Younes Bounhar Photography

The matrix reloaded

That’s really the first thing I though about when I first came upon this scene: if like me you are a fan of the first Matrix movie (I honestly think the next two were…well…not to my liking) you probably remember a scene a the start of the movie where you see numbers and computer-generated characters scrolling through your screen, well that’s what I saw…now that I’ve confused you…on to the actual subject I want to discuss today. Oh and before you tune off, check out the end of the post as I want to start a mini contest stemming from this post!

One of my favorite tools when composing a picture is the use of contrast. Contrast?! says you, how the heck does one use contrast to compose an image. Just like when you look for elements to lead the viewer into the image, you can use contrast to set the stage for your story. Contrast creates tension, interest and keeps your viewer glued to the image shifting back and forth between the contrasting elements.

I chose this particular image because it illustrates the use of contrast at more than one level. The first obvious application of contrast as a compositional tool is tonal contrast. As you can see here, there is a clear demarcation between the clear tones of the plants and the darker tones of the rock on which they lie. Essentially you are looking for a subject that is much darker or much lighter than the background behind it, so that it jumps out at you. Here is there no doubt that the leaves are my subject, not the rocks behind it (well at least, I hope so!).

The second type of contrast here is the contrast in shape. Beyond the matrix reference, when I saw this scene, I was immediately drawn to the different shapes of the plants featured here: the straight and linear grasses on the right against the curvy ferns on the right.  Straight vs bent; thin vs thick; round vs square, these are merely examples to set you thinking.

The last element featured here is the contrast in texture: soft grasses and leaves against a hard and moss-covered rock. Here you can think of just about any combination: hard vs soft, moving vs static, liquid vs solid and the list goes on.

There is one more type of contrast that you can use: color contrast. Here the scene is pretty monochromatic, so really not much colour to speak of, but when you look in nature, or life in general for that matter, there is no shortage of colours and contrasts thereof. Here again, the idea is that your subject clashes against its background. Think blue agains yellow, red against green. As a rule of thumb, complementary colours tend to provide the most striking colours but really don’t get bent on it too much and go with your guts here. Remember that these are not rules, just tips and guidelines. Ultimately, you should always trust your instincts (then again, mine tend to lead me into some dire straits at times) and mostly do what YOU enjoy.

Now it’s your turn: show me your best contrast pictures and I will post them here on the blog…and may be, just may be I might have some goodies for a winner to be decided, let’s say by the third week of October.