Assignment Two: Elements of Design

The idea behind this assignment is to incorporate the insights you have learned so far on the course into a set of photographs directed towards one type of subject. You should produce 10-15 photographs, all of a similar subject, which between them will show the following effects.

• Single point dominating the composition
• Two points
• Several points in a deliberate shape
• A combination of vertical and horizontal lines
• Diagonals
• Curves
• Distinct, even if irregular, shapes
• At least two kinds of implied triangle
• Rhythm
• Pattern

Choose from these groups:

• Flowers and plants
• Landscapes
• Street Details
• The raw material of food
• Choose your own subject

For this assignment, I decided to choose my own subject. Looking at the list of photographs we are asked to take, I decided to use Perfume bottles for this assignment. I have a wide range of bottles. They are all different types of shapes, sizes and colours. I wanted to use something which I hadn’t used previously, and something different from what was on the list.

• Single point dominating the composition

 For this photograph, I wanted a large, bold bottle which would dominate the entire frame. I centralized the bottle in order for it to be dominating.

• Two Points

 For this photograph, I wanted to use the same bottle, however, as I had two of the same one, I decided to use both for the ‘two points’ image.

• Several points in a deliberate shape

 Using perfume bottles for this would be quite difficult as I would have to arrange them in a certain way to produce a shape, and as they are all different shapes and sizes, it wouldn’t have worked that well. Instead, I decided to use the bottle tops off of the perfume bottles and two small sample perfumes. I created a flower design as they were all round bottle tops, and created a lovely curved design by themselves.

• A combination of vertical and horizontal lines

 For this, I decided to use two taller perfume bottles for the vertical lines, and two smaller ones for the horizontal lines. I lead the smaller bottles down in order to create the horizontal lines, and stood the taller bottles upright, to create the vertical lines, however, this image is full of vertical and horizontal lines, as the bottles contain both, whether they are stood up or led horizontally.

• Diagonals

 This was an interesting bottle. Part of the top was designed to be diagonal. I didn’t want to stand it upright, as because it was only a small part which was diagonal, it wouldn’t have had the same impact. Therefore, I lead the bottle on the diagonal piece, and because it wasn’t straight, it caused the bottle to lean diagonally within the frame. It caused powerful diagonal lines.

• Curves

 I had the perfect bottle for the curve option. The bottle is a large round circular base, with a large round circular lid which sits off the side of the base when closed. Because this bottle has a lot of curves and is an odd shape, I thought it would be interesting to photograph.

• Distinct, Even if irregular, shapes

 Distinct even if irregular shapes… I have these two perfume bottles which aren’t the typical triangular shape, however, they are triangular. These two bottles couldn’t have worked any better for this category.

• Implied Triangle

 I used all of my small sample bottles to create an implied triangular shape.

• Rhythm

 I used some of the perfume boxes for this category as they were all different shapes, sizes and colours. I arranged them in order to lead your eye through the picture, causing a rhythm.

• Patterns

 I was lucky with this perfume bottle, as many bottles are usually clear see through glass. However, this one had a pretty floral patterned label on the outside of it. I focused in really close on it, yet still keeping the bottle outline to remind you that it’s still a perfume bottle.

Conclusion:

I am really pleased with how my photographs have turned out for this second assignment. I was pleased that I was able to choose my own subject to photograph, as this meant I was able to ‘think outside the box’ and look at items or objects which I haven’t photographed beforehand. Using perfume bottles came to me whilst thinking about what I could use to photograph for this assignment. It did take me quite a while to plan out what I would use, but in the end, I looked at the categories, such as curves, diagonals etc. I realised that perfume bottles would work really well as they are all different shapes and sizes. I didn’t want to fuss around much with things such as backgrounds, I just wanted to make the bottles be the most dominating thing within the frame. Therefore I just used a pretty purple beaded mat to place the bottle on and away I went. I did plan out what bottle I would use for what category as I didn’t want to use the same one twice, but as I have a wide variety of perfume bottles, I didn’t really have to worry much. I also planned out how I would angle the camera, as for some of the categories such as triangles, I would have to position myself above the bottle in order to show the full triangular shape. As you can also see, I did incorporate perfume boxes and lids mainly because I knew they would work better for that certain photograph. I am pleased with this assignment. I don’t think there would be anything I would change. I will now wait for my tutors response.

Exercise: Rhythm and Patterns

Produce at least 2 photographs. One should convey rhythm and the other pattern.

Remember that with rhythm, there needs to be a sequence in the photograph, whereas with pattern, it works strongly when it fills the frame.

Rhythm:

 For rhythm, I decided to photograph the canvases on my bedroom wall. They are placed differently, and are different shapes and sizes, however, there is some kind of rhythm within the frame, as your eye is constantly moving throughout the image.

Patterns:

 For patterns, I decided to photograph my wallpaper. It is a never ending pattern. I took a section and photographed it.

Project: Rhythm and Pattern

Repetition has a peculiar but generally very strong appeal, particularly when its unfamiliar to the viewer.

Visually, repetition come across in two ways; as rhythm and as pattern. The difference between them is that rhythm is to do with movement across a picture, also known as the movement of the eye through a picture, whereas pattern is essentially static and has to do with area.

Exercise: Real and Implied Triangles

For this exercise, you were asked to produce two sets of triangular compositions in photographs, one using ‘real’ triangles, the other using/making ‘implied’ triangles.

Real Triangles:

• Find a subject which itself is triangular.

First Photograph:

  I saw this sign whilst on the beach and realised it was just perfect for showing a ‘real’ triangle. Second Photograph:

  The pointed railing top forms a triangular shape.

• Make a triangle by perspective, converging towards the top of the frame.

First Photograph:  

 I stood at the bottom of my garden steps. I positioned myself at an angle and knelt down. I wanted the steps to be wider at the bottom of the frame, and smaller towards the top, giving it the triangular shape by perspective.

Implied Triangles:

• Make a still-life arrangement of 5 or 6 objects to produce a triangle with the apex at the top.

First Photograph:

 I arranged these three china cupcakes into a triangular shape with the apex at the top.

• Make a still-life arrangement. Make sure the triangle is inverted with the apex at the bottom.

First Photograph:

  I saw my airplane model and realised I would be able to use it for the inverted triangle. I positioned it so the wings produced the long, bottom line of a triangle. By doing this, the rest of the plane gradually tapered in, making the rest of the triangle. The apex, which is the nose of the plane, is pointed towards the bottom of the frame.

Overall Opinion:

I enjoyed this exercise. Finding objects for the ‘Real triangle’ section, I found quite easy. I realised that triangular shapes are everywhere. The one I did have problems with was the photograph which asked you to find a triangular shape by perspective. It took me a while to figure out what I could photograph for this as its quite difficult. In the end, it was practically staring me in the face. Steps…. My garden steps worked perfectly for this, as I was able to kneel quite low down in order to make the triangle by perspective, especially as I could make the steps taper in smaller towards the top, just by kneeling down at the bottom of them. This worked really well. Finding objects for the still-life section was also quite easy.

Triangles

Graphically, triangles occur more frequently than any other shape as they are very usable in design. Because triangles have at least two diagonals, they tend to create a sensation of activity and dynamism.

The first reason that a triangle is easy to find is simply because they are made up of three sides and three corners. Even two sides will give the impression of a triangle, especially when they penetrate far enough into the picture.

When photographing a tall building, the upward tilt of the camera, with a wide-angle lens, cause the buildings vertical lines to converge dramatically into a triangle.

The second reason is a very important one in photography. It’s the effect of perspective. If the camera is level, the apex of the triangle will be pointing more or less horizontally, as when a road recedes into the distance across a flat landscape. However, if the camera were pointing upwards at a building for example, or a group of trees, the apex would be at the top of the picture, and the base would be at the bottom, which is the most stable configuration of a triangle. The reverse is also true. When the camera is pointing downwards, you will find is extremely common and easily to enhance , triangular shapes within the frame.

At this point, you need to distinguish between ‘real triangles, meaning those with clearly visible edges, and ‘Implied’ triangles. Points encourage the eye to imagine lines connecting them, allowing you to see a triangle, even if the lines don’t join.

Project: Shapes

A shape is both an enclosure and an outline, although the extent to which it appears as one or the other, depends very much on the subject and the lighting. Shape, ultimately, defines an object, but it can also be implied in much the same way as a line can.

Shaped can be regular or irregular. This means, some shapes are easily identifiable with a simple geometric outline, like a rectangle or a triangle, while others are uneven and appear to fall into no category. In a photograph, the more regular shapes that appear, the stronger the parts they play in the composition of a photograph. Contrast, either of tone or colour, also helps to decided whether shape will be important in a picture. As with points and lines, it is nearly always contrast that makes a shape stand out.

Light plays a major role in strengthening shape. Silhouettes, through back-lighting of some form or another, are especially effective because they hide detail within the subject, making the outline dominant.

The different basic types of regular shapes, by definition, irregular shapes are more idiosyncratic, are in fact just three: Triangles, Rectangles and circles. Other regular shapes, such as a trapezoid or an oval, are subdivisions or combinations of these three. The more valuable shape in composition, is the triangle. Simple because it has the smallest number of sides and corners, Valuable because the diagonals it contains make it very active, and it can also often appear to be ‘pointing’, and sometimes, contain a sense of movement. Rectangles are more static and occur most commonly in the form of man-made objects.

Exercise: Implied Lines

Start by looking at the two photographs and find the implied lines in each. If one line is dominant, indicate it with an arrow.

Photograph One : Gotthard Schuh, Threshing corn in Sicily.

Photograph Two:

The second part of this exerciseadvised me to find any three photographs I had taken, and do the same line analysis as the previous two photographs.

Photograph One:

Photograph Two:

Photograph Three:

For the third part of this exercise, you were asked to plan and take two photographs that use the following kinds of implied lines to lead the eye.

• Eye-Line:

• The extension of a line:

Overall Opinion:

I enjoyed this exercise. It was a bit ‘difficult’ to see where the implied lines were within a photograph, but once you look at it more, I began to understand that there are all types of lines within an image. Practising on finding the lines with photographs I have previously taken helped me understand what was expected when finding how to photograph an eye-line or an extension of a line. I am pleased with my two photographs. I think they show strong implied lines.

P.S: Quick note. Please dont worry about the quality of the images. I had to use paint in order to add the lines, which is why the photographs are not 100% clear…… Thanks.

Project: Using Lines in Composition

Now that you have been through the basic catalogue of lines, you can consider ways of using them to organise or strengthen a composition. Two important things to bear in mind are that the eye follows a lines, and that it also tries to construct a line from appropriate suggestions as a clear line provides a natural path for the eye, which moves along it.

The more active the line, the stronger the encouragement for the eye to follow it, hence diagonals and curves work better in this way than verticals and horizontals.

In photographs, our eyes and brain work together to resolve incomplete things such as closing gaps within a photograph. We only need a few suggestions in a picture-visual clues, to imagine a line.

The most common clues are:

• A row of points (objects)
• The extensions of a line, or lines, that seem to point in a certain direction.
• The extension of visible movement , such as a car being driven or a person walking.
• The direction in which someone is looking in a picture. The viewer’s eye tends to go to the same place, known as an eye line.

These imagined lines are known as implied lines and can be used with some subtlety to direct the viewer’s attention.

One of the uses of design in photography is to organise a picture in such a way that another person will be encouraged to look at it the way you want.

Exercise: Curves

Curves are like diagonal lines, they have a sense of movement and direction. In some ways, they can be considered a kind of diagonal line. Curves can be useful for a planned composition as they pull the viewer’s eye in. They have associations of smoothness, grace and elegance.

For this exercise, you are advised to take at least 4 photographs which use curves to emphasize movement and direction.

First Photograph:

  When I thought of curves, I knew that my local train station would work really well for this project. I timed it just right as a train was coming through the station. I stood on the bridge, more towards the left-hand side of it, so I could get a higher viewpoint. By doing this, I was able to photograph the train as it went under the bridge, but I was also able to capture the curve in the train as it rounded the corner to come into the station. Being at a higher viewpoint allowed me to photograph a strong curve. This photograph shows a curve with a strong sense of movement, especially as the train is larger towards the frame as it’s already passed under the bridge.

Second Photograph:

  The train tracks which faced the other way, produced a really strong set of curved lines. I stood on the platform for this photograph, as I wanted to become closer to the tracks, in order to show the strong curve.

Third Photograph:

  I saw this whilst out walking. I  realised it would work well for the curves exercise as it has a smooth curve which flows without any interruptions. I wanted to fill the frame with the object in order to make the curve more prominent within the photograph.

Fourth Photograph:

  I found this very interesting. I saw the large stones which had been placed, and made a curved line. I then realised that the entire set of stones were curved in their own individual way. I photographed it, whilst leaving some of the plain flooring to show contrast between the curves. There was grass in between the two types of stones, which was also curved. I like how the grass causes a bold, strong curve within the frame and draws your attention to the other curves from the stones.

Fifth Photograph:

  Whilst on the beach in Weston, I noticed horses walking up and down. Following not far behind them, I noticed their foot/hoof prints in the sand. The horse shoe left a perfect curved half circle in the sand. I placed the prints in the top section of the frame rather than anywhere else, as I wanted to show movement.

Sixth Photograph:

  I noticed this fallen tree whilst out walking. It was a huge tree which had fallen across a pathway. I noticed that it was bent and curved in different ways, however, I liked one section of it. I noticed a section which looked like a curved heart almost, and it was like a photograph frame made out of the tree. I found it very interesting. I photographed it front on, as I wanted to capture the sense of looking through a photo frame, and I wanted to show the full curvature of that section of the tree.

Overall Opinion:

I enjoyed this exercise. Like the previous ones, I thought it would be quite difficult to find curves at first, however, when I thought more about it, I realised that curves are around us all the time. I just had to find interesting curves. When I went to the train station for the previous exercises, I knew I would see things which would be interesting curves such as the train tracks. After finding the object etc that I would be photographing for the curve exercises, I then had the problem of how I was going to photograph these ‘curves’ in order to show ‘strong’ or ‘smooth’ curves within the frame. Some I had to photograph front on such as the tree, but with others such as the horse shoes, I had to find the correct placement within the frame, in order to make the photograph more interesting and to show more movement. Overall I am pleased with my photographs.

Exercise: Diagonals

Diagonal lines are easy to create in a photograph. They depend mainly on viewpoint. Staircases are an example of a common diagonal. Diagonal lines are very important in giving a feeling of depth to an image. Linear perspective is largely based on diagonals. Diagonals have a much greater sense of movement and direction than vertical and horizontal lines. This is partly because they make immediate contrast with the frame edges, and partly because they have an association of being physically unstable, even of falling. They can add an overall sense of activity to the image and can control the way someone looks at a photograph.

For this exercise, you were advised to take at least 4 photographs which showed strong diagonal lines.

The photographer, Craig Ferguson, whom I researched previously, also discussed diagonal lines in photography. I read his article on diagonal lines.http://www.craigfergusonimages.com/2010/03/diagonal-lines/

He quotes: ‘Diagonals; They are the most dynamic of all lines, giving a strong sense of action, speed and motion’

‘Diagonals help to draw the viewer’s eye through a photograph. It’s especially useful in images that have a lot of activity within them. Constructing the photo so it contains diagonals helps to bring a simple structure to an otherwise chaotic image.’

Reading his article, there is some advice which I will pay attention to. He advises you to watch out for ‘Numerous intersecting diagonals, as these often produce confusion.Whereas numerous repeated diagonals throughout a picture can often produce interesting patterns.’ This is something I will be keeping in mind when taking photographs for this exercise.

First photograph:

  Whilst stood on the beach in Weston, loads of aeroplanes were flying over as we were near the local airport. It was a beautiful sunny day with clear enough skies. The lines which were being produced from the back of the planes, really showed up well against the blue sky. I pointed my camera up above me, and as the planes were flying over my head, it caused a natural diagonal line in my frame. I took multiple photographs at different angles, and this was the best. It showed a perfect diagonal line from corner to corner of the frame.

Second Photograph:

  Whilst on the beach, I noticed lines in the stones, I stood at an angle to one of the lines, and positioned it so it was diagonal in my frame.

Third Photograph:

  When I thought of diagonal lines, I thought of steps. I knew it would be hard to photograph staircases, unless it was outside. I knew that my local train station had a certain staircase which had different levels to it. I stood on the opposite platform and photographed the stairs.I didn’t really need to position the stairs much in my frame, as the natural diagonal lines they create, did it for me. They created a perfect image of a diagonal line.

Fourth Photograph:

  I saw an opportunity when I realised there was one lone plant growing on the top of my wall in my garden. As the wall is tall, I was able to stand at quite a distance underneath it. I pointed my camera up towards the plant and it automatically became a diagonal as the plant had a bend in it anyway. It bent into a perfect diagonal line in my frame.

Fifth Photograph:

  I saw this really interesting house. Usually roofs on houses are triangular. However, this house was designed with multiple slanted sections of roofing. I stood to the side of the house rather than front on. I wanted to show the front and back roofs. They created multiple diagonal lines within the frame, making it very interesting.

Overall Opinion:

I really enjoyed this exercise. I thought it may be a bit difficult at the beginning, especially when I had to think about places or objects which would show diagonal lines. I think I was in the ‘right place at the right time’ for some of my photographs, especially the aeroplane in the sky and the stones on the beach , as these created really strong diagonal lines within the frame. The one thing I have realised is that I have somehow stuck to only one diagonal line within the frame, rather than multiple diagonal lines pointing the same way. This would be something I would change if I had to do this exercise again. I would incorporate some photographs which contained multiple diagonal lines and not just one diagonal line.