Framing in Photography using Architectural Elements

Framing in photography is a composition technique that can bring more interest to a picture. Framing will not only make the subject stand out. It will also integrate it into the environment, or create a story. Framing can also give a better sense of the place to your photos.

We can use man-made frames, natural frames, of both. In this post I’ll go with only man-made, actually architectural framing.

Framing Doors and Doorways

The most obvious man-made frames we see all the time are certainly doors and windows.

Framed by definition, doors can make nice compositions and reveal great scenes interesting to observe and photograph. I made a post earlier on  Newfoundland Interesting Doors and Doorways. But I have lots of other framing doors from the places I visited. An example is this photo I took at Fort Maiden, Amhrestburg, Ontario – a National Historic Site of Canada, a living museum.

Back in time, I also made a post called “If the doors could talk” about old doors in Casco Viejo, Panama. Talking about Panama, one of my favorite examples on door framing photography is this one below. I called it “Half In”. It’s a young girl entering through an open door of a bungalow at a coffee farm in Boquete, Panama. The light and shadow help emphasize the subject too.

Below I have two more examples of framing doors that I really like. One is from Orange Walk, Belize. The open door to the street lets us see inside of a tailor’s workshop. The other open door reveals part of the interior of the beautiful St.Paul church in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is actually an example of multiple frames in frames.

Also, I cannot miss this open door – top favorite in one of the SmugMug / Dgrin contests: “Open or Closed”

Entrances and passageways are another examples of framing photography:

Here is a picture I took at Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain. That’s right, what you see is one of the famous Goya paintings. Several elements, including the two roman sculptures, frame the masterpiece and lead the eye to it.

Another example of a nice framing is the entrance to the Louisburg Fortress in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It’s another medieval living museum and National Historic Site of Canada.

We visited Bamberg in Bavaria at winter holidays time, and you may know that this is a wonderful time to spend in Germany.  If you don’t, take my word for it  🙂 The picture shows the entrance of a restaurant brewery at night, framed by Christmas lights:

Framing Arches

I think that arches are particularly interesting for creating framing in photography. We find them mainly in religious establishments, but also in old buildings and towns in Europe and Latin America.

I photographed this beautiful cupola framed by arches, at Almudena Cathedral in Madrid, Spain:

In churches, arches frame elements like stained-glass windows, altars and other artwork. I photographed these below in the same Spanish cathedral in Madrid:

At Saint Maximin la Sainte Baume Monastery in Provence, France, the sunny interior court was framed by columns and arches. I have recreated this image as a color pencil art in the digital media:

The central plaza In Antigua, Guatemala, like in many other cities of Latin America, is bordered with covered sidewalks. Here is how beautiful they are, framing the daily activity of the city:

One more that I really like, is this arch framing the Venetian tower in Las Vegas Venetian Hotel

Bridges are another great opportunity for framing in photography. I’ll make another post on these later..

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Inspired by: Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #60– Framing the Shot