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With help of the great and powerful photographer David Bergman we’re going to talk about placement of your subject in the frame, and the impact that it has on your images.”
Mr. Bergman states: “When you first started taking pictures of people, you probably just had the person in the middle of the frame looking straight at the camera.”
“Looks great that way, but it’s pretty standard framing. It’s obvious that she’s having her picture taken, and that’s what we’re used to seeing. There’s a connection between the subject and the camera, which of course translates to the viewer, but we can add a little interest to the photo by altering her placement just a little bit, by putting violet on the left side of the frame, and having her look to the right, it changes the feel of the whole image.”
“Now there’s no interaction between her and the camera, and it’s a bit more voyeuristic. She’s not paying attention to the photographer at all, and is looking at something else. I moved her out of the center, so that there’s some room for her to look into the frame, and of course this works on the other side as well.”
“This framing is particularly useful if we can see what she’s doing, or what she’s looking at. Now to create the most tension in the image, let’s put violet on the left side of the frame, and have her look out of the image to the left. When you have your subject looking off the frame, it’s disconcerting, because we have no idea what she’s looking at, or what’s going on outside of the frame.”
“There’s also all that dead space on the other side isn’t being filled, and it just makes you wonder why it looks that way. Something’s not quite right, use this technique when you want to add some drama, or intrigue to your image.”
“At the end of the day this is all about taking control of the feel of your photographs. Of course exposure and lighting are all very important, but don’t forget that you can subliminally alter the feeling of your images, by carefully placing your subject where you want them for maximum impact!”
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Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV: