Definition Of Tone

Definition Of Tone:

Tone refers to the lightness or darkness of something, this could be a shade or how light/dark something is. Tones are created by the way light falls on a 3D object. Tone can be used to express gender as lighter tones are used to suggest femininity, whereas darker tones are used to suggest masculinity. Examples of where tone is present are: flowers, bricks, water, peoples faces, etc…

Adjectives & Synonyms for "Tone"

• Accent
• Resonance
• Strength
• Timbre
• Emphasis
• Force
• Intonation
• Modulation
• Inflection
• Stress
• Tonality

This image shows tone as you can see the various shades of back and white. The sky is white and the tree is a dark black, therefore you can see the tone in the image.

This image shows tone as you can see the various different black and white colours. You can see the light hitting his nose, and the darkness around the rest of his face which allows us to see that his nose is the highlight area.

In this image you can see how the light is coming from behind the metal circle, sue to the shadow being projected towards the camera. 

The light is hitting the hands from above as you can see the shadow being projected downwards underneath the knuckles. In this image the hands appear to be slightly dirty, which also adds to the tone of the image.

My own definition of tone: various shades (black and white) present in a photograph.