Focus:
Light: Line: Repetition: Shape: Space: Texture: Value/Tone: |
Which areas appear clearest or sharpest in the photograph? Which do not?
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? 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? Are there any objects, shapes or lines which repeat and create a pattern? Do you see geometric (straight edged) or organic (curvy) shapes? Which are they? 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? 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? Is there a range of tones from dark to light? Where is the darkest value? Where is the lightest? |
The Formal Elements Photographers are usually aware of the ways in which they can create interest in their images beyond the simple fact of the subject. This is what separates good pictures and bad pictures of the same thing. The following list describes some of the abstract elements in any photograph. Below the list is an example of how you can analyse a photograph looking for these things specifically and how this helps to give the image meaning:
Focus: The whole subject is in focus. However, there is a slight softening of the focus towards the bottom of what appears to be the edge of a table top.
Light: A triangular slash of bright sunlight appears in the middle of the image. This is accompanied by bands of light running diagonally across the upper portion of the image. These appear to be gaps in another object out of shot, a fence perhaps.
Line & Shape: There are number of strong lines, mostly straight, although these are complemented by the sweeping curve of the main object which runs from the top right of the image to the bottom right. All of the lines have the geometric quality of man made objects.
Repetition: The shafts of sunlight running across two surfaces create a dramatic rhythm. A number if straight parallel lines are repeated in the composition, like repeated notes or beats in a piece of music.
Space: The space in the image appears quite shallow, tightly constrained by the cropping. We don't see the whole of any of the objects and the photographer appears to have been quite close to the subject.
Texture: All of the objects in the image appear smooth. The drama comes from the jagged bursts of light across their surfaces.
Value/Tone: The image contains a range of tones from very dark to very light. There are deep shadows but also mid tones. The photograph is monochrome but has a brownish tint, perhaps caused by the paper the artist has used.
Light: A triangular slash of bright sunlight appears in the middle of the image. This is accompanied by bands of light running diagonally across the upper portion of the image. These appear to be gaps in another object out of shot, a fence perhaps.
Line & Shape: There are number of strong lines, mostly straight, although these are complemented by the sweeping curve of the main object which runs from the top right of the image to the bottom right. All of the lines have the geometric quality of man made objects.
Repetition: The shafts of sunlight running across two surfaces create a dramatic rhythm. A number if straight parallel lines are repeated in the composition, like repeated notes or beats in a piece of music.
Space: The space in the image appears quite shallow, tightly constrained by the cropping. We don't see the whole of any of the objects and the photographer appears to have been quite close to the subject.
Texture: All of the objects in the image appear smooth. The drama comes from the jagged bursts of light across their surfaces.
Value/Tone: The image contains a range of tones from very dark to very light. There are deep shadows but also mid tones. The photograph is monochrome but has a brownish tint, perhaps caused by the paper the artist has used.
This image is by Paul Strand. It is entitled 'Abstraction, Twin Lakes, Connecticut' and was made in 1916. You can read more about the image here. The photographer created an abstract image deliberately, drawing attention to the Formal Elements.