Formalism

Formalism describes the critical position that the most important aspect of a work of art is its form – the way it is made and its purely visual aspects – rather than its narrative content or its relationship to the visible world.

Formal/visual elements

Light – how the light source, which can be natural or artificial, is positioned in relation to your subject.

Line – anything that stretches between two points in your photo. 

Repetition – using repeating shapes or a repetitive pattern inside the frame as part of the composition.

Shape – Shape is generally considered two-dimensional, while Form is three-dimensional.

Space – the direction the subject of the photograph is moving in, or even just looking in.

Texture – the visual depiction of variations in the color, shape, and depth of an object’s surface.

Value/ tone – the lightness or darkness of an object.

Colour – dominant colors are the warm colors, e.g. red, yellow, and orange, and cooler colors are the receding colors, e.g. blue, green and purple.

Composition – how a photographer arranges visual elements within their frame.

Analysis of an image taken by Alexander Rodchenko in 1925, ‘Fire Escape’

Examples

Technical

Lighting:

Type of lighting – Flash (two point lighting)

Technical

Lighting:

Type of lighting – Flash (two point lighting)