Visual TechniquesTerms for analysis

Salience

Salience refers to the feature in a composition that most grabs your attention.

Placement: usually an image becomes “heavier” if placed towards the top or left.

ColourSizeFocusDistance

An image can be made salient through:

What is most salient?

What part of this image is most salient?

Why is it most salient?

A reading path is the path you take through a visual text.

The path moves from the most salient to the least salient elements.

Reading paths

Describing the reading path.

In this image, what path do your eyes follow?

What is the reading path here?

A vector is a line that leads your eye from one element to another.

A vector may be a visible line or an invisible one.

It can be created by such things as a gaze, pointing fingers or extended arms.

Vectors

Explanation: how vectors work in the following images.

The Last Supper

Direct Gaze: Connecting subject with the viewer

Straight lines can act like miniature highways in images. Long straight lines grab the eye and pull it from one end of the line to the other, skipping everything between.

The longer and straighter the line, the faster the eye moves.

Straight Lines

Prominent vertical lines are the most powerful lines in visual media. We associate them with strength, height, integrity, solidity, dominance and power. Such as when viewing a tree, skyscraper, flagpole or anything else standing tall and sturdy.

Solid vertical lines are attention-getters and can be used to create tension. They are powerful composition elements

Vertical Lines

INTERPRETATION - Sony: strong, powerful, dominating the field

In contrast to the effect of vertical lines, horizontal lines can lend a lazy, calm feeling to an image. They bring to mind how it feels to lie down and be relaxed.

Using horizontal lines to create a calming mood are to capture long, rolling waves on a shoreline, using the solid line of a wall, the horizon line in nature; and capturing the peaceful line of an ocean horizon.

Horizontal Lines

INTERPRETATION – KitKat: calm, tranquil, relaxed

Diagonals are more visually dynamic than verticals or horizontals. Where vertical and horizontal lines sit in the composition and are restricted to up-down, left-right movement, diagonals can sweep across any area of the image and go in any direction and this is what causes that ‘dynamic’ feeling associated with these lines.

Diagonals are often used to create a sense of tension, or can serve the same purposes as horizontal and vertical lines in that they can guide the eye, and act as frames, borders and isolators.

Diagonal Lines

INTERPRETATION – Utah University: exciting, dynamic, different

Lines that converge are lines that come from different areas of the photograph and lead toward a common intersection, object or area.

Can act as strong a focal point, main shape or it could even be the main subject of the image. The use of converging and diverging lines can often result in highly creative, artful compositions.

Converging and Diverging Lines

Framing can be achieved by borders, discontinuities of colour and shape, or by white space.

Connectedness can be achieved by vectors and devices such as overlapping or superimposition of images.

Framing.

Demand: subject looks out of the image at the responder, demanding attention and engaging you.

This establishes a connection between subject and viewer.

GazeDemands and offers.

Offer: The figure looks away.

The viewer is a detached onlooker.

GazeDemands and offers

The viewpoints come from the vertical and horizontal angles.

Subjective and Objective viewpoints

Subjective viewpoints encourage the viewer to adopt a certain stance

A high angle gives the viewer a sense of power

Subjective images continued

A low angle makes the viewer feel powerless

Subjective images.A straight on eye level view creates no power difference.

The viewer is not drawn into involvement with the image. Meaning comes from the symbolic connection made by the reader.

Objective images

Social Distance.A close up is intimate

A medium shot is close

A whole figure framed is close

A long shot is for social distance

Lighting creates mood - Shadows may suggest concealment or

fear and despair -Light, hope and inspiration. -Soft light, romance.Colour can be symbolic

Lighting and Colour

Modality/credibility

Lowest modality graphics are the least real.

Highest modality is most real.

Influences on modalityIdealisation: the image

is better than real.Decontextualisation:Components are

removed from the expected context and used elsewhere.

Influences on modality cont.

Modality can be affected by tricks with perspective.

The End