1. Explain what the phrase Formal Elements means in photography. – The elements that usually form a photo, or forms a piece of art in general. It’s combination and organization it what determines the artwork’s success.
2. Describe each of the 6 elements discussed so far (line, shape, pattern, texture, tone, focus) – Line: vertical and horizontal lines, representing strength and development, converging lines are lines that seem as if they are going to connect. – Shape: the shapes give a clear distinction, for us to recognize each object individually. – pattern and repetition – pattern is a type of repetition that follows a specific strategy, whereas repetition is just a simple repeat of shapes and colors. – texture: how the photos would feel physically, e.g. rough, soft, polished. tone: a color mixture that is not the pure color hue, for photography, it is just a median color between two clearly separate colors. – focus: an object that is clear whilst the backgrounds are blurred, often emphasized intentionally by the photo taker.
3. Give an example that emphasizes each element.

Line: The line are shown at the distance on the horizon, where the sea touches the sky. The line give a clear distinction between the color blue and the color of white clouds.

Shape: When we look at something, its shape tells us what it is. In this cases, the the shape is that of a broom.

Repetition and Pattern: In this photo, the tiles creates a repetition as the shapes and lines are repeated.

Texture: The ice is shown as very rough, and from what I can tell, it would wound me if I rubbed against it.

Tone: In this photo, the tone is gray, as it is a middle ground for white and black.

Focus: In this photo, the tree branches are very clear and the background is not, it tells that the author wants us to focus on the branches.

 

4. Can an image show just one element at a time? No, the picture could show many elements, for example, the first picture with the lines, is also a repetition and a pattern. In fact, it is nearly impossible to have only one formal element. As you can see in picture four, the texture might be rough, but it itself makes a repetition of rough patterns.

Paul Strand:

1. Copy the photograph into your portfolio
2. List 3 things the photographer might have been interested in capturing in this picture? – Shape, Lines, Pattern
3. If you were the photographer, what title would you give it? Explain why. – A gathering of elements, because that’s exactly what it is, and there are no other titles I could think of that would give a profound meaning.
4. Name one thing you think is unusual about the photograph. – It looks like a painting, the entire picture is not clear enough for me to clearly tell of it’s contents, and the texture is rough in a way that would make me think that this was painted.
5. Describe the use of line, shape, Pattern, texture, tone and focus – The lines are used to distinguish between the shadow’s shades and the unshaded lights, the shapes is used to allow us to recognize the circular object in the photo, which I believe is a table. The patterns are created by the shadows, it creates a symmetrical pattern on the table and the wall. The only texture I could tell is the texture of the table, which is rough, but polished compared to the walls. There are no tones in the photos, all of the different colors were separated by lines. As for the focus of the photo, I believe that there is none, but as the table is closer to the the lense, I would think that the taker was trying to focus on the table.
6. What do you think is the best thing about this photograph? – I like how many elements are included in the photo, I also like the shade patterns on the table and the wall.