Principle of Design – Pattern/Rhythm

The Principles of Design in photography - rhythm

Pattern and rhythm is an easy principle to understand. They are pretty much self-explanatory. I will show a few creative examples below of how it can be used in your photography.

The Principles of Design in photography - rhythm

A good example of a pattern and rhythm in an interesting, complex composition.

The Principles of Design - Pattern / Rhythm

Pattern of color, line, and shape.

The Principles of Design in photography - Pattern

Patterns in nature.

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Principle of Design – Harmony

The principles of design in photography - harmony

Harmony in art is about creating a visually stimulating image by combining similar elements throughout the frame. Some elements that can be used are color, shape, and texture.

The principles of design in photography - harmony

The above image uses harmony in a few different ways. The orange color brings together the whole image since it is spread out evenly throughout the entire image. Harmony without contrast, however, is boring. The orange is dark, light, blurred, sharp, big, small, and overall varied infinitely.

The principles of design in photography - harmony

The harmony in this image comes from the green moss covering each of the rock. The contrast is added by the light and dark areas on each one.

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Principle of Design – Balance

The Principles of Design in Photography - Balance

Balance is a design principle relating to the visual weight in the frame. An empty image with just a single subject on one side of the frame would be heavy towards one side. This image of a bird on an empty background shows that well.

The Principles of Design in Photography - Balance

This image of a fishing pier and its reflection on the lake show an image perfectly balanced over a one of the thirds in the frame. Placing areas of interest over a line or cross section that is one-third in to the frame is an excellent compositional rule.

The Principles of Design in Photography - Balance

While it can’t be said whether a balanced or unbalanced image is good or bad compositionally, balance should be used purposefully to achieve what you are trying to do.

Be sure to browse around some my images on the site that are for sale and find balanced or unbalanced compositions!

Circular Polarizer Filter

The circular polarizer is one of the most important pieces of equipment you can own for outdoor photography. As important as polarized sunglasses are for fishing, a polarizer is not something to leave at home.

Not only does it cut glare  on water and other highly reflective surfaces, it cuts glare on leaves and the sky, making blues and greens more intense. This filter screws on the end of a lens and then freely rotates, allowing you to choose the power of the polarization.

The two photos below show the effects of a polarizing filter on water glare.

Some tips for using polarizers

  • Facing at a 90 degree angle to the sun lends the maximum amount of polarization
  • On some subjects, such as flowing water, you don’t always want to cut all the glare
  • More expensive filters have higher quality glass and coatings that lead to better quality
  • If you plan on using a Grad ND filter, you likely won’t need a polarizer

Recommended filters (Match the filter size to your lens thread size)

Landscape Edit in Aperture 3 – Clingman’s Dome

For this week’s behind the scenes, I’m posting a video of how I go through the process of editing an image in RAW format straight out of the camera. You’ll notice there’s not a lot of work that goes in to, just simple darkroom techniques like dodging and burning. I try to match the final edit to what my mind saw that day. For those in to photography, this could be helpful to see how someone else works. For those of you not in to photography, it is cool to see how a photograph changes from the camera to the final scene you see online.

Basics of Exposing with a Grad ND Filter

In simple terms, a neutral density (ND) filter cuts down on the light hitting your sensor. A full ND reduces exposure over the entire frame while a graduated (grad) ND reduces exposure over some of the scene. This post will go over how to set your exposure when using a grad ND filter.

If you haven’t already, check out the first post on Using Graduated ND Filters.

Exposure reduction of graduated ND4 square filter

In this soft-step grad ND, the transition between light and dark is spread out over a large area. There are also hard stop filters that have a quick transition from dark to light. Soft steps work well when there are things covering the horizon such as trees or mountains. A hard stop filter works when there is a clear horizon, like over the open ocean.

Choosing between an ND2, ND4, and ND8 filter depends on the dynamic range of the scene. In a cloudy scene where the sky isn’t much brighter than the foreground, you may only need a 1 stop reduction from an ND2 filter. On a bright, sunny day where the sky is much brighter than the foreground, you will need an ND8 to bring out details in the foreground shadows.

Of course this is just a quick, casual way of picking the right filter strength. If you’re more technical, you can meter in both the sky and the foreground and determine the number of stops between the two. Using center-weighted average metering mode works better than evaluative mode to accomplish this.

Preparing for the ArtWalk

This Friday is the monthly ArtWalk in Murphy, North Carolina, put on by the Valley River Arts Guild. I’ve had the opportunity to display my work for the past two months at two restaurants. Tonight, I’ll be displaying my work in the Appalachian Outfitters, an all around outdoor shop.

For each show I do, I’ll always have my portfolio. It’s sized 12×18″, so it’s large and makes an impression. There are 10-15 images in here.

Large frosted clear fine art nature photography portfolio

I also have small framed prints that are moderately priced.

Framed 8x10 fine art nature photography print.

Although I don’t have a picture yet, I’ll have a higher-priced 24×36″ framed print that is sure to be breathtaking.

Some of my lower priced products are pre-matted 8×10’s.

8x10" prints in an 11x14 black mat

Make sure you stop by if you’re in the Murphy area tonight from 5-8!

ND Filters

One of the newest additions to my ever-growing bag of gear is a set of Neutral Density (ND) filters. The graduated (grad) ND filters are used to darken bright areas of the scene, evening out the exposure. Full ND filters allow you to darken the entire frame to get a longer exposure when there is bright light.

Goja complete neutral density ND filter set with with ND2, ND4, ND8 grad and full square filters

The sensors in today’s digital cameras (and film as well) have a dynamic range that is nowhere near what we see with the human eye. This image shows the difference between a scene with and without the grad ND. The filter used is an ND8, or three stops of exposure reduction. The ND4 and ND2 can reduce the exposure by 2 and 1 stop, respectively.

Landscape scene with and without a graduated neutral density filter.

Notice how the lower parts of the image has a similar exposure, while the scene gradually darkens towards the top where it’s covered by the ND filter. This scene doesn’t show the true power of the filter because it was already evenly lit. The best use is when the sky is bright, but you still want detail in a dark foreground.

This image darkens the background and allows for a bright, flowery foreground. Without the filter to darken the sky, there would be almost no detail in the clouds and even the mountains would be much brighter. The placement of the filter here actually lowered the exposure slightly all the way down the to near the flowers.

Landscape photograph using graduated ND filter

The full ND can be used under bright light when you want a multi-second exposure, but can’t stop down the aperture or lower the ISO. The ND2, ND4, and ND8 darken the entire exposure by 1,2, and 3 stops, respectively. Below is an example of using the filter during bright, sunny conditions.

photograph of blurred water using full ND square filter

Here is an affiliate link to the filters I purchased. Goja Complete ND Filter Set on Amazon.

While they aren’t of the highest quality, they are still good for learning. In the future I plan to purchase a set of Singh-Ray filters.

Check out how to expose using your grad ND filter.

My Story

This is something I’ve thought about writing for a while now. Don’t take it as a pity story, but take it as seeing what God can do with unexpected people in mysterious ways. There was a point in my life where I may have never had the chance to become a photographer, have the ability to drive, or even see.

Since I was a child, I’ve always been extremely near-sighted. Not legally blind, but close enough that I could puzzle doctors. I wore glasses until middle school, when I finally got the chance to wear contacts. These made a huge difference in my vision; since they are closer to my eye, the power can be increased.

When I was in tenth grade, I got the news from my doctor at a regular check-up that I had a detached retina and would need to go to a specialized doctor immediately. The same day, we were in the office of Dr. Koh at the Georgia Retina center. He told us that I would need immediate surgery, and scheduled us for Friday, just a few days later. Both retinas were detached, but one was more serious than the other and required surgery first. He said this was something that has developed over a period of years. Most times this only happens in elderly people or from traumatic injury, but rarely in cases of extreme nearsightedness. Those days between the meeting and the surgery brought up a lot of thoughts about not being able to drive, get a job, or make a conventional living. I had a date for my first prom just a couple of weeks away, which I had to cancel.

Once the surgery came and went, which I don’t remember too much of, the doctor told us everything went fine. During recovery, I had to lie on one side, on the couch, for two weeks straight. I could get up for only ten minutes out of every hour. I had to miss school, but the teachers were obviously very willing to work with me.

Later on down the road, it was time to operate on the other retina. I went through the same process as the first time, lying on the couch for a couple weeks without the ability to turn over or get up very much.

Due to some complications with the original surgery, I had to go through a THIRD operation, this time having a four week recovery. I had more freedom this time, having the ability to get up for thirty minutes every hour.

Thankfully, all this time went by a lot quicker than you would think. I got used to it and had a routine and everything came and went.

Since then, everything has been perfectly fine. I haven’t had any vision problems whatsoever. The doctor told me I would be at risk for cataracts soon, but that never happened. With technology advancing constantly, I can get better contacts every year or so, improving my vision even more. Even with contacts on, my vision is still not perfect; most recently it was around 20/40-20/50 for each eye.

Completely unrelated, probably because it’s a hereditary thing, I am pretty color blind. Taking a simple test like this will determine pretty quickly if you are or not. It is pretty funny to take this test with someone who isn’t color blind; they just refuse to believe you can’t see the shapes!

If you’re having any eye problems such as flashes, floaters, or dark spots, check out this site on retinal detachment. Don’t put off getting checked out; it could cost you your vision.

The point of this post is to show how God can still work through me. Someone who is visually impaired and nearly went blind can have the chance to pursue a full-time career in photography, something completely reliant on vision and the ability to see. In reality, I’m only photographing God’s creation and displaying it back to everyone else. I just happen to know how to use my camera and a computer to do so.

The Principles of Design in Photography

The Principles of Design in Art - Unity



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The principles of design take the Elements of Art and organize them in a single piece of art. While these apply to any media in art, I will be using them specifically for photography.

1. Balance

Balance is arranging the elements in a piece so that there is an equality from one side to the other. A symmetrical image has perfect balance. Balance can also be achieved by asymmetry or radial arrangement. Below are an example of both poor and good balance.

The Principles of Design in art - Balance The Principles of Design in art - Balance

2. Harmony

The dictionary definition of harmony is “a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts;congruity”. This happens in art by using similar elements through out a piece that bring it together in a “pleasing” way. Harmony can be considered simplicity.

I chose this image to represent a good harmony. The orange and yellow leaves are all around the frame, bringing it together in a simple way. The white water is also simple and creates a “harmony”. This is one of the most difficult principles to grasp.

Principles of Design in art - harmony

3. Pattern/Rhythm

Pattern or rhythm is simply repeating an element in such a manner. This will cause the viewer’s eye to move around to each element.

The Principles of Design in Art - Pattern

4. Unity

Unity is taking the parts of a piece of art and unifying them in to something better as a whole. Composition is a great way to do this. This image could be separated in to each part as its own piece, but together they become a unified composition.

The Principles of Design in Art - Unity

5. Contrast

Contrast is easy. It is similar to adding contrast to an image overall, but this is done by using the elements. You can create contrast in an image by using complementary colors or differences in light and dark.

The Principles of Design in Art - Contrast

6. Proportion

Proportion is using the size of an object to give it more or less importance. Finding an image that uses this purposefully was difficult. In this image, the size of the sky was dramatically greater than the ground, giving it importance.

The Principles of Design in Art - Proportion

The above image was done through composition. This next image gives importance by lens distortion and placement. The rocks in the lower part of the frame appear huge, giving them more importance.

The Principles of Design in Art - Proportion

7. Variety

Variety is exactly what it sounds like, having variety in your elements! The image on the left has variety by combining a sunset sky, the bridge, and the middle ground of the trees. The image on the right has variety in each of the shells. By differing the kinds of shells, I’ve created variety that still maintains unity in that they are all shells.

The Principles of Design in Art - Variety The Principles of Design in Art - Variety

8. Movement

Movement is one of the simpler principles to learn; I actually used it a lot when discussing the Elements of Art. The goal of creating movement is to lead the viewer’s eye all around the photo and land on the focal point. The image below does a great job of that using line and tone.

Pricinples of Design - Movement

In the future, each principle will be explored further with its own blog post. The more detailed posts will go further in to how these principles can be used for photography! Be sure to subscribe with your email to receive updates! If you haven’t checked out The Elements of Art, you’ll want to do that as well!



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The Elements of Art – Space

The Element of Space in Architecture Photography

Space is a very important element because it gives your images depth. Images without depth from foreground to background appear flat and are less realistic and inviting.

Landscape photography is a great way to demonstrate how to use space to give your photographs more depth. This image below is an example of a lack of depth. While there are still a background, middle ground, and foreground, they are not as defined as they could be.

The Element of Space in Landscape Photography

This image of Big Laurel Creek has much more separation between levels of depth. This was achieved by a large difference in light levels as well as distortion from a wide-angle lens. The background adds to the image, but it isn’t overwhelming. The foreground is large, dominant, and right where your eye lands on the subject of the image. The middle ground works to bridge the two.

The Element of Space in Landscape Photography

Here are a few more images with a huge separation of foreground and background.

The Element of Space in Landscape Photography

In the next image, technically the background is the focal point. Your eye is drawn BACK in to the image until you can’t go any deeper. The foreground is close, but not distracting.

The Element of Space in Architecture Photography

The Element of Space in Landscape Photography

Check out all the other elements of art in photography here.

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The Elements of Art – Form

Element of Form in Landscape Photography

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The element of form is what takes a two-dimensional photograph and makes it appear three-dimensional. A flat image is boring and an image with depth and form is much more interesting.

Portraits

Put simply, lighting can be hard and harsh with sharp shadows, or soft with very smooth shadows. The longer the transition between light and dark, the softer the light is. With either soft or hard light, form is created through light and shadow.

The image below was taken with a very frontal, harsh sunlight. It gives very little shape to Madison’s face and therefore lacks “form”.

Comparing the above image to the one below, you can really see how different lighting can give more form to the face. Even though this is “softer” light, it is from the side, creating shadows that give form to her face.

Landscape

Landscapes are affected by the same quality of form, depending on the position of the sun. The below image from Wayah Bald in North Carolina was taken in the middle of the day with the sun directly overhead. There is very little form to the mountains because of the lack of shadows.

Element of Form in Landscape Photography

This image of Cades Cove from Gregory Bald in the Smokies was taken late in the evening, near sunset. With the sun near the horizon, there are a huge number of shadows, giving form to the mountains valleys and ridges.

Element of Form in Landscape Photography

Be sure to check out the rest of the elements of art in photography here.

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See more of my outdoor photography at Sizemore Outdoors.