Illustrated discussion about the Importance of Formal Elements

Illustrated discussion about the Importance of Formal Elements

Formal Elements are important because they help communicate the artists’s vision and educate non-artists and children about the different styles and techniques used in Photography. They are also useful because they help us to categorise and label different photos for the topic that they fit into. For example, given a formal element a photographer has greater direction and knows what to look at while taking his photos. An example of where a formal element is used would be in colour, from looking at colour images I can see that photographers use a splash of colour to highlight and show the viewer what the main focal point is. For example, the use of the formal element, colour, helps the viewer to visually see what topic is used in the photo if it is not obvious. It also adds emphasis to the element as it gives the viewer something to search for. This is good as it helps the photographer or artist write about what they were planning in a more sophisticated way. The formal elements that are used in photography and art are: colour, shape, texture, depth, form, tone, pattern, shape and line. These different types of formal elements help the viewer (non-artist) show what the photographers insight is and makes the images look good.

Another of the formal elements is tone. Tone is one of the great formal elements as they show whether something is light or dark. This could be perceived by a shade or the colour of the object photographed. They are created by the light hitting a three dimensional object and give off two separate tones, shadows and highlights. This a true value to formal elements as they enable us to look at the different shades and how lighting can affect an image. I think that the formal element of tone is not one that first springs to mind however, it is more important than a lot others as without these different shades, we would not be able to show great detail of photography.

Line is another of the most important formal elements to me. Without realising, line makes up nearly everyday object that we use in the world. For non-artists, they take for granted the use that lines have on our everyday lives. However, the use of formal elements allow the photographer and the artist to search beyond this. Personally, I feel like lines are another of the formal elements that contribute to photos, they can be straight, diagonal or curvy. They can change from the start to the end of the line or they can appear to be continuous. This brings us too, Depth. Depth of field is the distance between the beginning (the object closest to the camera) and the difference in size it appears furthest away. Depth is another of the formal elements in the above mindmap. You can look at Depth through height which can be found in sculptures and buildings but also in width in buildings. Depth is a great way in showing how an object can look different and how the scale decreases the further away it is from the camera. Line and Depth link well as lines are a great way in showing that they do not actually get smaller but they appear it.

Form and Shape are ways of exhibiting objects in different dimensions. They are also great for formal elements as they help separate the two in a contextual way. Shape, is the 2D interpretation of an object. A shape is also known as the area inside lines, for example a triangle on a piece of paper or a drawing of a circle. Shapes are usually the first thing that a viewer would associate with an object as it is the object itself. On the other hand, form is the 3D element of photographic composition. For example, to show an object is three dimensional, shadows and different tones are used to give different sides of the object, some in which may not be visible without the shadow. Forms and shape are great formal elements as without them we would not be able to compare the differences they both hold. While shape is simply 2D lines, form can be shown through tone and perspective to create the illusion the viewer sees and the artist attempts to perceive. 

The use of the formal element Pattern is a visual interpretation on the surface of the object or the way things are laid out. This can be deliberate, for example, the tiles on the ground which are used to create affect while also random, like the stones or pebbles on the beach. This is still a pattern as it is an object repeated, however we can categorise it as random as they're not a pattern as such they are placed there and a design. Patterns can be manmade, which are usually placed for attraction
to the eye however they can also be natural which usually are stunning and delicate, for example, flowers. Pattern is an essential formal element as it allows the artist to discuss any repetition or surface detail in the shot. Another way is through the formal element of Texture. Texture is one of my favourite formal elements as I feel it creates meaning and plays with the senses of the viewers. It can be split up into two sections, Visual Texture, which is marks that appear to be there through tone and different shadows. The other is Actual Texture which is what makes the audience want to touch it. For example, certain fabrics make the viewer relate to the photograph. I feel like this is one of the most intriguing formal elements as it allows the photographer to discuss and write about the visual details on an object rather than just ignore it.

Overall, I feel like different formal elements are great for the artist and the photographer. They allow the viewer to see a sense of direction and allow the artist to write about what his aims for the photographs were.