|
Value is a design element that refers to the relationship between light and dark on a surface or object. Value is also referred to as tone when talking about black and white images.
Value is created by a light source that shines on an object creating highlights and shadows. It also illuminates the local or actual colour of the subject. Value creates depth within a picture making an object look three dimensional with highlights and shadows. A landscape creates the illusion of depth by getting lighter in value as it recedes to the background.
In this rhino image the whites create an impression that the blacks are "blacker" than they would be if most of the image were black and no areas were very light. The reason is that the tonal range of the image provides the necessary contrast that allows you to see what the artist wants you to see.
The relationship of one element (part or detail) to another in respect to lightness and darkness is called value contrast. This allows us to discern an image and perceive detail. We need value contrast in order to read words on a page. If the words on a page are close in value to the colour of the page then it would be difficult, if not impossible, to read them. Most text type is black and the page white in order to achieve maximum contrast.
Different value relationships produce different effects, both visual and emotional. When the narrow range of values, which is called low contrast, is used in the design, it evokes an emotional response from the viewer. The emotional response is different when the design has a wide range of values, or high contrast.
The range of values from black to white is the tonal range available to a designer. The ability to use that range effectively lets the designer determine the mood of an image and create and control the ambiance.
The photographer Ansel Adams was a master at using tone effectively. He said that a photographer should make a picture, not just take a picture. He visualizes what he wants the image to look like -- what he wants to communicate -- before he makes the picture. Then he sets up his equipment to get the image he wants. In his picture "Snow Hummocks, Yosemite National Park, California," he uses tone to evoke mood and time.
Snow Hummocks, Yosemite National Park, California © Ansel Adams
|