Last week, in the post Musings on Creativity and Seeing, we looked at some different ways to get you thinking creatively. Today, we’ll delve into that some more by looking at simplicity, six elements of design and touch a little on composition. More after the jump.
Think simple. With so much going on at any one time, and so many things competing for our attention, a photograph that is composed around a single theme and free of clutter can really make us pause. Its simplicity makes it stand out from everything else and causes it to be more noticeable. A photo with too much going on and too many points of interest often fails to captivate the viewer due to its confusion. Less is more and simplicity carries a great power. Too much leaves the viewer with nothing to focus their attention on and the resulting chaos ensures that the photograph is quickly passed over and forgotten. Think of Steve McCurry’s photograph, “Afghan Girl” that graced the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic. The piercing green eyes staring into the camera, and hence at the viewer, carry a power that may have been lost if the surrounding environment had been included. Instead, McCurry gives the viewer one thing to put their attention on, and in doing so, the photograph became the most recognized photograph in the history of National Geographic.
Simplicity also implies order. Line, shape, form, texture, pattern and color are the elements of design that bring order to a photo. All images have at least one of these elements in them. Lines can lead the viewer into the photo as well as taking the viewer out of the frame. They can be curved, as in the paths of rivers and hills, jagged like a mountain range or straight like a building. Curved lines convey a softness, jagged often a sense of danger or force and straight lines, particularly diagonals, a sense of motion and speed. Line brings about shape. Shape is a fundamental means of identification. Photographically, it’s best defined when backlit or frontlit, and when there’s a sharp contrast between the shape and the surroundings. Think of a definable silhouette against a sunrise or sunset and you have pure shape.
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Moving into three dimensions, we have form. Form gives depth to shape, and here, we want to see light and shadow. Sidelit subjects are the easiest for conveying form, with the contrast between light and shadow under a sunny sky giving definition. The fourth crucial element is texture. Not so readily identifiable as the previous three, texture is highly dependent on lighting. Low sidelight, typically found in the early morning or late afternoon is perfect for bringing out texture in an image. Whether it’s peeling paint on an old wooden door or ripples in a stream, seeking out texture can convey great emotion.
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The final elements of design are pattern and color. Pattern often denotes order and stability which is emotionally comforting due to its predictability. Patterns can help us understand new things and see old things in new ways. Photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, famous for his aerial images of the world, makes great use of pattern in his work and invariably takes the viewers breath away. Looking for patterns is a great exercise as it’s as simple as dumping the contents of a drawer onto a table and then moving things around. Then, move on to other parts of your house and outside. You’ll soon start seeing patterns everywhere and they can help take your images to a higher level.
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Finally we come to color. Face it – the world is a colorful place. Whether it’s the warm colors of a sunset, the cool colors of ice or anything in between, color is all around us and understanding it will make you a better photographer. A basic knowledge of complementary (contrasting) colors will go a long to way helping you produce aesthetically pleasing images. Briefly, complimentary colors are those that when mixed together in equal proportions produce a neutral color (black, white or gray). At its simplest, blue complements orange (formed by primary red + primary yellow), red complements green (primary blue + primary yellow) and yellow complements purple (primary red + primary blue). These colors always go well with each other, and each works to make the opposite seem brighter and more vivid. Included in a photograph, complementary colors can liven up a scene.
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I’m not going to spend too much time talking about basic rules of composition. Concepts such as the rule of thirds, landscape vs portrait orientation, fill the frame, placement of the horizon, frame within a frame, diagonals, reflections and so forth are better suited to an article (book) on basic photography. That said, ensuring you are at least familiar with these concepts will make it easier for you to step outside the box.
As a simple exercise in creativity, pick up a camera and choose a subject to photograph. It doesn’t matter what – could be your desk, a plant, the local park, whatever. For the first frame, shoot it in whatever way is most natural. Then, turn the camera 90 degrees and take another picture. Move in close and photograph a small detail. Move (or zoom) out and take in the surroundings. Place the subject dead center. Place it on the thirds. At the very top and bottom. In the corners. Tilted. If you do this, taking both horizontal and vertical shots, you should have 30+ images. Instead of just having the usual view that you chose for your first frame, you’ve now got options. Lots of them. As you become more used to these different ways of composing images, you’ll often intuitively know which methods will work and which won’t before you make the photos.
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As I mentioned at the beginning, creativity cannot be taught. It’s an inherently subjective phenomena that will have different meanings to different people. You may choose to do the exercises I’ve outlined above or you may not. They may spur you to think in different ways or you may find them a waste of them. It really doesn’t matter to me because it’s your vision, your imagination and your creativity that we’re concerned with. Some of what I’ve said will resonate with some of you and some won’t. Really, the only one who can teach you to think outside the box is yourself. How you approach that is ultimately up to you. For some, setting aside time on a weekend to shoot something new may prove fruitful. For others, spending five minutes taking photos with your cellphone on your way to work everyday may be what’s needed.
Your feedback is most welcome on these posts. I have some more ideas in mind for a further post on this topic so stay tuned. Photo critique will be back in a couple of days as well.
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Craig Ferguson Images | Cultural Photography. One of the key aspects of life that we humans identify with is culture. We label people, places and events according to our ideas of what they are, ranging from the broader scale defined by tradition and place down to the small scale subcultures and tribes. Craig Ferguson Images is consistantly creating new visions in the field of cultural photography. From traditional festives and customs to modern, urban subcultures, Craig Ferguson Images is in touch with the changing world. From our base in Taipei, Taiwan we are perfectly positioned at the crossroads of the ancient and the modern.
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