PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN PHOTOGRAPHY

BALANCE Visual center is above geometric center. Visual weight is determined by many variables Size Darkness – A strong difference in the contrast of objects will influence its weight. The darker an object is, the heavier we perceive it to be. Sharpness - Sharp edges that contribute to the contrast and give an object a defined edge, have more visual weight than an object with less of a contrasted edge. Importance - determined by both placement within the frame and how recognizable an object is. If you consider the effects that a human face has on an image, when present, regardless of size or density, it will have more visual weight and more impact on the balance than other objects of similar size or density. Depth – when a picture has a long depth of field, the image has more detail, recognizable features, and frequently, has its most dense areas of weight near the bottom of the image, so that the visual weight is heavy, but there is a little to no visual movement.

Size BALANCE

Darkness BALANCE

Sharpness BALANCE

Importance BALANCE

Depth BALANCE

PERSPECTIVE Linear Perspective - the further away that parallel lines get from the viewer, the closer they appear to get to one another. Aerial Perspective – the further away that something is the softer (blurrier) and blue and less intense that it gets. The blue eventually fades to gray. Apparent brightness – increases the closer an object or reflecting surface is to the viewer. Conversely, the duller an object appears, the further away that it appears in the picture plane.

Linear PERSPECTIVE

Aerial PERSPECTIVE

Apparent PERSPECTIVE

JUXTAPOSITION The placing of one object near another to allow either physical or conceptual comparison. The naturalness or the strangeness of the positioning of the objects in the frame will effect, balance, value, and meaning in the imagery. The relative distance between objects should reflect their relationship.

SHAPE Space enclosed by a boundary line. Silhouettes, illustrate the amount of information available from just a shape. Positive and Negative space. Figures are called positive space, and the background is called negative space. When the contour between the positive and negative shapes seems to belong to both, a figure-ground conflict occurs and the negative space fights for attention. Discuss placement of things with faces related to the edges of images. And the power of creating triangles in images for dynamic eye movement and strong relationships.

Positive and Negative SPACE (SHAPE)

VALUE The range of gray within a picture (every step between black and white). In black and white photos the amount or variety of values defines spatial relationships, establishes depth, effects visual weight, gives shape to objects, and can help move the viewer’s eye through a picture. Keys – value is also related to key. A high key picture is one whose values are predominantly above middle gray. A low key picture is one whose values are predominantly below middle gray.

High Key VALUE

Low Key VALUE

LINES Lines are graphic elements within a picture. They can create leading lines that moves the viewer’s eye through a picture They can define depth with linear perspective, The hardness or softness can establish quality and focus *Discuss the power of diagonals in images to create dynamic images that keep the viewer’s eye moving.

Leading lines LINES

Define Depth LINES

Establish focus LINES

TEXTURE Texture is the surface quality of an object (how rough or smooth it is). Although textures are tactile in life, in photographs they are representative of surfaces and patterns. Lighting plays an important role in textures. The harsher the lighting, the more likely it is to blow out the shadowy details that reveal the texture to the camera.

TEXTURE

VOLUME Like texture, volume is an illusion in photographs. Volume is the amount of 3 dimensional space that an object occupies. Volume appears to have height, width, and depth. Silhouettes or very high contrast images give good shape, but have little feeling of volume. Volume can be enhanced by shading on the subject and by the shadows that are cast on and by the subject.

VOLUME