Composition Project

This past weekend, my friends and I took a trip to Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton, Maryland (25 minutes from Towson). The property is huge and features gardens with different themes! It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland – so unique and beautiful! I highly recommend anyone visit this location. 

I thought it would be a great opportunity to take some pictures for our first project, so you will catch a glimpse from my visit below!

The Good...

This photo is very interesting and holds good composition due to texture and repetition. The bush's tiny branches are very in focus and almost appear like scales. There is nice depth of field, which creates balance, as the subject is dominant, very in focus, and not lost against the rest of the image. There is great contrast from the light subject to dark background.

This photo uses symmetry or even approximate symmetry (the photo isn't exactly identical on both sides) to achieve great balance. The color is monochromatic and brings harmony to the photo through repetition. There isn't an excessive use of harmony, because there is variation in the greens you see throughout the photo.

In this photo, we see a a monochromatic color scheme again as well as the use of shape, repetition, and contrast. The repetition of the pyramid-like bushes creates harmony, and the different sized of the bushes breaks up monotonous shape with variety. Contrast helps to create a three-dimensional look.

The iron gate here is symmetrical and makes sense in the viewer's mind. The balance is in check and there is a great show of contrast. The gate itself holds curvy lines in the positive areas, which in turn creates interesting shapes in the negative areas.

Again, the color in this image is very monochromatic, which in turn leads to harmony. The curve of the bushes and the lines presented in the grass from a lawn mower creates movement and rhythm, leading the viewer's eye. The balance in this photo is pleasing, with the help of the golden mean.

The Ugly...

This image, like most of the following images, doesn't have great contrast, which can ruin the overall composition. There is no variety. The balance is also off in this image. It looked as though the light post is suppose to be centered, and may be; however, the tree behind the lamp is off center slightly and throws off the balance. It may make the viewer feel uneasy. This one did not hit the mark!

There is movement in this image, due to the rail leading the viewer's eye downward, but there is lack of contrast and balance leading to this image's failure. The rail leads the viewer's eye, but to what? The frame cuts off any extra information which throws off the balance and visual linking to an interesting part of the picture. The placement of the stairs and railing does not utilize the golden mean, rule of thirds or any other visual tool to create a visually satisfying image. Next!

This photo's composition is very poor due to the fact that the contrast is very low. There is no place of dominance or any place of significant interest, which leads to an extremely unsatisfying photo.

This image's composition is poor due to the subject being out of focus. The photo does employ the "rule of thirds," which would have made it successful, but the emphasis in this photo (the focus) is on the background. In this particular image, the background is not all that interesting or exciting, making the photo seem off and awkward, especially since the subject is so close. There is also a lack of contrast, which makes the image even worse.

This image is particularly bad in composition due to a poor choice in placement. A good rule of thumb is to never place a subject in front of a pole, tree, post, or any other thin vertical object. It appears as though the post is protruding out of the subjects head, and therefore, is in bad taste and throws off the overall composition.