Placing the subject on the right or left?

darinwc · May 16, 2007

In reviewing many photos, I find myself prefering photos where the main subject is on the right. I wonder if that has anything to do with being right-handed or right-eye-dominant or some such. Does anyone else see this in themselves?

Question for left-handers: Do you find yourself prefering compositions with the main subject on the right or left?

tom_micklin · May 16, 2007

I think it has more to do with the fact that we are used to reading from left to right, so when we look at a photograph it's a natural flow for the eye if the subject is on the right.

jss · May 16, 2007

i'm left handed but use either side in composition. i think it has more to do with natural processing of visual information. if a subject is on the left, it may be more in the foreground and the background sort of follows it or is subservient to it. you know, reading left-to-right. if the subject is on the right, i would think the other areas/info in the image lead up to the subject. so i think the placement subtley defines the relationship between subject and other items/people/subjects in the image.

Sirius Glass · May 16, 2007

I am left handed. I find that it depends on what the near field subject [person] is looking at. Sometimes I use the person to block something that I do not want in the photograph.

Sometimes I shoot in English.

Sometimes I shoot in Hebrew.

Steve

DougGrosjean · May 16, 2007

I have twin neices, and to keep every shot of them "separate but equal", I'll shoot one biased to the right, and one to the left, so that the two shots will work together on a wall or desk.

Seems to work best if they're "looking toward" each other in the separate shots, rather than back-to-back.

BWGirl · May 16, 2007

Stever said:
I am left handed. I find that it depends on what the near field subject [person] is looking at. Sometimes I use the person to block something that I do not want in the photograph.

Sometimes I shoot in English.
Sometimes I shoot in Hebrew.
Steve

Good one, Steve!

I'm left-handed as well, and I do tend to compose right to left, but sometimes a scene just screams the opposite. While I do tend to be highly left-hand dominate, I am right eye dominant. I almost always read magazines & newspapers back to front.

So basically... no answers here!

bdial · May 16, 2007

I'd put conservatives on the left and liberals on the right, just to mix things up.
It gets really confusing though, when you are using a camera with a WLF.

copake_ham · May 16, 2007

Oh no! Now I have to figure right from left (not to mention "top from bottom") while balancing my "Rule of Thirds"!

I am right handed - which is a good thing for me since the shutter button is in my dominant hand! [Take that you southpaws!].

But I've never really thought about whether to put the subject in the left third or the right third.

Oh, and then what do I do when shooting on the vertical? :confused:

But, you know, I kind of like this new forum....

Michel Hardy-Vallée · May 16, 2007

And what do you do when there is no subject?

copake_ham · May 16, 2007

mhv said:
And what do you do when there is no subject?

I think you have a subject...

BTW, it is sad that even now, central Montreal remains so empty....

John Koehrer · May 16, 2007

tom_micklin said:
I think it has more to do with the fact that we are used to reading from left to right, so when we look at a photograph it's a natural flow for the eye if the subject is on the right.

Perhaps as an western reader/writer Thrughout the world there might be one or two folk that read R>L

Michel Hardy-Vallée · May 16, 2007

copake_ham said:
I think you have a subject...

BTW, it is sad that even now, central Montreal remains so empty....

Well the text is indeed a focus of attention (probably the primary one in terms of salience), but I didn't make the picture so that it would have a subject and a context. What I meant was more that the whole picture is the point, not the "subject." I made that picture like it not because putting the text on the right felt better than putting it on the left. I made it like that because the frames of the door on the left, and of the window on the right compose a sort of instant Mondrian.

(It's in Toronto, actually!)

So my point is that the notion of "subject" is not always applicable. It is probably derived from portraiture: landscape photography often does not have a subject in this sense (although it has one or more points of interest).

Cf. for instance the two photos in the lower left corner of Robert Teague's portfolio:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

It would be hard for me to say what is the "subject" of the picture in the lower left corner: the lake? the mountains? or the dark portion of ground? Likewise, in the next picture, which is the main subject: the mountain in light or the mountain in the shadow? On the next photo, it's clearer to me that there is a main subject, the group of round boulders, and the effect is different.

My reading of Robert's photos (and I hope he will not mind my using him as a prop for my argument ) is that they work because of composition, and because all the varied elements hold each other together. I personally really like the light mountain/dark mountain picture, because it's a great example of balance: the salience of each element depends on the salience of the other element. Plus, the third mountain brings just a little bit of asymmetry in order to avoid monotony.

It's like the ukiyo-e of the wave before mount Fuji: negative space is as important as positive space.

So to make a long story short: the composition of your whole picture is important, as an organic whole, and positioning your main subject, when there is one, should be made with respect to the weight of other elements in the picture.

MattKing · May 17, 2007

In the UK (and IIRC, Japan), they put the subject on the left, whereas in most of the rest of the world they put it on the right.

Wait, no, that's how they drive!

Matt

photographs42 · May 17, 2007

In general I agree with Michel HV, however, most of my images have a “subject” and the subject usually “faces” either right or left. I don’t photograph people, so the term faces is not literal, but unless the view is straight on, the composition usually leads the eye either right or left. If the subject faces left, I leave more room on the left. Of course this has something to do with what is actually to the subjects left but if the subject faces left and more space is on the right it is equivalent to a photo of a person walking out of the frame.

A good composition is one in which the elements of the composition are visually balanced. So (as Michel said) placement of the main subject has a lot to do with the “visual weight” of the other elements. It has nothing to do with whether the composer is right or left handed.

Jerome

photographs42 · May 17, 2007

mhv said:
....
It would be hard for me to say what is the "subject" of the picture in the lower left corner: the lake? the mountains? or the dark portion of ground? Likewise, in the next picture, which is the main subject: the mountain in light or the mountain in the shadow? On the next photo, it's clearer to me that there is a main subject, the group of round boulders, and the effect is different...........

As for the topic of what is the main subject, I have always thought of it this way The elements of a composition consist of a main subject, a supporting cast and any number of neutral objects.

An object is neutral if its contribution to the impact of the image is of little or no importance. Sort of like something thats there but we wouldnt notice if it wasnt or if something else were in its place. This could be the sky or grass or water etc.

A supporting cast object is something that enhances the image with its presence but the image could stand up if it wasnt there.

The main subject is simple. Its the one thing that has to be there. Without this element, the image has no compelling reason to exist.

Jerome

Jim Jones · May 17, 2007

John Koehrer said:
Perhaps as an western reader/writer Thrughout the world there might be one or two folk that read R>L

. . . and a lot more who read L<R

John Koehrer · May 17, 2007

Jim Jones said:
. . . and a lot more who read L<R

Wish I could figger out these new-fangled thangs.

Removed Account · May 25, 2007

I have a tremendous built in bias to the lower right corner. Not quite sure what it is, but I usually find myself drawn to placing important compositional elements there. It is very confusing learning to use a view camera, and I go crosseyed or get vertigo quite often. Aside from those effects, I find I am putting more subjects on the lower left because of my bias to the right combined with recognizing the top of the groundglass to be the bottom of the photo makes me locate a lot of subjects in the top-right on the groundglass.

- Justin

Gary Holliday · May 27, 2007

I worked in a darkroom which was designed by a left-handed person and resulted in the dev tray being placed on the far right hand side. It's not a good idea to ask opinions from left-handed people!

Leica_girl58 · May 27, 2007

This is a topic I always have a problem with. I am right-handed but left-eyed. I have composed images where the main subject is on the left side, knowing the rule about reading right to left. It feels comfortable for me, but also I compose the other way too. I guess as long as the subject doesn't look like it is leaving the photo on me, I compose both ways.
I also read magazines from back to front then front to back.

One last thing...I paint watercolors which puts me in my left brain.

I'm getting really confused now

darlene

MattKing · May 27, 2007

Gary Holliday said:
I worked in a darkroom which was designed by a left-handed person and resulted in the dev tray being placed on the far right hand side. It's not a good idea to ask opinions from left-handed people!

Gary:

I'm left handed but I've spent much of my lifetime working in darkrooms designed by right handed people - I guess that's why I'm so flexible and adaptable .

Matt

Leica_girl58 · May 27, 2007

Leica_girl58 said:
This is a topic I always have a problem with. I am right-handed but left-eyed. I have composed images where the main subject is on the left side, knowing the rule about reading right to left. It feels comfortable for me, but also I compose the other way too. I guess as long as the subject doesn't look like it is leaving the photo on me, I compose both ways.
I also read magazines from back to front then front to back.

One last thing...I paint watercolors which puts me in my left brain.

I'm getting really confused now

darlene

HaHa..I'm quoting myself.
I goofed...creative activites such as drawing and painting comes from the right brain and not the left as I stated before. I really did get confused.

darlene

Roger Hicks · May 27, 2007

Then there's the old Jewish Chronicle joke

HOLD THE BACK PAGE!

Cheers,

Roger

Daniel_OB · May 31, 2007

Placing main subject on the left or right?

is academic question, and you will never "set" a rule for it. Many times, after Carravagio, there was attempt to teach through set of roles, especially in England where art was at its "high". Hovewer in that way skilled painters never produced a great work, while "free" from roles always broke sich rules and made a great work.

Rules are still around in art but just for students to learn, and just after they get 'em they have to forget 'em.

And to answer your question:
Main subject should be there where you artistic instinct say, period. If you do not have such instinct leave it to the left of the viewfinder.

www.Leica-R.com

darinwc · May 31, 2007

"is academic question, and you will never "set" a rule for it. Many times, after Carravagio, there was attempt to teach through set of roles, especially in England where art was at its "high"."

i was not trying to make a rule, I only noticed that I tend to do things a certain way. I had wondered if anyone else did the same and if it can stem from certain psycological or psyiological (sp?) qualities.

Placing the subject on the right or left?

darinwc

tom_micklin

jss

Sirius Glass

DougGrosjean

BWGirl

bdial

copake_ham

Michel Hardy-Vallée

Membership Council

copake_ham

John Koehrer

Michel Hardy-Vallée

Membership Council

MattKing

Moderator

photographs42

photographs42

Jim Jones

John Koehrer

Removed Account

Gary Holliday

Leica_girl58

MattKing

Moderator

Leica_girl58

Roger Hicks

Daniel_OB

darinwc

Placing the subject on the right or left?

Membership Council

Membership Council

Moderator

Moderator

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency