sion can be referred to as visual contrast. Balance is where
two items, which may be dissimilar in shape, create a har-
mony in the photograph because they are of more-or-less
equal visual strength.
Although tension does not have to be “resolved,” it
works together with the concept of balance so that, in
any given image, there are elements that produce visual
tension and elements that produce visual balance.
For example, a group of four children on one side of
an image and a pony on the other side of the image pro-
duce visual tension. They contrast each other because
they are different sizes and not at all similar in shape. But
the photograph may be in a state of perfect visual balance
by virtue of what falls between these two groups or for
some other reason. For instance, using the same example,
these two different subjects could be resolved visually if68 CHILDREN’S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY HANDBOOK
Sometimes an image can have overpowering symmetry and still create visual tension. In this painterly image by Deborah Lynn Ferro,
the winged baby is centered in the square composition, left to right and top to bottom. Providing the needed visual contrast is the
swirling lavender background, added to create a different visual weight in each of the four corners.