Brunelleschi's Lantern, Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence

Photograph Copyright ©2013 Loo Yen Yeo. All Rights Reserved.

Concepts: Frame dynamics (alignment); Single point (moderately off-centre)

Description: There are actually two alignments: lines of the Temple of the Apocalypse in Vasari's 'Last Judgement' with the top and right edges of the frame; and the lower-most putti [cherubs] seem to jump off the bottom of the frame. The single point is the brightly-lit negative space of the lantern's interior (although  bigger than what one would expect).

Title: Putti-powered flight

Colonna Traiana, Rome

Photograph Copyright ©2011 Loo Yen Yeo. All Rights Reserved.

Concepts: Frame dynamics (diagonal tension)

Description: The horizontal entablatures of Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano (foreground) and Santa Maria di Loreto (background) tug against the frame, drawing the eye to the monumental diagonal of Trajan's column then leads it upward to the cornice beneath the statue of Saint Peter.

Title: Giving Trajan's Column (113CE) the droop

01.01 Frame Dynamics

The most fundamental difference between images as seen by the naked eye and those through a camera, is the presence of a distinct frame in the latter. This is first felt by the dark surround of the viewfinder - which draws the eye to its corners and edges - thus exerting a pressure on the composition of the image.

The photographer faces a choice: compose the image in a manner where the elements interact strongly or weakly with the frame. Three methods of strong frame dynamics are:

1. Alignment - where lines of an element are aligned with a side of the frame
2. Diagonal tension - creating diagonal lines which pull against the sides of the frame
3. Abstraction via intersection - allowing the sides of the frame to cut through the planes of the element, creating out-of-context shapes

Loo Yeo