10 rules of photo composition (and why they work) In photography, it’s not just what you shoot that counts – the way that you shoot it is crucial, too. Poor photo composition can make a fantastic subject dull, but a well-set scene can create a wonderful image from the most ordinary of situations. With that in mind, we’ve picked our top 10 photo composition ‘rules’ to show you how to transform your images, as well as offered some of our best photography tips from the experts who do it on a daily basis. Don’t feel that you’ve got to remember every one of these laws and apply them to each photo you take. Photo composition doesn’t have to be complicated. In the real world, you’ll be working with a wide range of subjects and scenes, and this requires a more open-minded approach. The key thing is to understand how all the decisions you make about composition can affect the way a shot looks and how people perceive your photos. Technical know-how is very important in photography, of course, and even in some aspects of photo composition.
Visual Literacy: An E-Learning Tutorial on Visualization for Communication, Engineering and Business Color Contrast - all about the difference - Love of Graphics Contrast – a definition Contrast can be defined as “the difference in visual properties that makes an object (or its representation in an image) distinguishable from other objects and the background.” In plain English that could be described at its most basic level as “things which look different from one another” or as the definition taken from Cambridge online Dictionary “an obvious difference between two or more things”. The real meaning of form is made clearer by its opposite. Jan Tschichold, Typographer “The New Typography” Contrast – in color Remember thrusting your hand into a big pail of mixed-up, broken crayons, then leafing through your construction paper to find the perfect hue to go with your chosen sticks of pigmented wax? Contrast is the perceived difference in colors that are in close proximity to each other. Value Dark areas advance, or stand out, while light areas recede, or hang back.Dark areas also have more weight in terms of balance. Color The Pure Color (Hue) Contrast
PowerPoint Tutorials With as many PowerPoint questions that I get, it’s a good thing that over the past year or so the elearning community has created about 300 PowerPoint tutorials. For this post, I decided to pull a bunch of them together so that you have them in one easy list. I also included a free PowerPoint elearning template to celebrate the holidays and a great 2010! Click to download the free PowerPoint template. 100+ PowerPoint Tutorials If you want to learn more about using PowerPoint or building rapid elearning courses, this list is a good place to start. I loosely organized the tutorials by topic so they’re a little easier to scan. PowerPoint for Rapid E-Learning PowerPoint Tips for Graphic Design Create Illustrations & Objects in PowerPoint Animation Tips & Tricks in PowerPoint How to Use PowerPoint Tutorials PowerPoint Resources People to follow on Screenr There are many people on Screenr who create useful PowerPoint and rapid elearning tutorials. I hope you have a Happy New Year! Tidbits
Visual Literacy Upon completing this lesson segment, you will be able to write a definition of visual literacy and match the three components of visual literacy to their respective meanings. Visual literacy is the ability to understand, create, and use visual images. Visual literacy has three parts: Visual thinking is the ability to transform thoughts, ideas, and information into all types of pictures, graphics, or other images that help communicate the associated information. Visual communication is when pictures, graphics, and other images are used to express ideas and to teach people. For visual communication to be effective, the receiver must be able to construct meaning from seeing the visual image. Visual learning is the process of learning from pictures and media. Visual learning includes the construction of knowledge by the learner as a result of seeing the visual image.
Practical Guidelines for Visual Design Practical Guidelines for Visual Design The following are some practical guidelines to follow in the design of instructional visuals. There are three major ways to represent objects: as pictorial symbols, graphic symbols, or verbal symbols. Being creative... Research on eye movement states that people from Western cultures tend to look at the upper left-hand area of a visual first. Keeping these two principles in mind it is important to place important information near the dividing lines and place the start of the main message where the eye first strikes the area. Changes in a visual image help keep attention directed on the visual. Too much detail in a visual image can detract from instruction. The layout of a visual needs to be clear and focus attention to the appropriate places in the image. The shapes of several letters are useful to guide layout patterns. Move labels close to the objects they refer to. Typography has to do with the size, shape, and placement of words.
The Creative License: New Visual Literacy Handout I and my students may live in Iowa, but we are connected to the world! This is why I feel so strongly that Visual Literacy is one of the most important things that we, as Art teachers, can teach. As I’ve talked about before, my school has done Smart Goals for a long time and recently I’ve been focusing on Visual Literacy with my high school students. I reworked my Visual Literacy critique this year to make it look “friendlier” and less "worksheety" (if that makes any sense!) This year, I also introduced the idea of Visual Literacy with this excellent video from the Toledo Museum of Art We are starting our visual literacy study by critiquing this poster from the Ringling College of Art and Design. I am so impressed with the kids when they show me how much they are really looking, listening and learning.
Visual Design Basics Visual design focuses on the aesthetics of a site and its related materials by strategically implementing images, colors, fonts, and other elements. A successful visual design does not take away from the content on the page or function. Instead, it enhances it by engaging users and helping to build trust and interest in the brand. Basic Elements of Visual Design The basic elements that combine to create visual designs include the following: Lines connect two points and can be used to help define shapes, make divisions, and create textures. Principles for Creating a Visual Design A successful visual design applies the following principles to elements noted above and effectively brings them together in a way that makes sense. Unity has to do with all elements on a page visually or conceptually appearing to belong together. Example of Pulling it all together Additional Information
Attribution CC Wiki You can use CC-licensed materials as long as you follow the license conditions. One condition of all CC licenses is attribution. Here are some good (and not so good) examples of attribution. Note: If you want to learn how to mark your own material with a CC license go here. Examples of attribution Here is a photo. This is an ideal attribution Because: Title? Author? Source? License? This is a pretty good attribution Title? Author? Source? License? This is an incorrect attribution Photo: Creative Commons Title? Author? Source? License? This is a good attribution for material you modified slightly Title, Author, Source, and License are all noted Modification? This is a good attribution for material from which you created a derivative work Original Title, Author, Source, and License are all noted Derivative? New author of the derivative work is also noted Note: If you're at a point where you are licensing derivative works, go to Marking your work with a CC license. Title? Author? Source? License? 1.
Understanding Balance in Photography Balance is a compositional technique in photography that juxtaposes images within a frame so that the objects are of equal visual weight. When different parts of a photo command your attention equally, perfect balance is achieved. In photography, there are two main techniques of balance you should be aware of: formal and informal. We’ll discuss the difference between each and how they can affect your photo. *** To learn more about White Balance, see our Photography 101 Workshop in our store. Knowing how to effectively balance objects within a photo is a skill that all serious photographers must learn. Balancing elements in photography becomes important when you frame your shots. The only problem with the rule of thirds is that it can also leave a wide open empty space in a photo which may make the scene feel empty. The two main techniques of using balance in photography are classified as formal and informal balance. Formal Balance Formal balance can be defined as symmetrical balance.
Visual Literacy INTRODUCTION Every day, we see and are exposed to hundreds perhaps thousands of images that pass through our radar screens. Unfortunately, not many of us know how to "read images." Many of our students don't question media: they believe everything they see--including digitally altered images seen in the media. One of the ways to teach critical thinking and "media literacy" is to start with the still image. Because of the Internet, it is easier than ever to access these images. Here are some recommended sites: Your school's arts educator is a perfect partner in understanding the concepts of visual literacy. Because mobile phones now incorporate cameras, and due to the size and cost of digital cameras, it is easier than ever for students to take photographs and incorporate images into their projects. This web site is a resource and is designed to provide the K-12 educator ideas, readings, lesson plans and other valuable tools for classroom instruction.