Elements of Art and Principles of Design in Photography

Apply Elements of Art and Principles of Design to your artwork

The Principles of Design are the recipes of the art. They help organize the elements, to make the art look aesthetically "pleasing" or "good". You may not use all of them in the same piece of artwork. The Elements of Art are the " ingredients". You use them to make your artwork. You may not use all of them in the same piece of art.  

Example of using Elements of art and Principles of Design for a practice

Visual unity is best described as harmony, which is a design principle in its own right. It can apply to colors, using styles that work well together, and in some cases, repeating styles to maintain visual consistency.

ProximityThe simplest method of making objects appear to belong together is to group them closely together. This allows us to see a pattern. 

Repetition

Another method often used to promote unity is the use of repetition. Repetition of color, shape, texture or object can be used to tie work together. 

Continuation

A much more subtle method of unifying a work involves the continuation of line, edge or direction from one area to another. Continuation is often used in books and magazines to tie the elements of a page together with the use of rules, and by lining up edges of copy, headlines and graphics.