Exercise 22: Adjusting the balance between person and space

Upon first reading this exercise I found it a little vague and open ended but of course the advantage is that this gives some latitude on approach. I opted not to achieve my result by post-process editing of an image as that is going to be covered in the final exercise but instead chose a pair of images where I changed the viewpoint and focal length slightly to achieve the shift in emphasis.

I have chosen a pair of images (captured 34 seconds apart) taken at Crinan Locks, and both taken with a 24-105 mm zoom lens fitted.

My first image from the pair is taken at a focal length of 32mm, it has a member of the British Waterways staff operating the lock as a dominant feature in the foreground and compositionally placed approx on the left 'thirds line':

From OCA People and Place Photos

For the second of the pair I have moved position slightly, taking a couple of paces to my left and backwards while adjusting the zoom to a revised focal length of 24 mm. This shifts the balance to show the boat and the lock more and to make the BWB operator less prominent:

From OCA People and Place Photos

It is clear that small adjustments to position and focal length can have a significant effect on composition and perspective and this in turn can significantly change the emphasis of an image.