Two subjects in one
Different sizes of focal points can create fun and unique pictures
Yet another way of looking at the reveal is as a way of bringing two subjects together in the same frame. You could think of this as a time-based kind of juxtaposition, and as we’ll see in an upcoming Creative Path, juxtaposing two elements is one of the strongest and most useful ideas in all of photography. It usually calls for a little planning, like the last shot, because you’re consciously trying to make things happen in a certain order: start with one subject and temporarily ‘hide’ the second subject. Possible ways of doing this include not just making it small, but placing it eccentrically away from the centre, misleading the eye by using geometry and organization to direct attention elsewhere first. Here’s a short checklist of ways and means for reference... Picture within a picture: For example the view through a window when that window is part of a larger composition. Small subject within a larger setting: As with ‘distant figure’ kinds of images. Large presentation can help, as can a panorama.
Eccentric placement: Off-centre positions tend to be noticed later, this could be even more exaggerated with a long panorama.
‘Point’ to the subject: Using known compositional devices as an implied line, shaft of light or even eye-line that can act as a vector to help direct the viewer’s gaze.
Post-processing points: Use processing that specifically highlights one part of the image over another, altering brightness, contrast, saturation, and so on.
Add a caption: If a picture contradicts the viewer’s first impression it might encourage a closer inspection from the audience.
Ways to delay and reveal
Processing genuinely does have a place in some images, even though it’s not needed here – look
The two subjects are the facade of the colonial-era cathedral in Cartagena, Colombia, and two kids playing football, but the order of priority is the opposite
back at the Egyptian temple picture and imagine how a local adjustment during processing could darken or lighten the small figures, and what effect this would have on their visibility.
In this picture, the two subjects are the facade of the colonial-era cathedral in Cartagena, Colombia, and two kids playing football, but the order of priority is the opposite. Despite their small size in frame, and being a little ‘hidden’, the two young footballers are actually the main subject. Why so small? Because this was a shoot for a client that was promoting football being played all over the world in as many different circumstances as possible. The result was a photo book, and in that context, varied locations were paramount. If people playing football was to be the constant, the variables of time and place became things to concentrate on. Put another way, if the audience has been primed to expect shots of people playing football, there’s an invitation to try the reveal technique. The audience will be prepared to look for what they may be expecting, even though it would not necessarily be the first thing the viewer can see.