Lesson Info
102. Elements of Design
Summary (Generated from Transcript)
The lesson is about the elements of design in photography, specifically focusing on lines, shapes, shadows, human figures, gestures, patterns, and breaking patterns. The instructor explains how these elements can be used to create interesting and visually appealing photographs.
Q&A:
- What is the importance of lines in photography?
Lines help guide the viewer's eyes through the photo and can add a sense of movement and dynamism to the image.
- What are some subcategories of lines?
Some subcategories of lines include diagonal lines, which add a sense of dynamism, and curved lines, which create a soothing and inviting feel.
- How can shapes be used in photography?
Shapes simplify the subjects and can be easily identified from a distance. They can be used to add visual interest and make a quick statement in a photograph.
- What role do shadows play in photography?
Shadows can add texture and reveal extra information in a photograph. They can also be used to create strong contrast and are particularly important in black and white photography.
- Why are human figures significant in photography?
Human figures are easily identifiable and can help the viewer relate to the image. They can also add a sense of scale and curiosity to the photograph.
- How can gestures enhance a photograph?
Gestures can reveal information about what is happening in the photograph and create a closer connection between the viewer and the subject.
- Why are patterns interesting in photography?
Patterns are visually appealing and can capture the viewer's attention. They add a sense of repetition and can make a photograph more intriguing.
- How can breaking a pattern make a photograph more interesting?
Breaking a pattern draws attention and adds a sense of uniqueness to the image. It creates contrast and makes the viewer focus on the element that deviates from the pattern.
Lessons
Class Introduction
23:32 2Photographic Characteristics
06:46 3Camera Types
03:03 4Viewing System
22:09 5Lens System
24:38 6Shutter System
12:56 7Shutter Speed Basics
10:16 8Shutter Speed Effects
31:57Camera & Lens Stabilization
11:06 10Quiz: Shutter Speeds
07:55 11Camera Settings Overview
16:12 12Drive Mode & Buffer
04:24 13Camera Settings - Details
10:21 14Sensor Size: Basics
18:26 15Sensor Sizes: Compared
24:52 16The Sensor - Pixels
22:49 17Sensor Size - ISO
26:59 18Focal Length
11:36 19Angle of View
31:29 20Practicing Angle of View
04:59 21Quiz: Focal Length
08:15 22Fisheye Lens
12:32 23Tilt & Shift Lens
20:37 24Subject Zone
13:16 25Lens Speed
09:03 26Aperture
08:25 27Depth of Field (DOF)
21:46 28Quiz: Apertures
08:22 29Lens Quality
07:06 30Light Meter Basics
09:04 31Histogram
11:48 32Quiz: Histogram
09:07 33Dynamic Range
07:25 34Exposure Modes
35:15 35Sunny 16 Rule
04:31 36Exposure Bracketing
08:08 37Exposure Values
20:01 38Quiz: Exposure
20:44 39Focusing Basics
13:08 40Auto Focus (AF)
24:39 41Focus Points
17:18 42Focus Tracking
19:26 43Focusing Q&A
06:40 44Manual Focus
07:14 45Digital Focus Assistance
07:35 46Shutter Speeds & Depth of Field (DOF)
05:18 47Quiz: Depth of Field
15:54 48DOF Preview & Focusing Screens
04:55 49Lens Sharpness
11:08 50Camera Movement
11:29 51Advanced Techniques
15:15 52Quiz: Hyperfocal Distance
07:14 53Auto Focus Calibration
05:15 54Focus Stacking
07:58 55Quiz: Focus Problems
18:54 56Camera Accessories
32:41 57Lens Accessories
29:24 58Lens Adaptors & Cleaning
13:14 59Macro
13:02 60Flash & Lighting
04:47 61Tripods
14:13 62Cases
06:07 63Being a Photographer
11:29 64Natural Light: Direct Sunlight
28:37 65Natural Light: Indirect Sunlight
15:57 66Natural Light: Mixed
04:20 67Twilight: Sunrise & Sunset Light
22:21 68Cloud & Color Pop: Sunrise & Sunset Light
06:40 69Silhouette & Starburst: Sunrise & Sunset Light
07:28 70Golden Hour: Sunrise & Sunset Light
07:52 71Quiz: Lighting
05:42 72Light Management
10:46 73Flash Fundamentals
12:06 74Speedlights
04:12 75Built-In & Add-On Flash
10:47 76Off-Camera Flash
25:48 77Off-Camera Flash For Portraits
15:36 78Advanced Flash Techniques
08:22 79Editing Assessments & Goals
08:57 80Editing Set-Up
06:59 81Importing Images
03:59 82Organizing Your Images
32:41 83Culling Images
13:57 84Categories of Development
30:59 85Adjusting Exposure
08:03 86Remove Distractions
04:02 87Cropping Your Images
09:53 88Composition Basics
26:36 89Point of View
28:56 90Angle of View
14:35 91Subject Placement
23:22 92Framing Your Shot
07:27 93Foreground & Background & Scale
03:51 94Rule of Odds
05:00 95Bad Composition
07:31 96Multi-Shot Techniques
19:08 97Pixel Shift, Time Lapse, Selective Cloning & Noise Reduction
12:24 98Human Vision vs The Camera
23:32 99Visual Perception
10:43 100Quiz: Visual Balance
14:05 101Visual Drama
16:45 102Elements of Design
09:24 103Texture & Negative Space
03:57 104Black & White & Color
10:33 105The Photographic Process
09:08 106Working the Shot
25:29 107What Makes a Great Photograph?
07:01Lesson Info
Elements of Design
Alright, folks. Let's dive into the next little section here. And this is called Elements of Design. And this is something that is taught in a lot of art and photography classes. And these are just elements that we tend to look at and it's the way we view images in many ways. First element that we can use is line. We love lines, because it's essentially a handrail for the eyes. Our eyes will tend to look at a line because it's got a strong contrast and it will move through the photo on that line. And so any sort of photograph that has good lines, well that's a good element. Doesn't mean that it will be a good photograph, but at least it's at least a good element to start with. And you'll see that this is a very common theme in photography, is having a line. Your eyes will follow it from one end to the other. And so, definitely something to look for. Now the lines can be broken up into many different subcategories. Alright, so first up is the diagonal line. The diagonal line is said to ...
be a little bit more dynamic. With humans, we expect things to be either horizontal or vertical. And so, having some angled lines in the photograph can make it a little bit more interesting. And so, anytime you see a lot of strong diagonal lines, that's going to be a good potential element to have or to make a photograph around. And so in some ways, these are kind of good subject choices that might make good photographs. And so these strong diagonal lines are just good elements in any sort of photograph. And so these are found all over the place. No doubt. Another type of good line to have is a curved line. And that is a more soothing line than the straight line. And so, using a curved line, especially a spiral line is going to be a very interesting line for the eyes to look at. This is very comforting. This is like a type of place that is a very inviting place, that nice curved line in there. And it's not to say it's better or worst than a straight line, but having that curve does give it a certain feel. Even that little small S curve of the ostrich neck. Or those sculptures that we've seen a number of times before. Trees will often have very good lines as well. Another concept in lines is the leading line. And that is just that your eyes follow lines and have that bring your eyes to the subject that you want it to be. And so your eyes tend to just kind of flow, go with the flow of the lines, following them into the subject. And so in this case, those black curved lines are kind of significant lines leading us down the street. Or taking us to the trees and the rocks in the distance. And so leading lines taking us to the point that we want. Now, when you take a line and you create something a little bit more complex with it, it'll be a shape. And so, we love shapes. Shapes simplify the subjects for us. We can identify shapes from great distances. We're shooting straight down into a river, and I can see a face in this rock. Just a subtle little face and that's a nice little shape to have in there. And so shooting those silhouettes at twilight time, a good time for adding some shapes into your photograph. Finding some details that have interesting shapes to them. Using shallow depth to field to really make that shape very very clear. And a lot of these are very simple images, but I think they're good at making a quick statement. And so then using shape and shadow. Shadows are of course a very strong element that we've used. We've talked about shadow framing can be very nice. Bout having the shadows as a significant portion of the frame, big important element in many cases. And so we've talked about that side lighting for using strong contrast for where you're working with those shadows. And so those shadows really give us a lot of feel for the texture of a particular environment. They reveal a little extra information that we might not have seen other wise. And so playing around with the shadows and light areas is definitely a good arena for playing around. And for anyone who is interested in getting into black and white photography, shadows get to be very very important. And in this case, a lot of times we don't necessarily need to see a lot of information in the shadows. It's okay if they're very very dark and they're ... They help kind of set the tonal range for the entire photograph. Maybe one of my favorite photographs for using shadows in there. There's a lot of different shadows of different things going on in there. And it's definitely a much better photo with those little extra shadows in there. I talked about this a little bit in the human scale section, but the human shape is something that can be identified very very easily. And even though the people are not very big in this frame, they do stand out very very quickly. And your eyes find them. And so when we see people in the shot, we can instantly identify them and we can start putting ourselves in their shoes. And so including a small person in your photograph in this manner is a very helpful element. It's kind of a ... As one of the photographers I was interviewing on one of our photos, he goes, "It's the cookie. It's a little extra bonus cookie that you get to in there." And so, having a small human person in the frame is perfectly fine, because your eye will be drawn to it naturally. We're curious about what all these other humans are doing out there. And with humans and non-humans, we're also interested in exactly what they're doing. What's going on between them and do we understand that? And so the gestures that you see that these animals or people are making, can we infer what's going on? Tension between these two. You know, there's an alertness that's going on. You can tell that this is more than a casual walk. This is a walk with purpose. A caring gesture. From Bhutan, one of the dances in preparation for their Paro festival. They do a lot of dancing. And so when we see a human body part like this in a position we can kind of identify what that feels like for ourselves and we are drawn with a closer connection with that subject when we can identify more about what they're doing. And so each of those body positions kind of show us a little bit more about what's going on. And sometimes we'll see gestures with items that don't really move in any real sense. For me, this tree really shows a gesture. For me, it kind of reminds me, if anyone knows the Pixar logo? With the lamp that kind of moves around. It reminded me of that. Sometimes they can be funny gestures. Alright, this is the biggest "Gimme" in photography. Alright? So if you just want a good photograph, this is the easiest one to take a good photograph that's interesting. I always love as I scroll around on the internet, "Best Photos of the Year." Alright, let me see the collection of 20, 30 photos. And almost a third of them, maybe half of them fall into the pattern category. Our brains love a pattern. It's just interesting when one subject is replicated over and over and over again. And in almost every circumstance, a pattern will make an interesting shot. You can have a pattern of garbage, and if it's the right type of garbage, the right color and the right pattern to it, it's gonna look good. And so, finding a pattern and then filling the frame. And so that's one of the key things, it's not revealing the magician's trick going outside the frame, you know where the pattern is, cause we like this pattern to go continuously throughout the frame. And so, there's so many pattern shots, I really have to kind of cut it down in this class to figure out, you know, which ones do I want to show you, cause it is so easy. As soon as you see something replicated, and our society is just filled with patterns. Cause it's a very efficient system of building and nature and everything else. We see these all over the place. That's why I love these. They're very very simple. Slightly mysterious shots, but our brains enjoy looking at these in many ways. So if you have a pattern, you can break the pattern. And that can be a lot of fun. And so if you have a pattern of something, and then a couple of things, or something that just sets apart from that whole pattern. It's going to drawn a little bit more attention. It's back to the old Sesame Street, which one of these things is different than the other? That's what draws our attention, it's that one thing that's off. We may have a whole bunch of leaves, but we've got this one rock that's kind of sticking out. That's going to draw your attention. We like something that stands out from the rest. Go in that opposite direction. The one thing that's different. It does seem like what our society focuses on. It's not the one that better, necessarily, it's the one that different that gets all the attention. And so when you see that one flower that's a little bit different, that's the one that's going to make it interesting.
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Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
Love love all John Greengo classes! Wish to have had him decades ago with this info, but no internet then!! John is the greatest photography teacher I have seen out there, and I watch a lot of Creative Live classes and folks on YouTube too. John is so detailed and there are a ton of ah ha moments for me and I know lots of others. I think I own 4 John Greengo classes so far and want to add this one and Travel Photography!! I just drop everything to watch John on Creative Live. I wish sometime soon he would teach a Lightroom class and his knowledge on photography post editing.!!! That would probably take a LOT OF TIME but I know John would explain it soooooo good, like he does all his Photography classes!! Thank you Creative Live for having such a wonderful instructor with John Greengo!! Make more classes John, for just love them and soak it up! There is soooo much to learn and sometimes just so overwhelming. Is there anyway you might do a Motivation class!!?? Like do this button for this day, and try this technique for a week, or post this subject for this week, etc. Motivation and inspiration, and playing around with what you teach, needed so much and would be so fun.!! Just saying??? Awaiting gadgets class now, while waiting for lunch break to be over. All the filters and gadgets, oh my. Thank you thank you for all you teach John, You are truly a wonderful wonderful instructor and I would highly recommend folks listening and buying your classes.
Eve
I don't think that adjectives like beautiful, fantastic or excellent can describe the course and classes with John Greengo well enough. I've just bought my first camera and I am a total amateur but I fell in love with photography while watching the classes with John. It is fun, clear, understandable, entertaining, informative and and and. He is not only a fabulous photographer but a great teacher as well. Easy to follow, clear explanations and fantastic visuals. The only disadvantage I can list here that he is sooooo good that keeps me from going out to shoot as I am just glued to the screen. :-) Don't miss it and well worth the money invested! Thank you John!
JUAN SOL
Dear John, thanks for this outstanding classes. You are not only a great photographer and instructor, but your classes are pleasant, they are not boring, with a good sense of humor, they go straight to the point and have a good time listening to you. Please, keep teaching what you like most, and I will continue to look for your classes. And thanks for using a plain English, that it's important for people who has another language as native language. Thanks again, Juan