Framing: The concept of framing can be understood as functioning in three different--though not distinct(!)--ways within every image: framing as context; framing as composition; and framing as content.
Framing as Context: The way in which the context of the image's consumption inflects the meanings it creates. When we discuss framing as context we must consider where and how the image is viewed. This draws our attention to the terms of its consumption in the physical world. Questions we might ask include: where would one see this image? What is the viewer likely to see immediately before it (say, on the facing page for example)? What immediately after it? What kind of a magazine/newspaper/website would feature this image and how does this context affect the image itself?
Framing as Composition: The way in which the formal elements of the image effect its meanings. This would include perspective, and general compositional techniques. When analyzing framing as composition a different set of questions are asked. How does the image position the viewer? What is the viewer's perspective within it? Does the image offer a "worm's-view" perspective? A "bird's-view" perspective? An eye-level perspective? At what scale do the elements of the image appear? And, how do these considerations condition the meaning of the image?
Framing as Content: The way in which what is, and what is not, included in an image structures its meanings. In thinking through framing as content we ask the important question: What is included in the image and what is left out? While this may seem to call out the obvious, it is sometimes the omission -- that is, what is left out of the image -- that most profoundly structures its meanings.
Learn more about framing as Context through this virtual tour.
Learn more about framing as Composition through this virtual tour.
Learn more about framing as Content through this virtual tour.
