Together with my ” Stretching Your Frame of Mind ” workshop I teach around the world, I been told by students way too many times that they, in return, have been told to always have their subject walking, running, or facing into the frame. This is referred to as “leading in”.
OH NO, SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!
It’s a ‘mind bender’ for me! Why on earth would anyone tell you that? I suppose the reason is that they want you to be a good photographer, and whomever keeps saying this is indeed a good photographer and teacher. If being a good photographer is your goal, then that’s great. If you want your photos to consistently be “up a notch”, you might consider raising your level of awareness. If you want to be more than just a good ‘shooter’, you might want to consider other points of view…like mine for example.
It will be OK!!!
If I put someone looking into the frame, then the viewer will know what that person is looking at. If I have someone walking or running into the frame (giving the subject room to run as they say), the viewer will know where they’re going. Where’s the mystery and drama in that? Sounds pretty boring to me. I want the viewer to wonder what the subject is looking at, and where he’s going NEXT. By placing the subject close to the edge of the frame facing out, two things will happen:
Placing the subject close to the edge of the frame, and minimizing the’Negative Spac’ between the subject and the edge, you’ll generate Tension. The Tension comes from the anticipation of the subject leaving the frame. Second, you’ll imply content outside the frame.
All this is a big part of the Psychology of Gestalt I teach in my workshop. In short, we want the viewer to take an active part in our pictures. The viewer will always react to that which is most different. In our reality, making the mind work harder is not necessarily a good thing, but in photography it is. By leading the viewer’s eye in and out and around our composition, or having them complete an image, or have them consider the scene, they are taking an active role, and when we can accomplish that our images will definitely be stronger.`
Here’s some examples of just what I mean:
