Compositional Elements, Continued
Balance
You must consider many factors to make pictures appear balanced.
Some of
(Continued)
these factors are as follows:
Objects placed dead center (mathematical center) in the picture area
appear unbalanced.
Objects placed at the optical center (1/10th page size above mathematical
center) appear balanced.
Objects far from the center of the picture seem to have more weight than
ones near the center.
Objects in the upper half of a picture area seem heavier than objects of the
same size in the lower half of the picture area.
Isolation seems to increase the weight of an object.
Interesting objects seem to have more compositional weight.
Regular shapes seem to have more weight than irregular shapes.
Elements on the right side of a picture area appear to have more weight
than elements of the same size on the left side of a picture area.
The direction in which figures, lines, and shapes appear to be moving
within the picture area may affect the perception of balance.
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