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.

There are seven basic elements of photographic art: line, shape, form, texture, colour, size, and depth.

Line

Line is a point that continues; it implies motion. Lines are either straight, curved, or a combination of the two. Lines can be solid, dashed or interrupted, implied, or psychological. They can be vertical, horizontal, or somewhere in-between.

The type and general direction of lines in your image convey meaning inside the photograph. Lines are everywhere in photographs. Lines surround us, and every photograph contains lines.

Shape

Shape photography is the two-dimensional appearance of objects as your camera captures them. When a line, or more than one line, closes or connects, a shape is formed.

The Merriam-Webster definition of “shape” that we are concerned with as photographic artists is:

-the visible makeup characteristic of a particular item or kind of item

-spatial form or contour

-a standard or universally recognized spatial form

Form

What separates form from shape? Form takes shape from the two dimensional and brings it into the three dimensional. Form has overall height, width, and depth.

Just as with shapes, there are two basic types of form geometric and organic.

Geometric forms are the familiar sphere, cube, cone, cylinder, etc. We are also, of course, familiar with organic forms they are the objects that surround us in our three-dimensional world.

Texture

In photography, texture can be felt with both the fingers (the print) and virtually (with the viewer’s eye). Texture is the next part of our Elements of a Photograph series.

The definition of texture is the visual or tactile surface characteristics and appearance of something.

Texture in real life can be smooth or rough etc.

Texture in the photograph is similar to form in that it is revealed by variations in tonality and presented in two dimensions.

In a photograph, smooth objects might have reflections or specular highlights. Rough objects might have aggressive areas of light and shadow without reflections.

Texture can be elusive in a photograph, depending on the subject, the lighting, and the forms in the image.

Colour

definition of “colour” that we, as photographic artists, are concerned with is:

‘a phenomenon of light (such as red, brown, pink, or grey) or visual perception that enables one to differentiate otherwise identical objects

the aspect of the appearance of objects and light sources that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation for objects and hue, brightness, and saturation for light.

a specific combination of hue, saturation, and lightness or brightness

 a colour other than and as contrasted with black, white, or grey‘

Light itself has no perceived colour. But, send light through a prism or a drop of water and we can see that it is comprised of a literal rainbow of colours.

Colour has three properties: hue, value, and saturation.

Hue is simply the description of the colour (e.g., blue, red, yellow, etc.).

Value is the relative brightness or darkness of a colour.

Saturation is the intensity or purity of a colour. The purest colour is a hue with no white, black, or grey added to it.

Separate the different colours of the rainbow and we can see these varied colours elicit different emotional responses.

Size

Size, the most elusive of these, is the topic of this sixth part of our Elements of a Photograph series.

The definition of size is the physical magnitude, extent, or bulk : relative or proportionate dimensions.

Size in a photograph is relative and can be an illusion.

Large, medium, or small. The camera, lens, and print can render large objects small, or small objects large.

Depth

Depth, one of the most compelling elements, is the topic of this final part in our Elements of a Photograph series. Including a distant horizon is not required to give a sense of depth to your image. Depth is provided by visual cues. Depending on the quality of the surrounding air or atmosphere, distant objects in a photograph will have less clarity and contrast than objects in the foreground. This aerial perspective is indicative of depth in a photograph. Where you place an object in a frame also offers clues toward depth. The higher an object is in the frame relative to the horizon (seen or implied), the greater is the perceived distance to that object.

This is a mood board of still life. They are very traditional.

Throughout its long history, still life has taken many forms, from the decorative frescoes of antiquity to the high art of the Renaissance. Traditionally, a still life is a collection of inanimate objects arranged as the subject of a composition. Nowadays, a still life can be anything from your latest Instagram latte art to a vase of tulips styled like a Dutch Golden Age painting.

Creating a beautiful and successful still life image is an impressive feat, but just as painting a bowl of fruit is a good introduction for new painters, still life photography is a wonderful training ground for new photographers. It gives you an opportunity to experiment with light, materials, textures, and subjects in a controlled setting. Whatever your creative vision and artistic goals, still life is a great place to start.

Still life photography has opportunities to experiment with different styles, such as:

Composition. First, play with your composition and test different layouts and arrangements of your objects. Consider composition styles like the rule of threes when composing your still life image. Tweak and adjust your layout as you go to refine your composition skills and identify what makes a photo pleasing.

Subject and materials. Compose your photo with diverse textures and materials. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a handful of random objects from your home or a curated collection of sterling silver candlesticks. Explore how shadows and light reflect off of various surfaces, and see how it affects your final composition.

Different lighting. Experiment with different lighting, both in the studio and in natural light. Avoid shooting with the traditional overhead lights in your home, as light colours will mix and produce odd and unintentional shadows. Different light sources can subtly change the mood and atmosphere of an image.

Camera angle. Try moving your camera as well, and see how the composition changes. Shoot both with a tripod and with your camera in your hand. You might just find an even better angle of your subject than the one you had in mind. When shooting handheld, make sure your shutter speed is fast enough to avoid camera shake.

Focus and depth of field. Experiment with depth of field. Consider focal length, and try using a prime lens or a zoom lens to mix things up. Focusing on one small point rather than having the entire frame in focus can change your composition dramatically. Many cameras are designed to focus on the human face, so try using manual focus instead.

Add motion. While traditionally a still life is just that, “still,” you can add elements of motion to your still life photography. Reach your hand into the shot and move something mid-photo. Or slow down your shutter speed and catch motion blur with a spinning ballerina music box. It’s up to you.

History

The creation of still life painting in the sixteenth century, perhaps with religious motives, continued through current time. This may be because the freedom this art offers in placing the elements where the artist wants, which generates control on the structure of work. Still life works gradually included anything that did not move as well as those that are dead. In addition to creating still life work normally, artists also included elements of still life in other genres of work, such as portraits, in supporting roles. The still life has witnessed a transformative and interesting evolution from the bottom of the hierarchy of artistic genres. In France, still life photography came back in the late nineteenth century, when modernist painters discovered it as the perfect subject for the formal exploration of different styles, colours and compositions. 

There were different styles of still life, for example:

• Product photography: used to showcase products, such as electronics, jewellery, and clothing.
• Food photography: a subset of still life that often centres on depictions of food in an attractive way.
• Flower photography: focuses on capturing the beauty of flowers.
• Abstract photography: focuses on the shapes, colors, and textures of objects.
• Table-top photography: a great way to get started in still life photography and can include any of the above types of photography.

HERMENEGILDO ANGLADA-CAMARASA, DAHLIAS AND OTHER FLOWERS, 1951

This still life painting shows joy. The different colour bouquet shows the happiness through its bright colours. It is flower photography focusing on the beauty of the flowers but comparing them to the beauty if life.

Timeline of still life photography

The English term “Still Life” originates from within the 17th century when still-life art was at the height of European popularity. Still-life has existed since the 17th century until the modern day but, in the 19th century, artists adapted photography as a new medium for still life art, to express there concepts. Still life became less popular at one point, but regained its commonness again. Even today, still life photography is still very popular within many photographers.

What is Vanitas?

Vanitas is a still-life painting of a 17th-century Dutch genre containing symbols of death or change as a reminder of their inevitability. This genre began in the 16th century and continued into the 17th but has since lost its popularity.

What is Memento Mori?

The phrase “memento mori” is Latin for “remember you must die.” It is a reflection on the impermanence of life and a constant reminder not to take your time on earth for granted and not to worry about things beyond your control. Memento Mori is an object kept as a reminder of the inevitability of death, such as a skull.

What kind of metaphors and symbols are used in still life and why?

From flowers to seashells, decoding the symbols in still-life paintings can reveal a hidden world of deeper meaning.

Fruits are some of the most ubiquitous subjects in still-life paintings over the centuries. Not only does a basket of fruit offer the artist a variety of colours and textures to utilize, but it also offers a variety of religious and mythical symbols.

Made famous by Dutch and Flemish artists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, ‘vanitas’ still-life paintings express the transience of life and the futility of materialism. This tradition also provided a justification for painting beautiful and expensive objects instead of more overtly moralizing subjects.

A beautiful bouquet of flowers in full bloom can signify life, faith, growth, and power. Wilting flowers, on the other hand, serve as grim reminders that life, material goods, and beauty are fragile.

In ancient times, it was believed that a person’s soul was contained in their reflection. Mirrors have been included in a variety of paintings throughout history. They can represent either truth and self-assurance or vanity and distortion, the difference depends on who is looking at their reflection. A broken mirror is universally recognized as a bad omen.

In photography, I use a DLSR Canon camera to take photos, because it ensures they all have good quality and there are various different ways I can adjust my images. This camera is extremely beneficial for photography as it allows me to change the shutter speed, ISO and aperture.

• The shutter speed is the length of time from the moment the shutter opens and this then allows light into the camera. A fast shutter speed will create a short exposure, whereas as a slower shutter speed will create a long exposure. This is because the shutter is open for a longer period of time which allows more light into the camera.
• The aperture is the opening of the lens’s diagram through which light passes through. Having a smaller aperture creates a sharper image.
• The ISO ( International standard organization) is an image sensitivity in a numerical value. Having a higher ISO can lower the quality of your photo and degrade is which will cause your photos to be grainy or “noisy”.

We used this app to begin experimenting with different apertures, shutter speeds and ISO, which was helpful because it allowed us to decide which ones look best for each specific photo. We then could apply these skills to when we actually use the cameras, which saves time and we could identify which ones would benefit the photos most.

Aperture

Aperture controls the size of the lens opening which allows light into your camera.

Opening the lens more or having a low f-stop number (e.g. f/1.4) blurs the background/foreground around your subject. This is known as a shallow depth of field.

Keeping the lens more closed or having a high f-stop number (e.g. f/16) keeps the photo sharp throughout. This is known as a wide depth of field.

Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed is the amount of time the shutter is open to expose the image sensor to light.

Slow shutter speeds expose more light to the image sensor so still objects will have more detail and moving objects will appear to have more motion/be blurry.

Faster shutter speeds means less light is exposed to the image sensor and moving objects appear more still.

ISO

The ISO of a camera selects how much light the image sensor detects.

Too much light on a sunny day can cause overexposed shots so a lower ISO would be preferred.

Too little light in a shady room or day can cause grainy images.

The general rule is to use the lowest ISO possible to get the most detail possible.

Exposure Meter

 The Exposure Meter is your final check before you snap a shot. It shows you how well your aperture, ISO and shutter speed are working together. It is used as a guide to show exposure.

Photographs consist of formal and visual elements and have their own ‘grammar’. Examples of visual and formal elements consist such as line, shape, repetition, rhythm, balance and many more. Steiglitz and Strand, “often abstracted reality by eliminating social or spatial context; by using viewpoints that flattened pictorial space, acknowledging the flatness of the picture plane; and by emphasising shape and tonal rendition in highlights and shadows as much as in the actual subject matter.”

Light– e.g. where’s the brightest areas, any shadows, can you tell the time of day through the picture, natural light or artificial, harsh or soft and directed or reflected light.

You can see in this photo that the whole photo is dark but their is a light that shines straight across the objects to show, that’s the importance and main focus in the photo.

Line– Any objects in the picture that acts like lines. Straight or curvy, thin or thick.

There are multiple lines in this picture, all different sizes. But the thin lines are used to just outline shapes whilst the thick lines are used to stand out.

Repetition/Shape– Any objects, shapes, lines or other subjects that repeat and create a rhythm or pattern. Echoes, reflections that also are in photos.

The repetition of all of the pegs are used to create structure to the photo without layering it and piling the picture too much.

Space– Any geometric (straight edged) or organic, (curvy) shapes? What shapes are they and how they relate to each other.

Texture/Value/Tone– Are there important negative (empty) spaces in addition to positive (solid) space. Ground or background, if you could touch the surface of the photograph how would it feel? How do the objects in the picture look like they would feel, is there a range of tones from dark to light. Where is the darkest part of the image, where is the lightest.

Colour– Where is the darkest part of the image? Where is the lightest? Are the tones in the photograph balanced or does the image tend towards darkness or lightness overall. How does this affect the mood or atmosphere?
What kind of colours can you see e.g. saturated, muted, complementary, primary? Is there a dominant colour? How would this image be different if it was in black and white?

Composition– Does the use of colour help us understand the subject or does it work independently?
How have the various elements in the picture been arranged? Does the image seem balanced or unbalanced? Is it possible to superimpose geometrical shapes on the image to better understand the composition e.g. a pyramid? Has the photographer used the Rule of Thirds?

The works of both Walker Evans and Darren Harvey-Regan are both important pieces of art in the field of Still Life, and both artists bring interesting qualities to still life that were not done before. However, both photographers use similar techniques in their work.

As you can see, both of these photos feature similar qualities. Both photos are in black and white, which adds a quality of stillness to the photos. Both feature a flat white background that isolates the subjects in both photos. Also, in both of these photos a triangle is featured. Geometric shapes like triangles and squares are something that is commonly found in both Darren Harvey-Regan’s and Walker Evans’s work.

To delve further into my study, I have aligned these 3 photos from Darren Harvey-Regan to analyse what is common in each of these photos. Immediately what strikes the viewer is the use of the geometric shapes carved out of the rocks that align with the edges of the box. This adds a very unique aspect to the photos and makes them very visually appealing. As well as this, the shapes create a very large contrast between the rocky surfaces and the sharp edges of the shapes. Also, the objects in the photos seem to have been carefully balanced. A good example of this is the photo in the middle, which looks like something that you would find in nature, maybe on a beach as a broken away piece of cliff. The sharp surface on the object also works perfectly with the edge on the box below it, which emphasises how each of these photos have to be to perfectly aligned so that the shapes align with the edges on the box. Overall, Darren Harvey-Regan utilises this idea very well throughout his still life photography.

These are 3 still life photos from Walker Evans. Each depict a tool, an adjustable wrench on the top, a kind of double sided blade in the middle and some sort of warped blade knife at the bottom. Clearly, Walker Evans likes to use tools as the subjects in his still life photography, and he utilises them in very interesting ways. Firstly, all of the tools are elevated from the background, hung from a string. This is an interesting idea because it detaches the object from the background. This allows Walker Evans to use aperture to blur the background and completely separate the subject from it. Secondly, all of the tools are metallic, which provides an interesting texture to each of the photos that is different in each. The wrench seems quite solid, thick and put together. The double sided blade looks quite messy and thin, and the knife on the bottom appears quite shiny and sharp. With the addition of the objects being elevated, this allows Walker Evans to use lighting in different ways to make the objects appear in different textures. It also helps that there is no shadow created from the object.

Putting all of the images that I have analysed together demonstrates that both photographers give unique ideas, perspectives and inspirations to Still Life and overall they both provide perfect examples of Still Life photography that outline exactly what a Still Life image is, a still object with little to no context, just something that looks visually appealing.

Formalism is a photography technique that describes the design, lighting and composition over the main subject matter. More simply the attention to detail over the main subject and how it is presented.

Analysing of photos has it’s own specific language to describe each element of the photo. All photos consist of formal and visual elements which is similar in all art but the language used is not all related to art, for example timing, framing and focusing aren’t things that relate to art pieces but mainly photography.

Imogen Cunningham

Aaron Haines

Water pipe Abstraction – Brett Weston

Basic Elements of Photography

Line

There are many different types of lines, straight, curved, a mix of both, or there can be lines like psychological lines and implied lines. Straight and curved lines are a great example of manmade lines often found in many photos. Psychological and implied lines are a great tool to add context and a story to a photo.

Shape

Shapes within photos are 2D, they bare easily manipulated from familiar to an unfamiliar shape by the photographer changing the lighting, angles and general form of a photo. Within an image new shapes can be made when the separate shapes combine with the use of techniques when structuring the photo. There are different types of shapes, geometric and organic shapes within photos, quite often a mix of natural and manmade appears in photos.

Form

‘the shape and structure of something as distinguished from its material’ Like shape, there are two types of form geometric and organic it can also be complex or simple. Form has overall height, depth and width as it is 3D. Tone is incredibly important for photos that are focused around form as it helps show off the different lines and shapes as well as the general composition of a photo.

Texture

Texture is one of the few elements in a photo that can be 3d as while it relates to what you can see in the image it can also be the feeling of the print as some photos are edited by hand to add depth, texture and feel. Texture is a very useful tool in photography dramatically changing images. Texture can be a subject in many photos the aim is, by using lighting and angles to benefit the image to, make the photo appear you can reach out and touch it.

Colour

Light is often thought of as colour, however this is not the case, actually light doesn’t become colour in a photo until it has been shone through something to give the originally colourless light colour. It is widely used in a variety of different ways; it has three properties, hue, saturation and value, each heavily contributing to the image often used to help put across a mood in a photo and to help benefit other elements.

Size

‘physical magnitude, extent, or bulk : relative or proportionate dimensions’ Merriam – Webster. Size is important in photography as it is often used to give scale. Within a photo size can be a relative or an illusion, noting it can be a great tool to perceive scale within a photo. If there is a familiar object within the photo like a dog or a football, or even a door it helps us make sense and be aware of the other objects or things within the frame and their scale. It does mean size can also be used to create optical illusions within a photo making for something extremely unique and interesting to look at.

Depth

A photograph is a 2D representation of a 3D scene. We as photographers can manipulate the appearance of depth in photos to create something compelling and sometimes emotional to look at. Depth is often used to get the viewer to look deeper at the photo and start to search for more. Rendering depth is a crucial part of a photo as while pretty much every photo will have depth it does not mean it won’t look flat and uninteresting depending on how the photo has been rendered. Rendering can come in many forms during and post production, many photographers use things like leading lines and lighting to create depth. Textures and patterns are another hugely useful tool when it comes to creating depth in even a simple photo.

Analysis of Formal Elements

This photo is a great example of the formal elements working well together. When you first glance at the photo the depth of the shot it what first catches your eye pulling the viewer to look at the middle of the photo following the curved lines that are the walls, and the lines and depth being used to make a 2D photo appear very 3D and continue beyond the shot. While the shot is in black and white the two colours have been used in varying ways to create a unique and interesting shot as the squares of f the flooring are matched in tone to the ceiling creating a round feel to the shot working with the depth and lines already making the shot feel 3D. The size is used to benefit the surreal feeling even further as the corridor is round the size of the corridor feels huge in comparison to what it potentially is. There doesn’t appear to be any rough textures and instead everything appears smooth, quiet and surreal, which is helped by the overall shape as while the shot is a landscape rectangle it encourages the viewer to believe it’s round due how the rest of the formal elements have been used to influence the viewer of the photo.

first photoshoot :

For this photoshoot I wanted to use inspiration from Walker Evans and how he photographs single objects using different lighting and shadows.

As you can see the quality of some of the photos are not the best but that is going to happen with every photoshoot. I changed the perspective of the photo after every few I took just to give some variation.

The lighting was also changed as well as lighting techniques to give different shadows and ‘feelings’ to each photo.

second photoshoot :

This photoshoot was not very successful. The lighting and angles were not good or flattering and the photo quality was a bit dodgy too.

With the last photo in the shoot I tried too change the lighting slightly to make the photo brighter and more clear but overall, the photos were not great.

third photoshoot :

For this photoshoot, I managed to get the lighting a bit better and include in one of the photos, more then one object to give the photo dimension.

I like the shadows created and the almost glass like look to the metal that was created through the lighting. I focused again on the inspiration from Walker Evans for the single object photos, changing the perspective and placement of the objects.

fourth photoshoot :

This final photoshoot was the most successful. The lighting was working perfectly for the type of photos I wanted and the two different backgrounds used gave a kind of contrast to the paintbrushes and other objects I used.

I used two different perspectives for this photoshoot:

• birds eye view
• free hand photo

The birds eye view was used with a set of equipment to hold the camera above to get a clear, stable photo, while the free hand photos are seen as more ‘ wobbly ‘ and ‘ unstable ‘.

The use of free hand doesn’t change the quality of the photos however if I used the equipment the photos would have been to a better standard.

My use of warm lighting accentuated the idea of the tools being worn down and obviously used.

Tools

These are my best nine final photographs, after they have been taken in the studio and edited in Lightroom.

Mood Board

Conclusion

In conclusion these were my best nine photographs, because they were the brightest and were the most colourful, after I edited them. They were also all in focus and I was able to experiment with more than one object and single objects.

Image Analysis

Walker Evans takes pictures with a narrow depth of field to keep the man in focus. The pictures are in black and white which gives the pictures a dramatic and ominous feel to them. Walker Evans pictures are very true and honest which makes his pictures believable and his models don’t hide and everything is very raw and exposed. The black background that the man is leaning against contrasts against his white shirt giving a sense of positive and negative feelings about America in the time of the Great Depression.

Darren Harvey-Regan

Darren Harvey-Regan is a graduate of the Royal College of Art. His work has been in Exhibitions and Publications all over the world. His work focuses on photography but has an emphasis on the mediums relationship to language and to sculpture.

Image Analysis

Darren Harvey-Regan’s photos are very bold and powerful and this picture in particular has a very strong contrast between the block and the shadow. This makes the object used stand out and look more powerful. The use of shape and line in this image makes the object appear more interesting to look at and gives the object a different composition. Darren Harvey-Regan’s photos were inspired by Walker Evans photos because Darren Harvey Regan constructed a montage of Evans’s images and made new forms out of them and then sourced matching tools, cut them in half and joined various different half’s together with the resulting physical objects being photographed to create his final work.

By Yann

What is still life?

Some examples of still life

Still life photographers

Choosing a photographer to analyse

Taking some Still Life photos

We went into the lighting studio and took some still life photos

What is Vanitas?

Vanitas is a sub-genre of still life which is used to symbolise the shortness of life and the inevitability of death.

The word Vanitas is Latin and means Vanity which is referenced in the bible’s old testaments.

Memento Mori