In our last post we talked about the elements of design and composition, so in this post I would like to expound just a bit on how we use these elements.
We use the elements of design and composition, the way that a carpenter uses individual pieces of wood, each time we create an image. Our awareness of these elements
will help us to better build the images that we want, in order to communicate our message more concisely.
We use the element of line to define spaces, define shapes, and to lead the viewer's eye around the image,and also into or out of the image. Sometimes the element of line is almost the exclusive subject of an image, and sometimes it's hard to find the line(s) in an image at all. Sometimes the line is only implied, and is defined by the way that the eye moves from one object in the image plane to another.
Shape is used in almost every image that we record, to describe the two dimensional parameters of an object. This one really is pretty straight forward, everything that we can see has a shape! YAY! Thing is compositions also have shapes. I find that I often try to arrange objects in my image plane in a particular shape, often a triangle (as I mentioned in my last post, we likey the triangles) this is due to the fact that triangles are very dynamic, very exciting, and this is due to the fact that the line that shows the most "movement" is a diagonal, and triangles are usually at least two diagonals. Think about a traditional portrait of a person seated in a chair, with their hands in their lap, the bottom of the triangle is actually the subject's elbows, and the topmost point is their face. In this case the triangle "lifts" the image because its pointing upward, and keeps the eye coming back to the face. Now consider an image of a tree, a big oak tree, and although this tree is partially defined by a roughly circular shape with a straight line at the bottom, the overall shape of the way our eyes will move around the subject is triangular. In this image the triangle points downward, and helps to ground the image. Think for a moment about the underlying psychological implications, in the shot of the person we were lifted, which helps us to think more positively, and the image seems to be uplifted. In the image of the tree though we are directed downward, we don't necessarily have a negative feeling, we always try to look on the bright side, don't we. The triangle pointing downward simply helps us to think of the thing being grounded, attached to the earth, immovable, and strong, the feeling of strength is only amplified by the fact that the trunk of the tree is a vertical line, the strongest line (don't tell the other lines I said so).
In addition to triangular shapes and compositions we tend to use squares and circles quite often as well. These shapes help to communicate feelings of stability, and to keep the viewer's eye around the image in a continuous loop, loop, loop, loop, loop,...ok sorry.
I plan to post a bit more about how we use the elements of design and composition, and I mostly hope that by briefly touching on some of these points I am helping to expose you to the fact that we build images as much as any other artist, through the use of the same exact elements that they use, and to help you begin to see the world around you for all the splendor that it holds. I most hope to get across the point that these elements hold metaphorical meanings that, even if not extremely noticeable, help to shape how we feel when looking at an image.
Back soon with more exciting tales!!!
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