intro…blog / printing / expectations / outline of year
history of photography
what is photography?
Welcome to the course!
During your first lesson or two you will be expected to submit and display your summer task. As a group we will discuss the merits and limitations of the mini-projects, and your work will be assessed soon and you will receive feedback too. Your Summer Task will then form the start of your coursework…
(If you have not completed a Summer Task as a new recruit…then you have until Monday 7th September to complete the task appropriately.)
We will also discuss your thoughts and feelings / knowledge and understanding of…
Photography’s function(s)
Photography as an art-form
Photography as a science
The difference between the study of photography and the practice of photography
Henri Cartier-Bresson once said…”Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst”
What do you think Cartier-Bresson meant by this…? Discuss
Demonstrating a critical and contextual understanding of photography can be tricky, especially if the subject is relatively new to you in Year 12. The following activities have been designed to encourage you to reflect on what you know already about photography. Hopefully, some of the prompts will encourage you to further develop your understanding of photography through additional pondering and research.
In small groups, discuss the following questions. One person in the group should be responsible for making notes capturing the main ideas of the discussion:
Why do people take/make photographs?
Why is photography important?
What skills do you need to be a good photographer?
How many different kinds of photography can you think of?
How does photography help us see the world?
Can photographic images be trusted?
What are the similarities and differences between photography and other types of visual art?
When would it not be OK to take a photograph?
How do you know when you’ve made a good photograph?
Are photographers also artists?
Where is the best place to see photographs?
What kind of photography interests you most?
What confuses or frustrates you about photography?
Watch this short film in which the photographer Henry Wessel discusses his practice. Make some brief notes. What does he help us to understand about photography?
Photographs consist of formal and visual elements and have their own ‘grammar’. These formal and visual elements (such as line, shape, repetition, rhythm, balance etc.) are shared with other works of art. But photographs also have a specific grammar – flatness, frame, time, focus etc. ‘Mistakes’ in photography are often associated with (breaking) the ‘rules’ and expectations of this grammar e.g. out of focus, subject cropped, blur etc. Some photographers enjoy making beautiful images but others are more critical of what beauty means in today’s world.Photographers have to impose order, bring structure to what they photograph. It is inevitable. A photograph without structure is like a sentence without grammar—it is incomprehensible, even inconceivable. — Stephen Shore
This way of thinking about photographs has come to seem a bit old fashioned due to competing theories of photographic meaning, Postmodernism and digital culture. It is certainly true that formalist readings of photographs alone can never do full justice to the complex webs of meaning generated by photographic images. Photographs aren’t neutral. They don’t show us things as they are, although they’re pretty good at pretending they do. Photographs are ideological constructs, a fancy way of saying that they don’t simply show us what is ‘true’ or ‘real’.
However, one might argue that photo literacy in part depends on an understanding of the formal or visual elements, some of which are borrowed from the visual arts, with others appearing to be specific to photography. As in any language, ‘grammar’ gets you so far, helps you appreciate the structure and ‘rules’ governing particular modes of expression. A knowledge of the ‘grammar’ of photography is therefore part of the analytical and creative toolkit of any photography student.
The photograph below is by Paul Strand. It is entitled ‘Abstraction, Twin Lakes, Connecticut’ and was made in 1916. You can read more about the image here. The photographer created a picture that draws attention to the Formal Elements. Spending some time really exploring photographs in terms of the formal elements is an important process in the development of visual literacy.
Light: A triangular slash of bright sunlight appears in the middle of the image. This is accompanied by bands of light running diagonally across the upper portion of the image. These appear to be gaps in another object out of shot, a fence perhaps. Line & Shape: There are number of strong lines, mostly straight, although these are complemented by the sweeping curve of the main object which runs from the top right of the image to the bottom right. All of the lines have the geometric quality of man made objects. Repetition: The shafts of sunlight running across two surfaces create a dramatic rhythm. A number of straight parallel lines punctuate the composition, like repeated notes or beats in a piece of music. Space: The space in the image appears quite shallow, tightly constrained by the framing. We don’t see the whole of any of the objects and the photographer appears to have been quite close to the subject. Texture: All of the objects in the image appear smooth. The drama comes from the jagged bursts of light across their surfaces. Value/Tone: The image contains a range of tones from very dark to very light. There are deep shadows but also mid tones. The photograph is monochrome but has a brownish tint, perhaps caused by the paper the artist has used. Composition: A sense of drama is created by the diagonal lines and the objects seeming to tilt towards the bottom left of the picture.
A guide to evaluating a Photograph: Key Themes, Content, Formal Elements, Process & Mood.
Key Themes – brief background information about the photographer or genre Gain insight from title of image, date of image etc. Background research etc.
Content – Describe what you see! Look at the subject of the photograph.
What is it? What is it about? What is happening? What is in the foreground, midground, background? Where and when was it taken? What do you think the relationship is between the photographer and the subject/s is? What has the photographer titled the image and why? Does the title change the way we see the image? Is it staged? Is it real?
Is it a realistic depiction? Has it been manipulated in anyway? If so, where and why? What is the theme of the photograph? What message does the photograph communicate?
Formal Elements – break the image down into the elements that make it up.
Colour, lighting, composition, structure, mood etc.
Colour – Is the photograph colour or black and white? Is there a reason for this? How does this affect the mood? What colours are depicted?
Lighting – is it photographed in a studio? Is it using studio lighting? Natural lighting? Has the photographer waited for the right natural light? Has the photographer positioned themselves? Vantage point. Is the lighting subtle? Is it strong? If so why and who has the lighting been used? Effectively or not? Does the lighting help the image? Why? Create mood/atmosphere? Dark, light? Tone – Is the photograph high or low contrast? How and why? What tonal values. Line/Composition – What sort of lines are there in the image? Leading lines? How have they been positioned in relation to the rest of the image? Is this on purpose? (the viewfinder or cropped afterwards?) What effect does this have?
Shape/Composition – What sort of shapes are there in the image? Do they remind you of anything? Do you think the photographer meant this? Is there symmetry? Is it structured in anyway? Rule of thirds? ‘S’ shape? ‘J’ shape. Golden Spiral, Golden Ratio, Fibonacci? Is it minimal? Simple? Complex? Confused?
Process – how the photograph has been taken, developed, manipulated and printed
Was the image taken inside or out? What time of day? Light sources? Evidence. Materials or tools used (props, objects, studio etc) Has the image been manipulation post production? How and why? B&W or colour? Plate, C print, large format, medium format, pin hole, slide, digital print, projection etc. Date may help.
Mood – look at the mood and feeling of the image
Is the photographer attempting to capture a moment/atmosphere/emotion? Explain why you think this. Is there a narrative/story? How does the image make you feel? Why do you feel like this? How and why?
USEFUL VOCABULARY
Colour
Intense Saturated Bright Luminous Secondary Clash Mixed Soft Cold Opaque Tint Deep Pale Translucent Dull Pastel Transparent Glowing Primary Vibrant
Once you have been instructed on how to use the lighting studio safely and respectfully, you will be able to use the studio during lesson times or in study periods. You must book the facility in advance via one of your teachers JAC / MM / MVT.
You must always leave the studio in a clean and tidy, safe manner. All equipment must be switched off and packed away. Any damage must be reported and logged.
Portrait Studio Shoot
Typical Studio set up with continous lighting (soft box diffuser) and white infinity screen
Types of lighting available
Continous lighting (spot / flood)
Flash head
Soft box
Reflectors and coloured gels
Chiarascuro effects and single point lighting
Still Life Photography and using the product table / copy stand
Product table set-up, with back light and infinity screenCopy-stand set up
Still-life Studio Shoot:
You can choose to photograph each object individually or group together several objects for a more complex still life arrangements.
Technical stuff
Continuous Lights – photograph objects three dimensionally
Camera setting: Manual Mode ISO: 100 White Balance: Daylight Aperture: F/16 Shutter: 0.5 sec to 0.8 sec (depending on reflection of each object) Lights in room must be switched off to avoid reflections
Continuous Lights – portrait
Camera setting: Manual Mode ISO: 100 White Balance: Daylight Shutter Speed 1/125 sec Aperture f/16
Camera setting: Manual Mode ISO: 100 White Balance: Daylight Aperture: F/16 Shutter: 1/125-1/200 (depending on reflection of each object) Flash heads set to power output: 2.0 Use pilot light for focusing
PORTRAITS
Camera settings (flash lighting) Tripod: optional Use transmitter on hotshoe White balance: daylight (5000K) ISO: 100 Exposure: Manual 1/125 shutter-speed > f/16 aperture – check settings before shooting Focal lenght: 105mm portrait lens
Camera settings (continuous lighting) Tripod: recommended to avoid camera shake Manual exposure mode White balance: tungsten light (3200K) ISO: 400-1600 – depending on how many light sources Exposure: Manual 1/60-1/125 shutter-speed > f/4-f/8 aperture – check settings before shooting Focal lenght: 50mm portrait lens
Please refer to this resource to help you navigate your camera’s function and settings. You will learn how to apply these skills learning to various photo-shoots over the next few months…and you should aim to provide evidence of these skills throughout your coursework.
Remember to practice and experiment. Use your eyes and look. The more you look, the more you will see. How you see the world will determine what kind of photographer you will become.
A camera is only a tool, and it is down to you to get the best out of your equipment by becoming confident and comfortable
Camera Skills
You must experiment with each of these skill areas as we move through our sequence of photo-shoots. Remember to include / produce a blog post on each that includes evidence of your experiments and successes…
Remember to use What / How / Why / When when describing and explaining what you are experiencing and achieving with each of these…
Using Auto-Focus
Using Manual Focus
White Balance
ISO
Aperture
Focal Length : wide, standard and telephoto lenses
Depth of Field
Show / fast Shutter Speed
Exposure and exposure compensation
Exposure bracketing
Ansel Adams and the visualisation of an image
Exposure Triangle : ISO – Shutter Speed- Aperture
Depth of Field
Camera function layout
Camera function layout
Ensure you are using technical vocab too…use the helpsheet to guide your literacy
Exposure Bracketing
Many digital cameras include an Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) option. When AEB is selected, the camera automatically takes three or more shots, each at a different exposure. Auto Exposure Bracketing is very useful for capturing high contrast scenes for HDR like this…
…by taking the same photograph with a range of different exposure settings
You can use Exposure Compensation to quickly adjust how light or how dark your exposure will be using these controls…
Or set the amount of “bracketing” like this…
Then you can create your High Dynamic Range images by using this process in Adobe Photoshop…
Understanding Composition
The Rule of Thirds
One of the fundamentals of painting and photography, the Rule of Thirds is a technique designed to help artists and photographers build drama and interest in a piece. The rule states that a piece should be divided into nine squares of equal size, with two horizontal lines intersecting two vertical lines.
Linear Perspective (some examples may include a vanishing point)
Atmospheric Perspective
Photo Shoot Plan
File Handling and printing...
Remember when EXPORTING from Lightroom you must adjust the file size to 1000 pixels on the Short edge for “blog-friendly” images (JPEGS)
BUT…for editing and printing when EXPORTING from Lightroom you must adjust the file size to Short edge for “high resolution” images (JPEGS) like this…
A5 Short Edge = 14.8 cm
A4 Short Edge = 21.0 cm
A3 Short Edge =29.7 cm
This will ensure you have the correct ASPECT RATIO
Ensure you label and save your file in you M :Drive and then copy across to the PRINT FOLDER / IMAGE TRANSFER
For a combination of images, or square format images you use the ADOBE PHOTOSHOP > NEW DOCUMENT + PRINT PRESETS on to help arrange images on the correct size page (A3, A4, A5)
You can do this using Photoshop, Set up the page sizes as templates and import images into each template, then you can see for themselves how well they fit… but remember to add an extra 6mm for bleed (3mm on each side of the page) to the original templates. i.e. A4 = 297mm x 210 but the template size for this would be 303mm x 216mm.
Making a Virtual Gallery in Photoshop
Download an empty gallery file…then insert your images and palce them on the walls. Adjust the persepctive, size and shape using CTRL T (free transform) You can also add things like a drop shadow to make the image look more realistic…
