What's the message here?
DD, a photographer from California submitted this photo for me to comment on. Since she didn’t have a specific question, I’ll just assume that her question was whether I thought this was a good photo or not.
Texture is one of the basic Elements of Visual Design, and when Texture is lit in such a way the viewer will want to reach out and touch your photo…why, you ask?
Because since we were very little touch has been ingrained in our every day thought process. For example:
- Don’t touch that it’s wet.
- Don’t touch that it’s dirty.
- Don’t touch that it’s sharp.
- Don’t touch that you don’t know where its been.
This old rusted out car is mostly about one of the three varieties of Texture called ‘Information’ Texture.
For photos with information texture, it is crucial to identify precisely what information the texture is to communicate and compose the image in such a way that the texture brings out the proper message. In this image the texture alludes to the history that this car was a part of. The result is a much better image, but in this image what’s the message? Is it just the history of the old rusted out car, or is it the sign in the background? Or both?
DD, I’ve always been a firm believer that if you show a sign (especially one this big), make sure the viewer can read it. In this situation the sign is very close to being as important as the car. I love the graphics and the colors and it looks like its been there as long as the car has. I would love to be able to read what the sign says. Check out my earlier post I called “The Whole Enchilada”. In it I talk about the entire environment, not just the subject, which in this case I assume is the rusted out car.
By the way, DD told me that she was aware of the pole growing out of the top of the car, but couldn’t do anything about it at the time…That’s what the ‘Content Aware’ tool in CS5 is for!!!!
Stay tune for an upcoming post on Gestalt that talks about this issue. It’s called “Proximity”, and you’ll find it most interesting. In my online class with the PPSOP, and the “Stretching Your Frame of Mind”workshops I conduct around the planet, we work on all the concepts in the Psychology of Gestalt.
Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and check out my 2012 workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.
JoeB
