I could not agree more with this except from "Photo Idea Index" Word and Pictures by Jim Krause:
A camera is "a tool for visual exploration. Shooting photos teaches you to see picturesque details in everyday scenes. Photography opens your eyes to color, texture, shape and shadow; it makes you pause, look, imagine, capture."
Elements in photography:
Symmetry: Symmetry is a fundamental visual arrangement of harmonious or beautiful proportion. It can naturally occur or be contrived. It also can convey security- which may or may not be desired. Symmetry is comforting while Asymmetry is not.
Asymmetry: Asymmetry is an absence of, or violation, of symmetry. This challenges the viewer. It creates visual wilderness.
Repetition: A repeated image is eye catching. Repetition can be used for emphasis, as an element of harmony, or to illustrate conformity.
Framing: This is an important element in photography. Framing guides viewer to subject of interest and keeps the eye from wandering. Though, one should be mindful that the framing should not upstage the intended subject. Framing can be very subtle and the framing elements should be relevant to the center of interest, conceptually, aesthetically or contextually.
Close-up: It is important to explore radical points of view. Revealing details that can go unnoticed. Abstraction can create compositions from details that convey a completely different concept.
Continuous Mode: Taking multiple photos at a high rate can create a series of shots and capture movement. Photos can be viewed in order like frames from a film sequence. It is an exercise to remind one to have fun and take creative photos.
Exploration: This is experimentation. Varying points of view, lighting, focus, and playing with shadows can be explored. A good exercise it to choose an object and take 100 photos manipulating those variables.
Movement: A trick for interesting effects is movement of the camera when shooting. Movements such as twist, jiggle, or shake can make different effects.
Serendipity: You never know when a photo opportunity will present itself. Always have your camera handy and keep your eyes open to the world.
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This information was helpful in our word site project. Particularly the framing information. While choosing a site, we took into account the surrounding area. Perhaps the immediate area would work at a location, but the background and surround didn't. Even after making a final choice in location, we then had to assess the surrounding elements to determine the best placement of our letters. Lamp posts, railings, surrounding trees-all create lines that could be helpful or break up the composition when framing it up. In our specific experience, we encountered light posts that flanked our bench area. Those lines were parallel to the line the tree created, which was centered in our composition (representing the L in our word).
In our placement, symmetry was better than placing the letters in an asymmetrical fashion. The word 'include' conveys comfort, balance, or 'all incorporating' and so for us to place them in an asymmetrical manner- that would read less 'inclusive'.
