1. Elements of Design and Principles of Design for Photography

2. Today: Visual Elements
If we want to be good photographers, we must train ourselves to see the parts of a photo, not just the sum.
If we’re going to build pictures, we must learn to recognize the parts and learn to assemble them into a whole, or coherent pattern.

3. Today: Visual Elements
What are the parts?

4. Today: Visual Elements
Visual elements are the vocabulary
They are the construction materials

5. Today: Visual Elements
Dot
Line
Shape
Form
Texture
Tonality
Directional forces
Color

6. Visual Elements
Dot:
A single point

7. Line: An unconnected stroke of pen or pencil
Visual Elements
Line:
An unconnected stroke of pen or pencil

8. Shape: When connected, lines make two dimensional shapes
Visual Elements
Shape:
When connected, lines make two dimensional shapes

9. Form: When extended in space, shapes have three dimensional form
Visual Elements
Form:
When extended in space, shapes have three dimensional form

10. Visual Elements
Form:

11. Visual Elements
Form:

12. Visual Elements Texture:
Simulation of tactile stimuli. Texture bridges the gap between senses of sight and touch, between eye and finger

13. Visual Elements
Texture:

14. Visual Elements
Texture:

15. Visual Elements
Texture:

16. Visual Elements
Texture:

17. Visual Elements Tonality: Continuum of light to gray to dark
An expression of contrast
Long range – high contrast
Medium range – moderate contrast
Short range - flatness

18. Visual Elements
Tonality:

19. Visual Elements Tonality: Helps create atmosphere
Dark tones: mystery, intrigue, sadness or drama
Light tones: light/airy, brightness, joy, thoughtlessness,

20. Visual Elements
Tonality:

21. Visual Elements
Tonality:

22. Visual Elements Directional forces:
Pointers within a picture that direct eye movement
Leading lines

23. Visual Elements
Directional forces:

24. Visual Elements
Directional forces:

25. Visual Elements
Directional forces:

26. Visual Elements Color:
A major visual element which we will treat separately later in the semester

27. Visual Elements
Color:

28. Dot Line Shape Form Texture Tonality Directional forces Color
Visual Elements
Dot
Line
Shape
Form
Texture
Tonality
Directional forces
Color

29. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
But we also need the syntax, the blueprints
How do we organize the visual elements so they cohere? How do we create the feeling of unity within a picture?

30. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
POD for photography are the syntax
They are the blueprints

31. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Balance
Emphasis
Economy
Repetition
Proportion
Unity
Variety

32. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Balance
Distributing the apparent weight of the visual elements prevents the work from appearing lopsided or top heavy

33. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Balance
Can be symmetrical - elements exactly the same on either side of a center line or point
Mirror image/centered

34. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Balance
Can be asymmetrical - elements of different visual weights arranged to create the feel of balance using size, position, color, etc.

35. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Balance

36. Balance:

37. Balance:

38. Balance:

39. Balance:

40. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Emphasis
Focusing on a single strong visual element, unifies a picture
Also called focal point/CVI

41. Emphasis:

42. Emphasis:
Emphasis using DOF
Emphasis using color

43. Emphasis:

44. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Emphasis
Emphasis is often achieved through
Placement in the frame
Contrast of shape
Contrast of value (color, tone)
Scale (relationship b/w size of an image and of its surrounds)
Light
Angle

45. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Economy
Eliminating everything not necessary to communicate the information and create the effect. This clarifies and strengthens the message.

46. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Economy
Economy involves the viewer in the creative experience. The less an artist shows us, the more of ourselves we have to bring to a design to give it meaning

47. Economy:

48. Economy:

49. Economy:

50. Economy:

51. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Repetition
Repeating visual elements: lines, forms, textures, etc., creates a powerful attraction
Pattern

52. Repetition:

53. Repetition:

54. Repetition:

55. Repetition:

56. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Proportion
Arranging the size relationships of visual elements to each other and the to the whole picture so that they are pleasing.
This is often an emotional response.

57. Proportion: One proportion often cited is the “golden rectangle”
Photographers often translate this as the “rule of thirds”

58. Proportion: Golden Rectangle
An image ratio (width vs.. the height) that makes the most pleasing, balanced impression on the viewer. Panoramas are long and skinny; square negatives often make it hard for the viewer to recognize the central focus of a composition. A 35mm format is pretty close to a golden rectangle.

59. Proportion:
Rule of thirds:

60. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Unity
Arranging the elements and using the other principles of design so the picture coheres - feels like it all belongs together. It becomes a balanced, harmonious, complete whole. Elements have a clear visual relationship to other elements. Not cluttered or confusing. Elements aren’t competing with each other.

61. Unity:

62. Unity:

63. Unity:

64. Today: Principles of Design for Photography (BEER-PUV)
Variety
Changing visual elements adds interest
Precise repetition runs the risk of boring the viewer. Slight variations on a central theme, or strong contrasts to that theme, are effective

65. Variety:

66. Variety:

67. Major ideas today:
The visual elements and POD are not merely descriptive
They do carry content
But they also are expressive, convey emotion

68. Major ideas today:
4. Often this emotion is registered on a subliminal level, not a conscious level.
5. But it is still a part of our reaction to any image.

69. Major ideas today:
6. But the same content can be expressed with altered visual elements to create an entirely different emotional response and, consequently, a different meaning.