PICTURE ELEMENTS

• Black and white photographs have a powerful graphic potential and have the ability to evoke mood and atmosphere.
• Black and white is ideal for showing the form of the human body - although subjects such as gardens or natural history, may not be ideal.
• Coloured lens filters can be used to change the relative strengths of tones within an image.
• The image can be manipulated in the dark room - e.g: by giving the weak part of the negative extra exposure.

SOME HANDY HINTS FOR TAKING A GOOD PHOTOGRAPH ...

• Have a main focal point
• Simple detail
• Work with shapes
• Frame the image
• Define image planes
• Capture character
• Emphasis the subject

• Add humour
• Emphasise form with lighting
• Reveal textures
• Select an interesting viewpoint
• Balance and proportion
• Fill the frame
• Introduce a sense of scale

• Colour harmony
• Use colour contrast
• Discover patterns
• Depth and perspective
• Select for effect
• Use the foreground
• Use linear perspective

RULE OF THIRDS ...

• The composition of a photograph is usually improved by placing the main subject off-centre.
• Imagine the picture is divided horizontally and vertically into thirds, using two equidistant lines.
• Each line forms a good location for important structural elements in the composition.
• Any of the points where two of the lines intersect (four positions in total) would be a suitable position for the picture's main centre of interest.
• This takes the subject off dead centre and, therefore, makes for a more interesting picture.
• For a composition including people, line them up on-line A or B.
• For a composition including mountains, line them up on lines 1 and 2.