The Dimensions of Photography

Like the physical universe there are four dimensions which understood, control creativity with the camera.
The dimensions include height, width, depth and time. Time is the streaming factor – the continuation of the other three dimensions successively.
Although still photography is commonly considered to stop time, it is not entirely true. One would be missing a vital aspect of the creative process of photography as by holding open the shutter one can see time elapse at a single glance, in some ways warping the other dimensions.
Let us couple the first two dimensions as they fall under the heading of composition – the selection of elements to fall within the borders of one’s picture.
When looking through the viewfinder one needs to be very aware of the borders of his composition.
There are many rules and tips that fall within the subject of “composition”, but it must be understood that all of these rules fall within the confines of the frame and the first two-dimensions. One of the first lessons to be learned in photography is that there are many ways to view the same thing. To be competent with composition one must learn to observe and to be confident to observe from any location.
The third dimension is depth. This could be broken up into “foreground”, “middle ground” and “background”. One doesn’t have to have all grounds present in a photograph and a picture can be multi-layered, with even more than three. However the more complex the image, the more skill and control one has to exert to pull it off.
There are ways to create depth in a picture, a key one is the use of “depth of field” and “selective focus”.
Depth of field means that range of space that remains in focus. A small aperture gives one a large or long depth of field. In other words one will have a flower in the foreground and the mountains in the back, all in focus.
A large or wide aperture gives one a narrow depth of field or “selective focus”. This throws everything in front and behind the field out of focus, emphasizing the subject in focus.
Controlling aperture, gives one more control of the dimension of depth.
Another controlling factor is the placement of things in the frame. For example, to place something in the foreground one needs to place it in front of another object. I am not saying that one has to literally move the object, although this may be done. But one must be able to change his own viewpoint and by doing so place the environment and objects in it where he so chooses; by placing things in the foreground while closely observing what is behind, one is manipulating depth.
The fourth dimension, time, is controlled by shutter speed. The length of time one leaves the shutter open determines whether you will freeze time or blur it.
It is worthy of note here that the ability to balance shutter speed with aperture size, is one of the main skills of a photographer. Besides affecting the above outcomes, the two combined, control exposure and how much light is allowed into the camera.