Elements & Principles of Photography

Photographically, anything that connects two parts of a photo or stretches across your composition is a line. That includes a curved road or a jagged mountain ridge, for example. Even the fuzzy, lightly defined edge of a cloud is usually a line.

Shapes can be anything, from the crescent moon to the shape of a smiling face. Each variety of shape has its own emotional impact on a photo, and it’s impossible to generalize. A circle might be peaceful, a heart evocative, a triangle dynamic, and so on – but the only thing to be said about every shape is that they have the power to attract our attention.

If you add a third dimension or thickness to a shape, it yields form. The form is what makes a photograph appear life-like. And while photography is mostly presented in a two-dimensional plane, there are certain techniques that photographers use in order to represent form by creating an illusion of depth or thickness.

The texture of an object plays an important role in determining its emotional impact, as well as the amount of attention it draws.

What mood do you capture when you photograph smooth pebbles and mist from a long exposure of the sea? What about jagged, rough mountainsin high-contrast light?

The appropriate use of color in photography adds a dynamic element to your images that is very pleasing to the eye. The correct use of it will allow you to create photographs to be proud of. Bold colors and bright composition in your photos result in images that sell. So use color to your advantage.

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The state of creating visual equilibrium between elements in the picture.

The establishment of a focal point, or centre of dominance in a picture.

The repeating of one type of element to create a picture (or form a major part of one).

The concept behind the picture, the comprehensiveness of the scene, the oneness of the message.

Conditions within the picture that emphasize differences, conflicts, opposition, between the elements.

Can be either a combination of elements to depict action/movement; or a dynamic design to draw the eye through the picture.