The Process of Composition and the first element, Shape.
Welcome to Course THREE! In the first two Modules you will gain a more professional-level understanding of the Design Elements that artists have used throughout history to create successful compositions. Arranging the Elements in ways that lead viewers through their compositions is an essential craft for photographers no matter whether their subject matter is pure documentary or vividly exotic personal expression. In Modules 3 & 4 we survey the essential elements of post-photography image management, using Adobe(tm) LIGHTROOM(tm). Image adjustment software designed for Smartphone photographers rounds out the Course. Since even photographers whose mainstay is a high-end DSLR also must admit to Smartphone use occasionally, and photographers who only use a Smartphone will usually admit that they want to step over to a "regular" camera at some point, there is something for everyone here! Let's get started with Module One!
Elements of Design: Building Blocks of Composition
A writer must understand what nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and other word forms are, before putting them together in sentences that make sense to a reader. Similarly, an artist must understand the essential elements of design that must be put together to create a composition that will "make sense" to a viewer of their artwork. In this first module you will learn about the Elements of Design so you can understand their functions and use them effectively to guide your viewers to the content you wish to be conveyed by your photographs, whether it be creative, or documentary, regardless of the subject matter.
MAKING not TAKING pictures.10:43
The Process of Composition and the first element, Shape.10:26
FORM: the 3-dimensional aspect7:58
Peter Glendinning
Art, Art History, & Design
Mark Valentine Sullivan
Music / Innovation Hub
All right, we're going to get started with shape and start putting this all together.
Think of the process of creative a visual composition
as similar to that which a writer would take in constructing a sentence.
The writer has a particular message that he or she wishes to convey.
And if they are a creative writer,
that message may not be completely formed in their mind when they begin to write.
But they're confident that if they begin the process of writing, of putting
nouns and adjectives, verbs, punctuation and other elements in their proper order.
They will not only discover the true meaning of their communication, but
the reader will be able to discover it too.
The first part of the process is one of discovery by the writer.
What is it that they wish to convey to the reader?
Not simply in terms of content, but in tone and the emotional,
philosophical, or other sense.
If the words are not in the right order, no matter how creative they may sound,
then they can't convey the right meaning to the reader.
If you are making a philosophical statement about the internal spirit of
the person that may or may not be captured by their photograph.
The words on this slide might make sense and might suit your creative purpose.
However, if the words are not in the correct order to match
the purpose of the writer, then the reader will not understand the meaning.
This slide shows the words that you would want to use if you were chasing a thief,
and trying to enlist others to help you catch them.
Of course, they are the same words in each phrase.
But their syntax, the connections that create meaning
through the order that they're placed in, well, that's very different indeed.
As artists using a camera to create a two-dimensional picture,
we go through a process of selection similar to that which writers do.
Instead of words, we're arranging visual elements that we discover in a scene.
Such as this one that I discovered on the island of Milos in Greece.
In this first photograph, I was attracted to the archway and the door beyond it.
But there are some distracting elements as well, like the fragment of the garbage can
on the left and its shadow, and the lightbulbs and wires up above.
I tested different options for
the order in which I could arrange those visual elements.
Just as the writer tests different arrangements of word elements.
And finally, I came to a conclusion that I had found the best
way to organize the visual elements that were available.
So that my personal response was presented in the picture.
I had finished arranging and rearranging the elements of the picture.
In a way similar to how an author works with different combinations of words.
The roots of the word photography actually mean writing with light.
In the rest of the series of lessons, in modules one and two of this course.
We're going to explore the ways that photographers write with light,
using the writing implement of a camera, the ink of light and the sensor as paper.
Putting visual elements together instead of words.
Because they are akin to the nouns, adjectives,
verbs, and other structural elements for the writer.
These visual elements are shape, form, texture,
tone, line, color, and pattern.
Let's get started with shape.
Shape is defined as the two dimensional aspect of something, or someone.
Its height and width, its exterior linear outline.
Shape does not tell us about three dimensional aspects,
just the two dimensional.
In this slide we have a very high contrast photograph of an object.
The term high contrast means fewer gray tones and
more pure black and white tones and certainly this picture qualifies.
Can you imagine what kind of object was in front of the camera
when this picture was made?
You already know that if there is a great amount of light in the background and
very little light on the foreground elements,
especially if they are darker toned foreground elements.
A photographer can easily create a silhouette by adjusting their
exposure in the camera, like this one.
With the knowledge you have gained in this specialization already,
you too could make a picture just like this one.
Here's a second high contrast photograph of the same object, but
this time, it's seen from a slightly different angle or vantage point.
We certainly get a different idea from this picture
about the shape of the object.
And even though you probably find it difficult
to determine what the object really is.
You've already learned a very important lesson
about what creative photographers do.
We look at shape, at the outline.
As an artist you'll make choices.
Among the many choices you will make will be
whether to emphasize a visual element such as shape.
And based on the direction you view something,
what that shape will actually look like.
You'll be making choices not only about the way it looks, but
what the visual element will mean to the viewer of your picture.
You might be able to guess what the object is from this third view,
are you ready to see what it really is?
in its three dimensional form.
And photographing to reduce it to two dimensions, like this sail boat and
sail, might be a good assignment to give yourself.
With the introduction of our first visual element, that of shape.
Let's move on to the other lessons and
expand our visual art elements vocabulary even further.