Visual elements in photography

Line

Line is a series of connected and continuous points. Lines can go in a number of different directions: horizontal, vertical, diagonal and curvilinear. 

Horizontal lines usually evoke a feeling of being restful e.g. a photograph with a horizon in it.

Vertical lines are usually associated with the feeling of strength, solidarity, dominance and power when looking at something like a tall building of towering trees.

Diagonal and curvilinear lines create movement and tension in a photograph. Curvilinear lines are often referred to as organic lines.

Implied line is were the viewer makes the line themselves. There is no actual line in the photograph, but the viewer's eye will conceive that there is one.

Shape

Shapes occupy the area in compositions. Two dimensional shapes can be measured in height and width. 

Organic shapes are often thought of as being naturally occurring and are usually asymmetrical.

Geometric shapes are usually constructed or man-made with their straight edges and sharp corners.

Here are some of my images based on shape...

Form

Form refers to the three-dimensional quality of an object. You can turn shapes into forms just by adding another side e.g. turning a square into a cube, or adding shading e.g. turning a circle into a sphere.

Here are some of my images to illustrate form...      

Colour

Colour is the visual sensation resulting from the reflection of wave lengths of light from differing surfaces. 

 

Colour has three properties:

Hue-the colour name

Value-the lightness or darkness of the colour. Yellow is the lightest and violet is the darkest.

Intensity-the saturation of the colour.

There are three primary colours: red, blue and yellow. These are the primary colours for two reasons, they cannot be mixed, and they can be used to make any colour on the colour wheel.

Secondary colours are made by mixing two primary colours together, such as orange, violet and green.

Tertiary colours are made by mixing a primary colour with a secondary colour, such as red-orange or blue-green.

A tint is made by adding white to a colour and a shade is made by adding black. When you use just on colour, including it's tints and shades, that is called a monochrome colour scheme.

An analogous colour scheme is when you use 3-7 colours either side of a primary colour.

A triadic colour scheme is when you use three colours spaced equally apart on the colour wheel.

Complimentary colours are colours that are directly opposite one another on the colour wheel.

A split complimentary colour scheme is where you choose a colour, and use the two colours either side of it's compliment.

Warm colours are colours with red or yellow in them, whereas cool colours are colours with blue in them.

Warm colours seem to come forward or advance whereas cool colours tend to go back or retreat. A warm coloured paint will make a room feel smaller, but a cool coloured paint will make it feel bigger and more spacious.

Colours can also display feelings or emotions...

Blue is calming

Red is exciting

Yellow is energizing.

When properly understood, this can help artists create great work that connects with the viewers.

Value

Value is the lightness and darkness of areas in a composition. When two colours are side by side, they interact with each other and change the way that we see that colour. this is simultaneous contrast. 

Modeling makes forms look more realistic because it looks like natural lighting. Successful drawings will include a full value range. A full value range includes very light areas, middle tones, and very dark areas. Full range value will give an image contrast and volume.

There are different ways in which you can add value to a drawing. 

Cross-hatching is the use of diagonal lines that cross over each other. The closer together the lines are, the darker the value will be.

Stippling is the use of dots to create shade. Closer together creates darkness and further apart creates lightness.

Chiaroscuro is a type of modeling that has a soft graduation of value over the form.

Tenebrism is a type of modeling that has a sharp contrast of value that gives a spotlight effect on the subject.

Texture

There are three different types of texture:

Visual texture-this is the illusion of texture within a photograph.

Actual texture-this is the surface of an object.

Simulated texture-this is the surface of man-made objects such as sculptures.
Capturing images with the illusion of texture depends highly on the level of light that you have to work with. The more light there is, the better the image will be as the shadows will enhance the look of texture.
Here are some of my images on texture...