Photography

THE BASICS1. Focus

2. Exposure

3. Composition

A. Focus

-focused & unfocused areas of a photo

-can be somewhat corrected (i.e. sharpening tools on computer to sharpen pixels)

-unfocused areas in a photo are not always bad

B. Exposure

-amount of light which affects the SD card, film or paper (affected by aperture size and shutter speed)

-overexposed or underexposed

C. Composition

- arrangement of elements within a photograph

- you need this to create a photograph rather than a snapshot

PHOTOGRAPHIC TIPS:Obvious but important pointers to taking good photos!

Choose a Centre of Interest!

Identify the Centre of Interest in your Photograph

- ask yourself, “What is the most important part of my composition?”

Keep it simple!

• “Less is More” attractive• Centre of Interest becomes more clearly defined • Consider shooting a series of photos rather than fitting

everything into a single photo

Get Closer!

• Move Closer to the Subject Matter• Minimizes any unnecessary negative space• Eliminates any possible distracting background

Turn your camera!

• Horizontal view (also known as landscape view)• Vertical view (also known as portrait view)

Posed or Candid!

• Posed: subject is aware of photo being taken• Candid: unposed subject, going about his/her activity without

being interrupted, not looking at photographer• Can create different moods within your composition.

Compositional Strategies

COMPOSITIONAL STRATEGIES:

POINT OF VIEW:1. Bird’s Eye View

2. Worm’s Eye View

3. Extreme Close-Up

LIGHTING:4. Front Lighting

5. Back Lighting

6. Side Lighting

COMPOSITION:7. Overlapping Subject

8. Leading Lines

9. Natural Border

10. Selective Focusing

11. Rule of Thirds / Spiral Composition

12. Repetitive Patterns (Regular or Irregular)

POINT OF VIEW:How do you frame your subject in the photo?

1. Bird’s Eye View• Photo is taken from ABOVE the subject (looking down)

2. Worm’s Eye View• Photo is taken from BELOW the subject (looking up)

3. Extreme Close-Up

• Get close to your subject and don’t be afraid to crop (cut out parts of your subject).

• Eliminate unnecessary distraction.

LIGHTING:How do you “shed light” on your subject?

Flash or no Flash?

• In most cases, a camera’s flash can only travel 1 metre • Consider the distance of the COI in relation to your camera in

order for the flash to be effective• Consider other ways of ‘lighting up a scene’• Consider the various options you have when using a flash• Lighting can create a mood within your photo

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4. Front Lighting

• Light source is behind the photographer & shining directly on the subject

• Gives your subject a flat appearance eliminating texture

5. Side Lighting

• Light source is coming from the side of your subject • Helps define shapes & forms within a photograph

6. Back Lighting

• Lighting subject from behind. • This creates a silhouette effect.

COMPOSITION:How do you arrange things within your photo?

7. Overlapping Subject• Creates perspective and depth within composition

8. Leading Lines• Leads the viewer’s eye toward the centre of interest

9. Natural Frame

• Leads the viewer’s eye toward the centre of interest• Natural frame should not distract from COI• Simple forms or unfocused objects work best

10. Selective Focusing

• Unfocused areas within a Photograph can be a good thing to draw attention to the COI

• Unfocused areas may represent movement/speed within a composition

11. Rule of Thirds

• Assists in moving the centre of interest away from the middle of the photograph

• Can create a more interesting composition

11. Spiral Composition

• Assists in moving the centre of interest away from the middle of the photograph

• Can create a more interesting composition

12. Regular Patterns

• Such as rectangles, squares & triangles lend to the composition since they interact with the rectangular photo frame

• Can also be used as natural border

12. Irregular Patterns

• If pattern & repetition is obvious within the composition, photographers can use them to draw attention to Centre of Interest

Some final pointers…

• ANYTHING can be photographed to create a good or bad photo.

• The Centre of Interest DOES NOT need to be in the centre of the photograph.

• Subject matter in your photo is LESS IMPORTANT than the composition you create.

• Watch for good photographic opportunities in the most unlikely places.