Light and Lens, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER 10 Seeing with a Camera

 

 

 

 

THE FRAMING EFFECT: VIEWPOINT

One of the fundamental tasks of any imagemaker is to define what the essential subject of the picture is going to be. Once the subject is defined, you should be attentive to the viewpoint, or vantage point, for the framing of an image is a crucial basic compositional device that determines how an image is presented and in turn received by its audience. The capacity to compose succinctly gives clarity and cohesion to a maker’s experience, yet viewpoint is such an elemental ingredient that it is often so taken for granted to the point of being ignored. The angle of view lets an imagemaker control balance, content, light, perspective, and scale within the composition. It ...