Creating Visual Impact with Patterns
by Brenda Tharp , author of Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography How to take photographic advantage of patterns in nature
Article Source : Better Photo.Com
This article is adapted from Brenda Tharp’s BetterPhoto.com online course:
Creating Visual ImpactPatterns are so prevalent in nature! They are in the design of a flower blossom, in the bark of a tree, in a spring meadow. Pattern is Nature’s attempt at organizing the randomness of itself.
But for pattern to be recognized, there must be more than three or four repetitions of shapes, colors, forms, etc. Two or three does not make for a strong pattern at all, just a grouping.
The goal with photographing patterns, in my opinion, should be to celebrate its random structure. Consider the repetition of agave leaves, or a sky filled with “cotton balls” as I like to call those wonderful cloud formations!
Pattern is strongest when it extends outside the frame, making us think that it continues. Our mind’s eye creates that expansion, giving the pattern even more strength.
Remember that true pattern doesn’t really have any direction to it.
When pattern has enough room to establish itself in your composition, it can sometimes create a visual echoing, and a rhythm is established. This happens whenever a pattern becomes smaller in the distance, and the repetitions appear closer together. The repetition of rolling sand dunes, or a boat wake, or vineyards, can all become rhythmic. As in music, though, you don’t get the rhythm from just one or two downbeats. You usually need more time to pick up on the rhythm. So it is with photography - you need “time”, or visual space, for the rhythm to develop.
Also, rhythm is not just about undulating, curving lines. It can be the repetition of telephone poles, or a forest of trees. It’s really about any structured repetition wherein some visual “beat” is established.
This article is adapted from Brenda Tharp’s BetterPhoto.com online course: Creating Visual Impact
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