Contrasting Shape
Any defined area suggests shape.
By placing, and thus,
contrasting your light or dark subject against a plain
and
simple, but of an opposite tone background, and using
harsh and
flat front-lighting or a strong back-lighting, you
can strengthen
its outline, and thus, emphasize the shape of your
subject. Here,
in the indoor scene, the main
and the secondary subjects, both
appear transformed outdoors, where if looked at a
distance, the
hotel`s interior-lamp has taken upon appearance of
the moon,
making the main subject to appear as though it is
moon-lit. The
next photograph, to the right, is a good example of
the harsh
front-lighting, that is sometimes used when the shape
of the
subject needs to be outlined and emphasized. Here,
almost
entirely flattened out, the object's shape being reduced
to one
dominant tone, semi-silhouetting against the contrasting
background. Also, arranged into a shape of an up side
down U, a
curving S, a Z, a star, a triangle, a circle, as well
as a spiral
and other shapes, your picture elements, combined
together, could
make for a better compositional appearance.
