Welcome back! Today we are going to explore design concepts of depth of field, leading lines, and the rule of thirds. We will do this by observing photographs of a flower, a freeway, and a photographer.
DEPTH OF FIELD - THE FLOWER
This first example photograph is a stock photo of a flower that was found on the pixels.com website (https://www.pexels.com/photo/beautiful-bloom-blooming-blossom-369433/). No information is given about the photographer, but this is a beautiful photo that is available for use as a stock photo on pixels.com. This photograph would be excellent for use in any advertising, as the photo is clear, the subject is simple, and the colors are bright.
This photograph shows depth of field in the way that the flower is in focus in the forefront of the photo, with the background being out of focus. This effect draws the eye to the flower and makes it the primary focus of the photo (shown with the white circle below). The background is not in focus (shown with the green arrow below).
In this photograph of a pumpkin that I took in my front room (below), I have mimicked the look of the flower photo in using depth of field. By placing the pumpkin in focus, the background appears out of focus. This draws the eye to the pumpkin as the primary subject of the photo.
The white circle below indicates the the subject that is in focus, while the green arrow shows that the background is out of focus. This adds depth to the photograph.
LEADING LINES - THE FREEWAY
For my example of leading lines, I've chosen this photo of a freeway from clipart-library.com. The photograph is labeled "Road #1982891" and was found at http://clipart-library.com/clipart/pTodbB9gc.htm. This photo has an interesting blurry effect that evokes a feeling of movement. The lines on the road, as well as the road itself, create leading lines for the eye to follow toward the horizon.
Here, I have indicated the leading lines of this photo with pink arrows:
In this photograph that I took in my front yard, I've mimicked the style of the freeway photograph by using the lines in my fencing and the along the road. The lines of the fence and the road/curb point the eye toward the stop sign.
I've highlighted the leading lines in my photograph with pink arrows (below), which show the direction that the eye is drawn toward the stop sign:
RULE OF THIRDS - THE PHOTOGRAPHER
To represent the rule of thirds, I have chosen a photo featured in an article called, "Top 10 Best Free Stock Photo Websites fro Designers" at http://www.timearrows.com/best-free-stock-photos/. The 2017 article was written by Laxmikant, but no further information is given regarding the photograph or the photographer.
This photo depicts a photographer shooting a photo. The background is very simple. The main points of interest are along the lines that represent the rule of thirds.
Here I have indicated the lines that represent the rule of thirds in green. I have shown the elements that are along the lines with pink arrows. The subject is the photograph. Other (less prominent) elements are the horizon line and the line of the road on the right side of the composition.
I have mimicked the style of the photographer photograph in this photo of my daughter holding her digital camera. Similar to the professional photograph, the main subject is the photographer and the background has some horizontal elements along the grid as well.
Here I have once again shown the lines that represent the rule of thirds in green. The elements that are along the grid lines are shown with pink arrows. The main subject is the photograph. Other (less prominent) elements are the horizontal lines of the painting and the couch. The striped pillow is also an item of visual interest and is along the grid as well.
It is really helpful to understand design principles and how they can apply to any type of visual media. Understanding concepts like rule of thirds, leading lines, and depth of field can make a big different in how we perceive the things we see. It can also help us to improve our design skills when we create our own work.
