The Asserting Couple of Day Lily

Photo by Marcio Faustino.

These two Fulvous Day Lily in the center of the photo feels powerful, as if asserting themselves in the scene. The reason for that is the combination of many visual aspects.

The first of these visual aspects is the centered subject. Normally, when the subject of a image appears in the center it suggest its presence affirmation and power. In the center of this photos we have two elements and both pointing in opposite direction of it other. Such composition characteristic visually indicates that they both have this asserting power independent of each other - reason why we see photos of bad-boys or bad-girls crossing their arms in the center of images giving their backs to each other.

An other point is the dynamism the composition creates; Because they are pointing each to opposite direction, from the center of the photo to its margins, it feels the subject is experiencing a wider visual field that we can't see, what we see is limited by the edge of the the photo. Even without seeing it, the feeling that there is a wider visual field being experienced by the subject of the image (no matter if such subject is just flowers or inanimate object) that is limited by the photograph edge, transmit the sensation that we are approaching the subject, or that the subject is the main attention around. Its presence is being strong asserted.

On top of that, which collaborate with the aspects mentioned above, there is the back ground leaves that despite blurred they form lines which feels as expanding from the center to the edges of the image, which I believe to be what gives a strong touch of dynamism feeling on photo.

When I decided to rely only on the natural sun light this summer (2020) for the flowers photographs I was a little bit apprehensive. It is because in the previous year I worked with strobe light and light modifiers for the better control of the light and shadow results. Relying on the natural light only means giving up such control and I wondered if it would be a big loss in my results, but it wasn't at all.

Without strobe light I switched to tele-lens in order to take more advantage of the shallow depth of field (DOF) - the blurred background - and enhance the main subjects.

Without mentioning the color and light contrast I feel the description above is what makes this photograph special.

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