Ideas For Composition: Multiples

BY SUZANNE WILLIAMS

This is the final article in this series. To read the other articles: (1) Framing, (2) Diagonals (3) Negative Space (4) Backgrounds.

A single flower is beautiful, but three flowers aligned with each other is yet more beautiful. There are patterns all around us. There are naturally occurring patterns, a line of dew drops, a row of trees, and there are man-made patterns, like fence posts . Repetition in an image can make for a fascinating photograph.

A photographer can create repetitive patterns through his composition of an image. By adjusting the camera's angle, certain objects can be included or excluded from the scene. This gives the viewer the impression of multiples.

The simplest multiples are in twos and threes: two flowers, three rain drops - but there are larger multiples - rows of crosses, a line of birds. In each case it is usually the linear nature of the formation that makes the visual impact. For instance, you can photograph a field of flowers, and in actuality, there ARE multiple objects in the photo. Yet, the effect changes when those flowers are in evenly spaced rows, such as a garden of tulips or a field of sunflowers.

"Attention" is what makes ordinary scenes into extraordinary photographs. The photographer who takes the time to look around before snapping the shutter will most likely see the pattern that the other photographers have missed. Great photographs ARE sometimes made at that single, amazing moment of chance, but more often, they are the result of the time the photographer spent there looking around.

As with any other area of photography, photographs of "multiples" become easier through practice. In other words, the more you concentrate on them, the more of them you'll see. And they will become yet another useful tool to creating successful, interesting images.


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Suzanne Williams Photography
Florida, USA

Suzanne Williams is a native Floridian, wife, and mother, with a penchant for spelling anything, who happens to love photography.