Texture in photography is all about how the surface of an object looks visually. It shows up through differences in shape, tone, and colour depth. Adding texture makes photos more lively and exciting, turning what could be dull images into something really engaging.
Formal elements and what are they?
Marc Anderson
Marc Anderson is famous for his nature photography, especially his amazing close-up shots of tree bark. His pictures really highlight the complex details of the bark on trees.
Marc Anderson
Some examples
Marc Anderson’s photos are eye-catching, yet they focus on the simplicity of tree bark. He takes a straightforward approach , often referred to as a dead pan approach, to his images. It seems likely that he used a high f-stop number, which keeps everything in sharp focus with little to no blurring.
My Inspiration
Francis Bruguière
Bruguière spent his life trying out different photography techniques like multiple-exposure, solarization, and photograms, along with exploring how regular film reacts to different light wavelengths. However he was most famous for his intricate abstract paper photography. Bruguiere cut up sheets of paper and placed them in random positions so he can capture the cuts and curves within the paper.
Some examples of his work
My Photoshoot
All my photos
My best photos
Editing
My second photoshoot
My best photos
Editing
Final images
Overall thoughts and evaluation
I believe the photoshoot turned out really well. I was able to take some close-up shots that showed the texture of the paper in great detail. After editing, the images looked even better, and I’m super pleased with how they came out. Furthermore I managed to use the artificial lighting effectively to show off the small details in the paper and really highlight the texture, corners and creases in the paper.
ISO determines how much light your camera allows in, which affects whether your pictures turn out dark or bright, furthermore ISO determines how sensitive your camera is to light.
When might you want a high ISO?
High ISO settings are really useful in low-light conditions, especially when you need a quick shutter speed or a small lens opening to get the shot you want. For instance, if you’re doing street photography at night without a tripod, cranking up the ISO lets you take clear and bright pictures even while moving quickly.
My own ISO example
ISO: 100
ISO: 6400
Cropping in to the image with ISO: 6400, you can see just how grainy the image is.
Texture
Guy Bourdin
Guy Bourdin (December 2, 1928 – March 29, 1991) was a French artist and fashion photographer famous for his striking and bold images. Starting in 1955, he primarily collaborated with Vogue, along with other magazines like Harper’s Bazaar. He also created advertising campaigns for brands such as Chanel, Charles Jourdan, Pentax, and Bloomingdale’s.
Examples of his work
Guy Bourdin effectively uses his ISO so that there is no grain or noise in his photos and because of that there is no focus taken away from the texture of his style of photos.
Lightroom Classic provides all the editing tools you need on your computer to enhance your photos. You can boost colours, turn boring images into eye-catching ones, eliminate unwanted distractions, and fix crooked pictures.
I learnt to use Lightroom today.
First I learnt to import photos into Lightroom.
I then put all of my imported photos into a collection, this was stored in the D drive (Video Data).
I then learnt how to rate photos with the 5 star feature. furthermore I then used the flagging system to pick which photos I liked and which photos I didn’t.
After learning the basics I then decided to play around with the develop mode and learn how to effectively edit one image at a time.
I used this menu on the right hand side to edit and change my image to improve many different aspects of it.
This is how the image looked after I edited it, the main noticeable difference is the vibrancy change to make the image much more appealing.
Using the side by side comparison future the differences are clearly shown.
I then learnt to use the pre-set filters.
Contact Sheets
What are Contact Sheets?
A contact sheet is a type of photographic paper that displays a collection of small images. These images are taken from a roll of film that the photographer has sliced into several strips. The photographer then places these negatives on the sheet to see all the images side by side, making it easier to compare them.
Contact Sheet example
Willian Klein
William Klein (April 19, 1926 – September 10, 2022) was a photographer and filmmaker who was born in the U.S. but later became a French citizen. He was known for his unique and ironic style in both photography and filmmaking, often using unconventional techniques in photojournalism and fashion photography. Klein was recognized as the 25th most influential photographer by Professional Photographer magazine in their list of the top 100 photographers.
In photography, shutter speed, also known as exposure time, refers to how long the camera’s film or digital sensor is exposed to light while taking a picture. This happens when the camera’s shutter is open. The longer the exposure time, the more light hits the film or sensor. For example, an exposure time of 1/500 of a second allows in half as much light as an exposure time of 1/250 of a second.
Fast vs slow shutter speed
Slow ——————————–Fast
Important Photographers
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge (April 9, 1830 – May 8) was a British photographer recognized for his ground-breaking contributions to the study of motion through photography, as well as his early discoveries in motion-picture projection. Muybridge is mostly famous for his work in chronophotography, which he did between 1878 and 1886. He used several cameras to take pictures of animals in motion, showing the different stages of their strides. He also created the zoopraxiscope, a machine that projected painted moving images from glass discs, which came before the flexible film strips used in movies. From 1883 to 1886, he had a super productive time at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he took over 100,000 images of both animals and people moving, sometimes capturing moments that were too quick for the human eye to see as separate.
Example of his work
Harold Edgerton
Harold Eugene “Doc” Edgerton (April 6, 1903 – January 4, 1990), often called Papa Flash, was an American scientist and researcher who taught electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is well-known for changing the stroboscope from a little-known lab tool into a widely used device. Additionally, he played a significant role in creating sonar technology and deep-sea photography. His inventions were used alongside Jacques Cousteau in efforts to find shipwrecks and even the legendary Loch Ness Monster.
Example of his work
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Hiroshi Sugimoto, born on February 23, 1948, is a renowned photographer and architect from Japan. He is the head of an architectural firm called New Material Research Laboratory, which is located in Tokyo. Sugimoto describes his art as a way to show ‘time exposed,’ meaning his photographs act like a time capsule that captures various moments. His work highlights the fleeting nature of life and the struggle between existence and mortality. Additionally, Sugimoto draws significant inspiration from Marcel Duchamp’s writings and the broader Dadaist and Surrealist movements. He has also shown a strong fascination with modern architecture from the late 20th century.
Example of his work
Francesca Woodman
Francesca Stern Woodman (April 3, 1958 – January 19, 1981) was a talented American photographer famous for her striking black and white images that often included herself or other female models. A lot of her photos depict women, either nude or dressed, appearing blurred because of movement and long exposure times. This creates a unique effect where they seem to blend into their environments, and sometimes their faces are hidden. Even years after her tragic passing at just 22 in 1981, her work still receives a lot of praise and attention from critics.
Example of her work
Example I’ve made of how shutter speed effects exposure.
1/4000 sec. (under exposed)
1/250 sec. (sharp)
1/3 sec. (motion blur)
30 sec. (over exposed)
These 4 photos show the difference between different shutter speeds.
My long exposure photos
My best long exposure photos
F/22. 1/3 sec. ISO-100.
F/36. 1 sec. ISO-100.
F/22. 1 sec. ISO-100.
The photos shown above are some of the best photos I took using a long shutter speed. To create this I used a tripod to keep everything in focus and then used a long shutter speed.
Black and white edited
Editing my images to black and white means that the photos follow the style of Francesca Woodman more closely.
The aperture is measured in f/stop which controls the amount of light that is let through the camera by changing the size of the lens. For example a low aperture, like f/2 would let a lot of light into the lens and give a shallow depth of field. Where as a high f/stop, like f/22 would let very little light into the camera and have a very deep depth of field.
What is Depth of Field ?
Depth of field, in its most basic definition, refers to the extent of an image that remains in focus. More technically, it can be described as the range within a photograph where objects are perceived as being “satisfactorily in focus” or exhibit a degree of “acceptable sharpness.” Depth of field can also be controlled by aperture.
Some of my photos:
Photo taken at f/2.8
At this aperture the subject (the plane) is completely in focus, whereas everything else is out of focus, this is good for portraits as it draws the views eye to the subject.
Photo taken at f/8
At this aperture the subject (the plane) is still completely in focus, however the background and foreground is mostly out of focus but not all of it which draws the views eye less to the plane and more so to other sections of the photo. This aperture provides a friendly depth of field, which helps photographers capture subjects with acceptable sharpness both closer to the camera and farther away.
Photo taken at f/22
At this aperture there isn’t a specific subject as the entire photo is in focus, this is good for wide shots of groups of people or large landscapes as it captures all the detail and doesn’t leave anything out.
Auto Vs Manual Focus
Autofocus is great for everyday photography, while manual focus is better for capturing close-ups and intricate details. However you have to use the focus ring at the end of the lens and make adjustments for each shot.
Focal Length
The focal length of a lens is the distance (typically measured in millimetres) from the centre of the lens to its focus point. This distance plays a key role in what you observe when taking pictures with a camera.
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Meatyard was born in Normal, Illinois, and grew up in the adjacent town of Bloomington. Upon reaching the age of 18 during World War II, he enlisted in the United States Navy; however, he did not see service abroad before the conclusion of the war. Following his military service, he enrolled at Williams College through the GI Bill, where he initially pursued pre-dentistry studies before ultimately training to become an optician.
Although Lexington was not a prominent hub for photography, Meatyard did not identify himself as a “Southern” or regional photographer. At the time of his passing, his work was gaining national recognition, being exhibited and collected by several esteemed museums and featured in various magazines. He showcased his work alongside notable photographers such as Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Minor White, Aaron Siskind, Harry Callahan, Robert Frank, and Eikoh Hosoe. By the late 1970s, his photographs were primarily displayed in exhibitions focused on ‘southern’ art, but they have since garnered renewed interest. His most recognized photography often depicted dolls and masks, as well as family, friends, and neighbors captured in deserted buildings or typical suburban backyards.
Meatyard used a large aperture with a very small depth of field in all of his photos. The photo below is an example of this.
Meatyards “Zen Twigs” photo.
Saul Leiter
Leiter was primarily a painter who ventured into the world of colour photography, uncovering its unique potential. Starting in the 1940s, he built an impressive collection of work that delves into colour harmonies. He often played with unconventional framing techniques like shop signs, umbrellas, curtains, car doors, and foggy windows to craft abstract scenes of everyday urban life. He loved using long lenses, which allowed him to stay unnoticed while also compressing space, creating interesting juxtapositions of objects and people. Many of his photos feature negative space, with large blurred areas that draw attention to specific details or vibrant pops of colour.
Photo by Saul Leiter
Some Photos I Took
I used aperture in these photos to show a shallow and deep depth of field.
Anna Atkins (16 March 1799 – 9 June 1871) was a pioneering English botanist and photographer. She is frequently recognized as the first individual to release a book that featured photographic illustrations. Additionally, some references claim she was the first woman to produce a photograph. In the 1850s, Atkins worked together with Anne Dixon (1799–1864), who was very close to her, almost like a sister, to create at least three presentation albums featuring cyanotype photograms.
Anna Atkins.
My Cyanotype
This is a Cyanotype that I produced myself, a Cyanotype is a type of photographic printing process that reacts slowly and is cost-effective. It is sensitive to a specific range of near ultraviolet and blue light.
.jpg?mode=max)
