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BasicStrategiesinReadingPhotographs

BasicStrategiesinReadingPhotographs
Ofcourse,youknowwhatyoulike.Butwouldyouliketoknowmore
abouthowaphotographiscomposed?Bylearningwhatvisualelements
theartistusestocommunicatewithyou,youmayappreciatebetterwhy
youlikeordon'tlikeaparticularworkofart.Inthepresentationbelow,the
conceptsareillustratedwithphotographicworks.Clickontheworkfora
largerimageofitandthenclickonBACKtoreturntothepresentation.
NuovothankstheMuseumofPhotographicArt(MOPA)inSanDiegofor
allowingustoadoptoneoftheirpapersforthispresentation.Artistic
exampleswereaddedbyNuovowithpermissiontheartist.Allimagesarecopyrightedbythe
photographer,JackLeigh.Allrightsarereserved.

Index
Objective
BasicVocabulary
VisualElements
Composition

Objective:
Todevelopvisualliteracy
Learnthebasicvocabularyusedinformalanalysesinthevisualarts
Combinecontentinformationwithformalanalysisto"read"(analyze)
photographs

Toenhanceyourappreciationofphotographyitisnecessarytodeveloptheskillstomake
carefulvisualanalysis.Whileeveryonecaneasilydiscussthecontentsofphotographs("what
yousee"),mostneedmoretrainingtolearnaboutformalanalysisusedinthevisualarts.
Formalanalysisfocusesonanartwork's"formal"qualities,orthosevisualelementsthatgiveit
form.Theseinclude:shape,size,texture,line,space,etc.
Formalanalysisprovidesabasiccommonlanguageinthevisualarts.However,adescription
ofaphotographbasedonlyonformalanalysiswouldbeincomplete.Photographersmake
decisionsbothaboutcomposition(arrangementofvisualelements)aswellascontent
(meaning)whentakingphotographs.Consequently,itisimportanttoconsidertheartist's
intentionsformakingaphotographofaparticularsubject.Finally,thehistoricalandsocial
contextinwhichaphotographwasmademustalsobecarefullyconsidered.
Animportantnote:eachimageoffersavarietyofinterpretations.Therefore,theinformation
providedinthisresourceforeachphotographshouldberegardedasastartingpointfor
discussionandnotasaconclusiveinterpretation.Thereisnoonecorrectanswerwhen
interpretingworksofart.Weencourageyoutocarefullyexaminephotographstodevelopyour
skillsforanalyzingphotographsandtoexploreyourownpersonalinterpretations.
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GeneralVocabularyUsedinPhotography
Thefollowingwordsarethebasicvocabularyusedindescribingphotographs.

abstract:animagethatemphasizesformalelements(line,shape,etc)rather
thanspecific,recognizableobjects.

content:thesubject,topicorinformationcapturedinaphotograph.

directapproach:confrontingasceneinastraightforwardmanner,without
usingunusualanglesordistortion.

documentaryphotography:photographswhosemainpurposeistorecorda
place,person(s)orevent.

expressive:concernedwithcommunicatingemotion.

geometricshape:simplerectilinearorcurvilinearshapesfoundingeometry,
suchascircles,squares,triangles,etc.

intention:reason(s)whytheartistmadeaworkofart.

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landscape:animagethatportraysthenaturalenvironment.

objective:apointofviewfreefrompersonalbias,whichattemptstoconsider
allavailableinformationwithequalregardandfairness.

organicshape:shapesbasedonnaturalobjectssuchastrees,mountains,
leaves,etc.

representational:animagewhichshowsrecognizableobjects.

subject:themainobjectorperson(s)inaphotograph.

theme:aunifyingordominantideainoneworkofartorinacollectionof
works.

VisualElements
Practicetheuseofthesewordsbyaskingthefollowingquestions:

focus:whatareasappearclearestorsharpestinthephotograph?Whatdo
not?

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light:whatareasofthephotographaremosthighlighted?Arethereany
shadows?Doesthephotographallowyoutoguessthetimeofday?Isthe
lightnaturalorartificial?Harshorsoft?Reflectedordirect?

line:arethereobjectsinthephotographthatactaslines?Arethey
straight,curvy,thin,thick?Dothelinescreatedirectioninthephotograph?
Dotheyoutline?Dothelinesshowmovementorenergy?

repetition:arethereanyobjects,shapesorlineswhichrepeatandcreate
apattern?

shape:doyouseegeometricororganicshapes?Whatarethey?

space:istheredepthtothephotographordoesitseemshallow?What
createsthisappearance?Arethereimportantnegativespacesinaddition
topositivespaces?Istheredepthcreatedbyspatialillusions?

texture:ifyoucouldtouchthesurfaceofthephotographhowwouldit
feel?Howdotheobjectsinthepicturelookliketheywouldfeel?

value:istherearangeoftonesfromdarktolight?Whereisthedarkest
value?Whereisthelightest?

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CompositionofthePhotograph
Thewordsherewillallowyoutothinkabouthowvisualelementscombinewithinaphotographtocreatea
composition.

angle:thevantagepointfromwhichthephotographwastakengenerallyused
whendiscussingaphotographtakenfromanunusualorexaggeratedvantage
point.

background:thepartofasceneorpicturethatisorseemstobetowardthe
back.

balance:thedistributionofvisualelementsinaphotograph.
Symmetricalbalancedistributesvisualelementsevenlyinan
image.Asymmetricalbalanceisfoundwhenvisualelements
arenotevenlydistributedinanimage.

centralfocus:theobjects(s)whichappearsmostprominentlyand/ormost
clearlyfocusedinaphotograph.

composition:thearrangementorstructureoftheformalelementsthatmake
upanimage.

contour:theoutlineofanobjectorshape.

contrast:strongvisualdifferencesbetweenlightanddark,varyingtextures,
sizes,etc.
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framing:whatthephotographerhasplacedwithintheboundariesofthe
photograph.

setting:actualphysicalsurroundingsorscenerywhetherrealorartificial.

vantagepoint:theplacefromwhichaphotographertakesaphotograph.

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