I recently performed a sort of scrapbooking experiment. I wanted to see if I could make really good pages using lots of 4×6 photos. With the sudden popularity of 6×12 layouts about a year ago, it occurred to me that 2 12×12 pages was equal in proportion to the 6×12. I wondered if a rectangular block of 4×6 photos on 2 12×12 pages could look just as hot as one 4×6 photo on a 6×12 page.
My conclusion after doing a whole lot of layouts like this is no. It doesn’t look as hot. It’s okay. It’s decent. But it lacking in terms of dynamics.
Dynamics
Dynamics are a term in music that refers to the variation in loudness and softness. Soul-stirring music has enormous dynamic change. A piece might begin with light touches of the keys, an amazingly controlled voice that is so barely-there it’s almost haunting.
It will begin to grow in loudness and may even speed up at times. It will dance like this, getting quieter then louder. It will back off, and then grow more intense. This will continue until the climax of the song where you heart races with the music, until it drops once more and fades to a quiet end.
Dynamics In Scrapbooking
Does this apply to scrapbooking? Of course! Why would I have brought it up it didn’t?
In the visual arts, we can think of dynamics in terms of contrasting elements. Think size and variation; empty space and filled spaces; areas of simplicity and areas of complexity. Focal point also plays a major role.
For example, empty space on a visual piece offers the same results as playing music pianissimo, which means, very soft. A focal point photo with layers of embellishments, perhaps flourishes and bling, would be the climax. You play it in forte, which means, very loud.
Low Dynamic Variation Is Boring:
Here is an example of one of my experimental layouts.
Journaling reads: Every Saturday we turn out living room into a studio for our podcasts: Move the sofas*Cover the light socket*Remove the paintings*Use the chocolate wall as backdrop*Give the kids a movie to watch in the bedroom.
All of the photos are the same size. As much as I tried to create intensity at the lower left, and to contrast it with the white space around the edges at the top and to the right, this layout doesn’t deserve a standing O. It’s a little boring because the photos are static.
High Dynamic Variation
By varying the size of my photos, I had much more room to play with the dynamics of this piece:
This layout begins with a few small voices in the upper left-hand corner. It gets louder as other voices join in, until we reach the bottom right where we have a whole chorus celebrating the unbelievable cuteness that is my son, Aiden.
Dynamics Tell A Story
Here is another example of a very different layout that has nice dynamic variation:
This layout has a strong beginning. The focal point photo in the large empty space has a chorus of embellishments to announce its debut appearance. This side of the layout is the musical overture.
We then drift into the softest part of the piece, which is the open the area containing the smallest photo. It’s the empty space that calls our attention to this spot. Here we enjoy the story of friendship and joy.
Our eyes pause on this moment until the energy picks up once again to the trio of larger, busier photos, the loudest, most energetic part of the entire page. It ends strong with Grandma Gertrude looking straight at you, offering you a piece of cake.
How To Achieve Great Dynamics
It’s not always easy to create great dynamic variation in a layout. Sometimes our photos limit us. That’s okay. Not every layout is going to be perfect. Much of it is in our control, though. Here are some options to help you achieve greater dynamic variation in your scrapbooking:
1) Vary the sizes of your photos, whether by cropping in Photoshop or cropping with scissors.
2) Give the page some empty space.
3. Gather and layer embellishments in places that could should sing in forte.
Music is a form of story-telling. So is scrapbooking. Use dynamics, or variation of visual elements, to tell a more intriguing story.
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This article is part of a series: All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Performing.
If you enjoyed this, you’ll probably like the others, as well:
Skill Before Style: Why Scooping Can Wait
Design: Rules? What Rules?
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