PRINCIPLES OF

DESIGN IN
PHOTOGRAPHY
Angelica Golubyeva
BALANCE
◦ This image imitates the Ying-Yang
model.
◦ It has two sides, the sky and the
trees, and two circles, the sun and the
flower, which contrast each other.
◦ The presence of the two circles
creates asymmetrical balance and
equity.
 BALANCE
◦ Asymmetrical balance is perceived due to
the objects being located on both sides of the
image.
◦ While the longer faucet takes up the top right
area, the shorter one takes up the bottom left.
◦ The flower is almost in the middle, which
creates balance by filling up the potential
empty space.
UNITY
◦ Various monochromatic shades of grey
—ranging from almost black to almost
white— create an overall calm mood
and set a tone, which leads to unity.
◦ The image is balanced due to different
elements covering the entire space,
creating unity.
 UNITY
◦ The patterned and continuous negative
space manifests a feeling of unity.
◦ The positive (the leaf) and negative
(wooden boards) space are clearly
defined.
◦ By contrasting each other, the
background and foreground create
unity as well.
VARIETY
◦ A wide range of colored books
creates a sense of variety in this
image.
◦ Since there is vast number of
books with each having its own
thickness, size, and color scheme,
their perceivable difference
connects them, creating a sense
of unified variety.
 VARIETY
◦ In this image, variety is not only created
through an assortment of trashcans, but
through color, too.
◦ There is a row of colors (red, blue, black,
blue, green) that is created by the close
location of the objects to each other.
EMPHASIS
◦ There is contrast between the dirty
sink and the beautiful flower.
◦ It’s the only flower in the whole
photo, which makes it stand out,
creating an emphasis.
◦ The circular shape of the sinkhole
and the flower also grab the
viewer’s attention.
 EMPHASIS
◦ The blurred background works to
emphasize the positive space of this
photo (a person).
◦ By focusing the camera lens on the
woman, I drew attention to her facial
features (the target) and eliminated the
potential attention to the details in the
background.
MOVEMENT
◦ The up-facing branches lead the
viewer’s gaze from the bottom
up.
◦ Representing a sort of ladder,
the branches create movement
through repetition (their
multiple amount) and direction.
 MOVEMENT
◦ Repeated lines and shapes of the
bookshelves guide the viewer’s eyes from
the center of the photo to the right and
left.
◦ A continuous pattern of light blocks
creates movement from the top center
backwards—in both the left and right
direction—from biggest blocks to the
smallest.
 MOVEMENT
◦ A set of orange traffic cones that are
located in a circular pattern guide the eye
from the frontward right side of the photo
to the backward center.
◦ Their similarity and repeated arrangement
work to create a feeling of motion and
movement.
PATTERN

◦ The white lines on the crosswalk

represent a pattern of objects of
the same shape and color.
◦ In this picture, it appears
continuous, because the ends of
the crosswalk are not
documented.
◦ 22 separate books generate
a full image due to their
PATTERN
continuous and pattern-
like design.
◦ The pattern manifests
itself through the
connection of each book’s
cover artwork to the
books’ located next to it.
This replaces the need for
a repeating color scheme.
PROPORTION
◦ The people are far away so they
appear smaller than the hand
which is close to the camera.
◦ This way, the fingers look larger
than a full-height human, creating
a warped sense of proportion.
 PROPORTION
◦ Since the skull in the front is located
closer to the camera, it appears much
larger than the full-body skeleton
located further away.
◦ Using the fish-eye setting of my
camera ensured that the objects in
front were even larger and more
emphasized.
 THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION!
Bye 