CHARTERS SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
VISUAL ELEMENTS IN PHOTOGRAPHY
Visual elements are the devices and techniques applied by photographers when taking a photograph to ensure that the outcome is pleasing both aesthetically and meets the photographers intentions.
The visual elements are like a set of tools that can be used to construct a great image. The key is to remember that a photographer rarely uses all of these elements of composition in making an image.
Effective use of the key elements = good photographs
The visual elements are like a set of tools that can be used to construct a great image. The key is to remember that a photographer rarely uses all of these elements of composition in making an image.
Effective use of the key elements = good photographs
Light Quality
Light quality describes the source, amount, and direction of lighting in a photograph. Light can come from natural sources, like the sun. It can be altered or created by humans, by using such things as flash bulbs or lamps. It can also be diffused by clouds or by humans putting a veil of cloth over a lamp. The direction of light is also important when looking at photographs: it can come from above, behind, or from one side. Bright, dim, cloudy, directional, diffused, and flash are some terms used to describe lighting. Texture
Texture is how the surface of an object appears to feel or actually feels to the touch.Texture can be described as rough, smooth, soft, etc.Texture is shown in photographs by the way the light falls on an object and through value changes. The paper on which the photograph is made also determines texture. Focus
Focus is the sharpness or clarity of subjects in the photographic image. Soft focus is created when a photographer manipulates the camera to achieve blurry, gentle edges. Photographers use the aperture (lens opening) and limitations of the lens to create sharp detail, soft edges, or both; this is called selective focus. Angle of View
Angle of view is the position from where the photographer took the picture. A photographer can point the camera from below, above, or straight at an object. In other artistic media, this is often called point of view. When looking for subjects, especially in nature, a photographer often shifts the angle of view to make interesting images. Angle of view can also express emotion or mood. It can give the viewer a sense of being small if looking up, or a sense of being big if looking down. Framing/Composition
Framing is how a photographer carefully presents a subject. Unlike painters, who usually begin with a blank canvas, photographers begin with everything in front of them. Once a subject is found, a photographer decides what to include in the picture frame. The photographer then composes the image to draw a viewer’s attention to the subject in a way that best expresses the artist’s idea of it. Color
Artists use color to achieve many effects. Color gives viewers a sense of mood, place, and time of year. Color can also move your eye around a composition and create a sense of space on a flat surface. Some artists achieve very saturated (strong, intense) color in their images, while others intentionally use subdued or muted colors in their subject matter. Time
The very essence of photography is the ability to capture a moment, split second in time and history. No other media can be so immediate and historical in its documentation of time and events. |
Questions to Consider
Determine the source of light (sun, lamp, flash?). What is it? From which direction does the light come? Does the light come from above the subject? Below it? From the side? What kind of light do you think this is? Is the light harsh with strong shadows, or is it diffused with soft, light shadows? Questions to Consider
What objects in the photograph show textures? Describe those textures. Is the texture of objects something that you noticed right away or do you notice it after looking for a while? Why? Questions to Consider
What is in sharp focus? Has the photographer kept everything in sharp focus? Has the photographer kept only a few things in focus? Explain Has the photographer made this image in soft focus? What mood or feeling has the photographer created by using soft or sharp focus? Questions to Consider
What is the angle of view for this image? Is the camera angle in the photograph at eye level, lower than eye level (ground level) or above eye level (birds eye view)? Is the viewer looking straight on or from one side or another? How does the photographer's angle of view make you feel about the subject? Questions to Consider
What do you think the photographer chose to include or exclude from this scene in order to draw your attention to the center of interest? In what ways did the photographer use framing in this image? What in the photograph helps frame the center of interest? Questions to Consider
Are colour photographs more real looking than black and white photographs? Why or why? What can a photographer achieve with colour that she or he cannot with black and white pictures? How would this scene be different if it were in black and white or in colour? How do you think the photographer has captured wither saturated or muted colour? Questions to Consider
Can you tell what time in history this photograph was taken? What is your opinion and how can you tell this? What time of day was the photograph taken? How can you tell this? How long was the shutter speed? Why do you think this? Did the photographer capture the right moment? Why do you think this? What if the photographer had waited another second or minute what effect would this have on the image? |