How To See Better Photographs - Basics
Essential Elements
| Shape |
There are three essential elements to creating and reading an image. The first is shape. Shape helps to identify the subject of the photograph. It is the principal element of identification. When tone or colour are suppressed, you are left with an outline, a shape or silhouette.
| Colour |
Colour can be used to create contrast as well, such as brilliant orange set against a somber blue. Colour is the element in pictures from which we derive the most direct emotional response. Colour describes a scene in its fullest sense, leaving less to the imagination than do the abstract qualities of black and white.
| Tone |
Tone is a word used to describe the degree of contrast between the light and dark areas of the subject. We respond to tone in much the same way as we do colour. A certain mood is created, by the scale and relationship of those greys that range between the two extremes of black and white, even before we begin to notice and identify the subject.
By adding Tone and Colour to Shape, we attempt to give a sense of FORM
Essential Qualities
| form |
Form is extremely important to creating a three dimensional effect. Tone describes the form, by giving solidity, presenting an appearance of fullness, or roundness and depth.
| Texture |
Texture conveys the tangibility of a subject, it makes the viewer want to reach out and touch it. It is visible in all subjects, whether they are rough, shiny, pitted or sharp.
| Pattern |
Pattern is repetition and accentuation of shape, either organised or accidental. It is not necessary for shares to be identical to make a pattern, they can indeed be quite dissimilar, but pattern seeks to establish motif - the story.
