Composition and Content

Without having a compelling composition, the content is often lost. In this image “Guatemala: Life After Genocide” by James Rodriguez, elements throughout the whole photograph successfully highlight other parts in the image. The cloudy, smoky sky which happens to be the whitest part of the image brings the viewers eye down onto the smokiness of the roof and ultimately leads us to view the other brighter images. In the center of the screen, the lumber block has light shining from above it making it a bright orange color. This light coming from the top and left of the image brings our eye down to the left of the image and closer to the dog and soil that shares a common color. Without a strong composition, like this one, it would be more difficult to examine the content in a successful way (such as being guided through the image due to the many elements pictured spread throughout the screen). We want to be focused in on the action on the center of the screen as well as contextual clues in the background.