Let’s start this blog by stating the obvious… Not all graphic designers are photographers, and not all photographers are graphic designers! Now that has been established, let’s discuss the power of incorporating photography and graphic design into a single composition when a graphic designer is a photographer, and vice versa.
The primary reason to incorporate photography and graphic design in creating a composition is that the possibilities really are endless! Many times it’s been said that a picture speaks a 1000 words, and that can definitely be true, but how much more can be added to an image with the use of typography and other graphic elements, which provide the opportunity to create a truly unique composition. It’s no longer just a picture/image or just a graphic design, but rather a composition that can convey a much deeper meaning, understanding and/or emotion. It can also give more details about a memory or a service/product being promoted in a composition. Granted, you can argue that images are available through sites online such as shutterstock, and that’s true, but there is still something to be said for creating the photographic images with the composition in mind, so let’s look at the various elements of composition used in photography, and graphic design.
Let’s start by discussing the tools of photography, specifically, the photographic composition of an image that start with various photographic composition techniques that are used to set up/frame the overall image, and that ultimately determine how the viewer sees the image. These photographic composition techniques include things like balance, the rule of thirds, leading lines, the golden ratio etc., and without going into too much detail of each, what is important to know is that they are all methods used by photographers to frame an image. The photographer is also able to decide exactly which images need to be shot, and once the shots and the photographic composition have been established, a photographer then uses the various elements of photography to further manipulate the image, which include lighting, lens selection, lighting modifiers etc. For lighting, a photographer decides what type of lighting will be used, natural or artificial, to illuminate a scene or subject. Natural light, also referred to as ambient light, is the light produced by the sun or moon, while artificial light is man-made and is produced using other light sources such as speedlites, strobes, indoor lighting, or even a flashlight. For lens selection, the photographer decides which lens will be used because the lens determines how much of the image will or will not be in focus, and this is also known as the depth of field. Lastly, for lighting modifiers, the photographer decides which modifiers to be used, such as gels that change the color(s), softboxes that change the softness of the light, and snoots that direct the light, etc. Through the use of composition techniques and the various elements in photography, the photographer has the ability to create images with a different feel and/or emotion, images that tell a story, images that capture a memory.
Now let’s look at the tools of graphic design and the various elements of design that a graphic designer can use to create an image, such as color, line/shape/form/space, texture/contrast, and balance/alignment. Starting with color, color is used to evoke various emotions, such as warm, cool, light and airy, dark, etc. Line, shape, form and space are used to direct the eye through a graphic design. Texture and contrast are used to create depth. Balance and alignment are used to give a graphic design visual weight. More importantly, when these graphic elements are combined with typography, not only is visual interest and impact created, but also visual communication, which ultimately conveys certain ideas/messages for the viewer as it also evokes a different feeling and/or emotion as it educates the viewer. This is the primary goal of graphic design, and these tools when used together, ultimately, they give the graphic designer the ability to establish a visual hierarchy in the content being presented that leads the viewer through the content so they can have a deeper understanding of the content being presented.
Since we have discussed the tools that photographers use to create images, and the tools that graphic designers use in creating their designs, let’s now tie photography and graphic design together, and establish the importance and overall power that can be achieved by incorporating both. First, when photography and graphic design are utilized together in the beginning of the creation of a project/composition, the 2 components share the same vision/goal, they have the same intent, and thus, are created to share the same feeling and/or emotion. Secondly, in the details of how the various tools are applied in the photography and the graphic design, the viewer is able to establish a deeper understanding of the story/message to be told. Lastly, third, the message/story conveyed is more complete in that the photography tells part of the message/story, and the graphic design can fill in the details about the message/story that the photography cannot in and of itself, and vice versa. The possibilities really do become endless with the message/story to be conveyed to the viewer through the composition.
In conclusion, as stated in the beginning, not all photographers are graphic designers, and not all graphic designers are photographers, but when the graphic designer is a photographer, and vice versa, the message/story to be told really do take on another level and deeper meaning, one that can impact the viewer more profoundly with the feeling and/or emotion that the composition evokes, the message/story is simply stronger because when using the tools of photography and the tools of graphic design in conjunction with one another in the design of a composition, it yields a more different, diversified skillset for the overall creation of the composition, and it allows the composition to be more clear to the viewer with the photography, and the visual communication of the graphic design moves and persuades the viewer more within the composition, and when photography and graphic design are incorporated, they ultimately create a very powerful composition for the viewer.