Principles of Design

PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART

Photography is more than combining cameras, lenses, and film; it is about using those tools in combination with the elements and principles of design to create visual art.  Understanding how to use the elements and principles will turn your “snap shots” into photographic works of art.  Define the following terms.

Elements of Design

Line: ·      Leading Leading lines are lines within an image that leads the eye to another point in the image, or occasionally, out of the image. Anything with a definite line can be a leading line. Fences, bridges, even a shoreline can lead the eye. If can pair leading lines with a subject that is placed according to the rule of thirds your image should be very strong. o     ·      Vertical imply that our body is stiff, dignified, formal or still. Consequently, when we see a very upright figure in Egyptian art, we project our feelings and accurately envision a regal, important figure. ·      Horizontal o   give us calm, quiet feelings, because they bring ideas of sleep and rest. If an artist wanted to show a composed, peaceful setting, many horizontal lines would help elicit this effect from the viewer. ·      Diagonal o   the most active. They imply movement, tension, sometimes violence. Imagine a jogger whose legs and arms are formed into zigzags by diagonals. The whole thrust of a runner’s body is forward—on yet another diagonal. ·      Curved o   present a sense of grace,  smoothness, and dignity

http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/element/element.htm use this website to figure out what each type of line represents.

Principles of Design

Balance: ·      Symmetrical where elements are given equal "weight" from an imaginary line in the middle of a piece ·      Asymmetrical when elements are placed unevenly in a piece, but work together to produce harmony overall.

Unity: when elements are placed unevenly in a piece, but work together to produce harmony overall.

Variety: refers to a way of combining elements of art in involved ways to achieve intricate and complex relationships

Movement / Rhythm: is the path the viewer’s eye takes through the artwork, often to a focal area. It can be directed along lines, edges, shapes and color/ a movement in which some elements recurs regularly.  Like a dance it will have a flow of objects that will seem to be like the beat of music.

Emphasis: center of interest) is an area that first attracts attention in a composition. This area is more important when compared to the other objects or elements in a composition.

Proportion / Scale: refers to the relative size and scale of the various elements in a design

Repetition / Pattern: Repeating visual elements such as line, color, shape, texture, value or image tends to unify the total effect of a work of art as well as create rhythm.

Making Choices

Point of View: ·      bird’s eye elevated view of an object from above, with a perspective as though the observer were a bird ·      worm’s eye a view of an object from below, as though the observer were a worm; the opposite of a bird's-eye view

Rule of Thirds: photos are divided into thirds with two imaginary lines vertically and two lines horizontally making three columns, three rows, and nine sections in the images. Important compositional elements and leading lines are placed on or near the imaginary lines and where the lines intersect.

Framing: the presentation of visual elements in an image, especially the placement of the subject in relation to other objects

Simplicity: directs that you should keep the items in your photo relatively simple