By Gary Fong
Photographer: Mandy Chanioti, http://mandych-photography.tumblr.com
It’s the simplicity of images that allow a faster translation of the story, even if the story is a simple appreciation of what’s around us.
Mandy Chanioti, a young photographer with aspirations to be a great visual communicator, is starting off like many of us, exploring what’s around us.
Now for the Nit Picking
The simplicity of Mandy’s image is enhanced by the texture in the details of bold architecture. Contours of the metal combined with soft light adds depth to a two dimensional photograph.
What bothers me about the visual balance is the off angle of the lines that have no apparent reason for being something other than straightforward. Objects made by nature (trees, rocky cliffs, etc.) are acceptable to be off angle. Objects made by man (buildings, walls, etc.) are expected to be straight up and down. Mandy’s image tends to lean to the left, throwing the balance off a bit.
One solution is the to straighten up it up when shooting. However, during the heat of coverage, it’s not always easy to make sure everything is straight before the exposure is made.
Perhaps a more common solution is to correct the angle in post processing using software like Photoshop. However, one must be aware that correcting the angle by cropping often leaves a smaller image to appreciate (above).
Finally, I do like how Mandy included the bird in her composition. It provides eye movement and a context to architectural size relationship for the viewer…in simple terms it opens up a simple story. Without the bird, the viewer has no visual reference and may only be left with the background crying out for a subject.
The next time Mandy’s comes across an architectural image, she’ll see options for communication…an image for a simple story…or a simple background. Both are relevant and are left to where the photograph may hang…on the pages of magazine or the walls of an art gallery.
