Fitting the Frame to the Subject

I had lots of ideas for this exercise and did it several times. Each time I became increasingly aware of how I look at a subject.  The first shot above was taken without any thought.  Just rock up at the station and take a picture of a statue. Result: a snapshot.

 The second step in this exercise was to fit the subject into the frame as tightly as possible.  Bit tricky not chopping off his feet.

What do I think of this shot? Fine for a manual on statues. you can see what/who it is. But does it spin my wheels?

No.

The next part of the exercise was to get in close and not show any edges.  I took several pictures here.  The obvious ones, Head, feet (I'm always taking pictures of shoes and feet).  Then chose just the hand and part of the satchel. (see below)

I liked this image the most.  It is relevant to both the man and the environment. I like the colours and textures.

Closing in like this can make a very strong image which I think it does in this case.

The requirements of the fourth image was to stress the environment .  Obviously I am in a railway station, but how to stress this.  Stairs, escalators, barriers, restaurants all presented a challenge as to where the best position to take this would be.  I took several pictures from different angles. Lighting was also a bit of a challenge.  I decided on this shot making the statue a silhouette, bringing in the train and a traveller passing by.

I think it works. It is clearly a railway station to the viewer.

Next we are asked to crop this last image in various ways. Each crop below makes the story different. Is the man saying good-bye. Is he looking for his train? Is he just another commuter.  How you decide to frame the same subject can make a big difference to the story you are trying to convey.

I've learnt a lot from this exercise. Stop, look, look again, but most of all think about what you want to say.