PROJECT : "It's By Design!"
OBJECTIVE:
One of the most important compositional techniques in photography is the abstraction of subjects to create "graphic" designs. Where most photographs are concerned with the "content" or subject or an image, graphically orientated images are concerned with the "look" of an image. In this case, the reduction of subjects so the composition of shapes (of both subjects and shadows) create interesting designs.
REQUIREMENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS:
1. Unlike most projects requested for this class, this project is exercise is looking at your world in very special way. Instead of looking for "significant meanings," you are attempting to see objects, shadows, lighting effects, and situations which can be reduced to simple shapes and textures. The goal is to find a composition of these shapes to create an interesting design in the final print.2. Quite literally, you are trying to reduce a vision of the world down to the flat plane of the print. Considerations of contour, the shading of surfaces to give volume and mass, are not important. You are to look at your subjects in the frame of mind that considers the size and shape of subjects as visual elements of a design. How do these shapes visually interact with the shapes of other subjects in your view?
3. A very common example of these types of pictures are silhouettes. Since the subject is rendered as a solid dark shapes, the reading of the photograph is then about the relationship of the shapes and the background. The concern is not with understanding the subject matter, but about design and arrangements.
4. The actual composition of the image could be simple geometric arrangements, or could be very complex and chaotic (like texture pictures). Not everything has to be "in-focus", you can play with the contrast of sharply defined subjects against out-of-focus elements: clarity verses fuzziness.
5. When you shoot your pictures, be sure to bracket your exposures. Similarly, when you print your images, play with different contrasts filters. Concentrate on the higher contrast levels (filters 3 1/2 to 5+ for b&w prints) to help emphasize the graphic qualities of your images. However, it is possible to have "graphic" images which are very low in contrast; so consider all possibilities when shooting and printing this project.
6. Submit at least two (2) images for grading. Please make your images no smaller than 5"x7". Present your images matted.
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