Stop taking poor photos and avoid embarrassing, out-of-focus, or underexposed pictures. Knowing the elements of photography and how to apply them will help you capture perfectly framed and focused images.
eosdoc.com gathered the following information on the basic elements of photography and what they mean to an image’s composition.
Elements of Photography
The basic elements of photography are line, shape, form, texture, pattern, color, and space. All of the elements refer to how you set up your subject, background, light, etc., in your photo. Consider the following:
Line – Can be vertical, horizontal, curved, or jagged. Lines imply motion and lead the viewer’s eyes into a photograph or to a focal point of the photo. Some examples include roads, sunsets, and bridges.
Lines affect photographic composition in two ways. First, they create a mood. Second, they lead the viewer’s eye through the photograph. By affecting mood, lines add emotional content or substance to images.
Shape – Shape is the two-dimensional appearance of objects as your camera captures them. If you were to look at an image of a ball, you’ll find its shape is a circle, and if you look at a picture of a cube, you’ll find it is shaped like a square.
Shapes convey tons of information to the viewer. They can suggest size and weight, and the manner in which they interact with the negative space and the other objects in the image tells the viewer about the object’s proportion, how it compares to other objects, and how important it is.
Form – Form refers to when and how shape takes on three dimensions. Form is created by light, shadows, and highlights on an object in a photograph. Ultimately, shape becomes form when light hits the subject.
Form in photography is where light and shape collide to create depth within images. Form renders an image lifelike, so the photo stands out because the viewer gets the sense that they can reach in and touch the image’s person or object. To create depth in a photo, you must have form.
Texture – In photography, texture is the visual representation of variations in an object’s color, shape, and depth.
Texture is likely the easiest element of photography to explain (in terms of emotions). Usually, the words used to describe the texture in the image are the same as those used to describe the feelings it invokes. If the image’s texture is rough, it imparts rough emotions to your photo. If the texture is gentle, its mood is gentle, etc.
Pattern – Pattern in Photography is a repetition or regularity within a scene. The elements creating or occupying the scene repeat themselves in a predictable and precise way. Pattern is found everywhere and is frequently seen within shapes, colors, and textures.
Learning to spot a pattern in a scene will serve you as a powerful composition tool. Pattern photography creates a sense of calm, while a broken pattern can create interest.
Color – Color is one of the main elements comprising design in art. It forms the structure of any visual design and helps deliver its message. In photography, it is used to generate emotion from its viewers while improving the image’s composition.
Together with light, image color is one of the most critical elements of photography. It affects everything from composition and visual appeal to the viewer’s attention and emotions. Used correctly, color helps direct attention to your subject, creating a pleasing visual effect.
Space – Space in photography is the act of adding visual space in front of the direction that an object is moving, looking, or pointing to imply or create motion and direction, leading the viewer’s eyes.
Positive space in an image is the subject, while negative space (white space) is the area surrounding the subject. Negative space acts like breathing room for your eyes. Too little negative space typically results in cluttered or busy photographs with every element screaming for the viewer’s attention.
Photography Composition
Every time you capture a photo, you make conscious decisions about what items to include, highlight, or exclude. You also decide how those objects are arranged and positioned in your frame. So, what is composition? It is the arrangement of basic elements in your photo.
Photography Elements and Composition
In this article, you discovered essential information on the basic elements found in photography and how they impact an image’s composition.
By understanding how an image’s elements can lead a viewer’s eyes and affect their emotions, you can compose and capture better and more memorable images.
Not knowing and ignoring the basic elements of photography will leave you taking embarrassingly poor pictures.
Sources:
nfi.edu/shape-photography/
4h.okstate.edu/projects/communication-and-expressive-arts/site-files/docs/photography/photography-content-using-elements-and-principles-art.pdf
e-education.psu.edu/geog883/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog883/files/Elements%20of%20Photographic%20Interpretation%20Common%20to%20Several%20Sensors.pdf
staff.4j.lane.edu/~holte/old/2003website/5.Elements.of.Photography.html