First shot was a horizontal.
One of the things I find fairly common in my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around the plane, is that students/photographers will frame a subject and either shoot it vertically or horizontally then walk away. I’ve even had people frame something horizontally (mostly because it’s the easiest), not like what they saw then walk away.
REALLY!!!
OK, here’s the problem simply put: We perceive in a rectangle, so it’s the way we see the world. Having said that the camera was designed to be brought up to our eye horizontally; the objective of the camera’s designer Gods was to make the camera easy to be held. If you ever want your photos to be what I refer to as “up a notch”, GET OUT OF THAT HABIT!!!!
Except for the early years of my career (fifty-three and counting) when I was shooting for AP and UPI, and since I may have been chased down the street shooting riots I didn’t have time. After moving into the advertising and corporate world I have always shot everything both horizontally and vertically. It’s just a natural movement that I don’t even think about anymore.
Next time when you’re out shooting, do yourself a favor and right after you’ve shot something horizontally, make your very next picture a vertical of the same subject. When your next picture is vertical, then make your next picture a horizontal of the same subject.
When you’re composing, keep in mind that a horizontal format is calming and mimics the horizon. A vertical format has more energy, strength, and of course stresses height.The reason why a vertical has more energy is because the viewer will start at the bottom of your frame and move his eyes upward. It will take him longer to go from the bottom to the top while viewing a vertical, and that time takes more energy. Also remember that when you put vertical subjects in a vertical composition, you achieve even more energy. Keeping that in mind still shoot both ways, if nothing else for options…options are a good thing!!!
My next shot was a vertical.
Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and keep a lookout for my workshop schedule. Come shoot with me sometime.
JoeB
