For the veteran photographer, Design is the fundamental principle used to compose an image.  The same is true for the veteran retoucher, who attempts to visualize after the fact the photographer’s original intent and to conceptualize how post-production will complete that vision. 

I have been guilty myself of instantly jumping to rule of thirds and some other tool to frame my composition before I’ve actually assessed the image in front of me.  I still have to ask myself, “What is it that I am trying to say with this picture?” and “What design elements are present to help me tell that story?”  

Too quickly I’ve been known to say, “I’ll fix that in Photoshop,” when what I am really saying is “I don’t know how to compose this image properly.”  As a retoucher, I know there are some things that are indeed best done in Photoshop.  But when I am both the photographer and retoucher, my objective to understand the story and its design before the shutter clicks.

As with many things in life, it frequently takes a level of experience before one returns to the basics.  And it is the successful use of the elements of design that will show the fastest improvement in one’s photographs.   

In my own experience, the original image - even after levels and curves adjustments - can often be improved by considering the elements of design.  The major reason post production is so successful is simply because one has the luxury of time to critically review all elements of the image. 

The first elements of design are Color and Hue.  They are for almost everyone the most obvious of design elements, as our everyday lives are grounded in them.  That doesn’t mean that we can’t go overboard. The more experience I have with retouching, the more careful I am with this simplest of design elements, exactly because everyone is such an expert.  So, my only advice is to be careful and deliberate with your color temperature and saturation settings.

Perhaps every bit as basic as color is the use of the geometrical element, the point.  A point can be a literal mark, OR it can be implied as in diminishing perspective.  Some retouchers emphasized regions of an image to imply or emphasize a Point.

The next element is a Line.  It can be any linear edge of visual contrast, or it can be implied as by the arrangement of objects along a path. If one listens to Craig Tanner’s Daily Critiques, he often refers to lines as pathways in and around the image or as a means of emphasis.

Points and lines can be connected to form Type, one of the most ubiquitous of design elements.  Unfortunately, photographers do not always consider type as a compositional element.  Jay Maisel preaches that one should only include type in your image IF and only if you absolutely want the viewer to read it.  Otherwise, he advises eliminating it from your composition.  Even before we know how to read, we learn that these hieroglyphs are profoundly important.  It is precisely because we are taught they are important before we have the words to understand the concept that they are so influential to our consciousness.  Psychologists understand this as fundamental to their craft. Our most anxious emotions are often diffused then we can put words to them.  So,  careful use of type is much more important than most of us assume.

Points and Lines can also connect to form Shapes or areas of visual information. They can be, for example, triangles or squares or rectangles.  Or they can be implied by the way regions of the image depict geometric or aesthetic quality.

When doing critiques, Craig Tanner frequently speaks to implied archetypal shapes, because these kinds of design elements connect to the human psyche largely on a sub-conscious level and can create a sense of stability or tension - to mention only a couple of emotions. 

For example, an inverted pyramid contains a far greater degree of visual tension than a non-inverted one. Similarly, shapes that converge toward the top appear to be ascending while shapes that converge toward the bottom appear to be descending. 

While I have chosen to describe Type and Shape as separate design elements - mostly because of the way we treat them in post, their effect on the viewer is often similar and frequently sub-conscious in nature.  Recognizing these elements in your images can produce profound effects.

The weight of any particular shape is perhaps one of the better understood design elements, especially by those who use Photoshop.  We learn quickly that areas of high contrast are visually more engaging than areas of low contrast.  Other factors that influence the visual weight of shapes include color, saturation, luminance, and focus.

Often associated with other design elements, Scale is used to frame how an image will be perceived. For example, viewing a small jpeg makes a different impression upon the viewer than standing at the foot of a mountain range. 

For those of us who are landscape photographers, we are often drawn to the grandiosity of Nature.  But viewers of our imagery may not fully appreciate the Scale of the environment we seek to capture.  How does one convey the Scale of a 1/2 mile long iceberg in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, when this is outside the realm of most people’s personal experience.  Scale is an important design parameter to consider when composing and when retouching.

In my opinion, what readily distinguishes intermediate and advanced retouchers from beginners is their use of Space.  Musicians learn quickly that the spaces between the notes are as important than the musical sounds themselves.  The relationship between visually complex and stark regions can have a profound impact on the composition's sense of weight and balance. 

Space can literally be is nothing more than the opposite of weight, OR it can be far more subtle, existing in that area of the brain that understands abstraction, that which is beyond the literal relationships of visual components.  Space can also be implied or created through illusion. This is one of the design elements that Jay Maisel has used with great success.

Like Space, Change is one of those design elements to which intermediate photographers seem to gravitate.  I think of Change as temporal or time based.  Change can be implied in a still photograph, for example, using "motion or focus blur."  The visual analogies of tempo and rhythm determine whether the effect is viewed as real.

For me, these are the design elements that I like to consider when retouching.  Some may believe there to be more, others less.  But as a retoucher, my job is frequently to simplify an image, to create a more visually engaging experience, and to tell a story within a single frame.  For me, when the design gets too complicated, I feel a sense of helplessness. Whenever that occurs, I step back and think, “How do I simplify this image?”  And frequently enough, the answer involves using light and dark to invoke one or more of the design elements discussed. 

In the near future, I will be inviting you to submit images that are examples of design excellence. I look forward to sharing those with the community and to see what others think as well.

Thanks for listening and thanks for visiting RickAllenPhoto.com.

I hope you will leave comments for me using the CONTACT page. 

Until we speak again, this is Rick Allen.