LONDON LIFE - Visual Elements

Which compositional techniques has Daniel used in this image?

What key words from the sheet do you think apply to this image?

What are the visual

elements in
photography?

Line

Tone
Shape

Form

What are the visual

elements in
photography?

Colour
Texture

Space

LINE

Line
Line can be useful visual
element when composing
images.
Lines are formed by the
edges of things when there is
an apparent contrast
between light and dark areas
or between different colours
or textures.
Lines can also be suggested
or implied by patterns or
repetition.

Henri Cartier Bresson

In this image where are the

implied lines and where do
these lines draw the viewers
eye?
6

Line
What do we call the
compositional technique
based on using lines to
draw the viewers eye to a
focal point within an
image?

Henri Cartier Bresson

7

Line
What do we call the
compositional technique
based on using lines to
draw the viewers eye to a
focal point within an
image?

Leading lines
Henri Cartier Bresson
8

Horizontal And Vertical Lines

Horizontal lines can

suggest a feeling of
stability, calmness or
tranquillity.

Chris Monaghan

Vertical lines can suggest

power and strength.
10

Horizontal And Vertical Lines

Horizontal lines can

suggest a feeling of
stability, calmness or
tranquillity.

Chris Monaghan

Vertical lines can suggest

power and strength.
11

Paul Strand

Study this urban landscape by Paul Strand. Discuss what Strand

might have been saying about the society would you like to live
there?
How do the strong vertical lines and dark shadow areas affect your
interpretation of the image?

12

Diagonal Lines

Chris Monaghan

www.hjk.co.uk

Diagonal lines tend to be visually dynamic suggesting

movement, a visual tension and/or excitement.
13

David Bailey
14

Curved Lines
Curved lines often suggest organic (living, breathing)
things.

15

COLOUR

Primary Colours:
Red, Green, Blue.
(RGB)

Complimentary
colours:
Cyan, Yellow,
Magenta.

17

Colours on opposite sides of the

colour wheel are called
complimentary colours and can
create a feeling of tension or
drama.
Colours which are next to one
another on the colour wheel are
called analogous colours* and can
create a sense of peace, restfulness
or harmony

* Analogous means to correspond or be similar in some way.

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19

Van Gogh
Constable

Which of these images

uses complimentary, and
which uses analogous
colours?
How does this colour
choice help or affect the
meaning of each image?
Philip Lorca Do Corcia

20

FORM

Film still from The Manchurian Candidate

How does the photographer suggest three-dimensional space (i.e.

depth)?
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1. Mans head is larger than womans so our brains interpret this as suggesting that
he is nearer to the camera than the woman.
2. Background is out of focus suggesting depth
3. The lighting creates shading suggesting three dimensional form
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What visual
element(s) help
give this
photograph
depth and a
three-dimensional
character?

Fay
Godwin
24

What visual
element(s) help
give this
photograph
depth and a
three-dimensional
character?
Answer: the
leading lines
formed by the
tracks and ceiling
supports.
Fay
Godwin
25

TONE

Tone
Shadow

Mid-tone

Highlight

Tone describes the darkness

or lightness of a particular
area in an image. Very light
areas are sometimes called
highlights and very dark areas
are called shadow areas.
Shading (where the tone
changes gradually from
highlight to shadow) is often
used to emphasize the form
and three dimensionality of
an object.
Angus McBean

27

TEXTURE

Texture
An image can create a
visual experience which
suggests a particular tactile
sensation.

Whilst photographs normally only

create an impression of texture, other
artworks such as painting and sculpture
can include actual textures.
How could you make a photograph
include actual texture?

For example, this

photograph of dry rotting
wood creates an
impression or feeling of dry
dustiness, while the
porcupine conjures up the
feeling of sharp points
Ouch!

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SPACE

Space
Space can be filled or left empty (negative space).

Study these two images of urban life

What message about urban life do you think these
photographers are trying to communicate?

31

Space
Space can be filled or left empty (negative space).

The images are by Joel Meyerowitz and Andre Kertesz and use space to
suggest very different meanings about life in the city.
One image suggests vibrancy, action and the buzz of city-life while the
other uses space to suggest a more melancholic, alienated and lonely feel.

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Use the visual elements to deconstruct/evaluate your

final images from each shoot.
Write 1 paragraph summarising each series.
What visual elements did you manipulate?
What were you trying to draw the viewers attention to/
communicate about the environment you shot in?

Catherine

Rio

Angie

Use the visual elements to deconstruct/evaluate your

final images from each shoot.
Write 1 paragraph summarising each series.
What visual elements did you manipulate?
What were you trying to draw the viewers attention to/
communicate about the environment you shot in?
Present a final series from each shoot (Corelli, Thames
Path and Barbican)
1/2 page or 1/4 page each image)

4 Key Compositional Techniques

Minimalism Symmetry
Leading lines

Framing

The Golden Ratio

& Rule of Thirds
What is the golden ratio?
What is the difference
between the Golden
Ratio and the Rule of
Thirds?
What is the purpose of
the guidelines in both
these rules?

LONDON LIFE - Presentation

What makes for

successful
presentation in
photography?

WWW / EBI
Peer Evaluation