TTT – Analyzing an Image

As I got a number of positive responses the last time that I did an analysis of how I made the decisions that got me to my particular take of the scene in front of me, I’m doing another post along this vein with a very different image.

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Late Summer’s Day

This image is more about discovery than any other factor, as I found this location while driving through the Harvard University research forest in Petersham, MA.  There are times when one should not believe all signs; on this fine day, I chose to ignore the ‘Road Ends’ sign.  The paved road ended, but a dirt road continued and led me into a forest, where I found this stellar location.

This particular landscape has a lot of beautiful elements to it, but not one stand-out element that I wanted to highlight in this photo.  When this is the case, I like to frame the image, such as with the tree on the left and top, the overhanging branch on the right and the tall grass down low.  Framing provides a sense of looking into the scene, as it provides depth and a sense of looking into the scene rather than at it.

This rather simple trick is something that dresses up many a scene, whether you shoot it in portrait or landscape mode.  I’m looking forward to hearing from you, if you have tried this as well.

Comments

8 responses to “TTT – Analyzing an Image”

  1. Miriam Avatar

    Great shot and the framing works really well with it, highlighting it beautifully. I’ve done this myself and it works well.

    1. jansenphoto Avatar

      Thank you, Miriam! Yes, I agree it’s a very useful technique.

  2. 1kayaker Avatar

    I like that. I try to do it in my landscape paintings. It is like having a curtain pulled aside

    1. jansenphoto Avatar

      Thank you. I like the way you phrase it as pulling a curtain aside.

  3. pranabaxom Avatar

    Great shot and framing. Have done this a few times without analyzing. Where I leave the sky is either clear blue majority of the year or grey in winter. Rule of third results in a undefined background and framing helps.

    1. jansenphoto Avatar

      Thank you!! Yes, when you have sky without much variation in it, framing helps tremendously. Rule of thirds definitely helps too, even though I sometimes violate it to create more empty space in the image, as that has the effect of generating a pull on the eye. Lots of possibilities!

  4. calensariel Avatar

    Nice quick tutorial.

    1. jansenphoto Avatar

      Thank you!

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