I had taken a set of photos for this exercise already. They were of an owl carved out of a tree trunk in the park, however, on further inspection, they were rubbish. The light was very dull and because the subject was of a similar colour to the rest of the picture, it didn't really stand out. In different light it might look better so maybe I will have another go at it one day.
Instead I have found this lovely set of drawers at the end of the alley behind where I am living. Unloved, unwanted, with a rusty nail-ridden plank of wood on top, they have been unceremoniously thrown out with the rest of the rubbish.
I took six photos. I have tried placing the subject in the centre, off-centre to the left and right, and also in the top-left and right corners. The final image I took (bottom right), has been placed just off centre to the right, and I changed angle slightly, bringing the top of the wall to the left into the shot and getting more of the black rubbish bags in frame as well.
Normally I would agree that the subject should be placed off-centre so that the background doesn't look 'punctured', however, I don't feel this is the case in this situation. To me, the final image with the subject very slightly off centre feels the most balanced. I think this is because the black bags on the right hand side need to be countered by some open space on the other side of the frame which this particular framing has. I quite like the image with the subject placed in the extreme top-right corner of the frame - the open space infront of it is quite appealing and could indicats movement in that direction - perhaps the drawers are slowly shuffling their way down the alley?
Conclusion
Never place the subject in the middle of the frame, unless of course it looks better that way. I suppose rules are made to be broken.
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