Fill the frame, increase the impact

14 October 2009

When I review pictures that participants take while on my Paris photo tours, one theme that often comes back as a discussion is that less is more. What I mean by that is the need to simplify images to give them more impact.

When we find a subject that we want to photograph, often we focus so much on it that we fail to see distracting elements around it. By taking a few steps closer, choosing a different angle or changing the focal length, it is possible to fill the frame and get a better image.

This will:

• eliminate distracting background elements;
• simplify the content;
• reduce possible confusion; and
• let you see the subject and details.

To illustrate this point, I have taken two pictures at the Palais Royal. Located right across from the Louvre, this 17th century Baroque palace is divided into three sections: the Jardin du Palais Royal; the Court of Honor, with the controversial Daniel Buren's Les Deux Plateaux sculpture; and in the middle the Gallery d'Orleans, with the silver ball-crowned fountain of Pol Bury. All of this is surrounded by colonnaded arcades.

The first picture (on the right) shows the Gallery d'Orleans, with some of its surrounding colonnades, a bit of sky, a lot of ground tiles, and a couple of passersby. We can just make out the silver balls of the fountain in the middle. It is a decent snapshot showing the whole place, but nothing really jumps out of the image.

The second picture (below) is taken in the same courtyard, but much closer to the balls of the fountain. By filling the frame, I was able to remove the distracting sky and foreground tiles, show more of the silver balls with the interesting reflections they offer, and reinforce the window pattern of the architecture. There are fewer elements, and yet this picture is more interesting than the first one.

Next time you have your camera out, fill the frame with your main subject and see what happens!