The human face is a magnificent biological masterpiece buried deep within our conscience as something we recognize instantly. The face is so powerful we sometimes see them in everyday objects, a scien...
The human face is a magnificent biological masterpiece buried deep within our conscience as something we recognize instantly. The face is so powerful we sometimes see them in everyday objects, a scientific phenomenon called pareidolia. Our emotions are so strong sometimes we don’t even need words to express them. For moments when words just won’t do, perhaps photos of human emotion will hit the spot.
It may be that you want to communicate to your audience on a personal level when on the matter of social issues. Such subjects can really get to us emotionally, so using basic human emotions as a response can provide reassurance to those we communicate with. Charity campaigns rely on similar methods, reaching out to those who feel impacted by the subject matter. Perhaps we can help flip that frown upside down!
It is a privilege to be able to have such a range of emotions and to be able to express all of them through emotions and language like no other animal on this planet. If you feel like you’ve been missing out, we have countless generations that have been doing just that, creating music, art, and poetry. Emotion is something we celebrate everyday and you should incorporate it into your creative projects at every given moment.
As a designer, it is your responsibility to take into account a balanced attitude to your creative work. This is even more emphasized on the subject of social campaigns as we are talking to the wider community, providing everyone with a voice. It is also relevant to keep up with social trends and today’s political climate, fully supporting equality and putting an end to racism.
Emotions affect creativity on every level. Even if you are unmotivated, that will affect what you produce in the sense that creativity is fuelled by emotion. If you take a look at the best well-known artists of the centuries, their work is praised on how much emotion has gone into their work. Pretty much everything we create is based on and needs an emotional response. So it seems creativity is a celebration of our inner emotions, and we should respect that in every way we can.
The short answer is every emotion has an association with color. Just as colors blend across the color spectrum, our emotions follow a very similar gradient. From happy to sad, from white to black. We grow up learning this, and very much part of our subconscious. We all know that red is a warning of danger or to put on the brakes. On the contrary, blue is a color of security and provides a sense of calm in our lives. Color psychology has always played an important role in our lives.
Photos play a very important role in reflecting our common reality, and in most cases, this provokes an emotional response. As humans we react to the world around us. It’s possibly the reason why we wandered out of Africa millions of years ago. Photography provides us a window into a situation stuck in time, making us question, dream, or even get upset as a response. A good exercise to practice this form of communication is reading the pictures displayed in a newspaper.
With so much detail in photographs, there is a lot at play that can send our emotions in one direction or the other. Factors such as color, as previously mentioned, will affect our moods. Black and white photography somewhat tone down the power of color, giving us more of a focus on the subject of the photograph. With fellow humans being the most popular subject in photography, a lot of the language seen is the use of body language, facial expressions, and how they are situated in the frame.
Things you can take control of, such as lighting, space, and texture, are all things to consider when trying to evoke a certain feeling. The more control you have, the better, so purchasing a set of studio lights is a good starting point. If you are a portrait photographer, having a selection of backgrounds can certainly help match the atmosphere with your subjects. Even more technical methods, like changing ISO settings can add grain to the image, giving you the results you are after.
Today is World Photography Day! And we’ve been waiting a whole month to celebrate the fact that back in 1839 (yep on August 19) that Louis Daguerre presented his brand new daguerreotype to the French Academy of Sciences.
Throughout the day, each and every one of us receives the impact of thousands of visual messages. Most of these pass before our eyes like water off a duck’s back, as small stimuli that have no importance beyond the moment.
In the age of influencers, being unique seems to have become a sought-after quality. We strive to be original and exceptional at every turn.
