Exercise 11, P.47: carried out 26/02/12.
The aim of this exercise was to find 10 scenes suitable for a vertical (portrait) frame and then photograph the same scene with a horizontal (landscape) frame. Although the tendency would be to find vertical subjects I chose to visit a local National Trust Property called Benthal Hall and whatever I wanted to photograph I firstly used a vertical frame and then the same again with a horizontal frame.
Photo 1: The House
When composing the scene in the viewfinder I struggled to find a pleasing angle of view for the vertical frame as I wanted to include the house in its entirity. Because of this I had to stand quite a way back from the house to fit it within the vertical frame and the results show that. I placed the house in the upper part of the frame to show the long sweeping carpet of grass leading up to the house which tells you the house is set in extensive grounds.The horizontal frame compliments the shape and scale of the house and although contains less of a narrative, it’s the most natural fit.
Photo 2: The staircase
I think it’s obvious in the staircase photo that the vertical frame works well and elongates the knule post and steep stairs making for an elegant image. The horizontal frame cuts short the knule post and cuts out the second post too. The frame sits awkwardly and forced and makes my eyes bounce all over the photo looking for a focus point.
Photo 3: The hexagon
The hexagon tower sits well with both the vertical and horizontal frame. I like the simplistic nature of the vertical frame and narrative of its surroundings in the horizontal frame.
Photo 4: The crocus
I spotted a lonely crocus in the flower bed next to the house so lay down (on the gravel!) steadied the camera and as I was about to release the shutter a bee came along and settled on the flower. Great, I thought let’s get snapping quickly to capture the subject in both frame types. The bee was happy to pose and I got my photos and then I thought, aaaarrrrgghhhhh BEE!! Anyway, The vertical frame gives a nice close up of the bee sucking the nectar from the flower and I think it’s a good angle of view too. It was because of the viewfinders upright position and wanting a close up of the bee I had to sacrifice some of the flower. I think it was worth it. The horizontal frame shows the entire subject and some background foliage which is nice too but nothing special. Out of the two I would say the vertical frame is the better image.
Photo 5:
Everything within the vertical frame compliments it’s upright nature, the trees, the chimney the bay windows etc. The horizontal frame is still pleasing however it would have been better to have chimney stack within the frame but it would have compromised the composition. The vertical frame definitely works better for this image.
Photo 6: Shroom Hut
The shroom house fits snuggly within the vertical frame due to its shape. However, I like the horizontal frame as it gives an insight into the shroom huts setting which is equally as interesting.
Photo 7: Pond Girl
The girl in the pond sits better within the vertical frame because she looks quite lost in the horizontal frame.
Photo 8:
Again in this photo the snowdrops look a bit lost in the horizontal frame and therefore sit better within the vertical frame.
Photo 9:
In the horizontal frame the tree just looks like it accidentally got in the way and seems rather confused. The vertical frame much better represents what I could see as being a potential photo.
Photo 10:
I like both of these frames as they both show the walk along the road with the gate beyond the walkers. I don’t see how one frame is better than other. The vertical frame gives a sense of distance but it’s not relevant for this particular image.
So initially I said I was looking for subjects to photograph regardless of the frame but I now realise I was subconsciously looking for Vertical framed images. Most of the photos in this sequence were better suited to a vertical frame than a horizontal frame but the horizontally framed photos can still look good in most instances.
I have looked back at my portfolio and I seem to like to use a vertical frame as much as a horizontal frame but now I will be more conscious of which frame type is more appropriate to a scene and maybe try both for each photo.
Sam Bennett 