The Formal Elements
Focus: Which areas appear clearest or sharpest in the photograph? Which do not?
Light: Which areas of the photograph are brightest? Are there any shadows? Does the photograph allow you to guess the time of day? Is the light natural or artificial? Harsh or soft? Reflected or direct?
Line: Are there objects in the photograph that act as lines? Are they straight, curvy, thin, thick? Do the lines create direction in the photograph? Do they outline? Do the lines show movement or energy?
Repetition: Are there any objects, shapes or lines which repeat and create a pattern?
Shape: Do you see geometric (straight edged) or organic (curvy) shapes? Which are they?
Space: Is there depth to the photograph or does it seem shallow? What creates this appearance? Are there important negative (empty) spaces in addition to positive (solid) spaces? Is there depth created by spatial illusions i.e. perspective?
Texture: If you could touch the surface of the photograph how would it feel? How do the objects in the picture look like they would feel?
Tone (Value): Is there a range of tones from dark to light? Where is the darkest value? Where is the lightest?
Focus: Which areas appear clearest or sharpest in the photograph? Which do not?
Light: Which areas of the photograph are brightest? Are there any shadows? Does the photograph allow you to guess the time of day? Is the light natural or artificial? Harsh or soft? Reflected or direct?
Line: Are there objects in the photograph that act as lines? Are they straight, curvy, thin, thick? Do the lines create direction in the photograph? Do they outline? Do the lines show movement or energy?
Repetition: Are there any objects, shapes or lines which repeat and create a pattern?
Shape: Do you see geometric (straight edged) or organic (curvy) shapes? Which are they?
Space: Is there depth to the photograph or does it seem shallow? What creates this appearance? Are there important negative (empty) spaces in addition to positive (solid) spaces? Is there depth created by spatial illusions i.e. perspective?
Texture: If you could touch the surface of the photograph how would it feel? How do the objects in the picture look like they would feel?
Tone (Value): Is there a range of tones from dark to light? Where is the darkest value? Where is the lightest?
Arnold Newman
Red Brick Wall New York, 1948 This photograph was taken by Arnold Newman, Which he named red brick wall that was taken in New York 1948. I would categorise this photograph as a landscape as it shows a two buildings. One visual element that I can see in this photograph is colour which is what stands out most for me in this photo, by Arnold Newman keeping this photograph in colour it gives me a sense of mood for example the colour of the building in the foreground is a washed out orange from this i can suggest that the building has been their for a while as well as the building in the background this gives me a idea that the atmosphere around that area is dull, depressed and isolated we can also indicate that hardly many people live their anymore as it looks like it has not been taken care of. Continuing with colour i can tell that arnold newman intenuently used and wanted the colours to be washed out, grey which emphasise making the atmosphere look dull and lifeless as though people who once live there have given up. One other formal element i can see texture for example the texture of the buildings appears to be rough and looks cold which is the texture of most buildings however the building background looks as if its stoney, uneven and bumpy there is also different shades of grey which shows that their is a tonal range. |
From this photograph taken by Vivian Mairer, shows many formal elements one such as texture in addition to this the most appealing texture is coming from the man jackets it appears to be checked in addition to this the texture emphases the look of roughness and harshness. I feel that you have to look at the jacket in depth to notice the textures and also get a clear understand of how it emphases the photograph. The texture of the jacket also appears to look as if the man has been wearing the jacket for a long time or for a repeated amount of time as I can see the jacket looks warn out and creased. The items in the photograph towards the bottom left corner the items texture appears to feel rough, creased and harsh I can make this assumption of the items because the items look crinkled and rough which then creates dark, harsh, and sharp shadowed sections within the photograph. The colour of the photograph is black and white which makes the dark shadows that appear in the photograph appear more vivid and bold. The photograph is appears to be more realistic because it is black and white were as if it was in colour the colours within the photograph wouldn't be as contrasting. In addition to this colour being in black and white it creates a sense of a dull and depressing mood however it also tells a story of were the man is coming from and going to, the black and white also makes the placement that the photograph was taken at seem dry, lifeless, emotionless, and unexciting. The focus of this photograph is sharp, clear and direction on the subject by the photograph being in focus it gives the viewer a clear understanding of what the photographer wanted the viewer to notice. However if this photograph was in soft focus it would not be as depth full and visually appealing to the viewer. |
Jerry Uelsmann
Small World Were I met myself This image shows five people in the woods, it looks like a double exposure photograph the photograph on top looks dark and the photograph underneath looks dark however it has some light aspects within it. The people may look like they are standing by and behind the tress, in addition they look quite spooky. The words i would use to describe this whole photograph would be ghostly, sinister, fear, weird and mysterious in a way that makes me feel unease. I would also use these to describe it to a person who is unable to see the image. I would also describe this image as naturalistic, it is naturalistic because of the trees and the woods, because tress are a natural object i feel it works well with the people. The objects are everyday life objects such as the tress and the people, the people are presented in a creepy unrealistic way and change from dark to light, however they work along together well. The space in this photograph is presented quite close together and quite dense, however the image underneath the top image is spaced apart and spaced out, unlike the image on top which is quite squashed together, the bottom image strikes me as the most interesting and gripping this is because it has a dark background and light objects which contrast together, because the black background is very dark and a pitch black colour, it makes the white objects pop out and make them the centre of the photography. If i had the photographer in front of me i would ask him what inspired him to create this photograph and what he was thinking while and after he had taken the photograph. I think that the photograph can also be described as depressing and alone. One last idea i have about this photograph is that it has a hidden meaning behind it it also looks like the person in the centre of the photograph is trying to escape or run away from something, while the others are trapped and left isolated
Vivian Maier
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Francesca Woodman
photograph annotation
Francesa woodman is one of my favourite photographers, after looking at all of her photographs i have decide to pick this ones as it shows many visual formal elements for example in this photograph the model is showing emotions from her facial expression i can suggest that she looks scared or afraid of something or someone. I can tell this she is hidden away in the corner holding herself close to the wall this can also suggest that she doesn't want to be seen and noticed. Another formal element that i can see in this photograph is light, the light fall onto the wall this then makes the wall a lot brighter than other sections within the photograph such as the section next the women appears quite darker. The light also falls onto the women's dress this makes the women;s dress texture appears to feel soft and also warn out this could also suggest that the has been in the dress for a while and also the fact that her dress is torn. Another formal element that is the most noticeable is tone within the photograph I can see many tonal ranges the vary from highlighted sections to greys to darker sections which all contrast with each other,.
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For my first experiment i was told to focus on the formal elements I had a choice of many but I decided to focus on line, and texture. I am happy with the outcome of all my photographs however to make them even more successful I could upload them onto photoshop change the filter into black and white and alter the exposure and contrast to make the photographs stand out more and also give them a tonal range. As I wanted to focus on the formal elements line, and texture I went in and around school capturing photographs were I saw held the most lines such as the stairs, benches, the lockers, the pattern on the doors and the edges of benches, also because I was focusing on texture as well i also took some close up photographs of trees which held a rough and hard effects also the benches which we smoother than the tree. As I went in and around school I tried to capture lines and textures at different angles I took these photographs on my iPhone5 as the quality is better than a iPod. I found that focusing on line and texture were the most easiest formal elements to focus on as the school displayed many objects that held strong line of direction and also shape.
After looking at this photograph i deiced that i wanted to change the filter from colour into black and white, the first step was to upload the photograph into iPhoto were i then change if from colour to grayscale which drained all the out all of the colour in the photo, to emphsise the look of the black and white effect i then altered the contrast and the exposure firstly i turned up the exposure from zero to 0.22 this then enhanced the lighting making the exposure lighter than it was originally
This is my second photograph i wanted to edit as i feel it would look more successul in black and white, firstly i uploaded this photograph in iPhoto i then changed it from colour into black and white after i did this i was happy with the outcome, i then decided to alter with the expsure and contrast starting with the exposure i turned it up to 0.97 which then exposed the light emphasising it to look more bright which then contrasts with the darker sections which then gives a overall tonal range look. Overall i am happy with the outcome of this photograph
Foer this experiment I went in and around school using my iPhone were I was focusing on the formal elements line and viewpoint. Overall I am happy with most of the photographs that I have taken however i feel as though there are some I could edit and develop as some hold to much natural light and less darker sections. However I do like all of the angles that I took the photographs at as I feel its emphases the depth and meaning of the photographs. In addition to this I feel that by taking most of my photographs in a close up frame I am able to capture what I wanted to within the four corners, also by doing this I was able to make the object the centre of attention and in relation to this it then meant I did not capture anything in the background of the object that I didn't want to be there. On the other hand not all of my photographs are in complete focus on the subject, as in some photograph there is movement within the background that I feel then takes away the fact I wanted the main focus to be only on the subject that I was focusing on such as line and viewpoint, Furthermore I feel most of my photograms turned out successful in the form of viewpoint and some turned out more successful in the form of lines. To improve my photographs that are less involved with viewpoint I would put myself In a position were I were am able to capture the object in its full potential for example if I were to take the photograph of the boxes and bamboo sticks in the office again I would wait until nothing was in the background or I would put myself in the position of getting closer up to what I want in my photograph, this way the main focus would be on the subject instead of the viewer being distracted of what is happening in the background.
Camera-Less Photography
In this photograph I can see one of the formal elements for example framing and the composition before i took the photograph i had to think of the angle and what i wanted to be in the frame. From the angle that the photograph was taken at it was a low angle capturing what is outside, you also have the frame of the bottom half of the window and a small section of the wall, another formal element that i can see is tone, the two colours are contrasting with each other making them both stand out which is also eye catching and interesting. If were to describe this photograph i was describe it as simple because of the two simple colours that work well together. In the center of this photograph the framing is of the window which takes up most of the photograph however there is also a small section of the wall that looks like it has been cropped out, also within the photograph you can see what is outside and the formal element which include shape,line, and texture.
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