Compositional Elements 101: The Human Form

Where does your eye go first?

One of my favorite quotes about storytelling is by filmmaker Ken Burns. He says, “All storytelling is manipulation.” This quote bothers many people when they first read it. Maybe because they feel that if it’s true, they have been manipulated all their life, and no one like to feel they have been manipulated. However uncomfortable it is, the fact remains: it is true. Not only have we been manipulated, we have manipulated others as well. Haven’t we all sat around a campfire and listened to a storyteller lower their voice to almost a whisper, slow their pace, lean forward and pause with suspense? Then, all of a sudden they burst out with some revelation, and we all jump three feet in the air! We’ve been manipulated. Continue reading at the New York Institute of Photography →