Photography, Composition and Non Verbal communication

Part of putting my charity website together i will need to include my own photograhs or my own graphic work. Before taking my own photographs to include in my charities website, I will need to follow some good rules and basic principles of good photography that will make my website look good and eye-catching. As this is part of my research task I have used some of my own photos and some I have found examples off the internet. For me to create my website I will definitely have to use my own original photography.
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Eye flow
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Eye flow is a great technique to use when taking a photography. It is a technique used to make the viewer's eye travel along through the photograph and viewing the entire scene. The elements in the scene guide the audience through the entire photograph.

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Dominant element
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Usually there is one main subject to the image. The subject may be either a single object, or a relationship. The dominant element is the center of visual interest in a photo.
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Simplicity
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The technique of simplicity is used to achieve the effect of singling out an item or items from their surrounding. Only what is essential to the scene is included in the final image.

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Balance
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It may be symmetric or asymmetric, subtle or obvious.
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The Rule of Thirds
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In the first photo the dog is almost dead center, with a lot of wasted room on just about all sides. While this may be one of the most common ways to take a portrait, it’s also the most common way to take an uninteresting photo.









The second photo is the same image however this time it is cropped and makes use of the rule of thirds, the dog in this photo there is not as much wasted room, the dog's head is at the top right of the frame, and thus more of the dog's body can be seen. It also gives a sense of height. The dog is off-center, which not only adds a significant amount of interest and mystique, but directs your attention very clearly to the dog, as well as allowing you to see the background.









The basis of the ages-old Rule of Thirds is that if you were to divide a frame into thirds, both ways, the points of intersection are the points where your subject should be placed in order to be most interesting. The subject’s eyes are directly lined up with the intersecting points. Any one of those four points is a great place to frame your subject.
More examples that have been improved using the Rule of Thirds:
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Diagonal rule
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One side of the picture is divided into two, and then each half is divided into three parts. The adjacent side is divided so that the lines connecting the resulting points form a diagonal frame. According to the Diagonal Rule, important elements of the picture should be placed along these diagonals:

Linear elements, such as roads, waterways, and fences placed diagonally, are generally perceived as more dynamic than horizontally placed ones:
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Non Verbal Communication
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How we position and direct models in our pictures can communicate many things to the audience.

Expression - Based on conventionalised cultural codes, instantly recognisable.
Eye contact - directly towards the consumer (appealing to them) or involved within the scene of the ad.

Pose- Static or active often corresponds to expression. Can also be a symbol of status.
Clothes - Important as they communicate to the audience.
Touch - Ritualistic touching (cosmetics) conveys emotion and manner. Grasping and holding is functional.
Body movement - Relates to the function that the actor is doing.
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Positional communication
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Relationships between actors within the frame, the direction they are facing, the height of each can show relationships and status.

Reciprocal - A two-way relationship in which each person is the centre of the other’s attention.
Divergent - Each person’s attention is diverted towards something different.
Object - The attention of each person is directed towards the same object.
Semi-reciprocal - One person’s attention is concentrated on the other, whose attention is elsewhere.

Colour Theory

Colour Theory is a set of principles used to create harmonious color combinations. Colour relationships can be visually represented with a color wheel — the color spectrum wrapped onto a circle.

Colour combination is really the most important part of colour theory and designing with colors, and also the hardest. It always comes down to your personal judgement and how you look at colors. There are some rules that can be used to make a color combination that is interesting and pleasing to the eye. One rule in these matters is to use three colours.

Too many colours will make the page feel too busy and it usually makes it harder for the viewer to find the information he or she wants. It is also more tiring to the eyes. A page with too few colors, on the other hand, risks being seen as a bit boring, and can lose attention of the audience but this need not always be the case.

Primary colour: This is the main colour of the page. It will occupy most of the area and set the tone for the design as a whole.

Secondary colour: This is the second colour on the page, and it is usually there to "back up" the primary color. It is usually a colour that is pretty close to the primary colour.

Highlight colour: This is a colour that is used to emphasize certain parts of the page. It is usually a color which constrasts more with the primary and secondary colours, and as such, it should be used with moderation. It is common to use a complimentary or split-complimentary colour for this (see below).
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Colour Wheel
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The colour wheel is very useful when you want to combine colors in a way that is pleasing.



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Analog Colours
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The analog colours have colours that are adjacent to each other on the colour wheel. One colour is used as a dominant colour while others are used to enrich the scheme.

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Complementary Colours
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The complementary colours consists of two colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel. This scheme looks best when you place a warm colour against a cool colour, for example, red versus green-blue. This scheme is intrinsically high-contrast.

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Split Complementary Colours
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Split complementary is a variation of the standard complementary scheme. It uses a colour and the two colours adjacent to its complementary. This provides high contrast without the strong tension of the complementary scheme.

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Triad Colours
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Triad colours uses three colours equally spaced around the colour wheel. This scheme is popular among artists because it offers strong visual contrast while retaining harmony and colour richness. The triadic scheme is not as contrasting as the complementary scheme, but it looks more balanced and harmonious.

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Colours for my Charity website
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For my charity website I am using an indigo colour with a light blue colour on a white background. From looking at colour theory and the colour wheel I have reserched into analogo colours for my designs. Their is one main blue which is indigo and a lighter blue as the secondary colours. I think blue is a colour to use the RSPCA, PDSA and blue cross website all use blue. Because i'm gonna be using a white bacground i want to fill the website pages with information and lots of colourful photographs. My navigation bar which I will be constructing will be indigo with white glowing writing to make it more interesting so it is not a boring website. From researching into other websites and looking at their colour schemes I can see they get audience and use the colours I want to use for my own charity website. My indigo colour could represent sadness of pets needing care because they have not been looked after very well or they have been treated cruely and need desperate vet care, then need to be rehomed to a better family who will take better care of the pets. The blue may make the photos stand out more from just using the one colour.