Elements of Design - Points

Exercise: The relationship between points (3 photos)


In the last exercise I concentrated on a single point within a frame, with this exercise I was to find situations where there are two points. By adding another point, the simplicity of the image is lost. To demonstrate this I had to find two normally occurring situations where there are two points.

Image 1

With a single point, the main relationship is with the frame, In image 1 of the dog walkers on the beach,  the relationship between the two points dominates the frame. The eye being drawn to one and other in turn, and sets up an implied line between the two as indicated by the line. As demonstrated here one point attracts more attention to the other, the walkers in the foreground are closer and larger, so therefore attract more attention, the viewer is then drawn to the walkers in the background as being further away and smaller in the frame. 

Image 2

Applying the same principles to image 2, which of the two points is the strongest and attracts more attention? The two walkers are roughly the same distant from the camera as each other and the same distance from the edge of the image. However I would say that the person to the left of the image is the stronger of the two, only slightly, as she is facing towards the camera whereas the person to the right of the frame is side on. You could argue that the person to the right, is the stronger as he is looking toward the the female and implies movement towards her across the frame. 

Image 3 

In image 3, the walkers on the beach are the stronger, as in image 1 they are closer and bigger in the frame in relation to the ships on the horizon. Even though the ships are close to the edge of the frame, as they are so much in the distance, the walkers remain as the stronger point.

Image 4

In image 4 , this is a special case due to the unresolved tension between the two points. The viewer flits between one eye and the other, as no one point is stronger than the other. The eye does not resolve the composition, this kind of picture often damages the composition, but it could also have the effect of activating the image.