This exercise was to photograph the same location twice. First taking 20 photographs vertical and then analyze the images. Then return to the location and take next 20 photographs horizontal of every vertical composition I took in the first time.
As a location, I chose a chuch and it’s surroundings in Helsinki. I chose this location because I knew that there might be subjects that are tall and thus good subjects for vertical images. While taking the photographs and analyzing them afterwards, I found that I chose more or less consciously subjects that were tall. I use vertical composition quite naturally but doing this exercise I found the task to take only vertical photographs, somewhat limiting my visual thinking. I know I could and should have broke the limits by taking vertical photographs of subjects that were naturally horizontal but it seems to be difficult to break one’s habits.
On the second round, I took only horizontal photographs of the same subjects and if possible from the same standing point that I took the vertical photographs. As I found out that I can not include the same details in a horizontal photograph, I had to compose the image differently. In some images the subject and feel is quite the same but in some images I had to find different way of seeing the same subject.
Here are the images as pairs.
conclusion
I find that in many images both horizontal and vertical composition work but they create different feeling and may emphasize different aspect of the image. If the image is telling a story (as they should) the vertical and horizontal images tell a “different story of the same subject”.
Tags: Composition, Frame, Horizontal, Vertical