PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNPHOTOGRAPHY

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.

SHAPESpace 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)

VALUEThe 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

LINESLines 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

TEXTURETexture 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

VOLUMELike 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