Elements of design - Implied triangles

These photographs of household ornaments were taken early in April before I attended the studio photography course last week. The setting and lighting of the objects is therefore quite basic.

Before starting this exercise I experimented photographing parsnips on the kitchen table using several different arrangements and shooting positions to create triangular shapes.

For the implied upside down triangle (apex at the bottom) I decided to photograph a group of medicine holders from Indonesia. I hoped that the carved designs and shapes would make an interesting subject in black and white. For the first photograph, I created a triangle using the different heights of the objects.

Image 1: Medicine holders with reflections

Lens 18 - 70mm at 50mm: Iso 125 f8 at 1/45th (on tripod)

I placed the smallest item in the front centre and the larger items spreading out to the side. This triangle is a rather irregular shape seen most clearly as the shape on the background wall in the upper part of the frame. The lighting was indirect sunlight from windows to the right of the subject and behind the camera. I used a low viewpoint as this picked up the reflections in the polished wooden surface.

For the second photograph, I placed the items in similar positions but took the photograph with the lens at wide angle from a higher viewpoint.

Image 2: Medicine holders with shadows

Lens 18 - 70mm at 18mm: Iso 125 f8 at 1/45th (on tripod)

The triangular placement of the items is accentuated from this viewpoint. The tonal range of the photograph was rather lifeless until I positioned a glass door to reflect sunlight across frame. The higher viewpoint and shadows enhance the feeling of depth which animates the picture compared to the first image.

Image 3: Tobacco pipes from Thailand

Lens 18 - 70mm at 70mm. Iso 125 f10 at 1/3rd (on tripod)

I used these pipes to create a triangular composition with the apex at the top. The window light is coming from the left hand side to catch the decorated metallic stems of the pipes and the ceramic bowls.

Wide angle was not used for these photographs as the minimum focussing distance was not close enough for the subjects to sufficiently fill the frame.

Whilst the triangular composition is ordered and uncluttered, in this case, I felt it was rather static and unbalanced. I therefore tried adding in another element in the top right.

Image 4: Tobacco pipes and bowl

Lens 18 - 70mm at 70mm. Iso 125 f10 at 1/2 (on tripod)

I prefer this picture as the eye can wander back and forth between the pipes and the bowl. The bowl is small and darker than the pipes but it acts as a counterweight to the ceramic bowls in the left half of the frame. The pipes continue to be the main point of interest for the viewer.

For the triangular composition of a group of people, I have used a photograph of my wife and two friends from Abu Dhabi that I took in February 2010.

Image 5: In a garden in Abu Dhabi

Lens 18 - 70mm at 38 mm: Iso 125 f4.5 at 1/100

The photograph was taken in the morning on sunny day as a record of our visit. The group is rather formal, arranged on an easy chair in a shady position in the garden. The light is diffused with soft shadows. The figures and heads form an acute triangle of points in the vertical frame.

I thought it would be interesting to compare this a photograph of the same group in a horizontal composition taken on the previous day:

Image 6: At the Dhow scrapyard

Lens 18 - 70mm at 34mm: Iso 100 f13 at 1/180th

Again this is a somewhat formal arrangement, but the sideways alignment of the shoulders adds some vitality to the composition.

I like both photos as records of our friends and I do not find it easy to decipher the visual effects of the different compositions, but I will try to make some comparison:

- In the horizontal composition, the eye seems to wander back and forth across the faces of the group. The linear grouping links strongly together and the eye does not seem to be attracted out of the sides of the frame. However, the reversal of movement at each end is slightly jarring.

- In the triangular composition, the eye seems to circulate around the three faces which again link strongly together. This circular motion seems to make the composition harmonious and less jarring. Looked at in another way, the eye seems to examine the upper face separately from the lower pair of faces. This movement of the eye up and down seems to introduce dynamic interest which is not present in the linear composition.