The second level of our analysis deals with the study of the morphological level of the image. Here we follow proposals put forward by various authors of a fairly heterogeneous nature, since we are discussing concepts that may seem simple on the surface, but are of a certain complexity.

As we will see, certain notions such as the dot, line, plane, space, scale or colour are not purely “material”, as they often simultaneously participate in the morphologic, dynamic, scalar and compositional condition of the image.

This first level of analysis lays out the subjective nature of analytical work in which, despite aiming to adopt a descriptive perspective, evaluative considerations begin to creep in. In this vein, we should assume that all analysis involves a projective operation, especially in the analysis of an isolated fixed image, and that it is very difficult to contemplate a search for the mechanisms for the production of meaning of the simple or singular elements that make up the image without a general idea in the form of a hypothesis, on the overall interpretation of the photographic text.

With reference to the Gestalt theories of image, it should be remembered that every act of perception involves a series of innate perceptual laws, such as the “figure-ground law”, the “law of closure” or the “law of good shape or succinctness”, which point in this direction. In sum, the understanding of an iconic text is holistic, in that the meaning of the parts of the image or of its simple elements is determined by a certain idea of totality. It should also be pointed out that in the field of the image, these simple elements we refer to are not simple units without meaning. In this vein, it is worth highlighting one of the main problems in image analysis: the absence of a double articulation of levels, unlike natural languages.

As Benveniste and Martinet explain, natural languages have a finite set of minimum units without meaning –phonemes–, that allow the articulation of a second level of language formed by minimum units with meaning –morphemes–, which have an elevated number of combinations. In the case of iconic language, it is impossible to establish the existence of equivalent levels, or anything that would enable us to speak precisely of a morphological level, of a “visual alphabet” in the strictest sense, on which to construct one syntactic level and a second semantic-pragmatic level. In the case of audiovisual texts, there is an even more patent need than in other languages to recognise the absence of a frontier between form and content that actually work as a continuum on which it is impossible to identify where one finishes and the other starts.

Dot

As academics such as Dondis, Kandinsky or Villafañe have indicated, the dot is the simplest visual element. From the viewpoint from which the image is constructed, a photograph is made up of photographic grain, to a greater or lesser extent visible, in the case of photo-chemical photography, or of pixels” (picture elements) in digital photography. It should be clarified that while photographic grain has volume, is distributed irregularly on the film surface and has an irregular shape, the pixel is orthogonal or square (depending on the type), lacks volume, and is distributed geometrically on the CCD surface or on the computer screen.

Photo-mechanical reproduction systems, now digital, are based on the use of the dot as the primary graphic material. Photographic grain visibility often compromises the degree of figuration or the greater abstraction of a photograph, to the point where it can have major consequences when judging an image as more “centripetal” or “centrifugal” vis-à-vis the observer. A greater presence of photographic grain may constitute an element that leads to distancing on the part the viewer, which allows us to highlight the degree of artificial construction of the photographic representation itself. In some cases, grain visibility gives the photograph an artistic texture. In other cases, not showing the photographic grain may be related to a greater verisimilitude of the photographic representation when an effect of reality is being sought in the construction of the image.

Nonetheless, the dot as a morphological concept may also be related, beyond its plastic nature, to the compositional construction of the image, as indicated by professor Justo Villafañe (1988, 1995). In this way, we refer to the existence of centres of interest in a photograph, or foci of attention, which may or not coincide with the vanishing pointswhen we are dealing with a composition in perspective, or of the existence of a geometric centre in the image. In this latter case, depending on the position of the dot in the representational space, the composition may have more or less dynamism.

In general, it is accepted that when the dot coincides with the geometric centre of the image, we are looking at a static composition.

If the dot coincides with the diagonal axes of the image (generally square or rectangular), we are dealing with a composition in which the dot contributes to increasing the tensional force of the composition.

In other cases, the dot does not coincide either with the geometric centre of the image or with the diagonal axes, in which case, its presence may by disturbing and may simply contribute to making the image more “dynamic”.

Finally, the existence of two or more dots may favour the creation of vectors of direction for the reading of the image, which multiplies the dynamic and tensional force of the composition.

As can be seen, although the dot is a morphological element, it is a plastic concept of major importance in the composition of the image.

Line

Morphologically, the line is defined as a succession of dots that, because of its nature, transmits energy; it is a generator of movement. Amongst the plastic functions that the line can perform, the following may be highlighted, taken from the explanations of professor Justo Villafañe (1987, 1995):

• The line constitutes a formal element that enables the separation of the various planes, shapes and objects present in a determined composition (we should remember that the outline is what enables us to distinguish a figure from a perceptual background –the figure-ground law-, as expressed in Gestalt theory).
• The line is a key element to give volume to subjects or objects arranged in the two-dimensional space of the visual representation.
• When the line coincides with the diagonal axes, its capacity to dynamise is even more evident.

In contrast, horizontal, verticalor oblique lines may contribute peculiar meanings to the image, with connotations of materialism, spirituality or dynamism respectively.

Curved lines present in a composition tend to transmit movement and dynamism in contrast to straight lines.

Finally, it should be stressed, in the words of Villafañe that, “the line is a plastic element with sufficient strength to convey the structural characteristics (shape, proportion, etc.) of any object” (Villafañe, 1987, p. 106).

Plane-Space

From a morphological point of view, according to Justo Villafañe, the “plane” may be understood as a “two dimensional (element) bounded by lines or other planes”, and is a suitable resource “to compartmentalise and fragment the plastic space of the image” (Vallafañe, 1987, p. 108). When we speak of the existence of planes in a photograph, we are referring to the presence of various planes, dimensions or terms in an image, in such a way that they determine the existence of a spatial depth of the image, since the nature of the plane is deeply spatial.

Rudolf Arnheim claims that the elements grouped together for their similarity in a composition tend to be recognised as such because they are usually found in the same plane (Arnheim, 1979, p. 56). The interaction between plane and depth gives rise to the construction of a third dimension (depth) in a visual composition, which by definition is always flat.

Planes can be perceived in an image thanks to two elements: the superimposition of the figures in the frame, which enables us to distinguish between objects and subjects placed at varying distances from the observation point; and the projective aspect, i.e., because of its disposition from a specific angle, which is defined by the perspective. In this sense, we should not forget that any composition defines a place from which the representation is shown (whether it be pictorial, architectural or photographic).

The construction of spatiality (understood as tridimensionality) is directly linked to the Gestalt figure-ground phenomenon.

In the space of the representation, between the various planes that may appear in an image, we sometimes come across “frames” and “windows”, elements that are closely related to the figure-ground phenomenon, and whose appearance first occurred in painting during the Renaissance. The frame played a vital role in emancipating the painting from the architectural setting that surrounded it (altarpieces and church paintings are clear examples): the frame marked the boundaries of the representation in the same way that photograph frames do in modern day galleries and exhibitions.

We have referred to plane(s) as a way of fragmenting space. These planes show the other morphological elements with which they interrelate, to the extent that it becomes difficult to disassociate them from the other elements (dot, line, texture, etc.) with which they comprise a continuum (Arnheim, 1979). The structural nature of space is dealt with in the next level of analysis, the compositional level, where the meanings associated with how it is dealt with representationally will be explored.

The figure-ground relation, combined with the bi-dimensionality of the image that is affected by perspective to generate depth can sometimes cause trompe l’oeil effects as in the case of photographs by Duane Michals.

Scale

In the morphological level analysis, we consider it useful to include scalarity as a parameter to be borne in mind, since it is a quantitative element that can be empirically observed (objectively). We should remember that the morphological level of this proposal for analysis stops with the examination of the elements that would come within the category of what traditionally has been known as “denotative”. Authors such as Villafañe (1987, 1985) point out that scale, together with dimension, format and proportion make up the scalar level of the image. Without discrediting this appraisal, we believe that for practical reasons of the analysis, it is much more appropriate to place it within this block, because it can be seen objectively and because of the ease with which it determines the technique used in the construction of the image. Furthermore, it is a fairly simple structural element on which work can be undertaken on the image’s form, lighting, contrast and colour, amongst other things. Once again, we are dealing with a concept of a morphological and composite as well as scalar nature.

The scale refers to the size of the figure in the image, with the size of the human body in the frame being the main term of reference for the various options we might come across. Thus we can distinguish between:

• Close shot
• Medium shot
• ”American” shot
• Long shot
• General shot
• Detailed shot
• Overall shot, etc.
• etc.

Although this terminology is generally used in the areas of film and television analysis and production, its application to the context of photographic analysis is perfectly feasible. The use of each one of these types of photographic subject size has a particular meaning, depending on the visual context. In general, the closer the view of the subject or object photographed, the greater is the degree of emotional or intellectual proximity felt by the spectator towards the image, in such a way that a reduced scale (a close up or close shot) tends to favour identification on the part of the viewer; while the more general the scale of the subject of the photograph is, the greater the distancing the viewer experiences. Once again, we can see that despite finding ourselves in a supposedly objective plane (given its quantitative nature) of the morphological level of analysis, it is not possible to cut off from the universe of meanings which is to a great extent projective, and thus fairly subjective.

Shape

Arnheim states that the perception process takes off with the “apprehension of outstanding structural features” (1979, p. 60). To be precise, shape constitutes a visual, sensitive aspect of an object or its representation. Professor Villafañe claims that the “shape” refers to “the set of characteristics that are modified when the visual object changes position, orientation or simply context”. He distinguishes between “shape” and “structure” or “structural shape”, the latter being defined as “the changeless and permanent characteristics of objects, in which their visual identity lies” (Villafañe, 1987, p. 126). This latter definition is of particular interest to us here: that which proclaims the structural value of the shape as being responsible for the visual identity of the objects we might find or recognise in the space of the representation.

From what we have learned from psychology about gestalt perception, it is worth highlighting that the vision mechanism in no way proceeds from the particular to the general, but rather, the opposite occurs: the perceiver projects onto the representation his or her recognition of the dominant shapes within it. The law of experience or the law of closure, formulated by Gestalt (which means precisely, “shape/form” or “structure”, with this double ambivalent semantic value) highlights the existence of this phenomenon. In this way, we tend to more easily recognise (which constitutes an active action of projection by the observer) the simple geometric shapes: the circle, the square or the trianglemay be considered the most elementary shapes. Thus the observer would tend to structurally arrange the composition within the framing through the recognition of these simple shapes. At times, a photographic motif or object may refer to a dot shape because of its circular or round nature.

In determining the shapes present in a composition, various factors play a decisive role: the tonal contrast(through the interaction of differences in the tonal ranges of greys), the colourand the line (particularly the outline that enables us to distinguish figures on the perceptive background). Other resources used to distinguish shapes in the image include projection (perspective) and superposition, two types of foreshortening, to use Arnheim’s terminology.

When the frame presents a great complexity of shapes, far removed from elementary geometries, the image tends to be perceived as lacking in internal organisation, to the extent that it may be interpreted as mere “informative noise” or pure entropy, devoid of any order. In certain cases, the use of complex forms, including aberrant forms, may have interesting discursive effects in their significance.

To sum up, as stated by Gombrich, “the greater the biological importance an object holds for us, the more tuned in we will be on seeing it, and the more tolerant will be our criteria for formal correspondence”, one way of highlighting the relevance of the viewer in the recognition of shapes and structures, beyond the supposed objective existence in the represented space.

Texture

Texture is a visual element that possesses both optical/visual and tactile qualities. The latter is more outstanding, since texture is a visual element that materially sensitises and characterises the surfaces of the photographed objects and subjects.

The grain of a photographic image can at times be simultaneously shape, texture and colour, as with the type of brush-stroke used in painting. Digital techniques allow the imitation of textures in the pictorial image, through the use of numerous filters offered by the Adobe Photoshop programme, one of the most widely used programmes on the market. Very often digital filters are used as a resource to cover up the poor quality of the photograph or simply to construct exceptional images that the viewer finds striking or shocking (and given the extraordinary difficulty of these techniques, would be practically impossible to achieve by means of photo-chemical laboratory procedures).

In photo-chemical photography, texture is determined above all by the type of photographic emulsion used. The lower the sensitivity of (the slower) the film used, the less visible the photographic grain will be, and the higher the image resolution will be. In contrast, the more sensitive (faster) the photographic emulsion, the lower the image resolution, and the more visible the photographic grain will be. The visibility of the grain can be determined either by the type of developer used in the development process, or by the use of digital developing and treatment techniques. Higher grain visibility may jeopardise the sharpness of the image to such an extent that it lacks spatial depth and seems completely flat.

Finally, it should be mentioned that texture is a key element in the construction of surfaces and planes (Villafañe, 1987, p. 110). Arnheim states that texture serves to create depth in the image, on which its tri-dimensionality depends, and as we shall see, in which lighting plays a vital role.

Image sharpness

Although this parameter cannot be considered a morphological element of the image, we consider that it should be included in the series of concepts at this level. Needless to say, the sharpness or otherwise of the image is an expressive resource with an objective dimension that on occasions may include a variety of notable meanings, particularly when combined with the use of other resources. Perhaps it should be related with the “aspectualisation” or articulation of the viewpoint, with which it is closely linked. However, insofar as we are dealing with an element that is quantifiable in objective terms, we believe it merits differential treatment at this level of photographic analysis.

We have seen how image sharpnessis closely linked to work on photographic grain (or pixel), i.e., to the concept of texture. Focus control is a technique that allows a figure to stand out against the background of an image. In addition, lack of sharpness in the image may have notable consequences in the transmission of a specific idea of dynamism or of temporality in the photograph. Lack of image sharpness may be due to the use of filters that contribute a soft focus, a blurredness, that threatens the credibility of the representation, and may even lend it a certain onirism . In other cases, a lack of sharpness may give the photograph a pictorialist touch, most common amongst artists from the early days of photography (Julia Margaret Cameron, Oscar Gustav Rejlander, Henry Peach Robinson, Gustave Le Gray, etc.), who attempted to confer artistic status on the medium of photography through this technique.

To summarise, image sharpness may be dealt with at this level of analysis, although it will not usually merit extensive comment.

Lighting

Light is perhaps the most important morphological element in the study of image. It is the original material with which the image is constructed. Not without reason is photography, as the etymology of the term tells us, “the writing of light”. Rudolf Arnheim considers that light conditions the possibility of the image itself, since it generates space, and we would also add time, because how, if not, might the latent temporality of a photograph be interpreted? (Arnheim, 1979, p. 335). Shapes, textures or colours can only be perceived because of the existence of light. Furthermore, the utilisation of light can have an infinite number of extremely important uses and meanings, with an expressive, symbolic and metaphoric value. In the field of photography, we will use the term “lighting” to refer to the use of light in the construction of the photographic image.

Turning to light quality, we can distinguish between:

• Natural and artificial lighting(through the use of either flashes or fixed lighting).
• Hard lighting (strong light contrasts, presence of intense black and white tones) or soft lighting (diffused lighting, poor tonal gradation).
• High key lighting (predominance of high lights), low key lighting (predominance of shadows) or what might be termed “classical or normative lighting”.

In photography, natural lighting is usually complemented with the use of reflectors and other elements that improve the visibility of the object or subject of the photograph. Depending on the nature of the photograph to be taken, in accordance with the context and photographic genre, the use of artificial lighting is less frequent, as in social realism photography (see the Farm Security Administration photographs or Robert Frank’s Americans series) or in photojournalism where the use of flash may spoil the spontaneity or instantaneousness desired (although there are numerous exceptions, as in the case of Weegee).

Depending on the direction of the light, we can talk about:

• Zenith lighting
• Lighting from above
• Side lighting
• Lighting from below
• Nadir lighting (the opposite of zenith)
• Against the light
• Balanced or classical lighting
• etc.

Lighting is also an essential element in the definition of photographic styles such as expressionism, realism, pictorialism, etc.

In sum, lighting, or light in the most general sense, is essential for the definition of visual text morphology.

Tonality / BW-Colour

Colour is a morphological element with a complex make-up that according to Villafañe (1987, 111) is difficult to define. Reference to the objective nature of colour enables us to distinguish three parameters:

• The tone / tonality or hue of the colour: enables colours to be distinguished from one another, as each colour corresponds to a particular wavelength.
• The saturation: this refers to the sensation of greater or lesser colour intensity and degree of purity. Colour saturation is determined by the purity.
• The lightness: this refers to the amount of white in the colour, its luminosity. This parameter is not actually of a chromatic nature, but is related to light. The lightest colours, in order, are yellow, cyan, magenta, green, red and blue (as they appear in the signal bar on a professional video camera, according to internationally accepted standards). If the lightness or luminosity is excessive, the colours will look whitish and insubstantial, to the point of being practically indiscernible. On the other hand, if the lightness is very low, the loss of colour is evident, to the point where it almost completely disappears. Nowadays, these aspects are easily dealt with in practice through the use of time base correctors (TBC) in Video or photographic software such as the aforementioned Adobe Photoshop.

Additionally, it should be remembered that the light sources used in the production of any photograph, whether it be natural light (which may come from a cloudy sky, a bright sunny day or the special light at sunset), the light from a flash, tungsten light or candlelight, all have chromatic properties related to the temperature of the colour of the light source. The lower this temperature, the more yellow the photograph will be (as with candlelight, or light from tungsten or quartz). In contrast, the higher the temperature of the light source, the bluer the chromatic dominant of the image will be (the light from a sunny day lacks any chromatic dominant, but a cloudy sky may cause a strong dominant blue to appear).

These chromatic dominants can be corrected by using special filters, through the choice of photographic emulsions adapted to each light type (daylight or tungsten) or through digital colour correction processes (the equivalent in the cinema of what is known as grading, a process of balancing lights and colours, designed to safeguard the raccord or correspondence between planes that corrects colour temperatures, to equalise the chromatism amongst the various planes). By means of complex laboratory techniques or simple computer programmes, the colour of a photograph can be modified, from complete elimination to modification of tones and saturation of the colours, or introducing coloured parts, image tonings and other complex techniques such as posterisations (separation of tones) or solarisation (process of reversal) in colour.

However, due to its subjective properties, colour offers a long list of significances. Thus, we talk of the thermal properties of colour, of its synesthetic properties (associated with sound and music –the term chromatic scales is clearly linked), of its dynamism, etc.

Professor Justo Villafañe (1987, p. 118) defines, very successfully, a series of plastic functions of colour:

• Colour, together with shape, is to a large extent responsible for the identity of the object; it serves in the referential recognition of the objects represented, although from the morphological viewpoint, it is not as decisive as shape.
• Colour contributes to creating the plastic space for the representation. The way colour is used can give us a flat representation or one with spatial depth , able to contribute to the definition of various terms or planes in one image, even though we are not dealing with a composition with perspective.
• Chromatic contrast is a resource that helps to lend dynamism to the composition, which in this way acquires great expressive strength. At times this use of contrast in colour can act as a resource to make the staging of a photograph more spectacular, as it is a technique that enables sensorial stimulation and allows the viewers’ attention to be captured.
• Colour also has certain notable thermal qualities. As noted by Kandinsky, warm colours (between green and yellow) produce a feeling of movement towards the viewer, encourage the appearance of identification processes, i.e., define a centripetal movement in the action of observing. Cold colours (between green and blue) produce a feeling of moving away from the viewer, encourage the appearance of processes of distancing with regard to the representation, and define a centrifugal movement in the action of observing.
• Finally, colour can also place a photograph in time. Sepia tones are associated with old photographs, as it is the chromatic dominant in numerous calotypes (Talbot) and daguerreotypes (Daguerre), due to the peculiarities of the chemical processes used. Photographic emulsion qualities have changed through the history of photography, making it possible to identify specific types of chromatism with specific periods in the history of the photograph or photographic styles.

The use of black and white would objectively be defined as absence of colour (as we know, black and white are not colours). This has become even more evident with the advent of digital photography, as a black and white photograph can be obtained by simply removing the colour from an image, without the need for a specific photo-chemical emulsion.

It should be stressed that the use of black and white is a discourse option loaded with significance, and the use of black and white should never be interpreted as absence of colour. What is true is that the degree of figuration of an image diminishes with the use of black and white; in other words, this photograph is more recognisable to the viewer as a representation: the use of black and white lends the photograph a strong expressivity that explains why so many press photographers continue to use this type of film or photographic technique, as in the case of Salgado to give an example. Likewise, the use of black and white offers a wider set of possibilities than what may initially be expected, since, depending on the emulsion selected, or the type of developer used, the photograph may have a dominant blue, cold or yellow, warm which will affect how it is received, as a quality that encourages the viewer’s distancing or identification, respectively, vis-à-vis the event or subject represented.

Thus, in addition to the recognition that colour is a key morphological parameter in the construction of the representation space, it also has a temporal dimension, visible to a greater or lesser extent. It is this argument that contributes to blurring the artificial boundaries between the morphological and compositional levels of the image.

We therefore insist on the need to consider this analytical proposal in operational terms.

Contrast

Contrast cannot really be considered in isolation from the previous section on light and lighting, or from the following section on tonality and colour, as it is closely related to both. We have given it a separate section since it is an element that frequently merits careful observation at the morphological level of analysis.

The contrast in the photograph’s subject or motif corresponds to the difference in levels of reflected light (luminance) between shadow and highlights. This concept can be applied equally to black and white or colour photography, whether it be analogical or digital. The tonal range of greys appearing in an image may be wide or narrower. A wide range of grey tones is a discourse option that brings us closer to the realism of the representation, and is related to the use of medium- or low-sensitivity photographic emulsions. On the other hand, an image with strong contrastexpresses the idea of conflict, a specific interior state of the photographed subject or a set of qualities on the photographic space and time.

In addition, to adopt the terminology from Ansel Adams’ zone system, the range of grey tones reproduced may be on the lower part of the scale, with a predominance of shadows (zones 0 to VI), which would correspond to low key lighting, or on the upper part of the scale (zones IV to IX), high key lighting, with their concrete meanings, depending on each case.

Contrast, as we will see below, can also be applied to colour. Thus, it may be said that complementary colours give higher contrasts, between blue-yellow, red-cyan and green-magenta combinations. Colour contrast can also contribute a wide range of meanings, and can help to indicate the photographic style of the image we are analysing, as in the case of many of Pete Turner’s photographs, and his close aesthic affinity with pop-art as an artistic movement.

Others elements

Other comments that should be included in this section are whether the photograph contains any written texts, words, phrases or verbal elements that may be present in two different dimensions: as an objectual component, due to the presence of trademarks, calendars, letters, electric signs, etc., or as a conceptual component, because of the direct expression of a superimposed phrase or one placed below the image. In addition, the caption, as a title, may have been deliberately incorporated by the empirical author somewhere in the photographic text (Duane Michals is a particular example).

This space is reserved for the inclusion of other concepts that may be related with the morphological level of the analysis of the photograph. This is entirely up to the analyst studying the image.