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As a photographer and graphic designer with a background in Architecture, that education greatly influences the style of my work. In Architecture, an organizing thought or decision behind and architect’s design is known as a parti. The term actually started from the 15th century French, in which “parti pris” meant “decision taken.” Like Architecture, photography and graphic design decisions regarding composition have to be made initially before a project begins. Those decisions govern the direction and scope of a project.

When setting up a photography shoot, many factors need to be considered. It starts with the purpose of the shoot which impacts the overall approach and sets the tone of the comprehensive setup. Whether it’s portraits, headshots or some special event, each can have a different plan of attack. Location and time of day also are very important. Reasons for a specific location are obvious. Time of day, on the other hand, is based on not only when the client is available, but also greatly influences lighting when shooting outdoors. Other parts of the shoot to be considered are the background, type of lighting (natural or flash), amount of shot that is in focus (depth of field), portrait or landscape format (vertical or horizontal), whether to incorporate foreground elements or other items that can be used as leading lines or framing of the shot, and finally, the actual camera settings. So, there is actually a lot of details that develop the composition of a shot.

Composition in graphic design starts with determining the type of image and its purpose, what it will be used for. Every project has a “feel” and the design needs to match or compliment that feel. A feel is a look that defines the character, it sets a mood. For example, a cowboy has a different feel/look than a princess does. The same thing is true for graphic design. To accomplish this, graphic design utilizes various components of design such as text, colors, textures, positive/negative space, etc. These set and ultimately define the feel/look of the content in the image to be presented. Text selection is influenced by project purpose, whether it’s masculine/feminine in nature, and most importantly, legibility because if it doesn’t read, it’s worthless. Colors are affected by temperature, warm and cool, and when using more than one color, colors need to be complimentary, not in conflict or tension with one another. Background of media, forms color determination because again colors need to be complimentary. Light colors do not read well on lightly colored backgrounds, and vice versa. There needs to be contrast between the elements. Textures give graphics depth so they aren’t flat and they add more interest to draw the viewer into the composition. Lastly, positive/negative space for the viewing of the piece define the elements and how they read. Positive space is formed by the design elements, the content of the design and it needs to yield a hierarchy in the content presented, while negative space is formed by the blank space. Not enough negative space can result in designs being busy and subsequently, hard to read.

As it has been discussed in my previous blog posts, when photography and graphic design are combined and the concept of each are decided/composed from start to finish, the utmost impact can be achieved. The project becomes coherent and reads as the photographer/graphic designer intended as the viewer views the composition. Although photography and graphic design are not typically defined by the concept of parti, the design principles, intent and decision-making process are similar to the application of a parti in Architecture. Every composition, albeit in photography or graphic design, they should both have forethought into the project as to how it is created and developed, if the most powerful impact is to be achieved. The intent should ultimately be revealed to the viewer, so the viewer’s eye is directed through the piece and an understanding of the composition is achieved, revealing its purpose.

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.

In business, there are multiple printing and design options available, and although, they may all share or be similar in their goal, and even utilize the same content, the impact and subsequent results are very different. The organization/presentation of this content becomes key because it ultimately can make or break a brand, otherwise known as your business image. Thus, why the investment into a graphic designer opposed to just using a printing company designer, gives you and creates the opportunity to define or reinforce your brand.

Let’s start by establishing how most printing company designers create media layouts. First, much of their layout is based on an on-center design approach, and granted, it presents the content, but it fails to create much, if any, emphasis, visual interest to draw a viewer in, or an impact on the content being presented, it simply doesn’t yield any hierarchy of importance with its content. Rather it just list the content on a centered, central axis, and in doing so, leaves the viewer, the potential customer/client, having to figure it all out.

Secondly, most of the printing company designers create layouts that have little, if any, to say about a company’s branding because it’s generic, and often times is so generic that it could be used with any company, and even companies in different areas of business and/or trades. Thus, it adds/presents content, but beyond that, it has little to help the viewer with their processing of the information, it simply just lacks impact.

In contrast, a graphic designer takes an entirely different approach than a printing company designer because a graphic designer places a customer’s/client’s branding for their company first, or if the customer/client doesn’t have a brand yet, the graphic designer utilizes the opportunity to create a brand for the company, an image that will ultimately set their customer’s/client’s business apart, and it further defines not only what makes the customer’s/client’s business unique, but also shows and depicts what makes the customer’s/client’s business different from their competition, it helps the viewer better understand what the customer’s/client’s business can offer.

Moreover, graphic designers create balance in layouts and rarely use on-center layouts, but rather they create balance through various design elements, such as color, contrast, line, space, shape/form, value, texture etc., that are used to establish a hierarchy in the content that is being presented so the viewer is directed and visually led through the content, and even helps them gain a deeper understanding of the information being presented. This is very critical factor because a viewer that does not have the content presented in such a manner can get lost in the information, become confused, lose interest and/or move on to find another business/company to service and meet their needs.

Likewise, media content, digital and/or printed, needs to speak about the company’s brand, it all needs to have that “look”, and it needs to be consistent across all media forms, again, digital and/or printed. This, too, is another critical factor in the design layout because 1 – it defines a company’s brand, and in doing so, sets apart one company from the next, and 2 – it directs a viewer to that company for their current needs, and also re-directs the viewer to that company for their future needs. The branding of a company simply sets a company apart from it’s competition, and business and repeat business ultimately yields a greater success to any company.

Therefore, and most importantly, it is critical that all media, digital and/or printed, has a design layout and presentation that quickly gives the viewer easy access to the information that they are seeking, and subsequently, it helps educate the viewer. Media also needs to be a reflection of the brand that defines the company and services that they provide, and it, too, needs to be consistent across all media forms for a company to find their greatest success! So, hiring a graphic designer instead of just using the printing company designer to create the layout, can be a huge driving factor in the success of your business!

Moments can be defined as a brief period in time, but even in the briefness, moments can transform our lives because it’s in these moments, that our lives tell a story, they create and define what becomes our legacy, our story, that will with the passing of time, never fade or be forgotten by those that we share our lives with while we are here. 

Moments tell a story, and in that, define time. We have and experience moments that are before big events in our lives, and after big events in life. Moments transform time, and they can be good or even bad.  Moments close chapters, and open doors to new ones, but time can never be the same because once it passes, it’s over, and all things eventually end and bring forth new beginnings. 

Moments can be the big things in our lives, or they can be the little, seemingly insignificant things that add up to be the big things. Moments can teach us. Single moments or collectively, they make us what we become, they give us experience on how to react, or they can completely blindside us. Either way, they change us.

So how does photography effect the moments in our lives?  Photography gives us the opportunity to capture that moment in time; photography allows us the opportunity to record a moment in time, and in doing so, to tell a story about that moment in time. 

So yet, once again, photography is just not merely the act of taking a picture, but rather gives us the ability to capture time, to capture moments, the moments that define us, the moments that tell our story. 
Photography can portray the past, the present, and even the future of some things. Photography records the happiness and/or the sadness that we experience in our lives, it captures the before events and our after events in our lives, it shows that we are not the same, and that our lives are no longer the same. Photography shows us who we are, not only what we look like, but how certain moments made us feel.  Photography becomes the moments of our legacy that can be passed from generation to generation. 

So not just taking a picture, but rather capturing the moments. Let photography tell your story. Let photography allow your voice to be heard, and to allow your story to unfold.  Moments…