Little things that make the difference

Rule #6 - Remember to provide a human size reference.

For a viewer to get an idea as to the object's real size, particularly if it is very small or very large, the image must include a known size reference. A person often suffices to get a clear picture of the real dimensions.



Figure 6: Scaffolding

Without the people, this scaffolding, which held the famous Marly horses at the entrance to the Champs-Elysées, seems like a shoebox.

Rule #7 - Wait for the right moment.

This last rule is the most important, but also the hardest to get right: press the button at the right moment. When a subject is moving, there is a fleeting moment where the gesture and the objects are exactly in their best places. Determining this special moment often (or even always) depends more on instinct than real thinking. In the following photo, the children have varied attitudes and do not crowd eachother. The ball is precisely in the center of the group, and at the right height. Note that, contrary to popular belief, automatic advance can never guarantee that you "get" the right moment. In the sequence, an image is often taken too soon, and the next too late. Intuition is much better. As the photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, who developed the theory of the correct moment, said "photograpy is a straight line that passes through the heart, the camera and the subject".



Figure 7: The match

The right moment in a children's game. The inscription at the bottom of the grandstand adds a humorous note to the image.