Introduction
Photos can be balanced through symmetrical and asymmetrical balance. Symmetrical balance is when each side of the picture has equal weight. This creates a calm and stable feeling that the viewer feels. Asymmetrical balance is not as noticeable but still contributes a lot to the stability of the picture. It’s harder to frame but causes the viewer’s eye to travel back and forth in the picture.
Types of Asymmetrical Balance
–Tonal balance: the dark areas are balanced with the light areas. Dark areas usually have more weight to them so there will be less dark area and more light area.
–Subject balance: shown when a foreground object is balanced with a middle ground or big background object. This then creates depth in the photo.
–Color Balance: Bright colors have more weight than neutral colors so when there is a pop of color in one part of the picture, and the rest is kind of the same color, is creates color balance.
–Conceptual balance: two opposite subjects are in the photo; ex. new and old, manmade and nature.
Symmetrical Balance
These two pictures show symmetrical balance because it has the same weight on both sides of the picture. If you would put a vertical line through the middle of the picture both sides would have for the most part the same things on each side.
Asymmetrical Balance
Conceptual Balance
This photo shows conceptual balance because the tree is organic and the building is man-made creating a contrast that balances the photo.
In the photo the little house is man-made balancing with the trees which are made by God.
Color Balance
Both of these photos are balanced because of the little spot of brightly colored flowers. The rest is all green and brown so the flowers stand out and also balances the image.
Subject Balance
The guy in the photo is in the foreground and the rest of the people are smaller, but more, so it balances out.
This shows subject balance because Sophia is the foreground subject and balances out the buses which are in the middle ground.
I chose the last photo as my featured image because I think the subjects balance each other out. The one is farther away than the other and brightly colored which balances with Sophia’s neutral colors.