Definition of Juxtaposition: the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast or to create an interesting effect.

The act of photographing will often present “juxtaposition” within the image using a variety of compositional strategies. In some cases this is intentional when the photographer is trying to make a social, political or emotional point. In other cases the photographer is unaware until after the photograph has been made. In this project I want you to be intentional as you discover and document those visual ideas that “compare and contrast” the subject matter that you are observing. Your subject matter can range from photographs of people, animals, nature, advertising, events and so on. No subject matter is out of bounds in this project. Here are a few examples from a few photographers that demonstrate successful or interesting “juxtaposition images.

Human versus object

If you’ve read about juxtaposition in photography, chances are you’ve come across at least one reference to Robert Doisneau’s portrait of Picasso, in which the artist’s hands have been replaced by loaves of bread.

Right versus left

Subject versus environment

Juxtapositions in photography can be planned, but just as often, they’re the product of coincidence. for example, is punctuated by miraculous everyday coincidences where everything comes together: a woman’s green pants match the color of her car, a couple’s outfits echo the pale blue of a nearby building, some bags of onions are almost the same shade of orange as the truck behind them.

In short, look for parallels between your subject and the setting in general. These can be colors, patterns, shapes, or all of the above. You can capture them spontaneously and on-the-fly or organize a photoshoot around your idea.

Many versus few

The photographer Steve McCurry uses this one a lot in his compositions, showing groups of people with one person who’s slightly different from the rest. Maybe it’s one person in green Holi powder, surrounded by those in red, or perhaps it’s a single fisherman in the water, right next to a group of his peers on stilts.

For photographers, the many-versus-the-few motif can take on different meanings, depending on the context. You can use it to explore themes like conformity and dissent, togetherness and isolation, individualism and community—or you can employ it just because it’s a beautiful visual effect.

Nature vs Constructed Object

Our world consists of constructed and natural objects. It only fits to show these contrasts in our daily life. This picture below has a few juxtapositions. These make the picture visually striking.

It shows us the constructed structure, with very clear-cut lines and perfectly repeated rectangles. This is in contrast to the bumpy curves of the tree. It also presents us with an idea of repetition (Links to an external site.). Every rectangle is exactly the same, yet each branch is unique.

New vs Old Architecture

Architecture (Links to an external site.) is almost inescapable. It tells us so much about the place and time of the taken picture. Consider the image below.

We see the array of different architectural styles in the foreground. The huge skyscraper in the background overshadows these. Out with the old and in with the new.

For this project your final portfolio of images can be in black and white or color. Your ” Discover Juxtaposition” presentation should be presented in a powerpoint format. Your presentation must have a minimum of 15 photographs that demonstrate a variety of “juxtaposition” compositional strategies.

Discovering Juxtaposition