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Basic Strategies in Reading Photographs PDF

In the presentation below, the concepts are illustrated with photographic works. To enhance your appreciation of photography it is necessary to develop visual literacy. Each image offers a variety of interpretations, so the information provided should be regarded as a starting point.

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Sree Hari
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220 views

Basic Strategies in Reading Photographs PDF

In the presentation below, the concepts are illustrated with photographic works. To enhance your appreciation of photography it is necessary to develop visual literacy. Each image offers a variety of interpretations, so the information provided should be regarded as a starting point.

Uploaded by

Sree Hari
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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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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