Analyzing Photographs

There are many things to consider when taking a photograph in order to make it appealing. We will go over 3 of the most useful techniques that will take your photography up a notch.

Rule of Thirds

The first photograph we will be using is an image taken by Jessica Drossin, you can see more of her work at https://jessicadrossin.com.

This photograph actually uses all three of the techniques we will going over, but the most obvious and clear technique shown here is the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is applied when you imagine that the photo is divided into thirds both vertically and horizontally. This creates a grid to help you line up important features. Where the lines cross, is the best place to center the main feature of the photo. This creates interest and a pleasant balance.

https://jessicadrossin.com/wp-content/uploads/gC71A0361L.jpg

As you can see in this second image, the lines have been drawn and you find the boy centers nicely on the upper left crossing of the lines. Upon further examination you can see that the photographer has also put the horizon on the top third of the photo stretching across the top line.

The Rule of Thirds can be used on a single subject as well, even when it takes up the entire frame of the picture. By placing the dog’s head on the intersection of the upper left intersection, the attention is drawn to that part and a pleasant balance is created.Photo by Maggie Dayley (personally taken photo)

Depth of Field

The next photograph we will look at is titled, Morning Mood by Tatianna Mikhina. You can see more of her work at https://www.deviantart.com/tatiannna/gallery/ . Depth of Field is created when the focus is adjusted and images are overlapped to allow the viewer to see a more 3 dimensional version of the 2 dimensional picture

https://www.deviantart.com/tatiannna/art/Morning-Mood-117043223

By focusing sharply on the tulip in the foreground and allowing the background to be blurry, the photographer uses the depth of field to create an interesting overlapping image. The 2 dimensional picture now has depth because of the ability to show the distance in the picture.

Here is a simpler version that creates distance through the focusing clearly on the apple and allowing the background to be blurry. It makes the counter look very long.

Photo by Maggie Dayley (personally taken photo)

Leading Lines

The last technique we will go over is using leading lines. This technique uses the natural lines within the photograph to draw the eye along a certain path. This photograph is called Romantic Interlude by Cranache and is published by FairField Art Publishing.

https://www.fairfieldartpub.com/products/faf621-cranache-romantic-interlude?variant=14730363782

The photographer uses the natural lines created by the street’s curbs and the edges of the buildings and windows to draw your eye away from the brightly colored umbrella to the back of the photo where the Eiffel Tower stands.

Leading Lines can be found easily in many environments. I was able to find a strong example in the hallways of the High School. Unlike the above picture, there isn’t a surprise at the end of the lines, but that is not really the point. The effect is created when there is a path that the eye naturally follows to discover what is on the picture.

Photo by Maggie Dayley (personally taken photo)

Using these principles of photography can really add another level to your photos. You will be able to view scenes in a more creative way and create a more interesting and balanced picture. An added bonus is that you will ultimately have less editing to do when you are able to place the subject in the frame purposefully.

Discovering Typography

In this exercise we will discover the ways that typography can be used in the look of a design. Using different typefaces and sizes create contrast and interest and add to the overall professional look. The example we will be using is an advertisement for the Titan Raga watch found on the company’s twitter page.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DvU-lf0UwAADwL2.jpg

Oldstyle Type

The watch company model names are written in an Oldstyle font. Although this particular font is slightly artistic, you are able to categorize it by the use of serifs at the ends of the letter strokes (circled in yellow). This example is written in all capital letters, so it makes it a little more difficult to pick out the serifs (and accompanying brackets) that are very obvious in the lowercase letters by their slanted nature. Another clue that this font falls into the Oldstyle category are the moderate changes in the thickness of the strokes. The most obvious example is between the slanted stokes of the A’s, which are highlighted in red. It is also shown in the G which helps us find the diagonal stress in the font (shown in blue).

Script Type

The words “I am” have been changed to a script font. This is a simpler version than some script fonts that resemble calligraphy, but you can clearly see the efforts to make it look like handwriting with the non-uniformed size and shape of the letters. The lettering also has a loose alignment and the strokes are inconsistent, like most hand writing.

Sans Serif Type

The final font on this advertisement, shown in the hashtags, falls into the Sans Script category. This is characterized by the lack of serifs (shown in yellow) at the ends of the strokes and the consistent thickness of the lines.

Creating Contrast with Typography

Contrast is an important principle in design and can be also shown through manipulating the size of the fonts that are used. In this example each font has a distinct size change but upon closer investigation you can see that there is actually a different size in each line, which causes interest between those that look the same. Another change, shown easily in the last two lines, is a difference in weight. The bottom line has thicker or “heavier” strokes. Form variety is shown through the overall shape that is created by each font. The first lines are typed in all capital letters forming a box shape while the bottom lines use lower case and expand the spacing between the letters. The center line, “I Am”, is a great example of the use of direction as it is placed on an angle.

Summary

Understanding typography is useful in design to enhance your project, but there are certain rules that should followed to create a pleasing look. Using different fonts creates interest and a professional display, just be sure that you use ones that are in different font categories. This will create natural contrast and you will avoid having conflict in fonts that are too similar. Changing the size, weight, structure, form and direction ensures that you can convey the information in a way that is interesting to the reader. Using these tools, as well as incorporating color, gives you the ability to makes certain words stand out or create a certain feel. Even when using a single font a lot of variances can be made by applying these ideas. Many projects incorporate wording and using the lettering as part of the design is something that everyone should learn how to do.

Advertisement Design Analysis

The use of color and the 4 basic principles of design, proximity, alignment, repetition and contrast, will be used in reverse engineering this advertisement for Amber Soybean Oil.

Designed by Joseph Arkeri https://www.coroflot.com/arkeri/Poster-Ads

Proximity

The designer was careful to group the related information together in close proximity. He separated the “technical” aspects of the product with the “sales pitch” or attention grabbing content. This helps the ad to appear simple and void of extra information, leading to the association that the product is also simple and void of extra contaminants.

Alignment

Although center alignment is not an ideal text alignment, it works for this ad. The center alignment echoes the shape of the hour glass and keeps the entire ad very symmetrical. The designer is also careful to keep everything vertically aligned. The bottom images align with the outside of the top text and so forth.

Repetition

The designer used repetition specifically in the shapes that he created in his ad. Each dominate space he created has the same shape repeated on the opposite side of the page. He also chose to repeat the colors that are found in the image to tie the text to the picture and create a flow throughout the page.

Contrast

The designer did not use a lot of contrast in this project, but you can see some attempts within the font sizing. Because the entire ad is very similar in shape and color, the product images at the bottom actually stand out as a contrasting feature.

Color

It is easy to see the monochromatic effect in this image. The designer used different hues of the amber color of the oil and soybeans and repeated it in the background color. ( I’m sure that it was no accident that the name of the product is “Amber”.) The only real contrast is in the actual product bottles at the bottom of the page. Although there are a variety of colors in the label, the dominant one is green. This works nicely to bring your eye to the change in color and to see the actual product. Because yellow and green are next to each other on the color wheel, it keeps the relaxing tone that has been created through out the ad.

Summary

The designer was able to use all of the principles of design in this ad to accomplish the look and feel that he was wanting. This is a good example of using the principles in an unbalanced way in order to create a certain “feel”. For example: not having a lot of contrast created a smooth and clean look, which speaks to the properties of the product. The center alignment helps to allow your eye to follow the draining of the oil and eventually end at the product information. The repetition of shapes add to the symmetry of the image. Overall I liked the simplicity of this ad, it is very clean and simple and it is easy to find the important information.