The following is a direct copy and has been Pasted in for future reference from the Art of Photography coursework PDF Doc. (pasted in Maroon)
20 photographs twice
For this exercise you will need a fairly compact location, as you will have to photograph the same scene twice. Up to now, most of the pictures you have taken for the course have probably been in a horizontal format. Take your next 20 photographs as vertical. Choose the settings for yourself – they could be street scenes, or landscapes – and take as short or as long a time as you like – but fit everything you shoot into a vertical frame. Some subjects will, naturally, be easier than others.
Lay out the processed results. Some of them will be of subjects that are tall and so suit this frame shape – a standing person, perhaps, or a high-rise building. Did you find that the restriction of the project encouraged you to search for tall things? With many of the pictures, you may find that you had a tendency to position the main weight of the subject lower in the frame than the centre. This tendency is a natural one as shown in the image below.
Radial and other symmetrical subjects suit the square format – most other subjects are more difficult to frame. Here the strong vertical axis works well in sub-dividing the shape and the subject is placed so as to correspond very closely to the ideals of the Golden Section.
Continue the project with the next 20 shots, by shooting a horizontal version of every vertical composition that you just made – or as many as are possible (some scenes are fleeting and can’t be repeated). What this and the previous exercise should show you is that, with a little effort, you can make most scenes work vertically. The result may not be quite as successful as a horizontal image, but it should make you aware that format is to a large extent a matter of habit.
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Equipment
Nikon D4
Nikon D800E
24/70 lens
Tripod
Method & Approach
As requested in this exercise, I photographed subjects both landscape (horizontal) & portrait (vertical) in relevance to prove if portrait can be made to work just as well as landscape. On some of the shots I used a tripod, others were handheld.
Please see pictures and captions below for visual understanding.
Note – all pictures have been compressed hence there will be a quality reduction when enlarging.
This picture and the one above both work but due to the shape of the subject it works better in portrait.
Again like the flowers above, both these pictures work but again due to the shape of the subject it works better in portrait.
The same applies with these two pictures, both work but due to the shape of the subject it works better in portrait.
This subject is different and the shape of it tells us so, this picture definitely works better in landscape.
I took both pictures whilst standing in the same, I could have reframed by walking further away but so much detail would be lost in the bark and foliage that the subject would have been lost, again due to the shape of the subject it works better in portrait.
This picture and its portrait partner both work but if you need to capture more of the surroundings it would better suit landscape.
This picture and the one above both work well.
Like the two pictures above, both work but due to the shape of the subject it works better in portrait.
These two pictures both work equally well. I first liked the portrait shot then I switched to the landscape and then vice versa. I do find the house in the background slightly more disturbing in the portrait picture.
Both formats of this picture work but I personally prefer the subject in portrait, it gives more detail to the path as well as better height to the trees.
What have I learnt from this exercise
From this exercise I have learnt to look at the subject through the viewfinder both horizontally and vertically unless the shape or anything obvious before even lifting the camera to my eye tells me different.
I have also learnt a new expression “the golden section” from this exercise.
My Reflection
Early on in my working carer I trained as a draughtsman and as mentioned in the coursework:
Painters and draughtsmen have devised methods of doing this that go beyond natural intuition.
This is very true and when it comes to drawing up components and assemblies you have to nearly always scale the item or assembly down to a certain drawing sheet size and consider either portrait or landscape to the point of some drawings needing several follow on sheets showing various sections and scrap views.
stingray493 