integrate colour and design theory

CUVDES04B Integrate colour theory and design processes in response to a brief (UM10) - Sue McArthur

Integrate Colour and

Design Theory

Taught by Benjamin Walton

CUVDES04B

CUVDES04B

Cover for the first bauhaus journal 1926

Taught by Benjamin Walton

Paul Outerbridge Triumph of the Egg 1932

Unity. Characteristics, associations and meanings.

Balance. Characteristics, associations and meanings.

Dominance. Centre of Interest. Framing the Picture. Placing the Subject.

Contrast Characteristics, associations and meanings

Rhythm. Characteristics, associations and meanings.

Colour Nature, characteristics, associations and meanings.

Volume / Size. Nature, characteristics, associations and meanings.

Texture. Nature, characteristics, associations and meanings.

Tone. Nature, characteristics, associations and meanings.

Shape Nature, characteristics, associations and meanings.

Line. ( Points, Direction) Nature, characteristics, associations and meanings

Student class notes from the subject Integrate Colour Theory and Design Processes

in response to a brief CUVDESO4B (UM10)

Acknowledgement

to the teacher

Benjamin Walton 2011

Unity and Balance

In class we discussed

the art of layout, and that

it is an art of balance

which provides a sense of

stability + the right + wrong

way of doing things. How

to balance a photgraph

is not a mathematical

formula but an instinct,

we dont have to define

it, as it is intangible. Our

teacher said he has the

need to place objects

+ build relationships

between those objects

in his photography. The

most balanced objects are

patterns, but then there is

no tension if the patterns

are perfect, there is no

zing in the photograph.

We can add tension to

the photo by varying the

pattern.

Symmetrical Balance

or reverse repetition, are

when objects are on the

opposite sides of axis

giving dignity, severity,

discipline, regulation,

such as State Buildings,

Houses of Worship,

Old Banks + Insurance

Buildings (see photos).

Informal Balance

is the opposite of

symmetrical balance.

Unequal parts are

asymmetrical, less

peaceful more obvious

but more interesting than

formal balance.

When unity is achieved:

The individual elements

within a composition will

not be competing for

attention. The key theme

will be communicated

more clearly. The

design will evoke a sense

of completeness and

organization.

Unity also gives elements

the appearance that they

belong together. When

a composition has unity

the design will be viewed

as one piece, as a whole,

and not as separate

elements Using too many

shapes and forms may

cause a cluttered and

confusing photo. A well

organised design will

be achieved by using a

basic shape which is then

repeated throughout the

composition.

Observations made on the following photographs in classclass:

Observations made on the following photographs in classclass:

1. Garry Winogrand (American, 1928–1984)Staten Island Ferry, New York City, New York 1971, - Symmetry, straight down the middle a formality about it. Left + right top + bottom contrast is in the 2 people in the middle.

2. Yasuo Kuniyoshi by Arnold Newman, 1941 Balance with tones . Prominent Japanese artist. Balance with the shoulders level with the table.

3. General Dwight D. Eisenhower - Arnold Newman New York, 1950. Tight crop brings you directly into his gaze. Symmetry going on hand lined up with nose. Gazing down at us, the axis of the camera is below so he looks down. How he has used his hand which can dominate the shot, he’s clenched it to reduce the size. Shoulders line up with the mouth.

4. Eugene W. Smith’s - Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath. 1972. Minamata, Japan - Triangle shaped with side lighting.

5. Garry Winogrand-Rhinos-1963.

6. American Legion Convention, Dallas, Texas, 1964. Garry Winogrand. Shape centre of interest.

7. Karl Blossfeldt - Delphinium Larkspur. Tonal with no shadows. Side lighting.

8. Ansel Adams Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico 1941. Contrast in the sky texture in the foreground, line.

9.André Kertész - Les lunettes et la pipe de Mondrian, 1926. Tonal contrast, shape, light tones lead the viewers eye.

10. André Kertész - Martinique , 1972. Geometrical, abstract.

11. Josef Koudelka - Child - Portugal, 1976 . Light shape intrigue.

12. Symmetrical Balance gives a formal appearance, dignity.

13. Garry Winogrand - Francis Bacon 1963. Incredibly awkard positioning. Balancing the light tones left + right. His gaze pulling you one way + the road pulling you the other. The blacks are ramped up to Dmax. Textural feel in the road + the grass .

14. Chicago Insurance Building - Symmetrical Balance gives a formal appearance.

15. Henri Cartier-Bresson. Washington DC. 1957.


UNITy

Unity creates a sense of or-der. When a design possess-

es unity there will be a consistency of sizes and shapes, as well as a harmony of color and pat-tern. One way this is accomplished is by repeating the key elements, balancing them throughout the composition, and then adding a little variety so that the design has its own sense of personality. Learning to juggle the elements and principles in such a way as to achieve the right mix is a key to good design.

Unity provides cohesiveness to your designs. It is what pulls the elements together. Ele-

ments that are positioned close to one another are re-lated while elements that are farther apart are less related.

Unity looks at how close or far apart various elements on the page are to one another. The closer two elements are,

the stronger the relationship is between the two elements.

Unity - Elements are arranged with consid-eration of several factors (known variously as the principles of organisation, principles of art, or principles of design) into a har-monious whole which works together to produce the desired statement – a phe-nomenon commonly referred to as unity. Such factors in composition should not be confused with the elements. For example, shape is an element; the usage of shape is characterised by various principles.

Unity occurs when all of the ele-ments of a piece combine to make a balanced, harmonious, complete whole.

U nity - Line - the visual path that enables the eye to move within the piece. Shape - areas defined by edges within

the piece, whether geometric or organicColor - hues with their various values and intensitiesTexture - surface qualities which translate into tactile illusionsForm - 3-D length, width, or depthValue - Shading used to emphasize formSpace - the space taken up by (positive) or in between (negative) objects

TONAL CONTRAST

is the difference between the light and dark areas of the image and is one of the most powerful tools to define its centre of interest. A good example of tonal contrast are silhouettes. When the tones that comprise a picture are very close to each other in tonal value but lack many deep tones (e.g. black) or bright tones (e.g. white) the picture is said to have low contrast. As the tonal situation changes and pictures present more dark and light tones, the images exhibit higher and higer levels of contrast. Here are some facts about the human eye and what it makes of tonal contrast

- Light areas advance whilst dark areas retreat

- When looking at a picture the human eye catches the lighter objects in the scene first

- Light areas look and feel lighter, dark areas look and feel heavier

COLOUR CONTRAST

is the difference between cool and warm areas of the image. Colours may be of the same tone but still be opposite. To get a better idea of the colour opposites a colour wheel is useful.

- Colour contrast works better with fewer and larger colour masses

- The more vibrant the colours the more colour contrast

- The more colours you introduce to the photo the more colour contrast will decrease.

With Michael Kenna’s photo we talked about the way he lets the viewer into the shadows and the use of both high and low contrast. Photographers often use highlights to get the viewer to look into the photo and this photo is particularly clever with the detail in the foreground.

We discussed Alfred Stieglitz’s use of tone and that he had beautiful control of tone and contrast, and that his images were alomost im-pressionist and successionist. The Successionist movement would do all sorts of things with negatives, such as scratching them to achieve results.

Margaret Bourke Whites photo shows how Juxtaposition is often used in photography to set up a contrast in mood. In this case it is all black people on the breadline set against an opposing background which sets up a narrative where one image plays against another.

The tonal contrasts and shapes used in Elliott Erwhitts photo-graph here were noted in class

Max Dupains Australia Square photograph was mentioned for its quality of building contrast with lines and tonal contrasts.

William Klein Macy’s 1954Claustrophobic with eye lines going in different places and texture is very contrasted

Thomas Hoepker

Watching The World Change

With this photo we discussed how easy it is to apply our own narrative to it and that it is a juxtaposition with peo-ple relaxing when the smoke rises in the background and at how the bikes make it look recreational against the trag-edy of September 11. It asks questions but provides no an-swers. A “picture of truth and

of falsity”.

Robert Doisneau

Bistro at Arcueil, 1945.

Is this image a post war comment showing the tradi-tional way of life juxtaposing on high rise buildings be-hind with a lot of social commentary rolled int o the pho-to we can still read these subjects 70 years later.

Contrast - we talked about extremes, up + down, big + small, degrees of contrast, highlights + tonal ranges, low contrast withlots of graduation, + how we can use one or another to send a message. Rich black + clean white can be sharp, dramatic + they may sacrifice some detail, the viewer can fill in the gaps. There is a move in digital photography to use HDR. Gradual tonal variation are peace-ful, restful + are sometimes high key. Contrast in mood is when the subject matter + the elements have something stand out against one an-other, an area of high contrast leads your eye to that point.

Paul Outerbridge

Woman with Claws 1937

Juxtaposition is of-ten in the context of bringing out one mood against another, it is trying to get 2 images playing off each other.“For his time, Ou-terbridge was too advanced to be able to find broad public acceptance for his nude studies.

Alfred Stieglitz

The Steerage - 1907

One of the greatest photos of all time. There is a class theme going on with the upper and lower decks, with a play of dark tones split into 2 with the gang plank and the white boater hat against the dark tones with strong implied lines. Famous because of the structure of the composition with all the verti-cal lines leading up and down, the tones plus famous for the social statement. Another example of juxtaposition.


Frequency/Rhythm

When the distance between repeated objects is identical they create a frequency. When the distance is varied between several frequencies it creates rhythm.

Repetition

Anytime several objects share a characteristic, then a repetition is created. When more than one characteristic is shared then the dominant one is used to describe the repetition. Repetition helps create consistency and a design flow. Photo - Micheal Kenna - New York.

Rhythm. Characteristics, associations and meanings.

Stuart Franklin - 2005 - Niger

Radial - radiation is a formal and repetitive structure with structure units that are situated around a common centre.

Rhythm - is one of those principals of taking a really good photo it is a simple and elegant tool and when deployed into the composition of your photograph, it creates a compelling picture. It sets a pace that’s dependable. When the distance between the repeated objects is identical, the repetition has an even frequency. When the distance between the objects varies between several given frequencies, the repetition has rhythm. Rhythym is ideal for stimulating and expressing emotions. Rhythm builds up an expectation, then if we break it we can introduce a spike in our photos and some tension or drama.

Repetition - is a systemazing process setting up a pace that’s dependable. Repetition of intervals can be regular or irregular. It has a persistent pattern of accents and intervals. When several objects with a single shared characteristic are arranged in a composition, the object has been repeated, even if other characteristics of the objects are different. When a multitude of objects has one particular feature in common, such as form or size, repetition is called form repetition, or sizes repetition respectively. When the repeated objects have more than one feature in common, the most dominant common feature is selected describe the repetition. Some of these quotes, but not all are from:-

Christian Leborg - Visual Grammar (2010)

Fence posts there is an alternation between light and dark + repeated again. He has given us a starting point for this line with the post it gives a frame of reference of where to start, leading us off into the photo with repetition. - Photo - Ansell Adams fence posts


With the subject of Rythym some music by Steve Reich was played so that we may observe how each cell of the musice was repeated then how the composer takes another cell and puts it on top, therefore layering the cells, using 18

instruments and a limited number of chords being used, giving the rythym and “ u p p y downy” straight type of rythym, a l m o s t straight up and down. It starts soft, with a select number of notes, where he has given himself rythymic cells and manages to have them sound organic, because he has pared back all the elements, the analogy used to relate music to photographic techniques was very useful allowing oneself to experience the rythym aurally rather than visually. Steve Reich was recently called “...among the great composers of the century” (The New york Times). Mr. Reich's path has embraced not only aspects of Western Classical music, but the structures, harmonies, and rhythms of non-Western and American vernacular music, particularly jazz. In April 2009 Steve Reich was awarded the Pulitzer prize in Music for his composition 'Double Sextet'

In applying the above technique we talked about paring back all the elements in our photos and letting it sing rythym, which is one of the principles of taing a really good photo, it is a simple and elegant tool. Rythym is a systematic process setting up a pace that’s dependable. Repition of interval that can be regular or irregular. It’s persistent pattern of accents and intervals is ideal for stimulating and expressing emotions.

Repetition with variation sets up an expectation, then adds a spike to the photograph, by varying the expectation. Rythym is established but broken.

Peeking Through The Curtains Alex Majoli - Brazil 2004

Discord is the opposite of extreme to rythym and harmony is in between and combines the characteris-tics of both. Discord con-cerns all dimensions and is the maximum interval of shape and size. Discord is a combination of totally unrelated units and chaos is the total lack of order. Here we observe discord in this photograph by André Kertész - West 20 Street1943.

This photograph was discussed for the gra-dation in tones from light to dark with the dimunendo musical analogy applied to it as a reference and again the rythym of the lines in the photo by André Kertész - In the cellar 1948.

Ballet Theater, 1947

Irving Penn

Rythym built with the subject s and the spaces between them as well as the elements of the photographic and it’s repetition.

Andrew Gonzales

irregular shapes, gradation, crescendo


ANDRE KERTESZ - Façades de Paris

Rhythm is establised in this shot. We follow the line from left to right. Relationships are established with the shut-ters being opened and one is closed which breaks the rhythm. Interval plays a part in this photo


Garry Winogrand

Horizon on angle gives

sense of unease. The

figures getting smaller

give you a sense of

depth

Joseph Koudelka

Watch 1968

Where is everybody in this photo?

Margaret Bourke-White

American Woollen Company Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1935


Arnold Newman

Jimmy Breslin

Volume described with linear perspective, low view point camera axis just below belt, beautiful verticals + horizontals, The natural perspective makes you want to look there and by putting a foot on the timber, gives a

Irving Penn 1950 The Two Butchers

Margaret Bourke-White

Checking a grinding machine in a flour mill, circa 1939


Dominance. A composition can have areas with many objects or with few objects. Areas with a large number of objects are not necessarily the most visually dominant.

Dominance. Centre of Interest. Framing the Picture. Placing the Subject.


Scott Kelby employs a compositional technique known as the rule of thirds, which is loosely based on the Divine Proportion. Basically, it’s your camera’s view split into a nine-square grid with the idea that you position your subject at any point where grid lines intersect. As you can see here, this yields a more pleasing composition. The subject of this piece falls at the intersection of two grid lines and is also placed based on the Divine Proportion itself, which clearly defines this as a well-composed image.

We discussed the The Divine Proportion is based on the ratio of one object to another as defined by the number 1.618033988749895. For example, if you take the length of a rectangle and divide it by its height and it equals 1.618 (etc.), the rectangle is called a golden rectangle because the lengths of its sides are in the golden ratio.

The Divine Proportion is often represented by the golden spiral. This is the tool used by artists and sculptors to achieve remarkably accurate proportion and aesthetic composition. In the golden spiral, the ratio of the length of the side of each square to the length of the side of the next smallest square is in the golden ratio; the rectangles formed by the combination of squares are golden rectangles; and at every quarter-turn, the spiral gets wider by a factor of Phi.


In class we observed Henri Cartier

Bresson’s images and it was mentioned

that they were compositionally brillant.

It is quoted that “he discovered that he

had an eye for finding geometric shapes

in everything. For Henri, geometry is the

foundation of photography.”

The photographer Weegee was mentioned

and that he developed his photos in the back

of his car. He worked in New york City as

a press photographer in the 1930s and '40s,

by following the city's emergency services

and documenting their activity of urban life,

crime, injury and death.

The photographer Steve McCurry’s photo

was shown. It was taken in Sri Lanka in the

1990’s. We talked about the shapes in this

photograph and the way that your eye follows

the lines in the photograph, together with the

fact that colour plays a part in the photograph

and that there is repition in the photo as well.


We discussed the elements and principles of design, such as the rule of 3rds and the golden spiral. This technique appears to be deployed in the photo here with the fisherman. We also discussed the photo of the bent over woman below, as being the dominant subject in the photo. We also talked about subordinates, how they are necessary to allow the dominate subject to exert its supremecy, and that you need to consider the size of the subject relative to the background and how well it stands out against the background (contrast) to avoid a tonal merger. We talked about related and united forms where a group of objects combine together to function as either a related or united form. We use elements and principles of design to convey design within the composition of our photographs.


We looked at Trent Parke’s photo above, his photos were shot mostly with a Leica camera. He has a centre of interest in mind. He says “I am forever chasing light. Light turns the ordinary into the magical.” It was mentioned to look at his book, “Street Life”.


Space. A composition can have dense and open areas, this creates white space in the layout.


Analogous colours Colours next to each other on the colour wheel


Monochromatic colours

Opposite on the colour wheel. We talked about the use of complementary colours in this Van Gogh painting Starry Nights, + how they intensify + en-hance each other.

Complementary colours

Cool complementary colours with warm tones in the skin, the lighter col-ours gift the photo a “lift”.

Annie Leibovitz photographs. This almost monochramatic photo of Cate Blanchette with the red high-lights showing in the back-ground gives it balance.

Annie Lei-

bovitz photo

of Bette Midler.

The lighting

is flat.

Annie Leibovitz photo a dramatic fashion photo.

Almost monochramatic. The photographer is renown for her

excellent use of colour.


Secondary colours

Colours next to each other on the colour wheel

Primary colours Analogous colours

Analagous Colours next to each other on the colours wheel

Orange, Green + Purple.

Primary colors because they cannot be created by mix-ing other colors

CUVDES04B Integrate colour theory

we discussed the photographers

• Margaret Bourke-White

• Paul Outerbridge

• Garry Winogrande

• Josef Koudelka

• Karl Blossfeldt

• Max Dupain

• Arnold Newman


Volume Size. Nature, character-

istics, associations and meanings.

Volume is an empty space defined by surfaces, lines and points

CUVDES04B Integrate colour theory and design processes in response to a brief (UM10) - Sue McArthur sue mcarthur photography

Volume Size. Nature, character-

istics, associations and meanings.

Texture

With texture you get a sense of texture with the tones in skin. There is man made textures, as

well as natural textures such as sand, bark. Use side lighting, for a bumpier textured look, and the more oblique the angle achieves this look. We talked about the Richard Woldendorp’s aerial photography, where he photographs landscapes from the air and achieves a sense of texture, such as the image below


Texture. Nature, characteristics, associa-

tions and meanings

Alfred Stieglitz

Michael Kenna


A two dimensional image with the use of ‘texture’ can become an almost three dimensional image. Texture particularly comes into play when light hits objects at interesting angles. Shot with the sun high in the sky is the way that it highlights texture on vertical surfaces. The roughness of the walls is accentuated as the light cast small shadows along the wall in the midday sun. Side- light and uplight can give a similar impact High sun photos shown here in the corrugated fence.

Texture. Nature, characteristics, associations


Texture. Nature, characteristics, associations and meanings

Gilles Peress Mother and child, Iran 1979

sue

Werner BischofRock formation, Switzerland 1943

Sue McArthurTextured Wall, Sydney 2011

sue


Texture. Nature, characteristics, associations and meanings

Texture. Nature, characteristics, associa-tions and meanings

sue mcarthur photography


Tone - we learned your eye goes to the light areas of a photo 1st, and that the dark gives strength. The photo implies mystery, intrigue, dignity and that silhouette is the simplest tone. Dark = suppression, negative

moods, fear dignity, strength, whereas white is more inviting to the eye. We learned that side lighting is best for portraiture to give it form and character and that you can guide the eye + attract the viewers attention as the eye is usually attracted to the lightest tone and then the subject matter. Arnold Newman - Marcel Duchamp 1966

Tone, nature, characteristics, associations + meanings, photographic tools + techniques used to emphasis tone.


Michael Kahn - Sailing Vessels - American Photographer & Environmentalist

Silver gelatin sepia tone photograph



The abstract black and white photos carry a unique element by casting a gray scale tone across the photos.



Tone is probably the most intangible element of composi-tion. Tone may consist of shad-

ings from white- to-gray-to-black, or it may consist of darks against lights with little or no grays. The use of dark areas against light areas is a common method of adding the feeling of a third dimension to a two-dimensional black-and-white picture. The interaction of light against dark shades in varying degrees helps to set the mood of a composition. A picture consisting of dark or somber shades conveys mystery, in-trigue, or sadness. When the tones are mostly light and airy, the picture portrays lightness, joy, or airiness. It was stated that it is best to put your

gradient from dark to light from the bottom to the top as in this ex-ample otherwise if you gradate from top to bottom there is a feel-ing of “falling down”.



A r n o l d N e w m a n - Pablo Pi-casso - 1946We discussed in class that lighter tones in a photo-graph give it a pleasant mood and that photos framed in white matt boards are more invit-ing + that black matt boards make prints look s m a l l e r .

we discussed in class the effect of this image, we were drawn to the dark areas, wondering what was inside them + that the light was short in the day, where the shadows were + that it was a very good example of tone. That your eyes were drawn to the light + wondered where the people were headed. Paul Strand photog-rapher Wall St. 1915



lewis morley christine keeler

It was men-

tioned in this

famous photo

that there

was not much

shadow detail

separa-tion

We discussed in class the need to be creative in the use of light, it was quoted about pushing exposure to the right. “Correct expo-sure is at least as important with digital capture as it is with film, but in the digi-tal realm, correct exposure means keeping the high-lights as close as possible to blowing out, without actu-ally doing so. Some photog-raphers refer to this concept as “Expose to the Right” because you want to make sure that your highlights fall as close to the right side of the histogram as possible. Raw Capture, Linear Gam-ma and Exposure” was written by Bruce Fraser

Trent Parke, the only Australian to make it into the Magnum Photogra-phers, name was mentioned for his use of tone + light.

We talked about the importance of lighting that the fill light and the main light be away from the subject, to get a ration, and about the type, position, ration, control of shadows + tonal gradation of the background. It was also mentioned about neutral density filters, graduated filters, and what part they play in achieving toned photography


2Raw Capture, Linear Gamma, and Exposure

The same linear processed capture with a tone curve appears normal.

This is the curve required to apply a gamma correction tone to the linear capture. After the tone curve, the histo-gram has a normal distribution throughout the image.

This means that if a camera uses 12 bits to encode the capture into 4,096 levels, then level 2,048 rep-resents half the number of photons recorded at level 4,096. This is the meaning of linear gamma—the levels correspond exactly to the number of photons captured.

Linear capture has important implications for exposure. If a camera captures six stops of dynamic range, half of the 4,096 levels are devoted to the brightest stop, half of the remainder (1,024 levels) are devoted to the next stop, half of the remainder (512 levels) are devoted to the next stop, and so on. The darkest stop, the extreme shadows, is represented by only 64 levels—as shown above.

To achieve the correct exposure for our tone photography we need to consider the following chart where Bruce Fraser talks about exposure and the need to push it slightly to the right.


Negative Space - In a painting or drawing, the space around the object is just as im-portant as the object itself. A good artist strives for a balance between the positive

space (the object) and the negative space (background) around it. you have the object of your photo, and whatever else is left is automatically deemed negative space


Negative Space


All curved lineswhich are soft but the image isstrong we thinkbecause of thetone used inthe photo

Elliott Erwitt Photographer

strong pyschological linesacross the photograph

Elliott Erwitt Photographer

Isoceles triangle

Triangle reptition

silhouettesgives usdistance

Repetition within the photograph


The piano is a strong, harsh, linear, but very beautiful shape, that looks like a B �at.

In this portrait Newman uses a single light source and photographs from some distance. The piano dominates Stravinsky, who is sitting almost o� the edge of the image, in a thoughtful pose.

Igor Stravinsky - Arnold Newman 1946

Triangle shape

Lines in triangle shapes are repeated throughout this photograph


Elliott Erwhitt - USA. California. Hollywood. 1956.

Black + white - Solid Shapes - Abstract - Analysed

shapes in the above photo analysed fortheir composition


Frame within a frame


Portrait of German industrialist Alfried Krupp July 6, 1963 in Essen, Germany. (Photo by Arnold Newman

Triangular shapebetween the arms

George Braque - artist - Normandy 1953Photograher Robert Doisneau

The subject isprobably sitting on about a third of thephoto


repetition

Photographer Elliott Erwitt

Only thingin focus is the subjectin the frame

strong verticalslead the eyeto the subjectto the subject


Disconcerting photowith an impassivelooking childwith a rule of 1/3rds almost

repititionof shapesin this photo

Large basin for whites

subjectalmostcowering

Uneasyfeeling

This photo doesnt let you rest youreyes go back + forth across the photo

Shape Nature, characteristics, associa-tions and meanings.

Photographic tools and techniques used to emphasise shape


Two dimensional shapes - these play a part in photographic composition.

Compo-sition

refers to the two di-mensional organiza-tion of the painting an overall pyramidal form.

We discussed the composition of this photog-raphy with the strong vertical lines, the rule of thirds and the depth in the photography to-gether with the tones used and the repetition in the photograph.Portrait of Brit-ish artist David Hockney as he poses, hands in the pocket of his cardigan, next to one of his paint-ings, London, England, May 28, 1978. (Photo by Arnold New-man.

Ovoid-shape


Actual triangles are somewhat rare to come by, however. Instead of looking for them, a trianglecan be used more abstractly: to position your main and secondary subjects in the frame, or by using three subsidiary points of interest form a "frame" for your main subject.


focusing the attention on the main subject


Triangle

Philippe Halsman"The Eternal Triangle". shape

The triangle

A triangle is a closed curve that incorporates at least one diagonal. Being closed, it won't lead the eye out of the frame.However, especially an equilateral triangle is a lot more static than a diagonal. By itself, and especially in the middle of the frame, it can lead to a static and boring composition. Sometimes triangular areas can make for unusual pictures, like this one, for example:

Is one of the strongest shapes - give you a sense of stability

French poet, artist and �lmmaker Jean COCTEAU.

We noted in class if we organised our subjects in a

photograph in such a way that there is a trianle between

several subjects faces, that it is quite an elegant way

to arrange a shot, and lead the viewers eye around the

shot. Triangles are built from diagonals and are one of

the strongest shapes.


We noted in this photo the triangular shape in the lighter area which then intersects down the vertical shop corner line and straight through the child in the photo. It is shot on an angle.

Line. ( Points, Direction) Nature, characteristics, associations and meanings. Photographic tools and techniques used to emphasise line.


This photo drew lots of discussion with the varying lines, again it was noted on wherever there is a human in the photo our eye is drawn to it. There are lines and curves. The curve of the road and the jagged steps add tension, and lead your eyes down the stairs to the road. The curvature of the road leads your eye down the road.

We discussed the effects of the line in this photo with its horizon line and vertical lines.


We noted on this photo that wherever there is a human in the photo our eye is drawn to it. Also the curved line in the centre of the photo

Ansel Adams Tetons and the Snake River 1942

In our class lesson it was noted that line is a very primal thing and that we can use it in our compostion in photography and that every photograph must start with a principle feature in the photographers mind, which will be very important in our 2nd year photography assignments. It was mentioned that in a pho-tograph, your eye usually follows to the right, and that even the borders of a photograph are a line, as is the horizon line. That we can alter our horizon line by making it lower in the photo, and that we can pull the viewer into the photo using line. Even a person’s stare in a photo can be used as line. Line has length position + direction, + can be vertical horizontal + diagonal.

In this photo we noted it was

• balanced

• had a sense of peace

• had a sense of direction

It was men-tioned in class that the in-tersection of vertical and horzon lines gives this im-age a sense of stillness and that the curved and diminish-ing line of the road, gave the image a sense of peace, that it was balanced and calm.


There is a strong point of interest with the steel girder and a strong line going through the photo. We discussed to get the feel-ing of height look down on some-thing – shoot from above to down below, as in the above photo-graph

Line. ( Points, Direction) Nature, characteristics, associations and

meanings.




Windscreens

Windscreensassignment


SKETCHES

Bill Brandt

Bill BrandtOuterbridge

Micheal Kenna

Bill Brandt


Windscreens

Windscreensassignment


With this photograph I have tried to employ the principles of Contrast together with the use of contrasting Colour.

I have used primary colours and tried to attract the viewers eye with the light highlights in the upstand of the Ferris Wheel. I have also used the rule of thirds in the photograph by placing the subject on the third section of the grid together with the golden spiral falling onto the subject. The contrast between the blue and the red colours, is highlighted by the whites and

light colours and there is a sense of anticipation with the possible movement of the Ferris Wheel. There are highlights in the tonal range graduating from light to dark in the sky. The clean whites are sharp giving the image a crispness. The area of high contrast in the wheel, leads the viewers eye to it in the first place, then you are left to explore the rest of the image, which with it’s contrasting background makes the subject stand out. One of the other types of contrast in this photo is the use of lines and sense of rythym which makes the eye follow the direction of the wheel upwards. The photograph has a feeling of simplicity about it and is distinct in it’s colours and has the same tonal range and density in the reds and the blues. There is a question as to which is dominant colour and which is the contrast colour. Red appears to be the contrast colour because of the predominance of the blue over a larger area. There is a mood set up by the photo as a result of the primary colours used and this makes it appear to be a modern subject rather than an olde worlde style Ferris Wheel, which may have been the case if different colours were used with a softer lighting. There is also contrasting shapes in the size of the Wheel as opposed to the carriages and the dominance of the object over the dead space on the page. I have tried to catch the viewers eye with the use of colours and contrast and for them to put their own narrative on the photograph based on memories of what Ferris Wheels represented to them.


In this photograph I have tried to employ the techniques taught in class, those of Balance, together with the principles of unity, line, tone, dominance + shape. The predominant subject in this photo is Balance.

By using the rule of thirds and placing the objects on the third section of the grid, I then positioned them under the golden spiral, so it would direct the viewer to look at the subject matter (see examples below). The background and foreground are in contrasting colours, to give some balance to the photo and backdrop to add definition to the arrangement of rocks. The light tones used in the foreground

helps to draw the viewer’s eye into the picture, whereas the dark background recedes. I have used the technique of selective focus to get the viewer to focus on the subject. I wanted to create a sense of simplicity within the composition so I pared back the subject matter, which added to the overall sense of balance. I then combined the subject with light tones to add balance, and tried to achieve a soft feeling to the photo, despite the objects being hard objects, which I feel added to the sense of balance. The balance in the photo was not only from the obvious physical balance but also there is balance because of the division of the foreground and background being on the “horizon”. There are tonal contrasts graduating from light to dark with the light areas advancing and the dark areas receding which also leads to the overall sense of balance. The dark area adds strength to the rocks to help set the balance . The composition has visually dominant objects which have been placed to become the centre of interest, again trying to achieve balance. I have tried with this monochromatic image to add interest by focusing on the different tones in the rocks to give the picture depth and interest. The polished texture of the objects adds a tactile sense to the picture. The two dimensional shapes are almost triangular in shape and the dividing line in the background it forces the eye to the foreground. There is unity in the photo with a sense of order. This composition has been used before in photographs, but I wanted to try the same technique and in doing so realised that the compostition combines most of the principles learnt in the subject Intergrate Colour and Design Theory.Unity also gives elements the appearance

that they belong together.


Practical Assignment - The use of Shapes, backed up by tone, lines, contrast + texture

The elements that I chose was the use of Shapes primarily, with the repetition of the circular lines of the plates, following the principals of Fibonnaci.

I then chose to intergrate those shapes with careful placement, looking at the various angles presented by the edges of the objects.

The principals of unifying the image was by the use of tone together with the repetition of the objects. The use of subordinate objects in the same genre also helped to unite the

overall photograph.

The centre of interest, is the dark toned olives in the photo, firstly I think by the shape of the bowl in which they are placed, and also by using the rule of thirds for the positioning of

the bowl.

The viewer is attracted initially to the darker tone because of it’s positioning in the photograph and because of it’s color, then afterwards by the use of high key elements.

I endeavoured to create an image that was pleasing to the eye by using the almost nautilus shapes of the bowls wrapping around the cup so that there was a flow to the image. I

wanted to convey a sense of relief with the high keyed tones, together with a curiosty with the placement of the feather.

I hope I have managed to convey some of the principals learned thus far in this course into this photograph above.

With this photograph I have tried to use the Fiobannci principals and the rule of thirds.I have tried to create shapes in the photograph by including rythym in the alignment of the plates by having repeating lines following a curve.I then tried to create shapes with the pyramid of salt in the foreground.I endeavoured to lure the viewers eye to the centre of interest, by the placement of the bowl of olives, and also by the use of tones and contrast and texture.The image was to convey an enlighted feeling with the use of high key photography.I also used the technique of adding texture to the photograph, by carefully placing props of lace and feathers together with the smoothness of the olives, and the granular effect of the salt.I hope that I have managed to encompass some of the elements of principals of design that we

have learned to date in this course. The use of high key photography required careful exposure to capture the textured details and highlights in the photograph. This is not the photo submitted for the high key assignment, but produced as a result of learning about the Golden Spiral in class. Can you see the grid on the photo above?

integrate colour and design theory

Documents

contrast characteristics

art of balance

colour nature

informal balance

design processes

shape nature

design theorytaught

direction nature