Camera skills

Focal length:

Focal length is the distance between the centre of a lens and the focus. It tells you how much of the scene will be captured in frame.

Focus points:

The focus points are the areas in the camera’s frame that the camera uses to lock onto the subject being photographed.

ISO:

ISO is the camera’s sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO, the better the film’s ability to capture images photographed in low light. Recommendations for the ISO setting:

  • 100 or 200 best ISO for outside pictures on a sunny and bright day.
  • 400 ISO for cloudy days, or indoors for window light portraits.
  • 800 ISO for indoors without a flash.
  • 1600+ ISO for really low light situations – that school play your kid is in.

White balance:

The white balance is the camera’s colour balance. It is used to adjust colors to match the color of the light source to ensure that white objects appear white.

shutter speed

what is shutter speed?

the speed at which the shutter of the camera closes. A fast shutter speed creates a shorter exposure, the amount of light the camera takes in, while a slow shutter speed gives the photographer a longer exposure. The length of time the shutter remains open is determined by its speed. The shutter is a curtain in front of the camera sensor that remains closed until you start shooting. Once you click the button to take a photo, the shutter opens and lets in light that passes through the lens, exposing the sensor to it. 

adjusting the shutter speed, on a camere it can be found:

where-to-find-your-shutter-speed

Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second, on most cameras it appears as a whole number. Easy way to remember=

1” = shutter speed of 1 second.

10” = shutter speed of 10 seconds.

10 = shutter speed of 1/10th of a second.

500 = shutter speed of 1/500th of a second

Slow shutter speeds often refers to a larger fraction of a second, such as ½ or ¼. Slow shutter speeds can capture movement and introduce blur, usually for slower moving subjects.

Long shutter speeds are typically around one second or longer. Like slow shutter speeds, they can be used for adding blurring effects to images.

5, Basic // Shutter Speed

John Baldessari

Jhon is a photographer which has expressed that his interest in language comes from its similarities in structure to games, as both operate by an arbitrary and mandatory system of rules. In this spirit, many of his works are sequences showing attempts at accomplishing an arbitrary goal, such as Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (1973), in which the artist attempted to do just that, photographing the results, and eventually selecting the “best out of 36 tries”.

Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty-Six Attempts)

This links back to shutter speed as in order to have a clear image of balls that are constantly moving, the camera needs to have an appropriate shutter speed.if the shutter speed is too slow the quality of the balls being photographed would be lower then if the shutter speed is higher.

induction task

MY JERSEY

MERGING/LAYERING MOOD BOARD

The Idealism of Early Soviet Russia in Pictures

RESEARCH

Alexander Rodchenko

Alexander Rodchenko, born 5 December 1891 in Russia, started as a painter and graphic designer before venturing into photography and photomontage in the 1920s. He studied at the Kazan School of art between 1910 and 1914. His work was obscure that was very distinct, often using unusual angles – usually high above or down below – and playing with the geometric aspect. His photography approach was very different from other photographers, he used bold and unexpected perspectives to bend the rules of standard photography at the time. He later died on 3 December 1956.

ANAYLSIS

The images being used are very simple but it is the layering that makes this picture unique. The lack of colour also allows the focus to be on the merged images and not be drowned out by loads of pops of colour. The pictures being placed in two different areas and being slightly different from each other also creates a feel of movement and depth. The pictures have been layered so that you can easily see both pictures and how they blend together.

EDITING

To edit these photos I started by turning each into black and white on photoshop, I then used the dodge and burn tool to enhance any areas I believed needed it. For example, I focused on highlighting the faces and hands more so they are the main premise of the image while still trying to make it as natural as possible. I heightened the exposure and contrast I then layered the photographs on top of each other and lowered the opacity until I was happy with how it looked, I ended up with an opacity of 52% on the first image and 47% on the second.

RESPONSE

For this photoshoot, I wanted there to be a lot of movement and depth by merging different facial expressions and hand movements. I used my favourite pictures to make the edit below.

I had my models pose in font of a white background and had them do different facial expressions and hand movements until I took some that I really liked. I used a tripod to guarantee the camera stayed in the exact same place. I also wanted to replicate Alexander Rodchenko by having the model look into the camera for one of the photos and then looking away for the other, however thing only worked with one of the pictures.

THE TRANSFORMATION

Original

Black and white

Final edit

EVALUATE

Overall, I really like how they turned out, I think the movement and depth resembles the work of Alexander Rodchenko a lot. However, I do think it would have been better if the movements were closer together to make it look a little bit more natural and there was not loads going on to make it easier to see exactly what is going on with out it being drowned out. I also could have gone in and edited the final edit in photoshop, I could have used the dodge and burn tool to make the image have more depth of field.

To make it even better, I could focus more on how the pictures are layered, making some more important areas more visible than other ones that are not as needed. This would make the whole picture not only as chaotic but also the best parts would be the main focus.

LANDSCAPE

Best shots:

For this photoshoot, I decided to photograph the beach near my house as I walk my dog here almost everyday and I have some very special memories there, it also happened to be a very beautiful day when I took the pictures.

EDITING

I did not want to play around with these images too much as I already thought the colours were perfect and a lot of the picture would be hidden by the previous pictures. However, I did enhance the highlights and shadows just to bring a bit more life to the lower half of the pictures. I also increased the exposure and contrast slightly to pull the bright colours out even more.

FINAL EDITS

Overall, I really like how they turned out as the black and white complements the bright colours of the background. The still water and beach also juxtaposes with the chaotic and messy portrait pictures that are full of movement.

However, I could have made them better by spending more time editing them and also thinking more carefully about how I take my pictures and at what angles.

Shutter Speed

When taking a photo, the shutter will open and expose the camera sensor to the light that passes through the lens. After the photo is taken, the shutter will then close which stops the light from hitting the sensor. Therefore, the shutter speed refers to how fast or slow the shutter of the camera closes.

Focus: What is shutter speed? A beginner's guide
Shutter speed on a camera

The shutter has two main functions:

  • To control exposure
  • To control the way motion is portrayed in a photo

A faster shutter speed creates a shorter exposure. This limits the length of time the camera is exposed to light. A slow shutter speed creates a longer exposure. Thus, lengthening the amount of time the camera is exposed to light.

A faster shutter speed allows you to capture better photographs of objects that are moving quickly. For example the photo below is a picture of a bird. Without using a fast shutter speed, the photo would be must blurrier or wouldn’t have even captured the bird in time before it passed by.

The Enthusiast's Guide to Exposure: Fast shutter speeds to stop the action  - Photofocus
Example of a photo taken using a fast shutter speed

Photo-games

The photo-games we did in class consisted of two games in partners. The purpose of these was to become familiar with shutter speed and how it can affect the outcome of your photographs. The faster the shutter speed is, the easier it is to capture the moving object.

One of the games included one person throwing 3 balls in the air, and the other trying to capture all 3 balls in frame and in a straight line. Here are some of the ones my partner and I managed to capture:

The second game was shadow boxing; one person trying to ‘throw punches’ and dodge the camera, the other trying to capture the person dodging in frame. Here are some of the ones my partner and I managed to capture:

shutter speed

Shutter speed is exactly what it sounds like: It’s the speed at which the shutter of the camera closes. A fast shutter speed creates a shorter exposure — the amount of light the camera takes in — and a slow shutter speed gives the photographer a longer exposure.

What is shutter speed in photography? A Useful Illustrated Guide.
Photography 101: Shutter Speed - Ashlee Marie - real fun with real food

This is an example of a fan shown in slow to fast shutter speed.

In this photoshoot, we explored the shutter speed by playing a boxing game. Capturing fast moving boxing actions, trying to dodge the camera creating some blurrier pictures then others; this is due to the use of shutter speed, how much light is being let into the camera.

In this photoshoot, we also explored shutter speed by attempting to throw three balls in a straight line, using shutter speed to determine how blurry or clear the photos will turn out.

John Baldessari

John Anthony Baldessari was an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. He lived and worked in Santa Monica and Venice, California. Initially a painter, Baldessari began to incorporate texts and photography into his canvases in the mid-1960s.

Shutter speed

Shutter speed is the speed at which the shutter of the camera closes. A fast shutter speed creates a shorter exposure, the amount of light the camera takes in, and a slow shutter speed gives the photographer a longer exposure .The faster the shutter is set, the better your chance to snap a great action shot and get it looking clear. However, the faster the shutter is set, the less light will come in.

What is shutter speed in photography? A Useful Illustrated Guide.

For Example

Introduction to Shutter Speed: Easy explanation and examples - Improve  Photography
The Lower the shutter speed the higher resolution image you will get

Photo -games

In the photoshoot, we explored the shutter speed by playing a boxing game. Capturing boxing actions, changing and playing around with the shutter speed . Some created sharp photographs some created blurry images, due to the use of the shutter speed, the amount of light being let into the camera.

Ball games

Here are our attempts to recreating John Baldessaris work, by throwing 3 balls into the air and capturing them on a low shutter speed to capture a sharp image.

John Baldessari

John Anthony Baldessari was an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. He lived and worked in Santa Monica and Venice, California. Initially a painter, Baldessari began to incorporate texts and photography into his canvases in the mid-1960s.

Summer Task – My Jersey

    Man Ray 

Man Ray uses techniques such as “rayographs”without a camera by placing objects such as the thumbtacks,coil of wires, and other circular forms used here-directly on a sheet of photosensitized paper and exposing it to light. Not having any colour allows the viewer to add their own colour into the image, making it somewhat more personal and more their own. The formal elements which are quite important in this piece of work is definitely shape, because it tells you what exactly the image is of, and because there is no colour the photogram technique relays a lot on shape. Rays unique approaches to photography and his ability to explore the unconscious with everyday items. He was also influenced by many people such as Francis Picabia,Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and Robert Henri.

Photoshoot plan

Concept – Taking Portraits of someone who has a relation to Jersey

Location – Jersey, Trinity

Equipment – DSLR Camera, Model

Shot Type – Straight on, Portrait

Lighting – Natural, Soft

Contact Sheet – Person

I took a range of images of my Dad in his spear fishing kit, in different areas to create a selection of images to choose from. From these images I narrowed it down to 3 images to Edit.

Image Selection

I choose these images as I felt they are in focus and the facial expressions show how much he enjoys fishing in Jersey.

Photoshoot Plan

Concept – Images of still objets with relation to the portrait

Location – St Helier Harbour

Equipment – I-Phone Camera

Shot type – high

Pieter Claesz

He painted with tangible detail and carefully observed light effects, and sought to enhance the illusion of reality by arranging objects on the table so that they appear to recede in space. Between 1630 and 1640 Claesz adopted a more subdued, monochromatic palette.His images reflect a dark somber mood, his use of lighting creates this feel.The style of still life was called Vanitas. It shows worldly things are worthless when you die. This was a depressing view on the world. Pieter Claesz was influenced by the artist movement ‘Vanitas’.

In my attempt of recreating still life, I photographed small boats.

Contact Sheet – Object

For my objects I took images of small boats in the harbour, which links to the idea of my Dads passion of fishing in the jersey waters. Also creating an abstract feel to the photographs. Many of the small boats have lots of colour making the pictures interesting.

Image Selection

Experimenting changing my images into black and white

Final 3 images

These 3 images link to the theme of my jersey as my Dad has been passionate about fishing and spearing fishing all his life. Taking part in many local competitions round the island, his love for fishing carries on through the family encouraging my younger brother to also take part. Some of his favourite places to fish is down at Boyley Bay and Portlet. Growing up around the beaches on the island the sea is home for my Dad and our family. Many of our family memories were made on the beaches and on boats.