Discussion

The Formal Elements are used to help photographers and artists put into words their creations and what they see around them. The Formal Elements form the basis for every photograph, drawing, painting or other art form for example everywhere we look there is lines, colours, movements, patterns, shapes, textures, reflections, forms, tones and depths. Everything in the modern world is made up of the formal elements, they give art and photography a voice.  The formal elements help us to put into words what our art is and helps to explain our concepts, ideas and thoughts to our audience. The formal elements help us, as artists to put into words what our creations make us think and feel and what they mean to us.

The element of the line is what makes up most objects, pictures or drawings. Lines are everywhere which makes them one of the most important formal elements there is, the same can be said for colour, pattern, shape and tone as these are all quite common elements for example colour can be found everywhere, tone can be found within colour and patterns can be found in the oddest of places. These formal elements are used to create brilliantly composed pieces, lines are especially important in photography due to the concept of 'Leading lines'. Leading lines are used to draw the eye of the viewer to a certain area of the photograph (or painting, drawing or artistic creation) and to gain the interest of the viewer on one area, the line usually begins near the centre of the bottom line of the page.

Whereas on the other hand the elements of depth, movement, texture and reflection are all more deep elements which aren't as commonly found or used as descriptive methods. Although not quite as common, they are equally important and vital to the world of photography and art because they create an image, a photograph or a work of art. These formal elements help artists and photographers to explain to the audience how the work feels, where the work is going, what the work means and what the story is. The formal element of texture is very important as by using words like 'rough' and 'soft' the viewer is able to tell what the scene actually feels like. Photographers and artists use the formal element of texture to connect further with the viewer and explain further their concepts, thoughts and ideas.

Therefore, by combining what I've labelled as primary formal elements (line, colour, pattern, shape and tone) with what I've labelled as secondary formal elements (depth, movement, texture and reflection) I think all these elements contribute equally to the final product of a piece of artwork or photo. I think the practical piece is only halfway there and the explanation of the elements and what they do and how they are involved in the picture are the other fifty percent of the job.

To conclude I believe it is very important to use the formal elements to the best of your ability due to the sheer diversity they add to an artist or photographers work. The formal elements help the artist or photographer to connect with their key demographic audience for example they can add their concept, thoughts, and ideas into an explanation for the piece and most of this explanation will more than likely be made up by most of if not all of the formal element terms.