How to Create Visual Balance with Multiple Subjects

While motoring from one island to the next in the Galápagos Islands, you are almost always accompanied by one or more magnificent frigatebirds (*Fregata magnificens*). This photo beautifully illustrates how to capture a visually balanced image in camera. Notice that the flock includes an odd number of subjects, the cloud is outlined by the placement of the birds, and the sun and the center bird balance each other out in the center of the image. I do believe that you could remove the center bird near the sun and the image would still be visually balanced. I captured this image while standing on the top deck of a motoring boat, looking straight up, and leaning against the handrail for support. OM-1 | Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 8-25mm f/4 PRO lens | f/16 | 1/500 | ISO 400 | 9mm focal length

The wildlife and macro photographer is often faced with the challenge of capturing a visually compelling image of multiple subjects that are frequently in constant motion. How do we best frame a flock of birds in flight, a herd of bison on the run, or a row of foraging ants so we account for visual balance pre-capture? Is it even really possible to do so? Technological innovations such as live highlight alerts and AI-tracking autofocus provide the photographer with even more time to prioritize the creative aspects of our images by reducing the time dedicated to technical elements such as exposure and acquiring focus. With these innovations, we can work hard to capture an image in camera so the composition, visual balance, and other creative elements are already in place, thus minimizing post-processing work.

The wind direction, time of day, and accessible locations around the flight deck at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, USA, dictated that we would be shooting silhouettes this particular morning as a group of sandhill cranes (*Grus canadensis*) headed out to forage. Haze in the air created wonderful color conditions for such images, and I put my exposure where it needed to be. As birds flew by, I took a series of shots placing the sun where I wanted it in the upper third of the image. This particular image stood out; I love the visual balance, color, and tone of this image. You could remove the lead bird in this image and it would still be visually balanced. However, removing any other birds from the image would lead to an unbalanced image. The horizontal bands of clouds also provide nice evenness throughout the image. OM-D E-M1X | Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO lens | Olympus MC-20 M.Zuiko Digital 2x teleconverter | f/18 | 1/4000 | ISO 400 | 180mm focal length

And if we were not able to capture a visually balanced image of a group of subjects, what are our options? If we need to crop post-capture, how do we frame said groups for the best visual balance? If we need to remove or deprioritize some objects, tones, colors, or other elements in post-processing, what is a reasonable amount of adjustment? These are all questions that every wildlife and macro photographer should consider.

A Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (*Ovis canadensis canadensis*) checks out his rivals at the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming, USA. We again have an image with an odd number of subjects. Could you remove either one or both of the two sheep in the background and maintain visual balance? If you remove both, the lack of eye contact from the main subject becomes problematic. If you remove the lead subject on the left of the image, you lose the eye contact from it, which strengthens the image. I think you could remove the rightmost rear subject and still have a visually compelling image, although I find it adds to the image. OM-1 | Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO lens | f/5.6 | 1/1000 | ISO 800 | 150mm focal length

Japanese freshwater aquarium design, known as iwagumi, informs us that in small groups, odd numbers are more visually appealing than even ones. This doesn’t mean that we should never photograph even numbers of birds, reptiles, bees, or other such subjects; that would preclude us from capturing a mated pair of birds or a mother and calf. When photographing a group of fewer than 10 subjects, framing an image with an odd number of subjects will often result in a more visually appealing image.

Here, ants of an unidentified species tend aphids on a plant stem in Belize. There are numerous subjects within this image including the ants and the aphids. The visual balance in this image is provided by contrast, color, and fairly equal parts of the background with the “heaviest” part of the image being near the lower left third. We have a “complete” image in that the image tells a story and is also pleasing to view. OM-1 | Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO lens | Olympus FL-700WR electronic flash | AK diffuser | f/16 | 1/125 | ISO 640

How do we consider the visual balance in an image that features hundreds or even thousands of subjects? We should consider which subjects are in sharp focus, which is only really possible post-capture, and employ creative depth of field (pre-capture) to control the visual balance and how the viewer’s eye will travel through an image. For a flock of birds in flight, a herd of running impalas, a pod of jumping dolphins, or a swarm of insects, this is mostly a combination of creative skill and luck. When in doubt, perhaps consult a more advanced photographer and seek their input on the visual balance. A great exercise to develop image-assessment skill is to ask yourself, when you encounter a visually compelling image, what it is about that image that is particularly appealing to you. When looking at images of herds, flocks, or swarms, look to see if the image is properly balanced or “weighted” too heavily in one direction or another.

A crisp -39 degree Celsius/-38 degree Fahrenheit morning provided the right combination of cold, snow, and moisture in the air to cover these bison (*Bison bison*) in hoarfrost. The visual balance of this image would have been better if the rear bison were more in line with the leading bison. Nevertheless, I find the image visually pleasing, but I would have preferred a slight modification. Alas, my inner wishes at the time had no bearing on the rear bison’s behavior. Note the barely visible tree and foreground of snow heavily diffused by the steam, provide a subtle visual balance above and below the bison. OM-1 | Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f/4.5 IS PRO lens with built-in 1.25x teleconverter | f/6.3 | 1/25000 | ISO 1600 | 306mm focal length

As our understanding of visual balance and the subtle necessity of it matures into pure instinct, we will be better equipped to focus on its role in our images both pre- and post-capture. The beauty of visual balance is that it is an often overlooked aspect in wildlife photography, and by employing it in our images, our visual impact will be greater, even if the viewer never understands the why.