Shape Techniques

Cropping

Cropping can be done either with the entire composition, or by obstructing the subject by other elements of a composition. Cropping refers to the information you are willing to give the viewer. Our brains will assume missing information that we can’t see. Choosing what elements of your subject you want to reveal can create more interest often than showing the viewer too much. Missing information can create mystery or uncertainty. It can also effect the intimacy (or lack of) between the subject and the viewer.

Scale

Scale is important to draw attention or bring a sense of size to something that’s not obvious. If you are shooting really large sunflowers – the viewer can’t tell the difference between big ones or small ones without something else in the picture to indicate this. This second object becomes dependent to the image as its what tells us something is extremely large or small in relation.

Scale can also be created using perspective. Objects closer to the point of view are larger in scale than the same object far away. Perspective can be used to create a false since of scale since photographs exist in a 2 dimensional space.

Fragmentation

Fragmentation is when a subject is split up into more than one part. This can be done simply by placing something in front of the object. It can also be done by literally splitting the object physically. In either case a sense of relationship and symmetry can be created.

Focus

The use of focus or blur in photography is a native characteristic of the medium that can be used to great effect. Focusing on subjects draws attention and importance to them. Blur, or showing subjects out of focus starts to bring a layer of abstraction to them. The amount of blur is at the discretion of the photographer – a little bit of blur can create a sense of abstraction, nostalgia or even subconscious representation. Extreme blur can turn shapes into simply textures. Careful use of focus and/or depth of field can create a great amount of interest in what your are communicating visually.

Lighting

Somewhat similar to focus, lighting can also bring emphasis to a subject that’s brightly lit and less attention to subjects that are over and under lit. This effect can be similar to focus and blur but objects will retain their outline definition as long as they are separated from the background. 

Metaphor

Metaphor is a difficult technique but probably the most impacting in terms of composition and visual communication. A metaphor is simply making an object look like something else either substituted or implied. There are numerous examples of great works of flowers having a sensual, human quality to them. Using other techniques here can create metaphors when subjects go to extremes in terms of perspective, scale, juxtaposition, etc. Look at Abelardo Morell’s image, “The Shadow of a House” where he uses the shadow of a house mixed with his kids chalk drawings and placement on the driveway to be a metaphor for not only an actual house, but even a sense of a playhouse in the world of the children. There is a wonderful dream-like, fantasy quality to this image as well.

Implied Shape

Like line, shapes can be implied without actually being present. This is done by playing with negative space and using other objects in the image. Again we’ll look at Abelardo Morell below with his “self portrait” created simply by the outline of the skewed pages of a book that create the outline of his own profile. He’s not in the image, but there is a shape created that represents this.