COEURDESUD
COMPOSITION - exploring your subject
Here is an example of a typical thought pattern that I often go through when considering a shot.
I was drawn to this building (C) but it was an overcast and drab day, so I didn’t want to shoot it as is. I felt it needed a link to its name ‘Coeur du Sud’ (heart of the south). I thought maybe if the lamp was glowing? then of course that would mean a twilight shoot.
‘Coeur du Sud’, Villefranche-de-Conflent, Occitanie, France
Okay, with that sorted out, the next consideration was, what should the background include as the perspective changed depending on how far away I was from the building and showed a hill behind it (B). I thought should I use the hill (A) or the hill and sky (B) or none (C)? In the end I decided on the clean sky (C) as I figured the hill had nothing to do with the ‘heart’ and was possibly distracting. So in total it took about a minute to compose this shot in my mind.
I returned at twilight with my tripod and used a 2 second exposure at f.16 to capture the scene (top). Luckily the car had gone. As I had visualised, the lamp gave a nice warmth, helping to echo the name. The reds and yellows complimented (remember the colour wheel?) the stormy blue sky.
This mental process is often how it goes. Sometimes you find the elements are in place, other times not. So you have to find what the essence of the potential shot is. It’s an internal dialogue you have and by doing this, your intuition usually offers the answer if you listen to it.