What Are Focus Points

Focus points in photography are areas where the camera focuses to keep them sharp and clear. Photographers can select a single focus point for precise control or let the camera choose multiple points to keep various parts of the scene in focus. These points ensure the key elements of an image are sharp, guiding the viewer’s attention.

Ralph Eugene Meatyard

Ralph Eugene Meatyard (1925–1972) was an American photographer known for his strange and haunting photos. He often used his family and friends as models, having them wear masks or pose in abandoned places, exploring ideas like identity and time. Though he worked as an optician, photography was his creative outlet.

His photos have a dreamlike, almost eerie feel, blending reality and fantasy. Meatyard’s unique style, influenced by books and philosophy, wasn’t widely recognized while he was alive, but today, his work is appreciated for its mysterious and personal touch.

In the image on the left we can see that Ralph has used Aperture to focus on the person on the bed and leave the background more zoned out of the picture, I believe he did this to give the person in the image deeper meaning and almost making them seem disconnected from what is going on around them, his work represents how aperture can be used in photography in such a volatile way.

Saul Leiter

Saul Leiter (1923–2013) was an American photographer and painter known for his innovative use of color photography. He began as a painter but shifted to photography in the 1940s, capturing the streets of New York City with a focus on mood and color rather than dramatic moments. His images often featured reflections and shadows, giving them a soft, abstract quality.

Although he wasn’t widely recognized during his lifetime, Leiter’s work gained appreciation as color photography became more respected in the art world. His unique perspective on everyday urban scenes and painterly eye for composition have solidified his legacy as a significant figure in photography.

In the image on the left we can see that Saul has used aperture and depth of field to focus on the background of the image rather than the subject of it, I can tell this image wasn’t done using shutter speed as the car behind the man is perfectly clear even though it is moving, like Ralph’s I believe this is representing the man as being disconnected from the world yet again representing how many ways aperture and depth of field can be used in photography.

Uta Barth

Uta Barth is a contemporary photographer born in 1958 in Freiburg, Germany. She is known for her innovative use of soft focus and blurring techniques to explore perception, light, and space. Her work emphasizes color and composition, inviting viewers to engage with the nuances of visual experience.

Barth has exhibited widely in galleries and museums, gaining recognition for her unique style that blends photography and painting. She is also a dedicated educator, teaching at institutions like UCLA, and her contributions to contemporary photography inspire ongoing discussions about vision and representation.

In the image on the left we can see that Uta has used aperture and depth of field to create a blurry image, I believe she has done this to create an image that someone who views it can interpret it how they want to, I also thing she has done this as it is different from the usual sharp images you will usually see from photographers and creating something more abstract and different, this again represents all of the things you can do with aperture and depth of field.

My Contact Sheet

My Selection Process

as you can see above I used P and X to flag my images to filter out the bad ones from the ok and good ones, next I rated these images 4 or 5 stars as 4 being ok ones and 5 being good ones, finally I gave them the colour yellow or green, green being the best and yellow being good. I will now edit these images that I selected and present them bellow along with the raw images.

My Final Images

Foreground –

Middle Ground –

Background –

In the pictures above, I took photos of batteries at different distances to show how depth of field works. By changing how far each battery was from the camera, I could highlight how focus shifts through different parts of the image. This technique makes it clear how some objects stay sharp while others get blurrier, depending on the focus point and aperture settings. In my experiment, the closest batteries are in sharp focus, while the ones further back blur out more, which creates a sense of depth. By using different distance increments, it becomes obvious how the depth of field can change the look and feel of a photo, making certain details stand out or helping to show the space and dimension in the shot.

Images In Black-And-White

Foreground –

Middle Ground –

Background –

Editing With Reasoning

Foreground –

Middle Ground –

Background –

I chose to edit these pictures to make the focus even stronger on the areas I wanted to highlight. By adjusting the focus during editing, I was able to emphasize specific details and create a clearer distinction between the sharp and blurred parts of the image. This allowed me to direct the viewer’s attention exactly where I intended, while still maintaining the depth of field effect. The edits helped bring out the key elements in the photos, reinforcing how important focus is in shaping the way we interpret an image.

What is Adobe lightroom

Adobe Lightroom is a software that converts RAW files from your camera into images you can view, organize, and edit. It offers non-destructive editing, light and colour control, composition control, and detail control features for photographers.

Library mode –

Library view mode are simply a way of displaying your images on the screen to suit different tasks, such as photo selection. I organise my photos in folders and sub folders in lightroom to keep it organised.

organisation –

I use P and X to flag my images to filter out the bad ones from the ok and good ones, next I rate these images 4 or 5 stars as 4 being ok ones and 5 being good ones, finally I give them the colour yellow or green, green being the best and yellow being good. I will then edit these images that I selected for later use in my blog posts.

Develop mode –

In develop mode we can use the bar on the right to change things about the image, this is used to enhance the image and can also be used to fix the image will I will explain below.

As seen in the image below I have circled a tool I use in almost all of my images, this tool is used to fix any imperfections on an image and is useful when editing.

Photographer who uses Texture – Edward Weston

Edward Weston (1886–1958) was an American photographer who played pivotal role in the development of modern photography. He took pictures of landscapes and objects in black-and-white, transforming them into modern images that were ahead of their time. His technical and photographic skills were wide-ranging, but he was known to many as a professional of black-and-white images.

Texture was key to Weston. Using large format cameras, he took pictures of objects and landscapes that had shape, tone and colour depth which are key for a good texture photo, such as, bell peppers or ridges in a seashell. His use of lighting and contrast brought out every subtle detail, giving his photographs a textured but almost three-dimensional quality. The focus on texture made bland, regular objects abstract and pleasing. I will put some of his pictures below.

I plan to take inspiration from the use of depth and shadows from what would otherwise be a normal every day object and turn it into something abstract and visually pleasing.

My contact sheet –

As you can see above I took over just over 100 pictures of some objects until I found the one that I wanted to use, I then proceeded to take lots of photos of one object with different camera settings and different lighting conditions to get the ideal photo I was looking for. I will now show some of the first objects that I didn’t like the look of and explain why and what I wanted to be different.

Objects I didn’t like –

Flower Outside –

Although this was a good image and did have good texture, it didn’t align with exactly what I was looking for, such as the lighting conditions and it wasn’t what I had in mind from my inspiration from Edward.

Bush Outside –

Again, although this was a good image and did have good texture, it didn’t align with exactly what I was looking for, such as the lighting conditions and it wasn’t what I had in mind from my inspiration from Edward.

Bubbles –

Although this one was closer with more black-and-white colours, it wasn’t what I had in mind and again it didn’t quite fit in with my inspiration from Edwards work.

Lamp Shade –

This one I liked quite a lot and could have been quite versatile to take pictures of but I decided to keep looking after this and found something that was more what I was looking for.

Selection process

as you can see above I used P and X to flag my images to filter out the bad ones from the ok and good ones, next I rated these images 4 or 5 stars as 4 being ok ones and 5 being good ones, finally I gave them the colour yellow or green, green being the best and yellow being good. I will now edit these images that I selected and present them bellow along with the raw images.

My Final Images – Rubber Band Ball

Without Visual Noise –

With Visual Noise –

As you can see in the images above I have taken pictures of a rubber band ball with and without visual noise. I took the idea from Edwards images of using the randomness of the lines in an object and the depth that it creates to represent texture in my images, I will now edit and represent them in black-and-white and not in black-and-white and show them below.

Edited Images

Edited Not In Black-And-White –

With Visual Noise –

Edited In Black-And-White –

With Visual Noise –

As you can see above I used a black and white filter on these images which I got inspiration from Edward to do, in doing this I can see why he used this effect on his work. From this i completed the goal I set myself at the beginning which was to use of the two most simple colours on a simple everyday object and turning it into something that is abstract and visual pleasing which I believe I did successfully.

what is shutter speed ?

Shutter speed is essentially how long the shutter in your camera is open for, therefore the longer its open the more light it will let in. So it can be useful in a dark environment, however, as it is open the camera uses that light to create the image so it can end up appearing blurry, sometimes we can use this to our advantage. I will represent this bellow through photographers who have used both fast and then slow shutter speed in their images and then some of my own images.

As you can see on the left the numbers are representing the amount of time the shutter is open, this image better represents the outcome of the shutter being open for longer.

I will switch my camera to the TV setting which is shutter priority shooting mode where I can change the shutter speed and the camera changes ISO and aperture for me, I will show this in the image below.

Eadweard Muybridge is remembered today for his pioneering photographic studies of motion, which ultimately led to the development of cinema. He was hired to photograph a horse’s movement to prove that a horse’s hooves are clear of the ground at a trot.

My contact sheet –

As you can see above I have taken images with a fast shutter speed and taken inspiration from Eadweard Muybridge, next I will go through the selection process and represent my final images as raw and edited.

as you can see above I used P and X to flag my images to filter out the bad ones from the ok and good ones, next I rated these images 4 or 5 stars as 4 being ok ones and 5 being good ones, finally I gave them the colour yellow or green, green being the best and yellow being good. I will now edit these images that I selected and present them bellow along with the raw images.

As you can see above I have taken inspiration from his work and produced 6 final images, we can see that with a fast shutter speed we get a sharper more detailed image of a moving object.

Edited images / final images –

Francesca Woodman’s family spent their summers at her parents’ farmhouse in the countryside near Florence in Italy and many of her Photographs were taken there. European culture and art had a significant impact on her artistic development. The influence of Surrealist Art, particularly the photographs of Man Ray and Claude Cahun can be seen in the themes and style of her work. She developed her ideas and skills as a student at Rhode Island School of Design.

Her importance as an innovator is significant, particularly in the context of the 1970s when the status of photography was still regarded as less important than painting and sculpture. She led the way for later American artists who used photography to explore themes relating to identity such as Cindy Sherman and Nan Goldin

My contact sheet –

As you can see above I have taken images with a slow shutter speed and taken inspiration from Francesca Woodman, next I will go through the selection process and represent my final images as raw and edited.

as you can see above I used P and X to flag my images to filter out the bad ones from the ok and good ones, next I rated these images 4 or 5 stars as 4 being ok ones and 5 being good ones, finally I gave them the colour yellow or green, green being the best and yellow being good. I will now edit these images that I selected and present them bellow along with the raw images.

As you can see above I have taken inspiration from her work and produced 6 final images, we can see that with a slow shutter speed we get a blurry image of a moving object, however, you can use this to your advantage to better the image rather than worsen it in the correct circumstances.

Edited images / final images –

Camera Obscura

What is it –

A camera obscura captures the world by letting light enter through a lens and project an image onto a surface. It requires no power source, relying purely on natural light. Light from the outside scene enters through a lens, hits a mirror at a 45-degree angle, and reflects onto paper or canvas inside. To view the image, one must cover themselves with a dark cloth to block outside light. This setup produces a sharp, colourful image. This can be seen below.

How does this make it hard to dictate the origins of photography –

The camera obscura was used for centuries as a drawing aid, allowing artists to project images of the outside world onto a surface. This use predates photography by hundreds of years, leading to debates about whether it should be considered an early form of photographic technology.

Its history –

pinhole cameras have existed for centuries, the camera obscura became more effective in the early 1600s with the invention of better lenses, allowing for brighter and clearer images. Artists used it to create detailed sketches, accurately depicting perspective.

How it was used in Photography –

The breakthrough came in the 1800s when combining it with light-sensitive materials allowed for permanent image capture, leading to the first photograph by Nicéphore Niépce in 1826/27. In essence, the camera obscura, though not magical, laid the groundwork for all photography, including modern smartphone cameras.

Nicephore Niepce

Who was he –

Nicéphore Niépce is a pivotal figure in the history of photography, often credited as one of the inventors of the medium. He is best known for creating the first permanent photograph in 1826 or 1827, titled “View from the Window at Le Gras.” This image was produced using a process called heliography, which involved a bitumen-coated plate that hardened in proportion to light exposure.

Why wasn’t he always considered the first photographer –

Niépce worked closely with Louis Daguerre, who developed the daguerreotype process, which produced clearer and more practical images. Daguerre’s contributions often overshadow Niépce’s pioneering work, leading many to credit him as the true originator of photography.

His first photograph –

Known as ” View from the Window at Le Gras “

Henry Fox Talbot

What is Photogenic Drawing –

Photogenic drawing, a term created by William Henry Fox Talbot in the 1830s, refers to an early photographic process that involved creating images on light-sensitive paper. He did this by coating paper with silver chloride, which darkened when exposed to light. He would place objects directly on the paper or use a negative image, exposing it to sunlight to create a shadow image. This is an example of his shown below.

How did Talbot’s Mousetraps work –

The trap consisted of a baited platform with a spring- loaded lever. When a mouse triggered the lever by attempting to access the bait, the spring would snap, capturing the mouse within a confined space. The design aimed to be both humane and efficient. One of the mouse traps can be seen below.

Louis Daguerre – Daguerreotype

What is a Daguerreotype –

A daguerreotype is an early type of photograph created using a process developed by Louis Daguerre in the 1830s. It involves exposing a polished silver-plated copper sheet to iodine vapor, which forms a light-sensitive layer of silver iodide. After exposure in a camera, the plate is developed using mercury vapor and then fixed with a salt solution. Some of these are seen below.

Why was the daguerreotype not as successful as Talbot’s system –

The daguerreotype process required careful handling and was relatively complex, involving toxic materials like mercury. The calotype process was more straightforward and involved less hazardous chemicals, making it more accessible for amateur photographers.

Richard Maddox

What did Richard Maddox Invent –

Richard Maddox was a British photographer and inventor known for developing the dry plate process in photography. In the 1870s, he introduced a new type of photographic plate that was more convenient than the wet plates previously used. This was known as the dry plate and it can be seen in the image below.

Why was his invention so pioneering for photography –

Unlike wet plates, which had to be coated, exposed, and developed immediately, dry plates could be prepared in advance and stored for later use. This flexibility allowed photographers to carry plates without the need for cumbersome darkroom equipment on-site.

Muybridge’s famous Motion Studies

How did Muybridge work with Stanford –

Eadweard Muybridge worked with Leland Stanford, a prominent businessman and founder of Stanford University, in a significant collaboration that focused on motion studies. In the late 19th century, Stanford was interested in whether all four hooves of a galloping horse leave the ground simultaneously. To settle this debate, he hired Muybridge, who was a pioneering photographer known for his expertise in capturing motion. This can be seen below

Why is Muybridge considered the precursor of cinema –

His work inspired later inventors and filmmakers, including Thomas Edison and the Lumière brothers, who built upon Muybridge’s concepts to develop early motion picture technology.

George Eastman

How did he make photography available to the masses –

Eastman’s focus on mass production helped lower the cost of cameras and film, making photography financially accessible to a broader audience, on top of this, he developed flexible roll film, which replaced the bulky glass plates used in traditional photography. This made cameras lighter and easier to handle. This can be seen below.

What company did he form –

George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company in 1888. The company became a major player in the photography industry, known for its innovative products, including cameras, film, and photographic supplies.

Kodak (Brownie)

What is Kodak (Brownie) –

The Kodak Brownie is a series of simple, inexpensive cameras introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1900. The Brownie was designed to make photography accessible to everyone, particularly amateurs.

Digital Photography –

The First Digital Image –

The first digital image is often credited to a photograph created by computer scientist Russell Kirsch in 1957. Kirsch scanned a picture of his infant son. The original image was a 176×176 pixel representation, and it was saved as a binary file. This pioneering work laid the foundation for digital imaging, as it demonstrated how photographs could be digitized and manipulated using computers. This image can be seen below.

How was it done –

the first digital image was called a drum scanner. This device scanned the photograph by rotating the image on a cylindrical drum, capturing it line by line and converting it into a grid of pixels, which could then be processed and stored digitally. The drum scanner was an early example of how analogue images could be digitized for use in computing. It is shown below.

Artist research – ( Henry Mullins ) –

Henry Mullins was a notable photographer in the mid-19th century who worked in Jersey, one of the Channel Islands. He is particularly recognized for his use of the daguerreotype process, one of the earliest forms of photography.

Mullins set up a daguerreotype studio in Jersey around the 1840s, where he captured portraits and landscapes. His work contributed to the popularization of photography on the islands and reflected the artistic and technological trends of his time.

The daguerreotype process, known for its sharp detail and clarity, allowed Mullins to create high-quality images that were highly sought after. His contributions are part of the broader history of photography, showcasing how the medium evolved and became integrated into everyday life. Below we can see an image taken by him.

Different ways of focusing while using a camera

AF –

AF or auto focus automatically does it for you so you don’t need to worry about it and can make it quicker and easier to take photos.

MF –

MF or manual focus means you have to do this yourself and can take more time, however, if you are good at doing this then you may come out with a better outcome than the camera would for you.

what is focal length

The focal length of a lens is the optical distance (usually measured in mm) from the centre of a lens and its focus. This determines what you “see” when using a camera. This can be visualized in the image below.

What is aperture

Aperture in photography is the opening of the camera lens, which is related to the amount of light that passes through the camera lens to the image sensor. The aperture mechanism in the lens that allows more or less light to come in. This can be seen below.

What is depth of field

Depth of field is the distance between the closest and farthest objects in a photo that appears acceptably sharp. This is represented below.

Photographer who uses depth of field in their work – Ralph Eugene

Ralph made his living as an optician, born in 1925 and died in 1976. He was a member of the Lexington Camera Club and pursued his passion for photography outside the mainstream. He experimented with various strategies including multiple exposures, motion blur, and other methods of photographic abstraction. Two of his series are particularly concerned with focus and depth of field, both stretching the expressive potential of photography, film and cameras when looking with the ordinary world. Some of his work can be seen below.

Camera simulator experiments –

This experiment clearly represents how aperture effects an image.

Why does texture matter in an image

We use texture in an image to add visual interest and different patterns to the image, it adds levels to the image and helps represent shadows and light in different ways, this ties in with many different types of photography which I will represent in this post.

A photographer who looks at texture – Jerry Reed

Jerry Reed is an English photographer who claims it is his goal to keep the viewers attention and interest through his images. The image you can see above is part of his paperwork series one. You can see he achieves his goal of enticing the viewer through texture created by layers and shadows in his image.

some more of his images –

my contact sheet –

As you can see in the image above I have taken a wide range of photos with different ISO aperture and shutter speed and different lighting conditions along with this to get the best results.

Here are some images that I selected –

As you can see I have used varied light and camera conditions to create images with texture, I took inspiration from Jerry Reeds images using the varied and unique texture that is created by something simple such as a piece of paper. I will now edit the images and represent them next.

Image selection process

as you can see above I used P and X to flag my images to filter out the bad ones from the ok and good ones, next I rated these images 4 or 5 stars as 4 being ok ones and 5 being good ones, finally I gave them the colour yellow or green, green being the best and yellow being good. I will now edit these images that I selected and present them bellow.

My edited images

above you can see I have edited the images and I attempted to enhance the whites and the blacks to separate the texture much like Jerry reed did in his work.

what is ISO – ISO (or international organization for standardization) is how sensitive the camera is to light, the higher the number is, the more light the camera lets in. From this we can imagine that the higher the number in a lighted condition the lower the quality of image, and in dark conditions it will benefit the image.

We will most likely see results like this from an example I have found on the internet of ISO –

what you can see above is something known as visual noise or white noise, this can be created by a high ISO in an image making it less visually appealing.

I will take picture with ISO in both light and dark conditions to represented which can be seen below.

contact sheet

ISO in a lighted condition –

ISO in a dark condition –

Final image selection and edited images

as you can see above I used P and X to flag my images to filter out the bad ones from the ok and good ones, next I rated these images 4 or 5 stars as 4 being ok ones and 5 being good ones, finally I gave them the colour yellow or green, green being the best and yellow being good. I will now edit these images that I selected and present them bellow.

conclusion

from the images I have taken I can prove what I said in the beginning and represent how ISO effects an image. on top of this I found out that also upping the shutter speed on the camera will also increase the brightness of the image while still keeping high quality in a dark environment. This perfectly represents how you must use all 3 ( ISO, shutter speed and aperture ) to produce a high slandered image.

in conclusion this task has taught me a lot of key skills and has shown me how ISO effects the image.