CENTER OF INTEREST

Suppose you were listening to a speaker. Suppose he talked about Ronald Reagan for ten minutes, and then about Greek Poetry for ten minutes,and then about steel building for the same amount of time. What would be your natural feelings?

You would be likely to ask, What the hell is this all about. Is he talking about Reagan, Greek Poetry Or steel buildings? Or is he talking about something different from all three,what do they have to do with the subject?

Your attention would ne scattered over so many matters that you would not know what the speaker was driving at. But if the speaker continually kept the personality of Ronald Reagan before you, referred to Greek Poetry only by way of comparing the feats of Reagan with the heroism of the greek leader Achilles, and steel buildings as and example of hanging tough in his dealing with other world leaders, you would understand , without special thought on the matter, that the speakers whole purpose was to tell you about Reagan.

Pictures, like speeches, require good composition. A poorly composed picture can scatter your attention in several different directions, but a well composed picture will bring your attention into focus on what might be called the point of the artists story. The point of attraction the picture is known as the CENTER OF INTEREST, or the area of interest. And just as separate parts of a speech must contribute toward an enlightenment on one single subject, so all the parts in a picture must work together to attract attention to the picture,s center of interest. When we clearly and distinctly see the object which is the picture's center of interest the surrounding details becomes less distinct.