The Role Of Photography In Graphic Design
Photography has taken an important role in design in recent years. Whether it is for personal or advertising purposes, a photograph is able to tell an entire story, which is why it has become so important in design.
By creating the setting for a photograph we can manipulate what is being told by the image. To further this idea of manipulating photography, apps like Photoshop have been created, which have become indispensable to the modern designer. By adjusting small details, such as lighting or adding something to the background, modern designers can craft whatever story they want in these images.
Another vital part of graphic design, that photography plays a massive role in, is illustration. If an illustration needs to be created, more often than not, it will start with a photograph. Using a photograph as a reference can help the designer understand what it is that they are trying to captivate in their design. Multiple techniques can also be used to edit the photo, so that it either begins to look like an illustration itself or so that it can be integrated into an illustration to make it more stylized.
Modern day advertising requires extensive knowledge in photography. Photography is extremely helpful for a designer to easily express an emotion, this makes it more relatable for the general public when they are selecting a product. By seeing someone smiling while doing laundry on the packaging of a laundry detergent, this will entice the consumer by pulling on their desire of, “I wish I could be as happy as them when doing laundry”. With a few little edits and additions to a photograph, it becomes a powerful tool that can influence a person’s emotions, to the point that they will be willing to spend more on a product with the hope that it will change their life.
On a simpler level, but just as important, photography gives a designer perspective. With just a moderate understanding of photography, a designer will gain considerable knowledge of things like spacing, lighting, foreground, background and points of focus in an image. These elements, even though they seem basic, are crucial for designers when they create something, so by gaining further experience and knowledge through photography it can make them improve drastically. This will also become an added bonus as the designer progresses in photography, in the fact that they will be able to use their own photos for their work. Being able to cut out the middleman, the photographer, the designer can get more precise images for their work, making the next stage of production substantially easier.
Learning how to maximize the use of photography is extremely important for modern designers who have to deal with social media, if it is ignored, it will become detrimental to the designer and thwart them later in life. Therefore, even if it is the fundamental level of knowledge in photography, it will help them progress drastically.
