What is Graphic Design?
Graphic Design is the art or skill of combining text and pictures in advertisements, magazines, or books. These days graphic design is often digital. Print Design is a subset of graphic design, and is a form of visual communication used to convey information to an audience through intentional aesthetic design printed on a tangible surface, as opposed to presented on a digital platform.
Click HERE to see our youth-produced graphic design gallery.
What is the relationship between Photography and Graphic Design?
Photographs are some of the most effective images used in graphic design. If you are a graphic designer, working on your photography skills can make you a better designer. Furthermore, often artists like painters can take great photographs, even with poor equipment, because they understand visualization, composition and lighting.
Fundamentals of Photography
The focus of photography basics is more often on the technical side-- learning about aperture, ISO, or shutter speed settings, for example. Though the technical aspects of photography are good to know (and can easily be googled), the focus here is on composition, using any old camera (or your phone) and paying attention to the art of expression through it. Composition is the way the various elements of a scene are arranged within the frame of your shot. By changing your perspective or your physical location, you can greatly affect the look of your composition. The way your shot is composed will catch the viewer's interest and guide their eye through the photo. There are no set rules for photography composition, but below are some guidelines to help improve the composition of your photos.
RULE OF THIRDS
The basic premise of the rule of thirds is to divide your frame into thirds horizontally and vertically in a grid. Then place the important element(s) of your scene where two lines intersect, with horizontal or vertical subjects following the gridlines. Many beginners tend to place their subject in the center of their shot. By placing your subject off-center on a third, you will often create more interesting compositions.
The placement of objects in your frame, their size, and their relation to each other creates balance. When your composition is balanced, it creates a relaxed feeling that is pleasing to the eye. Conversely, objects in your frame can be placed out of balance to create a feeling of tension or unease. Try moving around to see how the balance of your shot changes to create different feelings.
You can use lines within your frame to draw your viewer in and guide their eye through your composition. Diagonal lines can be especially useful in creating interest for the viewer. Look for natural lines when composing a shot, such as fences, rivers, roads, walls, mountains, or even shadows to guide the viewer's eye to your subject(s).
Leading looks, or eye lines, are the imaginary lines leading from the subject's eyes to where they are looking. Generally, more space between the subject's eyes and the edge of the frame will create a more relaxed feeling, whereas having a short distance between the subject's eyes and the edge of the frame will create a feeling of tension.
Depth refers to the distance from the closest object to the farthest in your composition that is in focus along the Z-axis. A shallow depth of field will blur more of your shot, which will draw the viewer's attention to a specific point that is in focus. This will give your photo a more intimate feel. A deeper depth of field will have most of the photo in focus, which can create a feeling of vastness or openness.
Often, the goal of photography is to convey emotion. This is done best by capturing people in candid situations when they are showing their true emotions. However, photos can also convey emotion without showing a person's face. Body language can convey emotion, and objects can also convey emotion.
FRAME WITHIN A FRAME
A frame within a frame can be used to focus the viewer's attention quickly to your subject. Frames can include trees, rocks, doorways, arches, windows, etc. Placing your subject within a frame will isolate your subject, and it can also add a narrative by giving context to your subject.
EVERYTHING IN YOUR FRAME MATTERS
Everything in your frame makes up your photo's composition and will affect the way the viewer responds to your photo. You can often control everything in your frame by placing your camera in the best spot and using the guidelines outlined above. As you practice framing your photos more deliberately, it will become easier to create compelling compositions.
BREAK THE RULES
These rules are actually more like guidelines to help beginners improve their photos quickly, but all of these rules can be broken. Breaking the rules can create different feelings for the viewer, such as tension or unease. As you become more deliberate with composing photos, you will learn when the rules help and when breaking the rules creates a more interesting shot.
With access to good photography equipment becoming cheaper and easier, the main thing that will set your photos apart from everyone else is you, the photographer. Try to explore new perspectives and develop your own voice as an artist.
It is important to understand that different shot styles help to tell the story, and varied shot styles is a visual storytelling technique, integral to the message. For example, a close up of someone's face connects the viewer to the character and helps to create emotion. Or shooting someone at a low angle makes them look powerful and intimidating.
What message do you get from the different shots? You can brainstorm additional examples of shots used in popular media (e.g., news broadcasts are often shot with medium shots; close-ups are often used to capture emotion and facial expressions in an interview, etc.) Consider watching a sequence from a popular movie and pause the film periodically and try to name each type of shot and discuss why the filmmaker made this choice.
Click on the links below to download any slideshows or pdf's.
STOP MOTION ANIMATION TIPS
RELATED MEDIA ARTS PAGES