Mastering Composition and Henri Cartier-Bresson with the Canon of Design

In this video I respond back to Andras, a Master Pass member, who had questions about mastering composition, grid ratios, Henri Cartier-Bresson, filling the grid, dynamic symmetry and presenting cropped images to clients. I hope this helps others see how the Canon of Design can benefit your art tremendously!

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Please send more questions when you get them and I will try to do my best to help you out.

Articles used in Video:
https://ipoxstudios.com/negative-spac...

https://ipoxstudios.com/the-simplicit...

https://ipoxstudios.com/henri-cartier...

https://ipoxstudios.com/the-perfect-c...

Here is my email response to Andras before I was able to upload the video:
"Hi Andras, glad you are enjoying the blog. Sorry for the delay. I actually tried to respond to you by creating a video, but it is not exporting for me. Thanks for the great question and for joining the Master Pass. It's awesome that you are spending your valuable time to learn these techniques and better your art. Also, thank you for the link to the book! I have downloaded it and will read it when I get a chance.

To try and answer your quesion I have a good idea of who or what your subject is, find the diagonals within the subject and background, then choose a rectangle that compliments them. So if you are photographing a tree, and you use the diagonal guage to find the diagonal that is present (http://www.ipoxstudios.com/the-simpli..., you can use the grid overlay's on your LCD to compose your image. You want to fill the grid and get as close as you can to the objects that interest you. So if you shoot using a root 2 grid you can snip off the ends in post and retain most of the image quality.

Bresson didn't like his images cropped because he would shoot with the 1.5 rectangle in mind. That was HIS rectangle of choice, so like a hunter, he would watch and wait for elements of his image to complete the geometry within his design. An arm, leg, or other movement would line up to his diagonal or reciprocal and he would capture the moment. You can see this in many examples here (http://www.ipoxstudios.com/henri-cart....

So, if you are doing fine art it's perfectly fine to take your time, analyze the scene, determine your subject and the way it interacts with the background, then choose the appropriate sized grid. If you are doing street photography like Bresson, or weddings, you don't have the luxury of selecting the appropriate rectangle for each scene. Things are moving too fast and it's best to use the 1.5 rectangle. Just keep in mind the diagonals, reciprocals, horizontals and verticals like Bresson did. He would anticipate the movement of his subjects and recognize the geometry presented to him within his ever changing environment.

If your clients ask for a specific size you might have to just give them what they want since they are paying you. Or you could use your knowledge of dynamic symmetry to educate them on your decision. If you shoot all day with the 1.5 rectangle of your camera, then have a photo with a diagonal that would best fit the root 2 don't be afraid to snip a little off to better inhance the image. Excessive negative space and wonky geometry can affect the way your photo is read. You're never limiting yourself, you are making a logical decision of how your image is communicated visually.

I hope that helps Andras! Please let me know if you need anything else.

Take care,
Tavis"

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