DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Thinking about closed and open form pictures; or how old art history terms can still be useful

Sep 10, 2016 by Daniela Bowker 1 Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

School of Athens, Raphael

Raphael’s School of Athens uses strong horizontal and vertical lines. It feels very contained. (Image courtesy of HarshLight on Flickr and used under Creative Commons terms.)

If you were to mention the term ‘formal analysis’ to an art historian today, you’d probably be told it’s passé. No one really tries to objectively compare one painting against another using formal concepts anymore. However, formal analysis—or the concepts that it identified—does still present some interesting ideas, especially for photographers.

Swiss art historian Heinrich Wölfflin was a key figure in formal methodology. He devised a system that compared opposing artistic concepts so that they could be applied to paintings and used to analyse them. In particular, Wölfflin was interested in trying to characterise Renaissance and Baroque art.

One pair of comparators used by Wölflinn was closed form against open form. While I’m doubtful you’re set on recreating Renaissance or Baroque pictures, knowing what the terms mean, and how they can be applied to your photos and make your audience feel about them, is useful.

Closed compositions

If you’re looking for examples of closed compositions, Renaissance art works will provide you with an abundance. They have a sense of self-containment and are typified by a strong feeling of balance. Consequently, closed form images frequently feel calm and somehow complete.

The sense of solidity at the top of the post is usually delivered by the structure of the picture, which can rely on a prevalence of strong vertical and horizontal lines. As Susan Woodford says in her book Looking at Pictures: ‘The closed form conveys an impression of stability and balance and there is a tendency towards a symmetrical arrangement…’

Reading this, I’ve probably give you the impression that these are boring, dull, staid pictures, and sure enough, they can be. But if done right, their innate stability is a valuable thing.

And of course the closed form isn’t restricted to Renaissance paintings. All the talk of horizontal and vertical lines will likely make you think of architectural photos as being obvious examples of closed form images. And they are often great examples. But closed form images are more than just pictures of buildings. They can make your audience think about your subject in a specific way.

The strong verticals together with the inward leaning stances of the young monks makes this a self-contained, closed image.

The strong verticals together with the inward leaning stances of the young monks makes this a self-contained, closed image.

Closed compositions make you think ‘stable’, ‘reliable’, ‘dependable’. If you’re looking to convey a sense of stability, reliability, and dependability, then compose your frame accordingly.

Strong horizontal and vertical lines contribute to the feeling of confinement in this photo.

Strong horizontal and vertical lines contribute to the feeling of confinement in this photo.

Try shooting a portrait against a building, and bounding your subject accordingly. Look for any environment with strong horizontal and vertical lines, think about their placement and you’ll be away. Or in.

Open compositions

The opposite of closed composition is, naturally enough, open composition. Where open form is about stability and balance, and relies on the horizontal and the vertical, open form is about movement, energy, and dynamism and makes use of diagonal lines.

There’s no sense of containment in an open form image. Instead, it’s unbound and unfettered by the constraints of the frame; you can feel it bursting outwards. Its movement and energy is uninhibited. You get the sense that there’s something lying beyond the frame, and that anything is possible.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard's The Swing follows a strong diagonal line from top right to bottom left. The sense of motion could leave you feeling the swing might burst through the canvas at any moment. (Image in the public domain.)

Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s The Swing follows a strong diagonal line from top right to bottom left. The sense of motion could leave you feeling the swing might burst through the canvas at any moment. (Image in the public domain.)

If you’re looking for examples of open composition that Wölfflin would have described as typical of the form, take a look at the Baroque period.

For action shots, the diagonal line is a valuable tool in the photographer’s arsenal. They bring a sense of urgency to the scene. If you ever feel that strong horizontal and vertical lines might be holding you back, try to introduce a diagonal. They have the power to negate the sense of static and stability and instead create something altogether more freeing and dynamic.

It's relaxed, but the diagonals create a feeling of movement.

It’s relaxed, but the diagonals create a feeling of movement.

In any shot where you want to suggest that someone is a free spirit, aim for an open composition to reflect that.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

DJI’s Newest UAV Adresses Function Over Form, and Manages to Keep its Form As Well History.JPG: The American Museum of Natural History Digitizes its Photography Collection for Online Public Access An Open Letter to People Who Write Open Letters This Tripod Can Be Opened, Closed And Locked With A Single Hand

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: art, art historian, art history, Baroque, closed, closed form, formal analysis, open, open form, Renaissance

Daniela Bowker: from diyphotography.net

About Daniela Bowker

Daniela Bowker is a writer and editor based in the UK. Since 2010 she has focused on the photography sector. In this time, she has written three books and contributed to many more, served as the editor for two websites, written thousands of articles for numerous publications, both in print and online, and runs the Photocritic Photography School.

« 8 Tips to help you up your game as a travel filmmaker
The new FDR-X3000 action cam from Sony has stabilized 4K video and a control watch »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Is this the most absurd piece of camera gear ever?
  • First photos of the new IRIX 65mm T1.5 cine lens
  • Ace your next portrait shoot with these composition tips
  • This is how to get photography clients on Instagram – even with few followers
  • “I prefer using smaller cameras” – an unorthodox take on size

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy