17

What About the Frame?

IF IT SEEMS ODD TO DISCUSS FRAMING so far into a book that is essentially about compositional choices, remember that these ideas are not intended to be taken sequentially. Most of the choices we make in the creation of a photograph happen in a reactionary way, depending on what first draws us to a scene and what other priorities and constraints impose themselves on the process. These decisions are interdependent, but they don’t happen in any particular order. You might need to make ten decisions before you know what you need to do with the frame, or your choice of frame might be the first decision you make, but be open to reconsidering it any time.

When we choose a frame for our photograph, even if that choice is to always photograph horizontally with a 3:2 aspect ratio, we must be aware of the way the frame itself informs our reading of the image. I touched on this in Chapter 14 when discussing the energy within a photograph. Our choice of frame pushes those who will read the picture to read it in a certain way. Simply put, and in general terms, when we make a long horizontal image, we are saying that the horizontal relationships are more important than the vertical relationships, that the picture should be read horizontally. The same is true of a vertical frame, which places an emphasis on vertical relationships, shapes, and energy. A square frame gives equal weight to both the horizontality and the verticality of the elements, relationships, and energy within the image.

The big question that begs to be asked is this: Is my subject primarily vertical or horizontal? Or equally both? Remember, the subject is not necessarily the person or the tree that might seem to indicate a vertical frame. It could be the gesture of the person, wide and horizontal, or the relationship between that person and another, from left to right, forming an implied horizontal. In what direction does the story flow? How do you want me to read the image? If my eye wants to go up and down but you force it into the limited verticality of a horizontal frame, then you’re going to frustrate me and create dissonance between the subject and its best expression. Not only that, but you’ll probably also have to include other unnecessary elements or background on the left and right in order to fill the frame, and the more you cram unnecessary information into the frame, the more you dilute the impact of the photograph’s most important elements.

There are other considerations for framing, including the appropriateness of the proportions of the frame—for example, whether you want not only a horizontal image but also one that feels much more horizontal, as a 16:9 frame does, though I think the earlier discussion about energy within the frame is sufficient to help you understand the impact of aspect ratio on the image. Asking yourself not only if your subject is best expressed horizontally or vertically but also how horizontally or how vertically, and knowing that these decisions are entirely yours to make, should be enough to encourage experimentation and creativity.

For some of us, it just comes down to taste. You may prefer a standard 3:2 horizontal frame, in which case you’ve made your choice. But the questions that inform that choice remain and should be considered:

• How do I place the elements within this specific frame in order to create balance and tension appropriate to the subject and what I want to say about it?
• Where do I stand in order to establish the relationships among elements and the frame itself?
• What choices do I need to make to maximize the movement or energy in the frame?
• Have I given the eye the room it needs to move?
• How does my choice of moment, my choice of lens, and the position I take relative to the scene itself affect the way I answer these questions?

This is not a complicated idea, but it’s too often overlooked. It’s easy to get into the habit of holding the camera one particular way, or to get into a groove with our compositions and see the frame as merely the edges of the photograph and not part of the photograph itself, part of the image that determines how it’s read and what importance we give to certain relationships, dynamics, and stories. Ask yourself if you’ve made the strongest match between your true subject and the frame itself, and you’ll make more intentional choices and photographs that better express that subject.