What Is Visual Weight? And How Visual Weight Helps Your Photos
There’s a term photographers use when discussing the finer points of framing and composition. For many, it’s absolutely critical to making your photos interesting and well-designed. That term is “visual weight,” and it’s everywhere you can find it once you notice it’s there. For example, the red jelly bean on the right carries more visual weight because it stands in stark contrast to its surroundings. Let’s figure out what it is and how you can use it to improve your composition skills.
A strange sensation
How can the things we see have any kind of weight when they aren’t actually present? Psychologists have another special term for this. They call it synesthesia. It’s what happens when one sensory system triggers another. In this case, your visual system is giving you a distinctly kinesthetic feeling. It is as if you can feel the elements in the scene.
Our visual weight system works by assigning a psychological form of “heaviness” to different things we see. There are few general rules that determine how much weight gets assigned to any particular element in a scene.
- Large = Heavier. Bigger things tend to be heavier and more attention getting. They get a bigger heaviness score by default.
- Dark = Heavier. Darker objects seem heavier, especially when the rest of the scene is relatively light.
- High Contrast = Heavier. This is similar to the above rule. A high contrast subject will draw attention to itself. It has more visual weight. Like the jelly bean above.
- Complex = Heavier. You can give something more weight by turning it into a large aggregate of smaller things. Your brain naturally groups them together.
- Light Colored = Lighter. The less saturated a color (like sky blue), the less visual weight it has. You need a lot of it to balance out the heavier elements in a scene.
- Actually Heavy = Heavier. I know it seems like such an obvious thing to say, but if something actually weighs a lot, it gets more visual weight too. A barbell can sometimes command more attention than the arm that is lifting it.
- Interesting placement = Heavier. Objects placed in the corners or about 1/3 into the frame automatically have more visual weight due to the rule of thirds.
I know that seems like a lot to memorize right now, so just don’t. Here’s the beautiful thing about visual weight. You know it when you see it. Sit back, observe a photo, and let your senses guide you. What part of the following image has the most visual weight?
Do you know the answer? It’s not what you think!
So, is it the red rock on the left? Is it the pile of rocks on the right? If you know me, you know it’s a trick question. Neither element has more visual weight. If any of them did, it wouldn’t be a very good photo. This brings me to my next point.
It’s all about balance
Just like the above image is a balancing act, so is your job as a photographer. Different parts of a scene will have more or less visual weight depending all of the above factors. In this image, the bright red contrasting pebble has the exact same visual weight as all of the big black rocks on the right side combined. Put everything together, and the image balances out.
By “balance,” I mean a very specific thing. Visual balance has to do with what your eye does when you look at a photo. If your eye is too attracted to one part of the image, it tends to get stuck there, resulting in an uneasy feeling. The image won’t seem interesting because you will literally feel constrained by the lack of balance. Take a look at the following image, and think about what’s wrong with it.
The house in this image carries too much visual weight.
Nothing else balances it out.
Photo By: Michael Coghlan
There are a number of issues. First, the house is the biggest object in the scene. It gets +1 heaviness for that. Second, it’s a totally different color from everything else. Another +1 heaviness for the high contrast. Third, it’s actually pretty heavy. It’s literally bulging forward. Let’s add +1 to its heaviness score again.
Making things worse, the foreground is too bright and overexposed. Remember, lightness takes away from visual weight. So the foreground is basically at -1 right now.
Put it all together, and you’ve got a difference of 4 visual weight units (totally arbitrary, I know). That’s pretty substantial. In fact, it’s the reason why your eye brushes right past the people walking down the street. You hardly even notice they are there because you just can’t take your eyes off that big house.
It almost makes me wonder if Michael did that intentionally, just to truly convey the sense of heaviness. If so, then job well done!
Balance and composition
You can create all kinds of interesting images just by playing with visual weight. Simply remember that every “heavy” element needs to be balanced out by something with the same amount of visual weight. Where you place things matters too. The same element, when placed about 1/3 into the frame, has a little more visual weight than an element placed directly in the center of the frame. Don’t ask me why. It’s just the way our brains work.
Are there exceptions to this? Yes there certainly are. If you follow the rule of thirds and place your most visually heavy element somewhere about 1/3 into the scene, you can almost never go wrong. That’s because it creates an automatic visual balance. As long as the rest of the scene doesn’t have too much visual weight, you can get away with whatever you want. It’s not an exact science, but it works most of the time. It’s the reason why the rule of thirds is so effective.
I’ll leave you with a question. Do you think the below image is balanced? If not, what has the most weight and why. If so, what makes it balanced? Write your answer in the comments below.
Visual weight is a hidden and very powerful composition tool. Once you know it exists, you can’t stop seeing every image in its light. I strongly recommend a little extra reflection the next time you frame your shot. Ask yourself, “does it balance?” If it does, you’ve probably got a winner.
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I'm David Peterson and I'm sharing over 1000 tips and techniques on photography with you.
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I think the picture is balanced. According to the rule of third, the top left intersecting point is on the lions face. Anyway for me, the first sight hits on the lion.
I like the colours but I like to see the picture taken at a different angle. Just doesn’t look right the way it is composed.
I would have loved the lion to be placed on the right third so i can imagine what it’s staring at on the left.
The lion statue is a real distraction. The image will look better without it.
In my opinion this pictured is balanced by color and lines/shapes.
First the round lines of the statue as well as the almost spherical shape is balanced by the structure of the building behind with the long horizontal lines travelling fdrom left to right well supported by the pillars.
Then, is the color balance – through the contrast – with the grey statue is thrown forward by the red and yellow of the structure behind.
The DOF is too great giving the image a sense of clutter, all the background is a distraction , the dragon does not stand out from the image.
Even by throwing the rear building out of focus to emphasise the dragon, the parallel lines would still be a distraction, cutting across behind the dragon’s head. I would prefer the dragon to be placed on the right hand ‘third’, my eyes scan left to right and the dragon is facing left so it would have some space to be looking into. I would like a totally different background, certainly not with the obtrusive parallel lines in view – so the photograph should have been taken from a totally different place!
Excellent breakdown. Completely Agree!
Good, informative article.
I think the image is unbalanced. The bldg behind the statue is too strong visually compared to the statue. I would also attempt a shot where the statue is on the other side of the image so that it is looking in from the first third, giving it more space.
i’ll say further, if a picture looks right, then it is right. if it looks wrong then it is wrong. the building picture looks wrong, so it is wrong. the very top picture looks right, so it is right. your eyes are the best judge.
because the statue is on the left 1/3 and the eyes are on the top 1/3 intersection, the scene is automatically balanced. the background has the same exposure so it’s fine. your eye goes straight to the statue which is what’s required. it sticks out. other than the statue should have been facing from the right the picture is fine.
I would prefer to see the space at the front of the statue – ie put the statue at a third in from the right side of the photo. The white balustrade catches my eye but tis not of interest (except for its shape).
I think the it is fairly well balanced as the weight of the colours(including the black shadows) in the background competes with the large statue in the foreground and therefore creates a balance to the overall image. After reading some of the other comments I agree that the composition could be improved a lot, but concentrating on the composition of the photo is getting away from your question about balance and I believe shouldn’t be considered in answering the question.
Hello thank you for his suggestions, already I saw your article about the rule of third, but even I am confused because I’d speak with an artist and he gave to me a type mathematics equation and I don’t know how to applying them. Would you please explain them with a graph?
Thank you
I think the background has more weight because it also has more colour. the lion is also quite weighted but the background off sets it which I feel makes it rather balanced.
I will consider this picture fairly balanced… The imposing figure of black and monochrome lion is fairly balanced by the background riot of colors. In terms of complete composition, probably a different angle would have helped where the lion could have been on first third and the other two thirds were taken by the colorful background.
I am agreed with Joe Lange answer.
Nobody seems to notice the heaviness of the high contrast black shadows, one to the left, two to the right. They are pretty “heavy” and balances the heaviness of the lion.
I also like Rebecca’s idea of blurring the background.
Im with Naomi. The lion being in the left 1/3 and facing to the left does not make me feel comfortable.
Whilst the visual weight is fairly balanced skewed slightly to the statue. The image is not harmonious as my eye flitted uncomfortably between fore and background. For me I just wanted to scroll down away from it.
Pat Autrey’s comment makes me think that what the subject is is important in considering weight. I’m pretty sure the building is a palace, not a monastery and that may be an imperial lion, surely a symbol of power?
This is so interesting! Like many I felt the lion is in the wrong third, (left third looking left out of the picture.) I also feel the background is too bright and too busy making the lion a dull grey also-ran. I wonder about camera angle, photographing the lion from lower down to give him a bit more power (he clearly wants it)? I have not considered weight before. In the 1st picture the light in the front didn’t seem wrong to me. I was more bothered by the chopping off of the pointy roof. I think I haven’t quite grasped the concept, I am wondering what the picture of the house needs to balance its weight when the subject is The House.
David, I have enjoyed your series very much. This is soo interesting.
In answer to the question: I think the photo is not balanced because the statue is facing the wrong direction. In my humble opinion the statue should have been framed on the right side so as to be looking into the space in front of it. My eyes keep trying to look at the statue but are drawn to the building and the statue becomes somewhat of an obstacle. I am wondering if that is the point you are trying to make. I am writing this before reading any of the other posts. . . Thanks for all this.
Extremely interesting topic! Thank you! Not an interesting image. I read everyone’s comments so far and agree with most that the picture is not balanced. The biggest problem is placement as most said. Next I would selectively put the background out of focus or move in on a particular part of the lion. I am also a freak for straight images, unless creativity calls for otherwise. Wonder if you straighten the image to make the base of the lion even with the horizontal. Just a thought.
To me the bright yellow, horizontal beam spanning the structure behind the dragon competes for the viewers attention. My eyes are restless, unsettled between the dragon and heavy yellow beam … for that reason, I do not feel the image is balanced. Thank you, David, for your helpful article..
The placement of the lion is OK at the intersection of the two 1/3rd lines, but it is looking out of the frame and therefore (because as human animals we recognise eyes for what they are and follow their gaze), it acts as a distraction and not a helpful part of the image. This is because OUR gaze is attracted OUT of the image and not INTO it. I would have arranged the picture so that the lion was looking nto the centre, or not taken the shot at all. As it is, this shot will probably not get used because of this fault. If it were to be used facing the way it does, it should have been a quite minor part of the shot, with other elements taking over as dominant attractive features.
The lion gives the impression of heaviness and bulk. He is looking out of the picture on the left. I believe the lion should be placed on the right third of the picture so that he has space to look into the picture.
i wonder if they read from right to left in china? the principle of openess is violated by having the lion face left and be so far over on the left side. monks were known for their simplistic virtuous lives, yet that is not conveyed here at all. it’s confusing. convention dictates either zoom in on the lion, or eliminate entirely. another choice may be to make the background a desaturated black and white, allowing the lion more focus as the only chroma – but cropping or a horizontal flip would be needed. now, having said all that, perhaps the photographer purposely violated all these basics rules to stir this disconcerting emotion in each of us. what more could any photographer hope for than to cause you to truly feel something from their image – not just peace – there are many other feelings
My eyes keep focusing the red column behind the lion… May be a little croping would fix it. But I’d never take this picture, i’d rather move a little to my left side and have the lion more face-to-face, fixing it at the rigth third of the picture, and also taking care to mantain the horizontal lines in horizontal. See the lion’s base, looks like going down…. Also the coluns look like they are out of vertical…
The lion is facing the left, I would want to move it to the right third to balance the shot. Another shot would be just frame the entire lion in the shot without the BG.
To me, the lion is far too large and is ‘annoying’ – like someone standing in the way when you want to take a look at something.
If the main point of interest is the lion, in my opinion, it would be better to have a background that gives more contrast with the lion’s outline.
With this background, it would (in my opinion) be an improvement to use a larger aperture and get the building out of focus.
The photo is unbalanced.
The “weight” is all to the left and to some extent high in the image with the combination of the statue and the yellow/orange which fall dominantly on the left and upper image. To balance there would need more “space” in the bottom right. I don’t think altering the depth of field would alter the balance as the weight lies in the strength of colour and tone rather than clarity as would alter with a shorter depth of field. It would balance better moving the statue leftwards and including less of the yellow/orange roof.
You are an exceptionally good instructor. Thanks
I really think that the picture is well balanced because the two structures completes the other. The color scheme of the building catches your eye while the lion shows an intrest strong enough for one to observe it. To me that is complete balance.
I really think that the picture is well balanced because the two structures completes the other. The color scheme of the building catches your eye while the loin shows an intrest strong enough for one to observe it. To me that is complete balance.
To balance the picture better I would put the lion in the right side 1/3 and show more of the temple roof peak on the left to give better balance and still give attention to the lion
Ok using your method:
Dragon – +1 for being on a third, +1 for actually being heavy, +1 for being a darker color.
Building – +1 bright colors, +1 huge and heavy
Going by visual weight the dragon scores a little higher. However the dragon is the subject of the photo and what the photographer wanted you to look at. I think if the dragon had scored the same as the background you might feel lost trying to figure out what to look at in the picture.
At first glance it seems that the picture is balanced. However, as I look at it more it feels like there is a competition going on between the statue and the building. It almost feels too busy. This was a very interesting article and I’ll have to try and remember this next time I take a photo. There’s always so much to remember!
The image feels ungainly to me. The stand for the lion is askew, and the heaviness of the statue overpowers the whole image. As I normally read from left to right, its position on the left feels “wrong”. My eye wants to see the structure behind the lion, but the sheer size and position of the statue keeps pulling me back to the left (it irritates me to be distracted.)
A side note: I use the term “weighted” (much as you do in the article) to discuss level horizons. If one side of the image has more “weighted” subjects than the opposite side (like a forest on the right and a single tree on the left), the viewer might have a perception that the horizon is slanted, even when it’s not. In such a case, it is really critical to analyze the visual weight on the opposite sides of the horizon. It may be better to slant the horizon slightly to make it appear straight.
I feel this image is slightly unbalanced. The background is, to my eye, competing for attention just a little too much with the sculpture. Firstly there is a lot of intricate detail in the BG, which always attracts the eye. A short depth of field would have solved this issue. Secondly, the rich colours in the background advance over the subtle muted tones of the dragon. Added to this is the variety of contrasting colours in the BG. Thirdly, because we read left to right, the strong leading lines are drawing the eye over to left of frame and away from the subject. All of these cause us to notice the BG a little more than we should. What I feel would balance this image out, as it stands, would be to a: convert it to monochrome, and b: flip it horizontally so that the subject is at right of frame. There is also a touch too much headroom above the dragon.. shifting it slightly up in the frame would also increase its dominance and completely balance the composition.
Thank you for the post.. valuable and practical insights as always.
I find it not balanced even though the “heavy” dragon follows the rule of thirds fairly reasonably. It’s too large, also too much forward and makes the building look too small. It reminds me of taking a picture of a person sitting at a beach – with their feet closest to the camera – making their feet look like size 20 and their head very small…
I think the photo is balanced because only one item has weight and it is placed in the first 1/3 of the photo. The background is bright, but is equally positioned over the entire photo so your eye isn’t drawn to any one particular spot other than the statue.
I think it is balanced because of the colours coming through in the background though the statue still stands out.
Awsome! Very, very insightful. Thanx a million
I do not think that the photo is balanced as the building in the background competes with the dragon for visual attention. I would have thought it better to have used a wide aperture to reduce the depth of field and put the background out of focus but still set the scene for the figure
hi, thanks for this post, I found it really interesting.
With regards to the picture, I think the dragon figure has more weight, although the photo probably IS balanced, somehow when I look at it I feel I would like to see a little more of what is beneath the dragon, ie. not cropped as close to him as it it