How many times have you seen a photo and immediately known who or what the subject was? Every photo has to have a subject. It could be literal, such as a person or a thing in an image, or it could be an implied idea represented in different visual clues within the frame.
The visual weight of a human subject super-exceeds any other subject present in a photo.
Let me show you what I mean.
Below is a straight forward subject with simple messaging. “I love this boy’s happy moment” shot in an airy light background with a fresh and joyful atmosphere. My attention goes straight to the boy and the emotional state he’s in. My subject is the boy.
Here below, my subject is a flower bud. In this image I am saying I find this flower bud interesting for its delicacy and color. I made one bud my focus. The buds are my subject.
If you compare the two images, you will notice that your eyes go straight to the boy in the top image. In the bud image, your eyes see the single in-focus bud but seconds later, your eyes start to wander the frame to see more. The subject examples are different in both images but there is more visual attention given to the image of the boy.
Next time you take a picture, think if you want to include a person in the photo or not. A landscape scene with or without a person? An empty beach photo or one with a person walking on the beach?
I’ll leave you with these questions to make you start thinking about how you want to take a picture of your subject.
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