Hakimi bin Halim

 There are patterns all around us if we only learn to see them. Emphasizing and highlighting these patterns can lead to striking shots – as can high lighting when patterns are broken.

 Images a two dimensional thing yet with the clever use of ‘texture’ they can come alive and become almost three dimensional.  Texture particularly comes into play when light hits objects at interesting angles.

 Perspective is one of the visual design elements. It indicates depth in a two- dimensional image.

 The perspective that a shot is taken from is another element that can have a big impact upon an image.  Shooting from up high and looking down on a subject or shooting from below looking up on the same subject drastically impact not only the ‘look’ of the image, emphasizing different points of interest, angles, textures, shapes etc – but it also impacts the ‘story’ of an image.

 Photography is a two-dimensional medium. Perspective is the tool we use to indicate depth. We can decrease or magnify the sense of perspective by how we arrange our other design elements (lines, shapes and textures).  If we arrange them in a way that reflects the "real" three dimensional world, then we can easily communicate in a familiar language.

 How large objects are in relationship to each other gives us an indication of their distance away. If there are two objects that we know to be the same size in real life, and yet one appears much smaller than the other in the image, we assume the smaller one to be further away.  Think of two people in a photo. One appears large, and the other tiny. We don't jump to the conclusion that the tiny one has been magically shrunk! Instead, we simply assume that person is standing further away.

 We use focus as a cue for distance. This is related to the atmospheric effect defined above. In addition to making distant objects appear lighter, the haze also makes lines and edges softer, and less "focused."  As a result, we tend to interpret sharper, in- focus objects as being closer to us than softer, out of focus ones.

 Lines can be powerful elements in an image.  They have the power to draw the eye to key focal points in a shot and to impact the ‘feel’ of an image greatly.

 Most of us use ‘frames’ to display our images when we hang them on walls for viewing – however ‘framing’ can be used within the composition of a shot to help you highlight your main point of interest in the image and and/or to put it in context to give the image ‘depth’.

 There can be a fine line between filling your frame with your subject (and creating a nice sense of intimacy and connection) and also giving your subject space to breath.  Either technique can be effective – so experiment with moving in close and personal and moving out to capture a subject in its context.  Sometimes it is what you leave out of an image that makes it special

 The positioning with elements in a frame can leave an image feeling balanced or unbalanced.  Too many points of interest in one section of your image can leave it feeling too ‘heavy’ or complicated in that section of the shot and other parts feeling ‘empty’.

 In visual experiences, harmony is something that pleases the eye. It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of balance and order in the viewer's visual experience.  When something is not harmonious, it can be jangling, wearisome or disordered.

 To summaries, harmony is really a dynamic equilibrium where extreme unity leads to under-stimulation, and on the other end of the spectrum, extreme complexity leads to over-stimulation.

 Harmonious colors are colors that work well together, and produce a color scheme that looks attractive.

 Color Harmony Formulas: Color harmony is achieved by arranging particular colors as formulas. Although there are many theories and formulas for harmony, the four recognized formulas, (both artistically and scientifically) are:  Monochrome  Analogous  Complementary  Natural

 he Monochrome color scheme is derived from a single base color, using just one hue. This single color is extended by using its shades and tints (that is, a color modified by the addition of black and white).  As a result, the energy is more subtle and peaceful due to a lack of color contrast. Monochromatic colors offer very little contrast and may be considered boring unless there is diversity within the design.  Composition of the painting or art work is achieved entirely through adjusting saturation and tones. Although limited, monochrome colors can be a powerful approach.

 Panning  The basic idea behind panning as a technique is that you pan your camera along in time with the moving subject and end up getting a relatively sharp subject but a blurred background.  This gives the shot a feeling of movement and speed. It’s particularly useful in capturing any fast moving subject whether it be a racing car, running pet, cyclist etc.

 Fast and Slow Speed  It depends on the variable numbers that you use in your shutter speed dial.  The fast and slow speed can produce interesting picture if photographer use it effective and creatively

 Tips  Keep the Camera Still – as you will be using a slow shutter speed any movement of the camera will significantly impact your shot. Ultimately you want to capture a zooming movement in these shots so any side to size or up and down shake will impact the smoothness of the lines in your image. Of course camera shake can also add interesting effects to the shot but it can also make the shot too blurry. To eliminate camera shake use a tripod or set your camera on a still surface.

 Move the Camera Manually if you don’t have a zoom lens or your camera won’t let you zoom while the shutter is open (as happens on some point and shoot cameras) the other way to get this effect is to manually move your camera towards or away from your subject. Of course this introduces other camera shake (see above) but it is possible to get a nice shot if you’re good (or lucky).

 Work on Smooth Zooming – to get nice smooth motion lines in your photo you’ll need to work at a ‘smooth zoom’. ie you don’t want to zoom at one speed early on and then speed up and then slow down (see next point for the exception). This will make your lines a little jerky. Getting a nice smooth zoom technique takes practice.