Composition in Photography
Composition in Black & White Photography Format Angle of view Lighting Tonal qualities Shape/texture Use of pattern/repetition
Format: Horizontal / Landscape Paul Graham – Troubled Land
Format: Vertical / Portrait Henri Cartier-Bresson
Format: Square / Medium Format Pigeons in Trafalgar Square John Gay
Format: Panoramic Former Chugoku Bldg Shigeo Hayashi
Angle of View: From Below Dogs, 1946 Elliot Erwitt From Above Under the Eiffel Tower, 1925 Andre Kertesz
Angle of view: From Behind The Sphinx, 1992 Martin Parr From the Front Pueta Rican Woman with Beauty Mark, NYC, 1965 Diane Arbus
Quality of Lighting: Hard / Daylight Trent Parke
Quality of Lighting: Hard / Artificial lighting Yves Saint Laurent, 1983 Irving Penn
Quality of Lighting: Soft / Daylight Joel Meyerwitz
Quality of Lighting: Soft / Artificial Light Glass Tears, 1932 Man Ray
Tone / Shape / Texture: Look at the balance of tones from black, through to various greys and to white plus the various shapes and textures within these compositions.
Pattern / Repetition: Look at the repetition of shape and patterns emphasised in these photographs. Santa’s at the Santa Claus School, Albion, NY, 1964 Diane Arbus Picket Fence, 1936 Ansel Adams
Eugene Atget, Corner of rue de Seine, Paris 6, about 1924
Don McCullin, Mother and Son in their Kitchen, Bradford, Great Britain, 1978
Task: In groups analyse the following photographs in terms of:- Format Angle of view Lighting Tonal qualities Shape/texture Use of pattern/repetition Also discuss what message the photograph is putting across and how it makes the viewer feel.