Potosi, Bolivia featuring the city gates.
Phase One A-Series, IQ4 150MP, 180mm Rodenstock, f8 @ 1/250 second, ISO 50
Photographs like to have points of interest. True, not every successful photograph has a centre of interest – some photographs draw their strength and character by avoiding a point to which every viewer’s eye is drawn, but generally speaking, especially when it comes to travel photography where we’re telling a story or sharing an experience, a point or centre of interest is useful.
What’s the difference between a point of interest and a centre of interest? In my mind, nothing. Maybe the points of interest weren’t strictly speaking ‘a point’ and so the educators changed the terminology – but it’s all semantics. By including a centre of interest in your frame, you are directing your viewer’s attention ‘somewhere’. And having decided on what your centre of interest is, it’s up to the photographer to frame the rest of the photograph accordingly.
One of the reasons photo educators love talking about the rule of thirds is it gives their students four options to putting the subject bang in the centre. Personally, I have no problems with centrally framed subjects, but placing your centre of interest off to one side will often create a more interesting composition by providing a little tension. What do I mean by ‘tension’? Simply that the position isn’t perfectly balanced in a geometric sense – by placing your subject somewhere else in the frame, you need ‘something else’ to balance it.
In the overview of Potosi in Bolivia, the city gates or triumphant arch is positioned to the left of centre – creating a little tension. But why? Look at the other elements in the frame. The top left triangle is open, green and unpopulated; the bottom right triangle is red, congested and full of detail. The foreground and background are balanced and interest is created by contrasting man versus the environment. If the photograph were reframed or cropped (you can do it yourself here) with the city gates in the centre of the frame, the composition becomes more static because everything is balanced. Your subject and your background are all central – and some people may consider that a little boring.
By placing your centre of interest elsewhere, you can create more tension or interest. I’d suggest that the position of the gate on the left balances the greater mass of buildings on the right. Or you simply look at the frame and say, ‘Yes, I think it looks better with the centre of interest off to the side’. And that’s a good enough reason.