Post 146: Composition 7. Use of Subject Focus Filling the Frame

Composition: Focus of the Subject and Filling the Frame

This is Part 7 of my series on Composition

Another composition trick or tip is to bring your subject into the foreground with the full focus on really zeroing or zooming in on the subject so the he/she/it fills the frame in a purposeful way. It could mean that some cropping happens to take out unnecessary background "noise", perhaps too much extra sky above or the street/water below, and/or buildings on the sides. 

Bring your subject closer by filling the frame tighter to focus on that subject. Here is a photo I took of the Belmont Bay Marina, Occoquan, VA in 2020 to try to give you an example although the "subject" is debatable...

I cut out my shadow and a lot of the big blue sky, really tightened up the photo.

Maybe looking at the images of the gazebo at Belmont Bay is a better example.

 

The original picture

 

 

The original picture zoomed in but still a lot of sky, tree, foreground.

 

The original picture zoomed in more - now the focus is really on the gazebo and a good part of the 'nonsense' is cropped out. Get the picture? (pun intended)

 

Try zooming in on your design to fill the frame, or canvas with your next composition.

By the way, this is the painting I did of the Belmont Bay Marina at Occoquan, Virginia that day, although it was more about the Marina than a focus in on something. You can see the gazebo to the right in the distance.

 

"Belmont Bay Marina, Occoquan, Virginia" by Donna Liguria, Acrylic 16x20

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This is part of a series of blog posts on the guidelines, or rules of composition. Look for all of them in the Search this Blog feature at the top right by searching for the word "composition". I hope you enjoy the posts!

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Local Art: Visit us at Clearbrook Center of the Arts at Tackett's Mill in Lake Ridge, VA on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 – it’s free to see the artwork! Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at https://DonnaLiguriaArt.com & her Blog at https://donnascavepainting.blogspot.com/.