Composition & Visual Design
60 terms · page 3 of 3
S-curve
Composition & Visual Design
A gently reversing curve within a scene that carries the eye through the frame in a sinuous path.
Sense of Scale
Composition & Visual Design
A cue within the frame that tells the viewer how large the subject actually is.
Simplification
Composition & Visual Design
The reduction of a scene to its essential elements by choice of viewpoint, framing, focus and timing.
Symmetry
Composition & Visual Design
A composition in which one half of the frame mirrors the other across a vertical, horizontal or radial axis.
Texture
Composition & Visual Design
The tactile surface quality of a subject as revealed by light, giving a sense of how something would feel.
Tonal Contrast
Composition & Visual Design
stops
The difference in brightness between adjacent areas of an image, which controls separation and visual impact.
Triangular Composition
Composition & Visual Design
An arrangement in which the principal elements form a triangle, producing stability and a clear internal structure.
Vanishing Point
Composition & Visual Design
The point in an image at which receding parallel lines appear to meet.
Visual Path
Composition & Visual Design
The route the eye takes through a photograph, determined by the arrangement of weights, lines and contrasts.
Visual Rhythm
Composition & Visual Design
The pace at which repeated elements carry the eye across a frame, set by their spacing and variation.
Visual Tension
Composition & Visual Design
A sense of unresolved energy created by elements that pull against each other or against the frame.
Visual Weight
Composition & Visual Design
The degree to which an element in the frame attracts and holds attention, independent of its physical size.