VISUAL WEIGHT

VISUAL WEIGHT

• VISUAL IMPACT OF ELEMENTS IN YOUR COMPOSITION

• THE STRONGER AN ELEMENT’S VISUAL WEIGHT, THE MORE IT DRAWS IN THE EYE
• TO ACHIEVE A BALANCED COMPOSITION, YOU CAN CHOOSE WHETHER TO INCLUDE OR
REMOVE ELEMENTS BASED ON THEIR RELATIVE VISUAL WEIGHT
 LIGHT AND DARK

• NORMALLY, DARK AREAS HAVE GREATER VISUAL WEIGHT

• EASILY BALANCED WITH LIGHT AREAS, THOUGH OTHER ELEMENTS CAN ALSO BE USED
• A DARKER IMAGE CAN HELP TO CREATE A MOODY ATMOSPHERE THAT FITS MORE SERIOUS
AND CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS
• A LIGHTER IMAGE CAN CONVEY A SOFTER, MORE INNOCENT FEEL
 SYMMETRICAL WEIGHT BALANCE

• ALSO KNOWN AS “FORMAL BALANCE”, YOU ARRANGE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN
THE CENTER OF THE FRAME
• HORIZONTAL FORMAT MAKES IT IS EASIER TO SHOW THE SYMMETRICAL ELEMENTS
• ELEMENTS JUST NEED TO HAVE A SIMILAR FEEL IN WEIGHT AND PRESENCE TO APPEAR
BALANCED
• THE FOUR MAIN TYPES OF SYMMETRY ARE VERTICAL, HORIZONTAL, RADIAL AND REFLECTIVE
• WORKS BEST CHOICE WITH ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPES
 ASYMMETRICAL WEIGHT

• ALSO KNOWN AS “INFORMAL BALANCE“

• HARDER TO DO, AS IT IS MORE NATURAL TO FAVOUR FORMAL BALANCE
• EASIER TO DO BY FOLLOWING THE RULE OF THIRDS
• INFORMAL BALANCE HELPS ACHIEVE UNIQUE COMPOSITIONS THAT GRAB ATTENTION
 SIZE

• SIZE IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO SHOW A BALANCED COMPOSITION

• BIGGER OBJECTS HOLD MORE WEIGHT THAN SMALLER ITEMS
• WE PERCEIVE BIGGER THINGS TO BE CLOSER TO US
• MANIPULATING THIS IDEA CAN HELP CREATE EXCITING IMAGES
• WITH PERSPECTIVE, YOU CAN CUT DOWN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR MAIN SUBJECT
• YOU CAN USE THE JUXTAPOSITION OF ELEMENTS WITH DIFFERENT SIZES
• WORKS FOR LANDSCAPE, STREET OR ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY
 COLOR AND SATURATION

• BOLD, BRIGHT COLORS STAND OUT MORE THAN DESATURATED ONES

• A BURST OF COLOR AGAINST A PLAIN, MONOTONE BACKGROUND WILL GRAB THE VIEWER’S
ATTENTION
• THIS ALLOWS YOU TO SET UP THE IMAGE, FORCING ATTENTION ON ONE OR TWO OBJECTS
• EITHER COMPARATIVE COLORS OR CONTRASTING COLORS HELP MAKE AN IMAGE MORE
INTERESTING
 TONE AND CONTRAST

• DARKER OBJECTS HOLD MORE WEIGHT THAN LIGHTER ONES

• TONE AND CONTRAST ARE VERY POWERFUL IN BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY
• BY REMOVING COLOUR, THE VIEWERS’ FOCUS IS ON THE SUBJECT, TEXTURES, AND PATTERNS
• AREAS OF HIGH CONTRAST DRAW THE EYE
• SOMETIMES, SOME DETAIL IN THE NEGATIVE SPACES HELPS ENGAGE THE VIEWER
• USEFUL IN LANDSCAPE, ARCHITECTURE, AND STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
 TEXTURE AND PATTERNS

• PATTERNS AND TEXTURES ATTRACT ATTENTION NATURALLY

• STRONG TEXTURES CAN HELP SUPPORT AN IMAGE BY BALANCING AN OFF-CENTER SUBJECT
• SOMETIMES, TEXTURED BACKGROUNDS CAN ALSO DISTRACT THE VIEWER’S ATTENTION
• TEXTURES, SHAPE AND FORM OF BOTH THE FOREGROUND AND BACKGROUND CAN PLAY OFF
EACH OTHER
• DIFFERENT TEXTURES GIVE ELEMENTS DIFFERENT VISUAL WEIGHT
• USEFUL IN URBAN, STREET, LANDSCAPE AND ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY
 FOCAL WEIGHT BALANCE

• THE FOCUS CAN FORCE AND PUSH THE VIEWER’S ATTENTION TO AN AREA OR SUBJECT
• ITEMS IN FOCUS HAVE MORE VISUAL WEIGHT
• SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD, OR DIFFERENTIAL FOCUS, HELPS REMOVE ANY UNWANTED AREAS
OF A SCENE
• THE OUT-OF-FOCUS AREAS GIVE A USEFUL TEXTURE TO THE COMPOSITION
• OOF AREAS MAY BE REPETITIONS OF WHAT IS IN FOCUS
 INCLUDING PEOPLE OR ANIMALS

• ANIMALS AND PEOPLE HAVE GREATER VISUAL WEIGHT

• WHEN PLACED IN THE IMAGE, IT GIVES A SENSE OF SCALE AND HOLDS OUR INTEREST
 LEAD ROOM WEIGHT BALANCE

• ‘LEAD ROOM‘ OR ‘NOSE ROOM’ SUGGESTS YOU LEAVE SPACE IN FRONT OF THE SUBJECT’S
GAZE
• THIS ACHIEVES BALANCE EVEN WHEN THE OBJECT THE SUBJECT IS LOOKING AT IS NOT IN THE
FRAME, THE OBJECT IS IMPLIED
• SOMETIMES, IT MIGHT BE BETTER TO INCLUDE THAT OBJECT
 CONCEPTUAL BALANCE

• JUXTAPOSITIONING CONCEPTS CAN CREATE A STORY OR INTEREST THROUGH THE CONTRAST

OF THEIR IDEAS
 THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION

• DUNLOP, JOSHUA. 8 TIPS FOR USING VISUAL WEIGHT IN PHOTOGRAPHY COMPOSITION. EXPERT PHOTOGRAPHY.
<HTTPS://EXPERTPHOTOGRAPHY.COM/COMPOSITION-VISUAL-WEIGHT-INFLUENCE-VIEWERS/>