This video demonstrates how SHAPE is used in photography. One of the seven ELEMENTS OF ART. Demonstrates art vocabulary & concepts using student-created photography. Short, succinct, and school-appropriate. Elements of Art Playlist: [ Ссылка ]

Made using Adobe Spark: [ Ссылка ]

TRANSCRIPT:

Shapes are formed when a line closes in and outlines a specific area. Shapes are two-dimensional with length and width. Shapes can also be seen because of changes in value or color, creating an implied line around the shape.

Shapes can be defined as either positive or negative. Positive shapes in a work of art are usually the subject matter of the image. The space around the subject matter would then be negative.

In abstract art, objects can be streamlined to their simplest shape. However, abstract art can make differentiating between positive and negative shapes difficult to distinguish.

Shapes are also described as geometric or organic. Shapes that are man-made are usually geometric: circles, ovals, squares, triangles. Shapes in nature are almost always organic: leaves, clouds, butterflies, people.

Using a silhouetted object is an easy way to emphasize a shape in photography. Silhouettes flatten an object, remove elements such as texture, and create a two-dimensional illusion. Silhouettes also allow us to see how implied lines help define positive and negative shapes.

Photographers can also compose their subject matter to suggest an implied shape.

It is important not to confuse shape with another element of art, form, which is the three-dimensional aspects of objects. Photographers tend to discuss form more often since the items they shoot are usually three-dimensional in real life.

To clarify, in this photograph, the people themselves are examples of three-dimensional forms and the patterns on her shawl and skirt are examples of two-dimensional shapes. But one could argue that the composition of the image makes an implied triangle or diamond shape. Do you see how form and shape are different, but we can see examples of both in this image?

So pay attention to whether you’re using geometric or organic shapes and compose your shots to best show them off.

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