to look at photographs I have already taken and draw a fictitious ‘weighing scale’ to show how well-balanced I feel each shot is.

Picture 1

Picture 1 - Chicago

The dominant elements of the first picture are clearly the two skyscrapers. The one on the left is slightly nearer the centre than the one on the right, which I think tips the balance slightly to the right, as depicted by the scales above.

Picture 2

Picture 2 - Mexicans

In the second image there are two main elements and both are positioned near the centre of what is a tightly-framed shot, therefore creating a more symmetrical and pleasing balance.

Picture 3

Picture 3 - Horseshoe Bend

I found this third image harder to interpret, but I think that although one element (the canyon wall on the left) is larger than the other (the canyon wall on the right), the placement of them within the frame balances the shot as the smaller element is nearer the edge.

Picture 4

Picture 4 - Native American Art

This image is balanced as all objects within the shot radiate around the centre of the frame thus giving maximum symmetry.

Picture 5

Picture 5 - Sunset

This image is slightly unbalanced, as although you have two elements which are of roughly the same size, the boat is nearer the left-hand edge of the image than the sun is to the right-hand edge. This means that the balance is tipped slightly to the left in my opinion.

Picture 6

Picture 6 - Lincoln Memorial

The sixth and final image is similar to the third, in that you have two large elements dominating the shot. However,  in this instance the two elements are of similar size and distance from the centre, so therefore I believe this to be a balanced image.

I did not find this exercise as easy to understand as some of the previous projects. Although it is easy to see balance in some images, such as Picture 2, I found it difficult with others such as Picture 3, where I have shown what I believe to be the balance without being totally sure of it. There were some images from my collection which I disregarded altogether for this exercise as I wouldn’t know where to start with the balance, so I think this is something I need to look into in a lot more detail.