Portrait or Landscape?

[leslie1283]

I shot these photos at Raffles Marina, Singapore. I wonder whether portrait is better than landscape if the yacht is near to the horizon line.

#1



#2

[bnnrcn]

I especially like #2 and IMO it is nice as it is

[Wavelength]

#1 for me, where yatch has yet to reach Sun ....

[IzzieK]

I like #1 better...'twould be nice to see if landscape works better...

[Shadowman]

I would say portrait if your intention is to give equal weight to the Sun.

[leslie1283]

Thank you Binnur.

[leslie1283]

I like #1 better...'twould be nice to see if landscape works better...

Thank you Isabel.

[Mike Buckley]

You might want to consider the square format if for no other reason than to remind you that that option is always available. Even so, presenting this particular scene to include the sun and boat in a square format is very powerful for me.

[leslie1283]

#1 for me, where yatch has yet to reach Sun ....

Hi Nandakumar,

How about just on time?

[leslie1283]

Thank you john.

[leslie1283]

You might want to consider the square format if for no other reason than to remind you that that option is always available. Even so, presenting this particular scene to include the sun and boat in a square format is very powerful for me.

Thank you for your suggestion. Is it like this?

#5



#6

[Mike Buckley]

Yes, those square presentations are what I had in mind.

[ajohnw]

Personally I think Mike is right especially number 2 due to the position of the sun. It's in the "right" place for a scene like that as are the other bits.

John
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[Wavelength]

Hi Nandakumar,

How about just on time?

Very attractive

[Mike Buckley]

I agree with John that the strongest composition so far seems to be the second square format (image #6). I think that's for two reasons:

• Both the sun and the boat are positioned about one-third of the way away from the edge of the frame, reminding us that the Rule of Thirds and variations of that guideline are usually very effective.
• Diagonal lines are always strong compositional elements, even when they are imaginary as in this scene. The imaginary line drawn between the sun and the boat is almost exactly at a 45-degree angle, which makes a very powerful element.

[ajohnw]

I think there could be another reason too Mike.

The eye will always be immediately attracted to the brightest area. That tends to cause people to look around after that point.

Many races tend to read from top to bottom and also left to right. The web may have influenced other races now in that respect. This can have an impact on how images are seen. As for instance the boat comes 1st and then the fact that it's moving. The clouds will be noticed before that, horizon too.

Clouds and horizon are in suitable positions and have interest.

Boat is clearly moving and on it's way out of the image.

Rather than 3rds I see it as being fairly evenly weight top to bottom really apart from the initial attraction - the sun. I then start wondering if a little more detail in the boat would be beneficial. Still very shadowy as it is but a little more visible detail.

It seems people who think about film and TV composition call all of these invisible techniques - not obvious to the viewer.

John
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[Mike Buckley]

Agreed, John, with everything except...

Many races tend to read from top to bottom and also left to right.

I think that's due to the culture that a person grows up and lives in, not one's race.

[Manfred M]

I find that compositionally #5 is the strongest, with the boat heading into the sun.

I am looking at the balance between the structures in the background and the position of the boat; the cranes in the background nicely balance with the boat heading into the scene. While there are cranes on the right, these blend more into the image and are not as obvious.

Once the boat crosses the sunlit water, the strong wake cuts it and disrupts the balance.

Finally, the boat is too close to the right in the shots where it is exiting the scene and crowds the left margin of the image. There is simply not enough "headroom" between the boat and the edge of the frame.

[nimitzbenedicto]

#5 is coolest.

[leslie1283]

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestion.