VISUAL ELEMENTS

Focus: the sharpness or clarity of subjects in the photographic image. Soft focus is created when a photographer manipulates the camera to achieve blurry, gentle edges. Photographers use the apertures (lens opening) and limitations of the lens to create sharp detail, soft edges, or both; this is called selective focus.

This is an example of selective focus. Selective focus is used to capture a viewer’s attention to one specific area of an image. in this photo the photographer wants us viewers to focus on that one particular leaf. Then he blurred everything else out to make sure that the viewer focuses on that particular leaf.Credit: Thomas Clark

Light – light quality describes the source, amount, and direction of lighting in a photograph. Light can come from natural sources like the sun. It can be altered or created by humans, by using such things as flash bulbs or lamps. It can also be diffused by clouds or by humans putting a veil of cloth over a lamp. The direction of light is also important when looking at photographs: it can come from above, behind or from one side. Bright, dim, cloudy, directional, diffused, and flash are some terms used to describe lighting.

This picture is an example of natural light. The sun is beaming down on the ground which brings out the trees and their branches and leaves. Credit: Henry Jones

Texture – texture is how the surface of an object appears to feel or actually feels to the touch. Texture can be described as rough, smooth, soft, etc. Texture is shown in photographs by the way the light falls on an object and through value changes. The paper on which the photograph is made also determines texture.

This picture is an example of texture because texture also has to do with colors and patterns and in this picture it shows all kinds of colors mixed together and the pattern of those colors.Credit: Nasim Mansurov

Line: there are objects in photographs that act as lines. They can be straight, curvy, thin, and/or thick. Lines also create direction in the photograph. They also outline and show movement or energy.

This picture is an example of a line photograph. The sand creates curvy lines. It also shows how the lines create direction to a certain object in the photograph. The curvy lines direct the viewers’ eyes to the mountain rocks in the background. Credit: Russ Burden

Shape – a picture with geometric or organic shapes

This picture is an example of shape because as you can see, in this picture that the photographer took, there were a few triangles. Credit: Julie Waterhouse

Repetition – object, shapes, or lines repeat to create a pattern

This picture is an example of repetition the shape, color, and size of the stones are repeated, they never change. Credit: Jason R.

Space – there is a rule called Rule of Space. This rule states that if the subject is not looking directly to the camera, or looks out of the frame, there should be enough space for the subject to look into.

This picture is an example of space because the photographer made space between the persona and sky. Making viewers automatically look at what the person in the photo is looking at. Credit: Kevin Travis

Value/Tone – lightness, brightness or value of a patch in a photograph

the yellow fire hydrant is an example of tone/value. It’s a brighter color than the grass that causes it to catch the viewers eyes. Credit: Tony Martin

Geometric Shape - An image that is created by mathematically generated geometric shapes

This picture is an example of geometric shapes because the photographer took a pic of a city that had a lot of geometric shapes like pyramids, rectangle, and squares.Credit: Reimar Gaertner

Organic Shape - shapes based on natural objects such as trees, mountains, leaves, etc.

This picture is an example of organic shapes because this mountain is shaped like a triangle or pyramid and the trees are shaped like triangle. Credit: Michael S. Lewis

BASIC VOCABULARY Abstract – an image that emphasizes formal elements (line, shape, etc) rather than specific, recognizable objects.

this photo is an example of abstract because it makes you focus more on the lines of the object then the actual objectCredit: Patricia Sweeney

Content -

Documentary Photography - photographs whose main purpose is to record a place, person(s) or event.

This picture is an example of a documentary photograph because it focuses on the little boy and where he’s located. Where he lives Credit: Dennis Bautista

Expressive - concerned with communicating emotion

You can see the love and care the mother has for her child by her facial expression . This is an example of an expressive photo Credit: Loveish Kalsi

Intention - reason(s) why the artist made a work of art

Landscape - an image that portrays the natural environment

This photo is an example of a landscape photo because grass and flowers are a form of natureCredit: Lorelei

Portrait - is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a

small group of people, in which the face and its expression is predominant.

This picture is an example of a portrait because it is a picture of a certain person. A picture of a person’s face with a certain expressionCredit: Pete Souza

Representational - an image which shows recognizable objects

This picture is an example of representational because the viewer can recognize and automatically know exactly what they are looking at.Credit: Chriton Sheward

Subject - the main object or person(s) in a photograph

In this picture the subject is the shoe and the skateboard. You know this because the background is blurred out just so that the viewer would know to only focus on the skateboard and shoe Credit: T. Moe

Theme - a unifying or dominant idea in one work of art or in a collection of works

COMPISITION of the PHOTOGRAPH

Angle - the vantage point from which the photograph was taken; generally used when discussing a photograph taken from an unusual or exaggerated vantage point.

Background - the part of a scene or picture that is or seems to be toward the back.

This is an example of background because the scene in the back of the photo is being focused while the object closest to us is blurred out. Credit: Daniel Goodman

Balance - the distribution of visual elements in a photograph. Symmetrical balance distributes visual elements evenly in an

image. Asymmetrical balance is found when visual elements are not evenly distributed in an image. Or a photo that has a mixture

of close and distant objects, a mix of light and dark, etc.

This photo is a symmetrical balance photo. Which means that all objects are placed on each side of a given point giving you a composition that is uniform in shape. The best way to describe this would be a mirror image. Credit: Kaushal Joshi

Central Focus -the objects(s) which appears most prominently and/or most clearly focused in a photograph.

This photo is a good example of center focus because the flower is the most clear and the main focus in the picture.Credit: Jess

Composition - the arrangement or structure of the formal elements that make up an image.

The most prominent visual design element is the red line on the cactus. It is an S-curve that leads your eye through the image.Credit: Julie Waterhouse

Contour - the outline of an object or shape

This photo is a good example of contour because you can see the outline of the wine glasses Credit: Gert Lavsen

Contrast - strong visual differences between light and dark, varying textures, sizes, etc.

This photo is a good example of contrast because you can see the strong difference in color between the follower and the background of the photo.Credit: Carla Hoskins

Framing - what the photographer has placed within the boundaries of the photograph.

This photo is a good example of framing because the photographer used the trees as a border for the main object in the photoCredit: Fredrik Silverglimth

Rule of Threes - The rule of thirds is one of the main “rules” in art and photographic composition and stems from the theory that the human eye naturally gravitates to intersection points

that occur when an image is split into thirds.

This Picture is a good example of the rule of thirds because the babies are in the middle column Credit: Amanda Pair

Setting - actual physical surroundings or scenery whether real or artificial.

This picture is a good example of setting because the leaves is surrounding this single leaf. Which makes a fall type sceneryCredit: Drewle

Vantage Point - the place from which a photographer takes a photograph.