Keep Your Balance

What is balance in an Image?
Out of balance can be anything in the picture that looks too heavy on one side of the picture or it can look top heavy or bottom heavy

Dark is heavier than light

Big looks heavier than little

Closer looks heavier than further away.

If you took the picture and balanced it on a knife blade at its center point does it look like it would tip one direction or the other. ( big dark rock on one side and open lawn on other side. ) ( Big dark stormy sky 3/4 ths of picture 1/4 light sandy beach ) ( three balls of equal size - one far back on left - one half way to front in center - one close up on right )

We use groupings a lot to balance pictures - three little things on one side to balance one big one on the other side. Also arranging people into triangles adds balance (one standing behind two seated - one on the third step to the left, one on second step a little to the right, third one on first step to the left of second one).

I think a lot of the picture straightening we do on our walls has more to do with the visual balance of the picture than it's relationship to straight with the mopboard.