Filling the Frame - Close Ups
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An ordinary composition of a photograph will contain one or more subjects as focal points and a surrounding consisting of other objects. Based on all these elements, an observer will be able to recognize, the subject, the environment, and the message. All this is good, but what if another impact on the observer is desired? What if you want to leave little hints, in order to keep him guessing?
From a scenic point of view, taking a photograph of a subject filling a small area in your frame may leave you with many empty spaces that if not effectively used, will render your photo boring. An effective remedy to this is to fill the frame with your subject, so as to get rid of these empty spaces.
Moving closer to your subjects can make your photo more interesting by removing the surroundings altogether. Take zoo photography as an example. With a normal composition, you will probably include the animal, the cage, and maybe some spectators. Getting rid of all the element except for the animal itself, may make the photograph look as if it was taken in the wild. The ambiguity resulted from close-ups lead observers use their imaginations to complete the picture . A photo of legs of a man and a woman standing in front of each other can tell many things. Here, all you did is that you removed the subjects’ personalities, so as to give a space for the observer to think.
Of all types of close-up photographs, portraits are the most famous. While taking a portrait inside a specific environment is always nice, close-up portraits are used to give a very different sort of experience. Filling the frame with your subject will produce a very personal look. Getting even closer to just include the face – sometimes with eye contact – can bring a feeling of amicability, as if you were staying face to face with the subject. Close-ups on other body parts produce great photos too; they may create an abstract feel, or emphasize a certain action.
Even with still life, close-ups work great. Getting close to object show new details that are not obvious when photographing from a distance. This is particularly important when photographing products and machine parts.
A frame can be filled by walking towards your subject, zooming on it, or by cropping a photograph. While zooming is an on-camera process, cropping is usually done using photo-editing software, giving you more flexibility to set your composition, but with sacrificing the image’s original size.
The simplest compositions may sometimes be the richest. So use your imagination, and make your audience use theirs.
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