Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: Shapes
Exercise: Real and implied triangles

For this exercise I produced two sets of images using triangles in the composition.  One set using "real" triangles and the other using "implied" triangles.

Real Triangles

1798.jpg; Pentax Optio A20; F2.8; 1/60s

In this photograph the roof of the church forms a triangle with the apex at the top.  There are many situations where triangles are used in buildings as it is a very stable shape.

4945.jpg; Pentax *ist D; 18-55mm lens; F22; 1/60s

 This image was taken with the wide angle setting of the lens, (18mm).  A triangle is created by the upward tilt of the camera.  This has caused the building's vertical lines to converge into a triangle.

4947.jpg; 18-55mm lens; F22; 1/125s

In this image a triangular structure is formed by the fence line and the line of the gorse on the hillside.  The triangular structure is strengthened by the upward tilt of the camera and the wide-angle lens setting.



Implied Triangles

7508.jpg; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; F18.0; 1/15s

This still-life arrangement made using Chinese coins forms a triangle with the apex at the top.

7510.jpg; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; F18.0; 1/20s

This still-life arrangement forms an inverted triangle with the apex at the bottom.

Pentax Optio A20; F2.8; 1/40s

This arrangement of three people in a group are arranged in such a way that their faces imply a triangle with the apex at the top.


What have I learned from this exercise?

A shape is both an outline and an enclosure, although the extent to which it appears as one or the other depends very much on the subject and the lighting.  Shape, ultimately, defines an object but it can also be implied.  In a photograph, the more regular a shape appears, the stronger the part it plays in the composition.

Contrast, either of tone or colour, also helps to decide whether a shape will be important in a picture.  It is nearly always contrast that makes a shape stand out.

The different basic types of regular shape are, in fact, just three: triangles, rectangles, and circles.  The simplest and the most valuable in composition is the triangle.  Simple because it has the smallest number of sides and corners.  Valuable because the diagonals it contains tend to create a sensation of activity and dynamism.  It can also often appear to be "pointing", and so induce a sense of movement.

A definable shape organises parts of a picture, and one of the fundamentals of design is to provide a structure to an image.  Because a shape has a tendency to enclose, it helps to make groups of things cohere.

Designing an image is like putting together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle - if one element is either missing or in the wrong place the final result will fail.  Good light is of course essential but equally an image with fantastic lighting on an unstructured subject will not hold together.