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.

Mindmap for Formal Elements

Form Straight Images

Form Definition Page

    Definition
    Dictionary: Form -

             noun                      1. the visible shape or configuration of something 

                        "the form, color, and texture of the tree"

Adjectives & Synonms for 'Form'

• Shape
• Design
• Layout
• Format
• Outline
• Exterior
• Appearance
• Arrangement
• Construction
• Structure
• Formation
• Configuration

Annotated Pictures

I chose this photograph because I like the way the sunlight is clearly represented and the help of the light & dark shadow areas helps to  make the barrel look 3D.

I chose this photograph because I love the way the light and shadows are used to show reflection so the photo looks 3D. I love the way the darkness of the water creates a perfect reflection almost like a mirror image.

I chose this photograph to show the way form is effected by severe light, as you can see one side falls under a black shadow.

This photograph shows form because the shadow on the right side of the fur which is created by the light on the left side of the lion.

My own definition: Form - the 3D shape of something that creates a shadow e.g. human form

Form Work Diary

Evaluation
My photography session on the topic 'Form' was very good and I enjoyed it immensely. I found this topic very interesting because to photograph form correctly you must rely on a natural element to photograph maybe unnatural elements. When taking my depth pictures I had to remember the rules about sun light and shadows, making sure the sun was behind what I was photographing was important for me. I enjoyed 'Form' because it applies to everything people, architecture, objects, plants and animals however the difficult side of it comes in when you must SHOW the form within your photographs by ensuring that the items shadow is included and visible. Some of my favourite photographs from 'Form' are:

I liked this photograph because of the way the plant casts a shadow underneath itself which shows that it is a 3D form object.

I liked this photograph because I like the way the light is creating a pattern in the shadow and this reflects onto the desk. The light and shadow looks almost as if someone has placed a filter over the lens.

Progression

I definitely like the idea of studying 'Form' more in depth as I think its very interesting how it depends on light. I would like to do a study on possibly the way glass and light conducts shadows and creates reflections. An idea I have would be to focus on maybe the way water acts in relation to glass and shadows and reflections. I would also like to use people to show form in photographs too. To improve this topic I wish I had focused more on actual objects and their form rather than people and shadows.

Form Image Bank

This shadow fascinated me with the way each of the birds different positions were shown by the shadow cast from the sun, even though the birds look as if they're in the same position the shadow shows that its not.

You can tell this is a 3D shape due to the shadow on the one side of the shoes, this shows it is a form and this is proved by the shadow as 2D shapes do not project shadows.

You can see this is a form because of the shadows on the opposite side of the spinal bones. The dark background makes the white skin stand out in the 3D picture.

This photograph is my favourite due to the way one side of the womans face is almost totally eclipsed as opposed to the other side, the light shining on one side creates the shadow on the other side of her face, Also the shadows in the hollows of her eyes are there due to the light not reaching her sunken sockets due to age, older people faces may appear more shadowed than younger.

This photograph shows what kind of trickery shadows can produce due to the angle the light is coming from or the shape of the thing which is producing the shadow.

The shadow from the coke can is a basic shadow of it being reflected out of the one side. Then the lightness of one side compared to the darkness and shadowy nature of the otherside.

Depth Straight Images