Monday, October 6, 2008

Composition & Aesthetics

There are two traditional views concerning what constitutes aesthetic values. The first finds beauty to be objective, that is, inherent in the entity itself. The second position holds that beauty is subjective, in that it depends on the attitude of the observer.
(aesthetics) the branch of philosophy dealing with beauty, especially with the components thereof; that is, color and form.

— Kristen L. Zacharias


In photography, composition refers to the structure, organization, and visual characteristics of the elements in your photograph. Compositions can be complex, powerful, boring, moody, uplifting, and a plethora of other adjectives. When you hear photographers refer to the composition of a photograph, likely they are talking about things like subject placement, lighting, color, lines, space, balance, and more.

http://www.photoinf.com/General/Gloria_Hopkins/Composition_in_Nature_Photography_and_the_Elements_of_a_Photograph.htm

3 comments:

photography by lisa whitman said...

Tracy,

Thanks for sharing the information about composition. I haven't had a chance to check out all the web sites that everyone else has posted, but definitely glad we all have this for future reference.

Caitlin said...

This is a great, clear explanation of composition and aesthetics - it definitely helped me understand it better. Thank you

visualdigital said...

I really liked your information you posted, less technical, and more,..well aesthetics, and the power invoked when creating an image, thanks!