Adjusting the balance between person and space

For this project, I have selected two photographs that I took whilst I was a volunteer at the Olympic Park.
Image 1: Stratford Station - bus pick up area

Panasonic Lumix 14-42mm at 14mm (28 mm equivalent): Iso 800 f8 for 1/8th seconds
This photograph was taken late at night after a rainshower. The lights make the structure of the shelter the visual point of interest of the scene against a dark background. The reflectiveness of the wet paving stones adds light and vibrancy to the scene. In the left foreground, two blurred figures are moving down the steps adding colour and foreground interest. There are other small figures in the background.
Image 2: Stratford Station - bus pick up area

Panasonic Lumix 14-42mm at 15mm (30mm equivalent): Iso 200 f7.1 for 1/400th seconds
This photograph was taken from an almost identical viewpoint at about 5.30 pm on a busy afternoon. The steps in the foreground are jammed with people, and down below, people are swarming towards the waiting buses.
The visual prominence of the building is much less:-

• The people are more important in terms of the space they occupy and their position in the picture. 
• The lighting is more even so that the shapes of the shelter and other structures visually recede. 
• The composition is much busier. The red bus on the right of the frame and the buildings and billboard in the background all compete for attention. 

Conclusion
In image 1, the shapes of the space and the structures are, by far, the main point of interest in the picture.
In image 2, the people and the place compete for attention. The people have their backs to the camera and there are so many of them that it is not the character of the individuals or the group that draws attention. The main point of interest is the mass of people moving and scattering across the station. The eye is drawn to look at the modernistic structures in the middle ground to discern what is going on there, but the structures are no longer the main point of interest.
Clearly, it is not just the space taken by the people that is changing the character of these two pictures. It is one of the key differences between the two photographs.