CLASS SPOTLIGHT PHOTOGRAPHIC DESIGN

Why do the Photographic Design Subject?

“The camera is my tool. Through it I give a reason to everything around me” Andre Kertész

Photographic Design will have you scrutinizing everything around you like never before because it actually has you deconstructing your surroundings to make sublime images. One of the keys to creating an excellent and memorable image is to realise that everything in your frame is important to your composition. A Point of colour certainly can activate a space, just in the same way the lighting event will transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Each week you will build on individual compositional elements so you will develop a visual vocabulary that will hone your Photographic Vision.

Subjective metering will be your friend – you will realise that it’s OK to overexpose or underexpose certain subjects to increase interest in something which may otherwise seem ordinary. That’s the joy of designing an image with your camera, you are placing a frame around something – be it a landscape or just a detail in the street and you are saying to your audience “Isn’t this really cool”. But first, identify your objective – ask yourself “Why am I taking this image?” This will go a long way to understanding just what elements to include or exclude before you even press that shutter.

With the Photographic Design subject, you will understand how geometry will invite the viewer to wander through your images, or how colour can be used in a multitude of ways to create that certain punctum or that AHA moment that makes for a memorable story. You will know how to embrace the blur just as  Ernst Haas created his stunning images of movement.

Photographic Design is all about developing and extending your visual vocabulary and is a perfect extension for anyone who is fresh out of Introduction to Photography; everything gets stitched up with a field trip in week 7. It also has to be one of the most beautiful end of term assessments at the CCP - Gavin Blake.


image credit - Mark Zed