Telling a Story with Tension

By Ryan in Photography on Oct 31, 2009

Directional tension can be a powerful tool in invocation curiosity from the viewer.

One of the best ways to create tension in a composition is to use directional objects to point towards something that is out of frame. This is effective at creating subtle tension that fuels the viewer's curiosity.

Using this tension to tell a whole story can leave a viewer wanting more. By not delivering the answers to their questions you inspire their imagination.

Visualize how the following photo builds tension...

This photo has pretty much everything going for it, exposure is near perfect, color is vibrant and satisfying, and the subject is simple. However, it is the tension of this image that particularly makes this piece interesting to look at.

Nearly every object in this photo is pointing towards the sky, The trees, the rocks, the old tree branch. The entire photo is pushing your attention into the sky, which in turn is rich and vibrant making the viewer want to know more about the sky.

Visualizing directional tension

In the image to the left I have imposed directional arrows to show how the entire photo points in generally the same direction. As you can see the photo was taken from the perfect position. If the photographer stood even several feet in either direction or if he had zoomed out even 10% more the tension would have disappeared.

Before setting up your tripod for a shot like this walk all around your subject and try to visualize framing the composition. It is important to think about every aspect of the composition, especially the feelings that will be catalyzed in the viewer..

Bringing the tension onto the canvas

In addition to sending the user's view off the canvas, it is also effective to bring the user's attention back towards the canvas by having your directional pointers comre from off stage.

Notice how the tree on the left and the edge of the rock face on the right both are being cropped off screen. This creates more tension by making the user wonder where these lines have come from.

Additionally, the leaning tree branch begins and ends within the frame which allows it to continue the flow of movement from the bottom to the top.

Telling the whole story

The greatest way to make a photo interesting is for it to tell a story. Using directional tension you can create a past, a present and a future. The story essentially can be broken down to where the camera has been, where it is, and where it is going. Thus, timezones are created within the photo that draws the interest of the viewer.

The past is created by the tension being brought onto the canvas. The present is being created by the scene within the canvas itself. And the future is created by the directional objects pointing the viewer off screen.

In the example to the left the green region reflects the past, the blue region reflects the present, and the red region reflects the future.

Conclusion

While obviously not the only composition option and by no means not the only way of creating interest, directional tension is a fantastic way to make a photo interesting and fully draw the attention of the viewer.

Next time you are taking a photo, try to take a moment to tell a story. I would love to see the outcome!