Thursday Post 11-27-08

Composition

If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad. As to that regular, uninterrupted love of writing. I do not understand it. I feel it as a torture, which I must get rid of, but never as a pleasure. On the contrary, I think composition a great pain.
Send quote to a friend
Lord Byron (1788-1824) British poet.

Grill, Tom. Photographic Composition: guidelines for total image control through effective design. Watson-Guptill: New York, 1990.

Black Star Rising said of Tom Grill, "He’s been called everything from the father of stock photography to the sage and guru of the industry." He owns Tom Grill images and Tetra Images, and founded Comstock. He started shooting photography in his 20s doing photojournalist work in Brazil. Upon returning to New York City, he began shooting for cosmetic companies such as L’Oreal, Revlon and Clairol. The book covers depth of field, color controls, concepts, and technical skills.

Composition is obviously important in every image, from photos to paintings to television images. The compositions of my images come together like puzzle pieces, since there are built in limitations. Being as I require the tattoo of my subjects to be displayed in a visibly understandable and pleasing way, this limits my use of angles and poses with the model. Also, the colors of the tattoo and its placement on the body are out of my control. In many cases, what I envisioned for the picture becomes physically impossible because of the placement of the tattoo or other physical barriers with the surroundings. I have had to work through this on every image, and hopefully will be bringing it to completion as I savagely hunt down my last two models and force them to pose for me.