To distinguish between the two, here's what you need to know:
An element's shape is represented by its outline. A shape is two-dimensional and takes up a specific amount of your frame's space. A human silhouette is a recognizable shape, as is that of a tree or a chair.
In photography, form is the three-dimensional representation of a shape. Your images are two-dimensional, but they can give the feeling of three-dimensionality by revealing a sense of space.
In Figure 4–6, a circle sits on the left side of the composition. It only takes up space on the surface of the frame. The element on the right has the same shape as the element on the left but is a sphere. It takes up space inside the frame, which you see because of light and shadow. Figure 4–6: The element on the left is a shape and
the element on the right is a form. The following sections tell you more about shape and form and when you want to use each.
Examining shape
Understanding how shapes fit into a frame and relate to other shapes is an important step in photographic design. The way you position shapes and show how they compare with one another creates their relationship in a composition.
Look at the couple in Figure 4–7. The shapes of their bodies come together to create a new shape that's recognizable and visually pleasing. The compositional element of shape alone creates the message in this image. If you had no other details to interpret, you would still get the idea that this image is about a couple in love.
Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when considering how to portray shapes in your compositions:
Represent the shape of your subject in the best possible way. Your goal should be to make your subject as recognizable as you can. For instance, a human silhouette is more clearly recognizable when viewers can make out the shape of the head and limbs. And appropriate separation between certain body parts helps tell the story. A person who's running ideally has one leg in front and the other behind; the same goes for the arms. The runner's knees and elbows are bent and the body leans on a forward diagonal. A person who's dancing may have her arms above her head and her hip would swing out to one side.
50mm, 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, 100
Figure 4–7: Shapes and their relationships to each other lay the foundation for a photo's message.
" Choose an appropriate angle. The angle from which you shoot determines how your image reveals the shape of a subject. A silhouette of a cat that's photographed from the front or side view and from a very low angle is more descriptive than one photographed from a high angle behind the cat.
• Consider your subject's shape and how it fits into the shape of your frame. A person, for example, is made up of organic shapes (natural and curvy), and the frame of your shot is geometric (uniform and not often found in nature). This contrast creates an interesting relationship when you execute it properly.
Look at how the silhouette in Figure 4–8 fits in the frame. The black area represents the organic shapes of the person; the white area represents the geometric shape of the frame combined with the organic shape of the subject. The white area around the subject has just as much visual importance as the area that represents the subject.
• Create a sense of balance and flow around the subject. You can do so
by leaving some space around the edges of the frame and by creating interesting shapes. If the subject in Figure 4–8 was standing straight up with no accented curves in her posture and was positioned dead center in the frame, the results would be far less attractive than the final image you see.
Getting the scoop on form
An element's two-dimensional shape is defined by how much of the frame's space it takes up and in what manner. (See the preceding section for more on shape.) Its form, on the other hand, is defined by how much space it takes up inside the space of the frame.
Forms work together with lines and shapes to convey meaning in a composition. Because a form includes more detail than the other two compositional elements, it conveys a message in a more literal sense.
Figure 4–7 tells the story of a loving couple through shape and form. Squint your eyes when viewing it and notice how the pose of the couple creates a recognizable shape that you know as two people embracing. Form reveals the more literal narrative qualities, such as facial expressions, detailed hand gestures, the type of clothing people have on, and so on.
How you reveal form in an image depends on how you position the lines and shapes of your scene, but it also depends on lighting and shadows. Chapter 10 explains different
types of lighting and how to work with different subject matter (or different forms).
Figure 4–8: The placement of a shape in a frame combined with the nature of the shape is important to a photo's message.
Emphasizing shape or form in a composition
Depending on what you want your photo to say, you may choose to emphasize either shape or form in a composition. Each emphasis requires different treatment. Here's the lowdown on both:
Emphasizing shape: When you want to give a universal message that represents a recognizable idea or feeling, you usually do so with shapes rather than forms.
You can emphasize shape as opposed to form by shooting in a backlit scenario, such as the one in Figure 4–7 where the sun is directly behind the subjects. Backlighting creates a silhouette, which draws attention to the shape of a subject but doesn't reveal form. Use this lighting technique when the shape of your subject is more important to your message than the literal details in its form. For instance, a random person fishing off the edge of a pier during sunset could be silhouetted to give the timeless sense of what's happening. The lack of detail enables viewers to envision themselves in the person's place.
Emphasizing form: If the details of your subject are important to your message, you'll more likely emphasize form over shape in your composition. Say, for example, the man fishing off the pier at sunset is your father. In that case, you could create a great image of him by changing your point of view so he's lit from the side by the sun rather than from behind. This angle reveals details in his face and clothing, causing the image to become sentimental. Understanding perspective (Chapter 8) and lighting (Chapter 10) helps you emphasize form in an image.
Adding Scale or Depth with Texture
Texture is an important element in images, and it can play several roles. It can inform viewers of what they're looking at, offer a sense of scale and distance, and add depth. If you include the peeling bark of a birch tree, for example, nobody's going to look at your image and think the subject is a car. By including the tree's lines, shapes, and forms, viewers know without doubt that they're looking at a tree.
Trees that appear in the distance within an image create the texture of the landscape. Viewers don't get a sense of the textures of the individual trees, but they get the sense of trees as texture. This technique gives viewers the sense of scale: Because trees are big, viewers know that the more trees shown in the image, the bigger the space being represented must be. If your vantage point looks over the tops of the trees, you can see rows of them as they go back into the distance. This angle gives the sense of depth in a composition.