Exercise 6 - Fitting the frame to the subject

This exercise is about demonstrating how the amount of a subject and/or area surrounding a subject can alter the viewer’s perspective and the whole feel/emotion of the final image.

When taking a photograph I would normally look at different angles and positioning of subject in the frame before taking it, so this exercise illustrates the process I use when taking a photograph.

I chose to do this exercise at Milton Keynes Village church where there is a poignant memorial to the soldiers who lost their lives during the war.  It reminds me of what modern Milton Keynes was built around.

F5.6, ISO200, 1/80s, 35mm

This is the first photograph I took as I entered the church yard without too much thought on composition.

F5.6, ISO200, 1/125s, 250mm

I then moved around to fit the memorial as closely as possible to the frame.

F5.6, ISO200, 1/50s, 80mm

For this third image I zoomed in on just one part of the memorial.

F5.6, ISO200, 1/60s, 10mm

F7.1, ISO200, 1/50s, 20mm

F5.6, ISO200, 1/60s, 35mm

I moved around the grounds for a bit and took three shots where the memorial took up only a small part of the frame to stress the surroundings.

Out of these three images I prefer the first one.  Looking back at it now away from the location it makes me feel like the memorial is standing strong and tall looking out over and for all the others in the graveyard and reinforce the message that these men gave their lives for others.

I made two crops of the original photograph.  This first one shows the memorial in the foreground and the fresh flowers on the graves for those cremated behind.  I liked the idea for this crop as it gives the feel of the soldiers leading the way and offering protection to those following behind.

For the second crop I opted to have the memorial on the right of the frame and the lamp that illuminates it at night to the left.  If this was taken at night the lamp would illuminate the monument, a symbol that they are not forgotten.

Making crops on the original image in photoshop is useful to identify further options you might have missed at the time and something I could start doing with all my work.  However rather than crop original image, once identified a better framing I think I would rather return to the location, where possible, to try and re-take the image to get same result as the crop but at best possible resolution.