Visual elements in a painting or photo help the viewers to notice important parts of the image and helps certain details to “pop”. Visual elements are important to have because if they were not present, viewers would get tired of looking at paintings and photos because they would all look the same. In this paper, I will discuss the affects that the visual elements presented have on viewers. By looking at composition, balance, and perspective we can see that the photographer wanted our attention to be brought to the flags on the caskets in the photo. These elements are extremely helpful to viewers because if they weren’t present then it might be confusing what the artist wanted the main focus of the photo to be and wouldn’t be as obvious.

Composition is a big visual element present in this photo. When looking at the photo the first thing that viewers will notice is the coffins with the flags on them. The reason the flags stand out is because the soldiers that are standing off to the side and the parachutes on the opposite side of the plane are creating a frame for the coffins. The frame shows the importance the coffins play on the photograph and helps for readers to understand it’s the main focus of the photo. Since the coffins are surrounded by the soldiers it gives off the gesture that the soldiers are honoring their fallen brothers and sisters. Another thing I noticed was that the soldiers are       

directly across from the war equipment, which is ironic because soldiers are usually thought of as “equipment of war” since they fight for our freedom. The colors that were used in the photo also really stood out to me. The dark colors act as the frame of the caskets and then the caskets are what’s inside of the frame and they are the really bright and colorful colors. The flags on the coffins seem to pop and are the first thing readers see when they look at the photograph. While the soldier’s uniforms are dark with greens and browns, it gives off the effect that the coffins seem very alive. It’s a little weird that the caskets seem more alive than the soldiers do because the soldiers in the caskets are dead. 

Another visual element that was in the photograph was balance and the symmetrical aspect as well. The manufactured lines on the flags bring out the straightness and closeness of the soldiers that are standing off to the side. The soldiers and caskets are both in a straight line and not spread out all over the place, they are both in a very orderly fashion and well organized. The soldiers almost even look to be sewn together in a straight line just like the stripes on the flags are. The symmetry also gives the effect of there being a lot more caskets because if the caskets were spread out randomly they would take up a lot more room and the lines of the flag wouldn’t make the caskets look as long as they seem now. 

The last visual element present in the photograph was perspective. The angle this photo was taken makes it look like there are a lot more caskets than what there really is, I feel like this is the reason the photographer chose to take the picture from this angle. By using birds eye view in the photo it makes the lines on the flags stand out and makes it look like it’s going on into infinity and that there is an abundance of caskets. Since the lines on the flags give the affect that there are a lot more caskets than what there actually are it also makes the deaths feel like they are casualties and this can symbolize public grief since we can’t see any of fallen soldier’s faces.  The angle that the photo was taken also gives the effect that there is  a lot of         

war equipment on the other side of the plane, if it were taken at a regular angle and not in birds eye view then it wouldn’t look like there was so much equipment. By the photographer choosing this angle, it makes the photo sad because there seems to be so many deaths of the soldiers. 

When people usually look at painting or photographs they don’t really think about the visual elements that are present, they are just drawn to certain details that stick out to them. The visual elements are important because it helps for the reader to see the main focal point of the painting or photo. By using composition, balance, and perspective in this photo it is easy to see that the main focal point is the caskets and flags that are on top of them. This photo sets a very emotional mood for the photo because it makes the viewers have to face reality that soldiers are putting their lives on the line to fight for our freedom, and many of those brave men and women are losing their lives while at war. If the photographer wouldn’t have used these elements, then I don’t believe that the point of the photo would have been so obvious and set the same mood for viewers either. 
