Design Elements

Motivation

"If composition is the means of leading viewers through your photograph and holding them there until they see your message, there must be methods of composing to achieve maximum strength in your imagery."

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-Bruce Barnbaum, The Art of Photography

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Developing your vocabulary leads to

• Improved photography
• Improved ability to talk about images
• Better “inner critic”

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Vocabulary

The Design Elements

• Spot
• Line
• Shape
• Pattern
• Texture

Vocabulary

The Design Elements

• Balance
• Movement
• Perspective
• Composition
• Contrast
• Sharpness

Vocabulary

The Design Elements

• Color
• Coherence
• Positive Space
• Negative Space

Guidelines

Guidelines

Content Reigns Supreme

• What is included
• What is excluded

Guidelines

human "element" typically prevails

• We are biologically designed to look for people.
• When an image includes a person (whole or partial), our eye is drawn to them.

Kyle Spears

Guidelines

Break the Rules

• Learn the rules so you can break them.
• Creating tension in an image can be a good thing.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Guidelines

Interacting Elements

• A scene typically contains more than one element
• The simpler the photograph, the more important the individual elements
• How the elements interact with the scene is important
• How the elements interact with the background
• How the elements relate to one another is important

Spot

any small shape

• a spot draws our attention
• a spot should either be the subject or enhance the subject
• the eye tries to connect multiple spots in an image

Line

anything longer than it is wide

• the eye follows it
• different lines have different effects:
• diagonal - creates tension, drama. implies activity
• horizontal - implies stability, calm
• vertical - implies strength
• curves - can be graceful (wide) or dramatic (sharp)
• can be implied

Shape

defined area

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• like spot, the eye can be drawn to a shape
• similar shapes can play off one another
• the eye completes shapes it can't see
• shapes can be used to construct whole images

Pattern

repeated shapes or lines

• adds interest
• unifies groups
• play with the differences

Texture

the surface detail of an object

• Smooth, rough, or sharp, typically
• Highlights a detail
• Adds interest

Balance

equity between parts of a photograph

• tonal balance
• color balance
• subject/interest balance
• more of a feeling
• imbalance can create tension

Movement

the way the eye moves through the image, or the way subjects appear to be moving

• we tend to want motion leading into the image
• movement and balance are linked

Perspective & Composition

position of camera and placement of subject

• helps to find patterns
• can strengthen interactions between foreground and backgrounds
• composition should arise from the subject
• there are some general guidelines:
• rule of thirds
• golden ratio
• horizon not in middle

The most expensive photo ever sold, Andreas Gursky's Rhein II.

Horizon Right in the Middle

Contrast

the range of luminance in an image

• high contrast images are snappy or exciting
• low contrast images tend to be gentle
• high-key (mostly lighter) vs. low-key (mostly darker)
• affects mood of photograph

Sharpness & Focus

the most in-focus part of the image

• the eye can't help but travel to the sharpest spot first
• control sharpness through depth of field