Practicing Graphic Design II

Graphic design, i.e., artistic lines, is the bottom line to making fine art images. In the December issue I illustrated how architectural lines can so dramatically make strong photographs. In this article, I focus on graphic design as it relates to people and show how the lines of our bodies and faces contribute to successful images.

The most recognized and appreciated lines associated with people are the elegant designs dancers create with their bodies. Dancing at its finest is really all about the graceful lines made by the way the head and neck are held, how the arms are extended, and the artistic way the legs are positioned. Even the hands and fingers are important. The pinnacle dance form in which all these factors come together, of course, is ballet.

Photographing ballet dancers isn’t hard because they do all the work for you in posing so beautifully. Your job is to capture them at the peak moment of perfection because they can’t hold difficult poses for very long.

The same idea is true for other types of pictures of people. For example, in the image below of boatmen on Inle Lake in Burma, what makes or breaks a shot like this is the graphic shape of the silhouettes -- the foreground netting as well as the position of the two boatmen. Just like lines of a ballerina, the lines of the two fishermen define the picture. With silhouettes, if the shapes are busy, confusing, truncated in some way, or if shapes blend together such that the result is a visual mess, the image will be a failure.

In the image below, notice:

1. Both of the forms of the fishermen are clearly defined.

2. None of the ribs of the foreground fish net interfere in a detrimental way with the forms of the two men. 3. The diagonal lines formed by the extended legs of both men are attractive design elements, and the wooden oars that their legs are wrapped around extend those lines.

4. The upper body of the fisherman closest to the camera is clearly defined with an attractive shape. I specifically asked him, through my interpreter, to take off his t-shirt specifically so the lines of his body would be delineated in silhouette.

Not all photographs of people have to exhibit strong graphic design, of course. Sometimes the emotion of the image is enough to make it successful. Photojournalism aside, like war, disasters, poverty, and even selfies, posing people for artistic purposes requires a keen eye for detail and especially for design. Here is what to look for when studying your subjects in the viewfinder:

1. Ask the person you are photographing not to slouch. This is really important. Whether standing or sitting, their back should be erect. There are always exceptions to every rule, but most of the time this will make a huge difference. It may feel uncomfortable and even awkward to your subject, but the pictures will be noticeably better. This goes a long way to making the graphic design stronger.

Military personel know by training how to pose and perform. The soldiers above in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, are an example. Note their posture as well as the graphic position of their bodies. This isn’t ballet, of course, but the underlying concept of graphic shapes is the same.

2. Use shadows to enhance and duplicate strong design. The costumed model in Venice during Carnival at right is an example. I used

off-camera flash here to create a strong and very graphic design on the column.

3. Ask the subject to do something that presents a strong design as well as something of interest such as riding a bicycle, running, twirling, or in the case of the Masai warrior, above, throwing a spear. I replaced the sky in this image for drama, but the primary reason this works is because of the graphic design of the young man’s body -- his extended arm, spread fingers, and the diagonal angle of the spear. It’s important to note how the tip of the spear is not touching his shoulder.

4. Use the graphic design of the person’s face to make a strong portrait as I did in the Balinese dancer, right. Unless you are taking family pictures for nice memories or photographing someone as a favor, artistic imagery is all about choosing the right subjects. When looking for an attractive face, usually there are six characteristics to look for: 1) eyes should be far apart, 2) the nose should be narrow, 3) the lips should be full and nicely shaped, 4) the jaw line should be well defined and square or tear shaped, 5) the cheekbones should be high, and 6) the neck should be long. These aspects of a face can be seen in all beautiful women and handsome men. For snapshots of friends, none

of this applies. But for artistic and classic images of faces, these characteristics will make or break your pictures.

Sometimes the graphic design involving pictures of people can come from the environment or from an element tied to what the person is doing. For example, the image above of the Chinese ribbon dance shows how the dancer is framed in the graphically pleasing repeated shapes of the colorful ribbons. And in the shot below, the graphic design of the model isn’t what makes the picture successful. It’s the bold, graphic lines of the columns in the ante-bellum home as well as the large round front wheel of the vintage 1876 bicycle.

The net fishermen, above, offers virtually no design at all. In this case, though, the design comes from the beautiful spread of the net. §