Visuals are a means of communication, just like the Dutch language. If we want to understand each other, everyone must speak good Dutch. Visual language, just like the Dutch language, contains certain grammatical rules.
Visual language
An image often displays and communicates a specific atmosphere, expression, and/or story. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. With images, you can convey and evoke a feeling very quickly, but that does not mean everyone understands it. The same applies when choosing an image based on taste. You might find it beautiful, but that is not the case for everyone. Therefore, it is important to consider the effect of an image. What do you want to achieve with it? If your letter is full of grammatical errors, you will not be taken seriously; the same can apply to images.
Understanding visual language
Reading an image consists of various steps that can be divided into seeing, understanding, and persuading.
You see an image and discover what you see, what shape it has, and what kind of structure it contains. When you understand the image, you can ask yourself what the meaning of what you see is. What do you recognize in this image, why do we recognize it, and to which memory do we link this recognition? Finally, when you are convinced by an image, you can ask yourself why this image works so well. What in this image moved you, and what in this image convinced you?
Picture grammar
An image consists of various visual elements that can form meaning for you. These visual elements are divided into light, composition, content, and technique.
Without light, there is no image; it says something about the time of day and can add or remove depth. It can create a dark day or visualize a bright one. Composition creates order or chaos. The most well-known composition is the golden ratio. A composition establishes a viewing direction within the image. The content can concern clothing, props, makeup, acting, the environment, and iconic symbols such as pictograms, logos, and traffic signs. The technique determines the camera viewpoint, tilt angle, depth of field, camera position, and cropping.
What do you want to achieve?
The next time you look at an image, take the points above into account in your thought process. Try to dissect an image of your choice. Examine the image closely and try to understand it. What do the lighting, composition, content, and technique reveal about the chosen image? Does this image convince you or not, and do these thoughts apply to other people as well?