This exercise can be considered a follow-on, or further exploration of the concepts discussed in the
Leading Light assignment. In the Leading Light assignment we discussed the concept and reviewed examples of how we can use light to draw viewers into and through a scene, much like we would use a leading line. This assignment is an expansion of those ideas to include the concept that viewers are attracted to areas of high contrast, which, not coincidentally, usually includes areas of bright light.
I've included a link to a short tutorial on
Perception by Chuck Gardner that illustrates these concepts very well. (Chuck's tutorial was targeted towards portrait photography; however, the concepts apply just as well to other genres of photography.) As Chuck states in his tutorial "The point of this exercise has been to understand how best to lead the viewer's eye to your desired center of interest (COI). The easiest way to do that is to make the COI the most visually compelling area in the photo in terms overall visual "weight" and contrast with the dominant background tonality. Contrast with the background is the key factor which will attract the attention of the viewer in the photo."
The best way to control the contrast, and direct your viewer's attention accordingly, is while you are composing the image. However, there are also very effective post-processing techniques that can be used to enhance or modify local area contrast within your image to guide the viewer towards the center of interest. (Please don't confuse this "local area contrast" adjustment with the unsharp mask technique of performing a "local contrast adjustment" to enhance micro-contrast within an image.)
We've seen recent examples from Dave Leiker (prairiedust), who uses a concept of "light painting" (and vignetting) to vary the brightness and contrast in areas of the image and guide the viewer's path through his compositions. I also use local area contrast adjustments in my images to influence where the viewer's attention is drawn, although I typically try to make these adjustments subtle enough that the viewer is not aware that the contrast for that area of the image has been modified.
The assignment for the week of 7 - 13 June 2010 is "Contrast." Your challenge is to use varying contrast throughout the composition in a conscious effort to direct the viewer's attention towards the center of interest. Please upload your images to the "Contrast" album in the Weekly Assignment category of the Gallery no-later-than midnight Mountain Time (GMT - 07:00) on Sunday, 13 June 2010. If you use post processing techniques to control or modify the local contrast in your image, please explain what techniques you used; and if you believe it would be helpful to other viewers, I encourage you to upload both the "before" and "after" versions of your image.
I'll look forward to seeing your images.
Keith
