Exercise 9: Balance

This is an analytical exercise based on previously taken photographs.  We are to investigate how the elements of the photo achieve balance.  

Freeman notes in The Photographer’s Eye two kinds of balance:  symmetrical (or static) and dynamic, which fall on a parallel scale of composition between symmetry and eccentricity.  In neither the course notes nor TPE does Freeman argue for the photographer to strive for balance.  In fact he explicitly warns against using his analogy of a scale, for weighing elements, as a tool for composition.  Imbalance will typically be corrected by the viewer.  He notes that the mind seeks to create balance where none is apparent.

In the photograph of a farmer in a rice field on page 69, according to the weighing-scale analogy the equilibrium is completely upset, yet the image is not at all uncomfortable in appearance. What happens is that the eye and brain want to find something closer to the center to balance the figure in the top-right corner, and so keep coming back to the lower-left center of the frame. Of course, the only thing there is the mass of rice, so that the setting in fact gains extra attention. The green stalks of rice would be less dominant if the figure were centrally placed. As it is, it would be difficult to say whether the photograph is of a worker in a rice field or of a rice field with, incidentally, a figure working in it. (TPE, p42)

This is similar to the photo I took at the baseball stadium only last night and which heads this blog post. 

Instructions for the exercise call for selecting six previously taken photographs and “weighing” the elements to see what kind of balance has been achieved.  I did this myself on photos taken within the past 6-8 weeks, and using the draw tools MSWord to create pictographs representing the main elements in each photo.  Freeman asks in the course notes for use to include icons of scales, but I have chosen to discuss this under each photograph rather than represent it visually (largely because it will take too much time to incorporate such icons into the blog).

One note for students who haven’t yet completed this exercise:  it’s easier to see the elements in your photos by looking at thumbnails. 

Lines of Carts - dynamic

The color element is heavier to the left, but this is compensated for by the perspective lines drawing the eye into a block of dark color, represented by a shadowed wall behind a shorter line of carts parallel to the first.  

Bench - dynamic

Balance is somewhat off-center horizontally, as the bench is much larger than the vent.  Some compensation created vertically by the colors of the wall and ground. 

Peppers - symmetrical

Balance is created vertically by three stripes of color, similar to a flag.

Door – symmetrical

Boxes within boxes.

Mailtruck – dynamic

The truck is off-center and moving in the direction of the camera.  The tree line creates a parralell line of perspective.  Some balance is created by the shrub and sky.

Lone cart – symmetrical

The perspective lines of the rocky ground lead into the cart, which is centered both horizontally and vertically. 

Comments:  This was a useful exercise, even if it was a bit time consuming.  I wish I had time to do some more, especially with photos not of my own.  It might be interesting to assign photos to a group and see what comes back.  The discussion would probably be useful.

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