A Few Thoughts On Photo Composition In Belfast Maine

Belfast, Maine is a place I love to photograph. It is rich with textures and colors. As my husband and I were walking up the street in front of one of our "go to" places, Rollie's, I noticed his reflection in the window. I am a sucker for reflection pictures, so I asked him to stop and lean against the wall. Let me explain what I saw and how I composed the picture.

I used the rule of thirds to  put him off center in the image for a more interesting composition.

The window served as a frame for the subject and as leading lines bring the viewers eyes to  him. The tops of the buildings in the reflection also served as leading lines, as do the vertical lines under the window frame.

The repeating color of red in the window frame and the chairs, gives a unifying element to the composition . The repeating patterns of vertical lines in the windows of the building in the background, the slats in the red chairs and moldings around and below the window, also add unity to the composition. 

The story telling of the image is my favorite part. Look where I am! I'm in a really cool old brick town with the guy I love, who is willing to be my subject whenever I ask.

This one is all about lines, mood , color, subject and reflection. I know the telephone pole is distracting, yet I decided not to take it out for 2 reasons. It frames the building and the American flag repeated the colors.  I took it at this angle to emphasize all the horizontal lines and repeating rectangles. I love all the colors, red is my favorite color.  The cloudy day enhances the mood. I have a fondness for this location because I used it as one of the locations for my daughter's engagement pictures. Emily and Corey love Belfast, also.

This is a different view of the same building. The colors really give it interest and style.

This one was almost a "delete" for me, but then I fell in love with it. I couldn't stop analyzing it once I took a closer look.

 Our reflection is framed within a frame, within more frames.

The leading lines lead the viewer to look to the left of the image to get a slice of what the street looks like. I also like the fact that we kinda have that updated "American Gothic" look .
With any image, everyone sees it differently. I, of course, am more emotionally invested in this image, which adds to my liking it. I would suspect that others would find it too busy and not like it or say it's just, "ehh."  But that's okay, if you're still reading this, at least I may have inspired how you approach your future compositions.