For my Photoshoot I tried to take a Variety of Photographs of people within their Environment. Some have arguable points that they are Portraits while others do not. I.e Motorcycle helmet photos.
I found a website going into detail about Portrait Photography as they said that Portraits are often more dramatic, are less smiley, etc. In portraiture subject often is looking away from the camera or is engaging in some kind of activity. Again, “portraits are more about telling a story”. Almost all of my Photos are telling a Story or engaging in an Activity.
To Back this up further Portrait photography is all about capturing the essence of a person, their personality, and emotions, regardless of what they’re wearing. Helmets can add an interesting element to the portrait, showing a different side of the person being photographed. So, a photograph of someone wearing a helmet can still be considered portrait photography because it’s about capturing the individual, their story, and their uniqueness.
Contact Sheet
Photographs Before VS After
Something that I have noticed with my Dirt Bike Photographs and a few other ones is that they are quite dull and monochromatic. Adjusting the Vibrancy option in Adobe Photoshop added the colour necessary to make my images stand out. These are the settings that I used to achieve this.
And these are the results that have been produced.
BeforeAfterBeforeAfterBeforeAfter
When I used the same Vibrancy for these Photographs it turned my Photographs into an orange colour, almost as if switching on a Thermal filter, which did not look as amazing as I had hoped.
So instead I used a different Vibrancy which produced a much more Eye catching result in my opinion.
And these are the results that have been produced.
BeforeAfterBeforeAfter
Not all my Images needed Editing as they stood out by themselves or I already Edited them before uploading them. Such as…..
An environmental portrait is a portrait taken in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject’s life and surroundings. The term is most frequently used of a genre of photography.
By photographing a person in their natural surroundings, it is thought that you will be able to better illuminate their character, and therefore portray the essence of their personality, rather than merely a likeness of their physical features. It is also thought that by photographing a person in their natural surroundings, the subject will be more at ease, and so be more conducive to expressing themselves, as opposed to in a studio, which can be a rather intimidating and artificial experience.
Mood Board of Environmental Portraiture
Common challenges when shooting environmental portraits
If you’re unable to get to the location before the shoot, perhaps the greatest challenge with this type of photography is working with and overcoming the unknown. Often with environmental portraits you don’t really know what you’re dealing with — who you’re photographing, what they look like, what they’ll be wearing, what the location is like or what sort of lighting there is. This means, as the photographer, you have to be able to think on your feet and overcome these challenges when you arrive.
Here are some of the common challenges summarised into these key points here.
Time – Perhaps the greatest challenge on any photoshoot is a lack of time. Often we only have a small window of time, but numerous obstacles to overcome. Even if you’ve researched the location prior to the shoot, you have to be prepared to think on your feet.
Photographing on location – When working on location you don’t know what you’ll be working with until you arrive. Locations may be cluttered, busy with people and generally just not what you expect. Be prepared for this and know that you might have to look for the right space or even rearrange items.
Lighting – Lighting on location is something that many photographers struggle with. In many cases it’s common that you’ll be working with mixed lighting as the available light alone may not be sufficient, while other instances may require purely studio lighting if there is no suitable ambient light, so make sure to be prepared with two or three lights and some modifiers that could work for a variety of scenarios.
Communicating with your subject –As with any portrait, building a connection with your subject is key if you want to get natural-looking results. The key thing here is to be confident as this will help put your subject at ease. Even if you don’t have a lot of time, take a moment to talk to your subject, explain what you’re doing and what you want to achieve. Talk them through the shoot to help them feel comfortable as this will make the experience more rewarding for everyone involved.
Arnold Newman (1918-2006) was an American photographer known for his pioneering work in environmental portraiture. He skillfully combined the subject’s personality and environment to create powerful and memorable portraits. His unique approach to portraiture forever changed the field and left a lasting impact on future generations of photographers.
Born in New York City in 1918, Arnold Newman grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and later moved to Miami Beach, Florida. He initially studied painting at the University of Miami, but his artistic pursuits were interrupted by World War II. During the war, Newman worked in a photo studio specializing in passport and ID photographs. It was here that he began to develop his interest in photography.
After the war, Newman returned to New York City and started his career as a professional photographer. His breakthrough came in 1946 with a series of portraits of prominent artists and writers, including Piet Mondrian and Max Ernst. These photographs gained attention for their unique compositions, and Newman quickly became a sought-after portrait photographer.
Alfred Krupp Image Analysis
In 1963, Jewish photographer Arnold Newman was commissioned by Newsweek to take a portrait of Alfred Krupp, a convicted Nazi war criminal. At first, Newman refused, but eventually, he decided to take the assignment as a form of personal revenge.
Technical
Arnold Newman, known for his environmental portraits, often used a combination of lighting techniques to create depth and mood in his photographs. While specific settings for the photo of Alfried Krupp in 1963 may not be publicly documented, we can make educated guesses based on his style:
1. Lighting: Newman frequently used natural light supplemented with artificial sources. For this portrait, he might have used soft diffused light to highlight Krupp’s features without harsh shadows.
2. Aperture: A wider aperture (like f/2.8 or f/4) could have been used to create a shallow depth of field, focusing on Krupp while softly blurring the background.
3. Shutter Speed: A shutter speed of around 1/125 to 1/250 seconds would be typical to avoid motion blur, especially if there was any camera movement.
4. ISO: Given the era and the film used, an ISO of 100 to 400 would be reasonable, depending on the lighting conditions.
5. White Balance: Since this was shot in the 1960s, it would have been set based on the film stock, likely using daylight balance for natural light or tungsten for artificial light.
These settings reflect Newman’s approach to capturing the essence of his subjects through careful control of exposure and lighting.
Visual
In Arnold Newman’s 1963 photo of Alfried Krupp, several visual elements contribute to the overall impact of the image:
1. Colour: The photograph likely utilizes a muted colour palette, characteristic of Newman’s style, which often emphasizes the subject’s features and the mood of the scene rather than vibrant colours.
2. Tone: The tonal range in the image would create depth, with highlights and shadows enhancing the dimensionality of Krupp’s face and the surrounding environment.
3. Texture: The texture in the photograph is important; you can see the details in Krupp’s clothing and skin, which adds a sense of realism and intimacy to the portrait.
4. Shape: The shapes within the composition, such as Krupp’s face and the contours of his clothing, create a focal point that draws the viewer’s attention directly to him.
5. Form: The three-dimensionality of the subject is highlighted through the interplay of light and shadow, giving a sculptural quality to the portrait.
6. Pattern: Any patterns present, whether in the background or in Krupp’s attire, serve to add interest without overwhelming the main subject.
7. Line: Lines can be seen in the way Krupp’s posture and the arrangement of elements direct the viewer’s gaze, often leading to his face as the focal point.
8. Space: The use of negative space around Krupp helps to isolate him, emphasizing his presence and the significance of the moment captured.
Newman’s composition is carefully arranged, likely employing the rule of thirds or a balanced layout that enhances the viewer’s engagement with Krupp’s character. The positioning of Krupp within the frame, alongside the elements surrounding him, creates a narrative that reflects his stature and personality.
These visual elements work together to create a powerful and evocative portrait that captures not just the likeness of Alfried Krupp but also the essence of his character and the context of his life.
Contextual
The contextual meaning behind Arnold Newman’s 1963 photo of Alfried Krupp can be understood through the historical and social backdrop of the time. Krupp was a significant figure in the industrial landscape of Germany, particularly known for his role in the armaments industry during World War II.
At the time Newman photographed him, Krupp had recently been released from prison after being convicted for war crimes. This context adds layers of complexity to the image, as it reflects not only Krupp’s personal narrative but also the broader implications of his actions during a tumultuous period in history.
The photograph captures a moment of introspection, possibly reflecting the weight of his past and the consequences of his legacy. Newman’s choice to portray Krupp in a stark, serious manner emphasizes the moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding industrial power and its impact on society.
In essence, the photo serves as a visual commentary on the intersection of personal identity and historical responsibility, prompting viewers to consider the implications of power and the legacies left behind by influential figures.
Conceptual
The conceptual meaning behind Arnold Newman’s 1963 photo of Alfried Krupp revolves around the complex interplay of power, legacy, and identity. Krupp was a prominent industrialist known for his role in the German steel and armaments industry, particularly during World War II.
In the photograph, Newman captures not just Krupp’s physical likeness but also the weight of his legacy. The somber expression and the way Krupp is framed suggest a man burdened by his past and the moral implications of his business decisions. The composition and tonal quality evoke a sense of seriousness, highlighting the gravity of his position in history.
Furthermore, Newman’s choice of lighting and focus may reflect the duality of Krupp’s identity as a successful businessman and as a controversial figure whose actions had significant consequences. The image invites viewers to contemplate the complexities of power and responsibility, urging a deeper reflection on how individual choices can shape history.
Overall, the photograph serves as a powerful commentary on the nature of authority and the moral dilemmas faced by those in positions of influence.
Everywhere we look there are textures, no matter if the object itself looks bland from far away or up close. But if we use a digital camera or smartphone, we are able to see all the intricate details hidden away from our very eyes. This is achieved by using a zoom range of around 3X to 10X which is quite is common and can be suitable for general photography. For more specialized purposes, such as wildlife or sports photography, a camera with a higher zoom range, such as 20X or more, might be preferable. These Zoom ranges can help us achieve photographs like these…
Visual Elements (Formal)
Visual elements are the devices and techniques applied by photographers when taking a photograph to ensure that the outcome is pleasing both aesthetically and meets the photographers intentions. The visual elements are like a set of tools that can be used to construct a great image. There are a total of 7 elements that we tend to use in Photography; Line, Shape, Space, Repetition, Texture, Colour, and Value/Tone
Line
Lines are a great starting point when thinking about formal elements, as they are almost everywhere. Start by looking for lines in your composition that can guide the viewer through your shot or to a specific focal point. These are known as leading lines. Your lines don’t necessarily need to be straight, horizontal or vertical; they can be curved, angular, or random too. Angular lines that converge into a central point, commonly known as a vanishing point, will add perspective to your image. Think of how a straight road or railway line naturally disappears to a central point on the horizon, this is a classic example of a vanishing point. You can also add lines to your scene by creating entirely new ones. For example, when photographing moving traffic, you can use a slow shutter speed to create a light trail.
Shape
Regarding Shape in photography, this usually means a 2D subject outline. In contrast, form refers to a shape with a more 3D appearance. We’ve put these two together for this video as one formal element. Effectively representing shape and form in your compositions can turn objects, landscapes and figures into defined, striking focal points. Using various lighting techniques, such as backlighting, silhouettes, and paying attention to shadows, will help elevate the shapes and forms in your shot.
Space
Building Space into your compositions creates a sense of scale and brings added depth to your shot. It can also provide breathing room for your image’s main subject, allowing the viewer to focus on the scene’s primary features. Adding space to your compositions is particularly useful with outdoor photography, where you may want to emphasise the scale of geographical features, such as mountains and bodies of water. However, you can add space effectively when shooting almost any photographic subject.
Repetition
Symmetry and Repetition make interesting photographic subjects. And when you start looking, you’ll see a surprising amount of patterns around you in the natural and built environment. Often flat, even light works well for patterns as it emphasises its repetitive nature equally throughout the shot. But for some patterns that are more 3D in nature, you may want to experiment with a range of lighting setups to help bring them out. Some of the most striking patterns, such as aerial shots or extreme macro photography, can be those not usually visible to the human eye. But you don’t need to invest in a drone or a fancy macro lens to shoot patterns.
Texture
Texture in your composition can bring your image to life by giving the viewer a tangible connection with it, and is particularly popular in macro photography. You can draw textures out of all kinds of surfaces and environments. And to do this, you can use a wide range of lighting setups and shoot with a variety of depth-of-field. Textures are ideal for experimenting, try different setups and see what you like. You can use flat light with the camera head-on to bring out the surfaces of a weathered wall. Or, use backlighting for ripples in dunes, shallow depth-of-field for intricate materials, and long-exposure to get the silky-smooth look of flowing water.
Colour
A prominent Colour in your image – whether it’s a concrete colour block or a set of similar colours that form a palette can make a bold statement in your shot. Colours can also convey a mood to your image that will be emotive to the viewer. And you could also single out one particular colour to make a striking statement and have it ‘pop out’ of your shot.
Value/Tone
Focusing on Tone in your image means using variables of contrast and light and dark areas to bring depth to your image. The tone is fundamental in black-and-white photography, where it should be used to guide the viewer through your image where there is no colour present to focus their attention. Practice makes perfect when it comes to tone, and we recommend trying different lighting scenarios and contrast levels for your preferred aesthetic.
Exploring abstraction in photography with Francis Bruguière, Jaroslav Rössler and others.
Many Photographers focus on texture in their images as capturing texture in a photograph can add visual interest, highlight unique patterns, or even evoke emotions. Texture photography overlaps with many kinds of photography, including everything from fine art to classic portraiture.
Here are a few Photographers that focus primarily on texture in their images that I will be looking deeper into…
Francis Bruguière
Bruguière was an American photographer who moved to London in 1928 where he began to experiment with non representational photography. Of these, the cut paper abstractions are particularly beautiful. The photographer exploits the endlessly subtle qualities of both paper and light, manipulating both in order to create complex patterns of texture and form.
Jaroslav Rössler
Rössler was a Czech avant-garde photographer who became known for combining different styles of modern photography including cubism, futurism, constructivism, new objectivity, and abstraction. His photographs often reduced images to elementary lines and shapes, exploring the contrast of light and shade. He experimented with a wide range of techniques and processes including photograms and double exposures
Jerry Reed
Jerry Reed is an English photographer who claims his objective is to sustain the interest of the viewer through his photographs. He focuses heavily on a contrast in the shadows from the light on the paper, giving a very two-toned effect.
Brendan Austin
Brendan Austin creates imaginary landscapes out of crumpled pieces of paper. He calls them ‘Paper Mountains’. Austin examines what we mean by nature and the way humans have impacted upon it. “The isolated desert city running on oil generators, the mars like landscapes of a volcanic environment and the mountains made from paper all attempt to start a conversation concerning the loss of meaning and reality.” The resulting images appear both recognisable as landscapes but also suggest a sense of artifice. Humble materials are made to carry an important message
Howard Lewis
Howard Lewis is a New York based artist whose artwork explores the concepts of light, form and the perception of time. Through his camera, Lewis strives to capture the dimensional qualities of form as rendered by light, illuminating the texture and age of each subject through the synthesis of photographic elements.
My Paper Experiments
I decided to use Origami in my Photos as I quite liked the texture that they produced and because scientifically Origami can help reduce stress, improve hand-eye coordination, boost creativity, enhance patience and persistence. It also symbolizes hope, healing and good fortune.
Knowing these facts about Origami it can create a hidden meaning behind my Photographs which I liked very much.
Contact Sheet
My Texture Experimentation
I used Adobe Photoshop for editing my Photographs and instead of just making my Photographs black and white, I decided to play around a bit with the settings to create these Monochrome based images. The settings that I used was…
Black and WhiteColour BalanceBrightness/ContrastBeforeAfter
This is the Before and After of the Original Image, and then the Black and White Filter applied.
BeforeAfter
This is the Before and After of the Black and White Image, and then the Colour Balance Filter applied.
BeforeFinal Result
This is the Before and After of the Colour Balance Image, and then the Brightness/Contrast Filter applied.
Combining all these filters together created a Blue cooling effect, used to convey a sense of cold or a depressing atmosphere which was my intention when editing these photographs. This effect can also enhance shadows as seen in the Photos above, adding depth to an image.
Scientifically, the colour blue can represent or be associated with open spaces, freedom, intuition, imagination, inspiration, and sensitivity. Blue also represents meanings of depth, trust, loyalty, sincerity, wisdom, confidence, stability, faith, and intelligence.
These might be some things to note when editing my Photographs in the near Future.
Adobe Lightroom is a photo editing and storage application available through the Adobe Creative Cloud. This program allows users to quickly and easily edit their photographs with tools to alter contrast, balance colour, and change brightness on mobile devices immediately after taking the picture.
Are Photoshop and Lightroom similar?
Although the two digital photography editing apps are similar, the main difference between Photoshop and Lightroom is that Photoshop is ideal for more intense, detail-oriented photo editing and specializes in image manipulation, creation, and enhancement, while Lightroom is great for day-to-day workflows as it focuses on editing, organizing, and processing photos.
Adobe Lightroom Modules
Each module In Adobe Lightroom focuses on a specific portion of the photographic workflow. For example; the Library module is for importing, organizing, comparing, and selecting photos. The Develop module is for adjusting colour and tone, or creatively processing photos and lastly the Slideshow, Print, and Web modules are for presenting your photos.
Adobe Lightroom: Library
In the Library module you can review and organize the images in your photo library. The work area offers several different viewing modes so you can browse, inspect, compare, or select images with ease.
Adobe Lightroom: Develop
Although the Quick Develop panel in the Library module offers some basic image editing options, you’ll work in the Develop module when you wish to make more detailed adjustments and modifications to your photos. You can correct the colour balance or tonal range, crop or straighten an image, remove red eye, and apply a range of selective local adjustments—all non-destructively
Adobe Lightroom: Map
Lightroom Classic consists of a geotagging feature in the new Map module, where you can see or mark where your photos were taken. Photos already tagged with GPS coordinates will automatically appear on the map. You can drag images captured without GPS information directly onto the map from the Filmstrip, and edit location details and other metadata in the panel at the right. The Filter bar above the map view lets you highlight just those photos at locations currently visible on the map or filter for tagged or untagged shots. In the Saved Locations panel at the left, you can save a list of your favourite places for easy access.
Adobe Lightroom: Book
The Book module, delivers a suite of layout and type tools to help you create sophisticated photo book designs that can either be uploaded directly from Lightroom for printing through the online book vendor Blurb, or saved to PDF and printed on your own printer.
You can work with a multi-page preview of your book layout, focus on your design spread-by-spread, or view single pages in the Book module’s central work area, switching between these viewing modes and moving through the pages of your book using the controls in the Toolbar.
Adobe Lightroom: Slideshow
In the Slideshow module you can easily create stylish presentations from any image collection in your library. The images in your collection are displayed in the Filmstrip, where you can choose which photos you wish to include in your slideshow, and drag their thumbnails to change the order in which they will appear. The work area shows one image at a time in the Slide Editor view, where you can work on the slides individually, or preview your slideshow as a whole.
Adobe Lightroom: Print
The Print module offers a range of preset templates and all the layout tools you’ll need to quickly prepare any selection of images from your library for printing.
The photos in your collection are displayed in the Filmstrip, where you can select the images you want to print. You can drag the thumbnails in the Filmstrip to change the placement of your photos in the layout. The work area—the Print Editor view—shows your print layout, which may include only one image, a single image repeated at a variety of sizes, or multiple images.
Adobe Lightroom: Web
In the Web module you can build, preview, and then export or upload your own website to showcase your photos interactively.
As in the Slideshow and Print modules, the Template Browser in the left panel group offers a wide range of preset gallery templates which can be previewed in the Preview panel at the top of the group. The Collections panel provides easy access to your images and saved gallery designs. The panels in the right panel group contain settings and controls that enable you to choose between HTML and Flash gallery styles, customize the appearance and functionality of the preset templates, add titles, captions, information, links, and graphics, and manage output.
ISO controls the amount of light your camera lets in, and therefore how dark or light your photos will be. Here are some top tips to help calculate correct exposure: Low values, such as ISO 100, are best for a sunny outdoor shoot. For shooting at night — or indoors with dim lighting — use an ISO of 1600 or higher.
Testing different ISOs
ISO – 100
ISO – 200
ISO – 400
ISO – 800
ISO – 1600
ISO – 3200
ISO – 6400
How does a high ISO impact your Photos?
ISO is a number that represents how sensitive your camera sensor is to light. The higher the ISO number, the higher your camera’s sensitivity, and the less light you need to take a picture. The trade-off is that higher ISOs can lead to degraded image quality and cause your photos to be grainy or “noisy.”
This Link above goes into more detail and provides examples of ISO^
When might you want to use a high ISO?
High ISO is generally well suited to low-light situations, especially when a fast shutter speed or a narrow lens aperture is essential to achieving a creative goal. For example, using a higher ISO setting for hand-held street photography at night allows one to use fast shutter speeds to create bright, sharp images.
Brett Weston
Brett Weston seemed destined from birth to become one of the greatest American photographic artists. Born in Los Angeles in 1911, the second son of photographer Edward Weston, he had perhaps the closest artistic relationship with his famous father of all four of the Weston sons.
Intrigued by the many kinds and shapes of kelp he found on the beaches near Carmel, in 1930 Weston began taking close-ups of vegetables and fruits. He made a variety of photographs of cabbage, kale, onions, bananas, and finally, his most iconic image, peppers.
A Slow shutter speed setting allows a greater amount of light to enter, and a Fast shutter speed setting reduces the amount of light. Changing your camera’s shutter speed is one way to adjust the overall exposure of an image. But it also has creative uses, allowing you to control the amount of motion blur (or lack of it) in your images.
The slower the shutter speed, the more motion blur your camera will capture when shooting fast-moving subjects. With long shutter speeds from two to 30 seconds, any movement in the image will blur. This can create a cool effect with landscapes and the sky, as water and clouds turn soft and streaky.
When we take a picture, the camera’s shutter opens to allow light to reach the recording medium, where an an image is created. By controlling how long the shutter stays open, we can control what the resulting image looks like.
Also known as ‘exposure time’, shutter speed is measured in seconds or fractions of a second (tenths, hundredths, or thousands). For example, a slow shutter speed of 1/2 means the shutter remains open for half a second, while a faster speed of 1/2000 means it only remains open for one-two-thousandth of a second.
Useful Shutter Speeds for daily interactions
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection.
Muybridge’s work consisted of pioneering chrono photography of animal locomotion (between 1878 and 1886), which used multiple cameras to capture the different positions in a stride; and for his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting painted motion pictures from glass discs that predated the flexible perforated film strip.
Doc Edgerton
Harold Eugene “Doc” Edgerton, also known as Papa Flash, was an American scientist and researcher, a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is largely credited with transforming the stroboscope from an obscure laboratory instrument into a common device.
By 1931, Edgerton had developed a system of stroboscopic light to achieve amazingly sharp high-speed photographs, as well as multi-shot photographs to freeze different stages of a single movement on a single photogram, and the same year he obtained a PhD in Electrical Engineering from MIT.
Edgerton revolutionized photography, science, military surveillance, Hollywood filmmaking, and the media through his invention of the strobe light in the early 1930s.
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer and architect. He leads the Tokyo-based architectural firm New Material Research Laboratory.
His use of an 8×10 large-format camera and extremely long exposures has garnered Sugimoto a reputation as a photographer of the highest technical ability. He is equally acclaimed for the conceptual and philosophical aspects of his work.
Sugimoto has spoken of his work as an expression of ‘time exposed’, or photographs serving as a time capsule for a series of events in time. His work also focuses on transience of life, and the conflict between life and death.
Francesca Woodman
Francesca Stern Woodman was an American photographer best known for her black and white pictures featuring either herself or female models. Many of her photographs show women, naked or clothed, blurred, merging with their surroundings, or whose faces are obscured.
Many of her photographs show women, naked or clothed, blurred (due to movement and long exposure times), merging with their surroundings, or whose faces are obscured.
My plan to achieve Shutter Speed images inspired by Francesca Woodman
There are many creative ways to achieve Shutter Speed when taking photographs. Since I am at school and have a limited amount of resources to produce these “Fast and Slow” Shutter speeds, I will be doing the following…
Wait for Cars to past by
Get a friend to ride their Mo-ped or Motorcycle down the car park
Camera obscura, an early optical device, was used in the ancient times and during the Renaissance. It operated by allowing light to pass through a small hole into a darkened room or box, projecting an inverted image of the outside scene onto a surface inside. This phenomenon was the basis for the development of modern cameras. The camera obscura was crucial in understanding optics and served as a precursor to the invention of photography.
Nicephore Niepce, a French inventor, is renowned for creating the world’s first permanent photograph in 1826. He developed a process known as heliography, which involved using a camera obscura and light-sensitive materials to capture images. Niepce’s groundbreaking achievement marked the beginning of photography as we know it today, laying the foundation for future advancements in the field. His work was instrumental in the development of photographic technology and the art of capturing images through a chemical process.
Henry Fox Talbot, an English scientist and inventor, is well-known for his contributions to the field of photography. He is famous for developing the calotype process, an early photographic technique that allowed multiple positive prints to be made from a single negative. Talbot’s invention revolutionized photography by introducing a more practical and versatile method compared to earlier techniques. His work played a significant role in the advancement of photography as an art form and a means of visual documentation.
Louis Daguerre was a French artist and physicist known for his pioneering work in photography. He is famous for inventing the daguerreotype process, which produced highly detailed images on silver-plated copper sheets. Daguerre’s process was the first practical and commercially successful photographic method, marking a significant advancement in the field of photography. His contributions played a crucial role in the early development of photography as an art form and a means of visual expression.
Richard Maddox was an English photographer and inventor renowned for his significant contribution to the field of photography. He is famous for developing the gelatin dry plate process in the 1870s. This innovation replaced the cumbersome wet plate collodion process, making photography more convenient and accessible. Maddox’s invention revolutionized photography by allowing photographers to use dry plates coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, leading to improved image quality and ease of use in capturing photographs.
George Eastman was an American inventor and entrepreneur known for founding the Eastman Kodak Company and popularizing photography through the introduction of the Kodak camera. He revolutionized photography by making it more accessible to the public with the slogan “You press the button, we do the rest.” Eastman’s innovations, including roll film and the Brownie camera, played a significant role in the development and widespread adoption of amateur photography. His contributions transformed photography from a complex process into a simple and enjoyable activity for people around the world.
The Kodak Brownie was a popular series of cameras introduced by the Eastman Kodak Company, founded by George Eastman. The Brownie cameras were affordable, simple to use, and played a significant role in popularizing photography among the general public. They were designed for amateur photographers and allowed people to capture moments easily. The Brownie cameras used roll film, making photography more accessible and enjoyable for a wide audience. The simplicity and affordability of the Brownie cameras contributed to the democratization of photography as a hobby and art form.
Digital Photography is a modern method of capturing images using electronic sensors to record light. It became popular in the late 20th century as technology advanced. Instead of film, digital cameras store images as electronic data. When a photo is taken, the sensor converts light into digital information, which is then stored on a memory card. This digital data can be easily transferred to a computer for viewing, editing, and sharing. Digital photography revolutionized the way we take and interact with images, offering instant feedback and the ability to manipulate photos easily.
In autofocus the camera focuses automatically to some point on the photo which either the camera or the user selects. In manual focus the user focuses manually until the image is sharp. The camera may offer aids to manual focus like image magnification or focus peaking witch makes focused part show in different colour.
Focal Length
Focal length is the distance (measured in millimetres) between the point of convergence of your lens and the sensor or film recording the image. The focal length of your film or digital camera lens dictates how much of the scene your camera will be able to capture. Below are a few examples of different Focal Lengths focusing on the same thing/image.
Aperture
Aperture plays a big part in Photography too as it is able to blur the foreground and background around an Object (shallow depth of field) with a low f-stop number; or keep the photo sharp from foreground to background (wide depth of field) with a high f-stop number.
The diagram below shows/gives a clearer understanding of how Aperture works.
For Example; if we changed the Cameras Aperture was 2.8, the Lens would be wider producing an image such as…
This allows the Camera to focus on a distinct Object while it Soft Blurs the background, producing a plain but beautiful image.
Another Example is when we adjust the Cameras Aperture to 8, the lens will get smaller producing an image such as…
This allows the Camera to focus on more than one Object producing a somewhat clearer and decent image.
Lastly, if we increase the Cameras Aperture to 22, the lens will be significantly smaller producing a smoother, better, and clearer image such as…
Depth of Field
Depth of Field is interlinked with Aperture as Aperture is the cause and Depth of field is the effect when taking an Image. Depth of Field is the portion of that distance or ‘depth’ that is ‘in-focus’. A higher depth of field would see the whole image from foreground to background sharp and in focus, a lower depth would result in blurry backgrounds and blurred elements in the foreground too.
Photographers who used Depth of Field
Ralph Eugene Meatyard was a visionary photographer known for his dreamlike black & white photographs of family members in masks, elegant portraits of bohemian friends and radical experiments in abstraction.
Meatyard’s work spanned many genres and experimented with new means of expression, from dreamlike portraits—often set in abandoned places—to multiple exposures, motion-blur, and other methods of photographic abstraction. He also collaborated with his friend Wendell Berry on the 1971 book The Unforeseen Wilderness, for which Meatyard contributed photographs of Kentucky’s Red River Gorge. Meatyard’s final series, The Family Album of Lucybelle Crater, are cryptic double portraits of friends and family members wearing masks and enacting symbolic dramas.
Harry Callahan, a prominent American photographer, excelled in street photography and landscapes as part of the modernist movement. His photography focused on capturing the beauty in everyday life, exploring light, shadow, and form while emphasizing the relationship between people and their environment, showcasing a profound connection to the world around him. Callahan’s innovative photography techniques included experimenting with multiple exposure, cropping, and close-ups to craft compelling compositions. He skilfully manipulated light and shadow to infuse depth and emotion into his images, enabling him to convey his distinct vision and perspective through his photographs.
Background
Harry Callahan attended Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) and studied engineering before discovering his passion for photography. He became famous in the mid-20th century for his unique approach to photography, capturing everyday life in a remarkable way. Callahan’s work gained recognition for its innovative techniques and profound artistic vision, establishing him as a significant figure in the world of photography.
