Photo Shoot: Elements and Principles of Design

Most of you have encountered these in previous Art and Design Tech courses. The Elements are the things visual images are built from – lines, shapes, colour and so on. The Principles are the way the Elements are arranged, and the way they interact to give life to the picture.

Your assignment is, with a small group, to shoot a series of digital photos that showcase each of the Elements and Principles. You’ll download these, edit them in PhotoShop where necessary, and make a Powerpoint explaining briefly how each uses that Element or Principle. You’ll also do a quick individual analysis of one photo you took.

Not sure of the elements and principles? Please have a good look here. They’re photos of mine that explain each Element and Principle as applied to photography.

As a Group

1. Form a group of 2 or 3 students. If you have your own camera, you may choose to do this on your own.

2. Borrow a digital camera from me if needed. Any camera will do – you don’t need fancy setting or high resolution. You must be productive when you have the camera – others may be waiting to use them.

3. Return when agreed, and download to one of your logins. Make a folder named AWT3, and under it make a folder named Elements Shoot.

4. Download the photos using “My Computer”. Cut from the camera and paste to AWT3/Elements Shoot, so the camera doesn’t get cluttered. ANY SHOTS NOT DOWNLOADED IMMEDIATELY MIGHT BE DELETED BY ME!

5. Decide which pics are best for each element and principle and rename them e.g. IMG_8335.jpg becomes Contrast.jpg. You might have 2 great pics for one element – that’s fine, use them both. The shooting will likely need to be done in a few short sessions, not all at once. Work on Photoshop projects at the same time.

6. Delete unused pics.

7. Open the pics in Photoshop to do any necessary cropping, level adjustments etc.

8. Insert the pics into Powerpoint, one per slide.

9. Title each slide with the name of the Element/Principle. Then add brief point form notes explaining why you think the shot exemplifies the Element/Principle.

10. Add your names and a photo of each group member to the title slide, save and you’re done!

Individually

1. Choose your favourite photo from the ones you took with your group. It’s okay if it was used for one of the elements or principles too.

2. Copy it to this folder: AWT3/Elements Shoot (make theses folders if you haven’t already. If you’re not sure how, ask me.

3. Insert the photo into a Word document. Save it as Analysis.doc in this folder: AWT3/Elements Shoot

4. In the Word document briefly analyze what elements and principles are important in the photo. You should mention at least 8, stating what they do for the photo.

5. Finally, and most importantly, state what else you think makes it a good photo – subject, composition, technique etc. Why does it appeal to you; what special qualities make it work? What would make it even better?

Example

Important Elements:

· Shape - the outline of the dog’s head and ears make an interesting shape that’s the most important element in the image

· Space – the placement of the head in the foreground with an empty background taking up the upper half gives an open sense of space

· Colour – the rich orange colours complement the blues and greens of the water

· Texture – the hairy texture of the dog’s fur is very evident because of the clear focus and good lighting

· Value – overall the photo has high value, with few low valued areas. In fact the whites are overexposed.

Important Principles:

· Balance – the photo has a deliberate symmetrical balance, with the line of symmetry right down the middle of the image and the dog’s head. The flower head on the left adds a little interest as the only asymmetrical item

· Repetition – the repeated ear makes us move our eyes from one side to the other

· Contrast –the photo has high contrast in value between the sunlit areas and the shadows and darker fur. The orange and blue colours contrast, as noted above. The contrast in texture between the smooth water and the rough hairs also gives emphasis to the subject.

· Dominance – the position, size, and contrast to the darker water all add to make the dog’s head very dominant in this photo.

· Variety – the thousands of dog hairs show a rich variety in colour and shape.

Why Do I Think This is a Good Photo?

· Subject – there’s something appealing in a humorous way about a dog contemplating the scene in front of it.

· Action – the wind lifting the dog’s ears gives life and humour to the image.

· Point of View – it’s unusual to shoot a portrait from the back – it’s almost like sneaking up and having a peek into the dog’s private thoughts as it sits contemplating the water

· Beauty – the rich colours and strong texture create a visually appealing scene

What Could Be Improved?

· The photo was overexposed so that the highlights on the left side are washed out. This can’t be fixed in Photoshop, but a bit darker exposure would have helped.