The formal elements are important because they make up everything, whether we realise it or not, the formal elements are everywhere. I felt that this made it very easy to photograph them because there is always somewhere to go and take the photos, I felt that some of the images show various formal elements however if you was to focus on one it is easy to find somewhere to take the images. The formal elements in art and photography are; line, colour, pattern, texture, tone, form, depth, reflection and shape. There are many examples of each of these anywhere, for example we went to a small park and within the park you could have photographed colour, shape, depth, form, pattern, line and even reflection. Other areas also include many of these formal elements and this made it very easy to find lots of photographs. Focusing on a single formal elects when going out to take photographs makes it very easy because you have something to focus on and because of the wide range of places showing these formal elements you can produce a large amount of images.
The formal element line is one of the most important formal elements in my opinion, I think this because there are examples of lines everywhere which makes it very easy to photograph. We take for granted how useful lines are because they also make it easier for us to talk about an image, for example we can talk about whether it is straight or curved, continuous or changes, long or short or even whether something is made by the line. The image below is an example of a line photograph, I like this image because the lines are very dominant within the photo and in my opinion it is very clear this is a line photograph.
Colour is also very important because this is a very common way of describing or explaining something, for example it is very common to ask what colour something is. You can describe colour in a variety of different ways, for example you can just say the direct colour,explain the shade or describe whether it is bright or dull. These are all effective ways of describing colour and makes colour a very important formal element. The image below is an example of colour photography, this represents colour because the colours are all very vibrant and there is also a variety of colours.
Pattern is also a very common formal element, for example it is very commonly used in art or textiles, especially within clothing in textiles. There are also very many ways of describing pattern as there are many different types of pattern. The image below is an example of a pattern photograph, this image show pattern because there is the repetition of the similar shapes which are also similar colours.
Depth is very important because it shows how an object is three-dimensional by showing it getting smaller as it gets further away from the camera. Depth is a good way of showing how an object can look different and the space decreases as it gets further away from the camera. Depth and line link very well because quite often you use some form of line to show depth, for example a pipe. The image below is an example of depth photography, I think this effectively shows depth because the bridge gets smaller towards the middle as it gets further away from the camera.
Form is very important because it shows the three-dimensional state of something using shadows, therefore you can show form by taking a photo of anything with a shadow as it shows that this is not a two-dimensional object. The image below shows form, this is done by taking the image in black and white as this creates shadows which show form very well.
Tone is very important because it shows the different shades or tones of something, for example skin tone. This is useful because it gives us a way of describing something. Tone can often link very well with form because you can demonstrate both form and tone using a person. The image below shows tone because there are a variety of different shades within the petals of the leaves.
Texture is important because nearly everything has a texture, some are common, some are unique textures however they all gives us a way of describing the way something feels. Texture doesn't link particularly well with the other formal elements however on its own it is a very useful way of describing something. There are lots of examples of different describing words for texture, for example; rough, smooth, furry, hard and soft. The image below shows texture effectively because we can see shadows between each detailed area.
Reflection is very important, reflection occurs in lots of places however it only really occurs on certain surfaces, often metal or glass. Reflections can be an exact repetition of something or a distorted version of something. Reflection is very important because when taking images of something through a window you would often also capture your reflection in your image as well. The image below shows reflection because there is the image the child and then their reflection in the table, this is effective because his face lines up where he is biting the table.
Shape is very important in photography because everything has a shape, whether it is a regular shape or irregular, everything has a shape. You can use the shape of something to describe it very well and this also links very well with line because lines make up a shape. The image below shows shape because there is a normal object and then distinctive shape has been taken out of it.
In conclusion I think the formal elements are very important within photography. They give the photographer something to talk about when talking about their work.
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