Juxtaposition in Photography (10 Ways to Use Juxtaposition in Photography)

Today I want to talk about ‘Juxtaposition’ — a fancy word that a lot of photographers like to throw around. But what exactly is juxtaposition and how does it apply into your photography. Let us find out.

The word ‘juxtaposition’ is just a fancy word for ‘contrast.’ To be specific, juxtaposition happens when there are two or more elements in a scene that contrast with each other. Juxtaposition is when you put two opposite things together, and the contrast of those two things becomes interesting. For example: Tall person next to short person, Dark colors next to light colors, Circles next to rectangles, and so on.

1. Big Versus Small

Showing two objects with different sizes in one scene is an easy way to delve into juxtaposition. For example, a very large building or skyscraper next to a tiny house, a very tall person next to a short person, etc.

2. Black Versus White

The more contrast present in the scene, the larger the difference is between the areas of light and dark. Silhouettes are a very good way to show strong shapes and forms, and also for playing around with the perspective of size.

3. Movement Versus Stillness

Long Exposure is a great way to downplay the importance of the moving objects and add an interesting touch to a still life image that doesn’t distract from the main focus.

4. Calm Versus Chaos

Emotions work very well in images. If you can show two different emotions in the same image, it creates tension.

5. Lines Versus Circles

By combining lines and circles, you create very powerful scenes that look like they don’t work together, but instead, do the opposite. The curves make the lines straighter, which in turn strengthens the curves.

6. Symmetry Versus Non-Symmetry

Symmetrical images look perfect. But with a probable intention, breaking a symmetrical scene, with an unsymmetrical element, causes anxiety for the perfectionist viewers.

7. New Versus Old

Showing the difference between the old and the new tells us something about our life and society. The story behind the image becomes very powerful.

8. Wealthy Versus Poor

Such juxtapositions work as social commentary and reflect a powerful message. Not a soothing example of juxtaposition, but it works as a great reminder for people that many are not as blessed as you are.

9. Juxtaposing Directions

If you have your subjects looking in opposite directions, they bring in some interesting juxtaposition into your composition.

10. Young Versus Old

You can capture such juxtaposition to show more than just colors and patterns because nothing strikes our hearts and minds more than young and older people together. We see the passing of information, cultures, and traditions through their interactions.

Juxtaposition examples are everywhere, you just need to find them. Look for them in your environment or when shooting street photography. When you’re starting off — trying to create juxtapositions in photography, keep it simple. Start with two figures, and figure out how you can create some sort of tension in your image.

Also Read – 10 Tips for Composition in Macro Photography