Composition & Visual Design
60 terms · page 1 of 3
Aerial Perspective
The reduction of contrast, saturation and detail with distance, caused by atmospheric scattering.
Composition & Visual DesignAspect Ratio
The proportional relationship between an image's width and its height.
Composition & Visual DesignAsymmetrical Balance
A composition in which unequal elements are arranged so the frame still feels stable overall.
Composition & Visual DesignBird's-eye View
A viewpoint directly overhead, looking straight down, which renders a scene as a flat pattern.
Composition & Visual DesignBreaking the Pattern
Introducing a single element that interrupts an otherwise regular repetition, creating an immediate focal point.
Composition & Visual DesignCamera Height
The elevation of the camera above the ground, which controls the viewpoint's relationship to the subject.
Composition & Visual DesignCentral Composition
Placing the primary subject at or near the centre of the frame.
Composition & Visual DesignComposition
The arrangement of elements within the frame, and the decisions about what to include, exclude and where to place things.
Composition & Visual DesignConverging Verticals
The apparent leaning-together of vertical lines when the camera is tilted up or down.
Composition & Visual DesignCropping
Removing part of an image after capture to change its framing, proportion or emphasis.
Composition & Visual DesignDepth Cues
The visual signals — overlap, relative size, convergence, haze and blur — that let a flat image suggest three dimensions.
Composition & Visual DesignDiagonal Lines
Lines running at an angle to the frame edges, which introduce energy and a sense of movement.
Composition & Visual DesignDiagonal Method
A compositional approach placing points of interest on the 45-degree bisectors drawn from each corner of the frame.
Composition & Visual DesignDutch Angle
A deliberately tilted camera, so the horizon runs at an angle across the frame.
Composition & Visual DesignFigure-Ground Relationship
The perceptual separation of a subject from its background, which determines whether it reads clearly.
Composition & Visual DesignFilling the Frame
Composing so the subject occupies most or all of the picture area, leaving little surrounding context.
Composition & Visual DesignFocal Point
The element in a photograph that the eye is drawn to first and returns to.
Composition & Visual DesignForeground Interest
An element placed close to the camera to anchor the composition and establish depth.
Composition & Visual DesignFrame Within a Frame
Using an element in the scene — a doorway, arch, window or overhanging branch — to surround and isolate the subject.
Composition & Visual DesignGestalt Principles
A set of observations from perceptual psychology describing how the visual system groups separate elements into wholes.
Composition & Visual DesignGolden Ratio
The proportion of approximately 1:1.618 that has been used in art and architecture as a compositional division.
Composition & Visual DesignGolden Spiral
A logarithmic spiral constructed from golden-ratio rectangles, sometimes overlaid on a frame as a compositional guide.
Composition & Visual DesignGolden Triangle
A compositional grid formed by a diagonal across the frame and two perpendicular lines from the remaining corners.
Composition & Visual DesignHeadroom
The space between the top of a subject's head and the upper edge of the frame.