Visual Patterns - Compositional Contrast
I think I have been using the term compositional contrast incorrectly. In my mind, there are three categories of contrast: tonal, color and compositional contrast. However, as I have studied on the topic, the term compositional contrast is used as a top line descriptor. It is a bucket for all types of contrast, if you will.
Contrast in a photo is what makes it interesting. These are the types of contrast that are used in photography.
Tonal Contrast
The white of the woman’s shirt, the man’s cap and the hood of the stroller create a triangle of interest that contrasts with the dark background.
Tonal contrast is the contrast created when light and dark tones are used guide the viewer’s eye to the subject of the picture.
Color Contrast
The contrasting colors of red and green provide a frame for the subject.
One way to achieve color contrast is to use complimentary colors, i.e., colors that are opposite from each other on the color wheel. Red and green contrast in this photo. Orange and blue and yellow and purple are also complimentary colors.
Value Contrast
Photo by Stephen Walters. Used with permission. You can see Stephen’s Facebook gallery at Photography by Stephen Walters. I think this photo has amazing depth of field, communicated, in part, by how the image gets darker as our eye moves back into it.
Value contrast occurs when you use light and dark tones to add visual interest, identify the subject or add depth to the image.
Shape Contrast
Size Contrast
Conceptual Contrast
The Home sign contrasts with the wreckage caused by the Christmas 2021 bombing in Nashville.
I saved the best for last. Conceptual contrast is what I used to call compositional contrast. When you have contrasting subjects or objects in a photo, you can create a nice visual tension. It can add an element of surprise. It can take your viewer out of their comfort zone. It can be the story in your photo. Just a few examples of contrasting subjects are young or old, happy or sad, rich or poor, and moving or stationary.
It took me awhile to find anything written about conceptual contrast, in part because I did not know what term to Google. Even when I found a good name for it, there was still surprisingly little written about it. I did come across a group of photographers mixing it up about whether it should be called conceptual contrast or juxtaposition. The juxtaposition guys were adamant that the term conceptual contrast was made up just so an article could be written. I don’t think so. Juxtaposition is a physical term that describes placing things next to each other. Contrast is a conceptual term, specifically of identifying differences. We can juxtapose things in a photo to not only contrast but also to compare. Sometimes we use juxtaposition just for fun, like when a balloon replaces a subject’s head.
Photo by Paula A. Reardon. Used with permission. You can see Paula’s Instagram gallery at @paular.ny. The signs are in juxtaposition and tell a story, but they do not conceptually contrast for me.
I find that photos that have conceptual contrast to be particularly interesting. Humans are motivated to seek differences. I speculate that my brain rewards me when I find them.
Are the types of contrast all visual patterns? I tend to think so. We use contrast to grab the attention of our viewer. It can convey information about relative size and distance. It can create drama through light and dark. It can create surprise or dissonance as we present conceptual differences. All of these are devices in our visual language that allow us to have a compelling conversation with our viewers.
Now for a little color theory.
Color Symbolism
Humans attribute meaning to color, although the meaning can be different across cultures and even different across time in a single culture. This attributed meaning arises in several ways.
Our culture causes us to associate color in a particular way. For example, red is a sign of good fortune in China, happiness in Japan and mourning in certain parts Africa.
Our background influences how we associate color. If you are raised as a Christian, you will likely connect red to the blood of Christ and to sacrifice.
Our response to branding can change our association of color. Red can be an appetite stimulant. As an example, we are biologically programmed to choose the reddest apple. McDonald’s uses that color along with yellow as their brand color. The brand relationship you have with McDonald’s may well reinforce the connection between red and feeling hungry.
Our gender is conditioned to certain responses to color. Interestingly, in Western societies blue is for boys, but in China, blue is for girls.
Context impacts our relationship with a color. Red can signal appetite in a restaurant or warning in a road.