Category: Class Topics (Page 1 of 3)

Review Global corrections

Global corrections adjust the entire file. In the Lightroom, it includes the controls under Light, Color and Effects. In Lightroom classic, this includes everything in the basic panel: White balance, Tone and Presence.

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Download and color correct the four files. Put the corrected versions in an album on Flickr.

Local corrections

After you make global corrections, sometimes you will want to make corrections to part of your image. Generally, the brightest part of the image commands the most attention. Sometimes that is not where you want your viewer to look first so shifting the exposure of parts of your image can create the image you want.

The Adjustment Brush

The important thing in this photo by Bryan Rodriguez is the face of the card player. However the cards are brighter and demanded too much attention. Using the adjustment brush, I darkened the cards. Creating a second adjustment, I lightened the face of the card player a little more. The goal was to bring more attention to the person’s face and less to the overly bright cards.

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Masking

Lightroom allows you to select either the sky or the subject. the sky masks works well with building or other hard lines around the sky. It is not soeffective with trees or other soft edges.

After doing global corrections on each file, use the adjustment brush on the flower, sleect sky on the building photo and select subject on the portrait to make local adjustments.

Lab exercises

Adjust the photos above.

Working with your partner, you both adjust one of their photos and one of your and compare.

Put your results, a total of 8 photos, in an album on Flickr for today’s lab credit.

Homework

Final Project – 20 pts

Due next week, May 18:

3 albums each of a minimum of 30 photos

1 album of the 10 best photos adjusted in Lightroom

a 3-5 min presentation of the final project – projected from the album on Flickr.

Presentation Guidelines

1. Start by introducing yourself and your project. Then outline the big picture with a few sentences sentence such as, ” I photographed variations on the theme of windows. Most of the photos were taken in downtown Brooklyn.
2. If you are showing 10 images, you have about 30 seconds to describe each photo. Tell us what your intention was, what interested you about the photo we are looking at, and give us information we may need to know to understand the photo. Tell us what makes it visually interesting ie the use of shallow depth of field or some other feature.
3. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.
4. Do not tell us about what you did to the photo in Lightroom.

All the World Photo Contest Submission – 4 pts

Put a small jpg and your bio for each of your three photos on Google docs and share it with me. I will use the suggestions feature to edit the bios.

You will also need a photo release for each subject and proof of submission.

to get credit, email me the proof of submission.

CUNY Photo Challenge submission – 1 pt Extra Credit

Review

Composition

• Rule of Thirds
• Leading Lines
• Diagonals
• Frame within a frame
• Figure to ground
• Fill the Frame
• Patterns
• Symmetry

Framing

• A long shot or establishing shot
• a medium shot
• a close up
• an extreme close up

Angle of view

• Worm’s eye view
• low angle
• eye-level
• high angle
• bird’s eye or aerial view
• oblique angle

Shutter Speed

• Blur Motion
• Freeze motion (including your own!)

Aperture

• Extensive depth of field
• Shallow depth of field

Light Quality

• Direct – hard edged shadows
• Diffused – soft edged shadows

Light Direction

• Front
• Side
• Back

Portrait Lighting Styles

For a front view:

• Rembrandt
• Butterfly
• Split

For three-quarter view

• Broad
• Short

Studio Portrait Light Roles

• Main – this light creates the lighting style. it casts the shadows.
• Fill – this light brightens the shadows
• Background light – this light creates separation between the subject and the background.

Lab

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Take beautiful photographs at the BBG to demonstrate everything we learned this semester. post your 20 best to an album on Flcikr and send your best two to the class group.

Homework

Final Project

All the World Photo Contest submission

4 pts. Due May 18th.

The entry consists of three portraits, each with a 100 word bio, and a photo release for each person. If you want my help editing the bio – hand it in by May 11th. Put your bio in a google doc and share it with me and I will use the editing feature to make “suggestions.”

Review:

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Considerations for any portrait:

Use a vertical orientation.

Focus on the model’s eyes.

Watch the background for distracting things behind the model’s head.

Considerations for outdoor portraits

Work with the model in shade or place the model with the sun BEHIND their head.

use a reflector to add light to their face.

Do not use direct sunlight on the model’s face.

Resource

Using Fill flash

Ambient Light-the existing light that you cannot control

Fill Flash-brightens shadows

Built-in flash-part of the camera and throws light about 6 to 10 feet

External flash-added to the camera on the hot shoe and can throw light 15 to 20 feet 

E–TTL (Evaluative-Through The Lens) is a Canon EOS flash exposure system that uses a brief pre-flash before the main flash in order to obtain a more correct exposure.

Use M or manual.

1/1 is full power. for fill flash, try 1/16 and adjust from there.

Use Zoom to spread or focus the light. Wide angle numbers (smaller numbers) spread the light. Higher numbers focus the light.

High speed sync-allows the camera to be set at shutter speeds higher than the camera sync speed 

Resource

Lab

Outdoor Portraits

Homework

Final Project

Submit to the CUNY Photo Challenge by April 28th! 1 pt of extra credit if you send me the screen shot of your submission.

Review Portrait Lighting Styles

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Focal Length

The focal length of a lens is defined as the distance in mm from the optical center of the lens to the the sensor when the lens is focused on infinity. This varies on the camera and the lens.

Focal length controls: Magnification and angle of view

Focal length is described as short, normal ie close to human vision, or long.

Wide Angle Distortion-created when using a wide-angle lens AND the camera is very close to the subject. The object close to the lens appears abnormally large relative to more distant objects, and distant objects appear abnormally small and hence more distant – distances are extended. 

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Focal length and proximity to the camera affect how a person’s face looks in a photograph. A wide focal length and proximity between the subject and the camera create wide angle distortion and will distort a person’s features.

Think about selfie sticks. What are they for but to get the camera away from your face? This makes the photograph look more complimentary to the subject. This is really important with a cameraphone because it has a wide angle lens. The center of the lens and the sensor cannot be very far apart given the thin design of cellphones.

When working with a crop-frame sensor such as a Canon 60d, approximately 65 mm will be the most flattering to your subject.

Lights

  There are three basic types of lights (these are the physical lights not portrait lighting styles):

1. The Main or Key Light-This light provides the brightest illumination and casts the shadows

2. The Fill Light-this light brightens the shadows. It can be a reflector or an actual light.

This video shows how to use a reflector as the fill light.

3. The Separation Light or Background Light-creates separation between the subject and the background. This light can be aimed at the background or it can be aimed at the subject. If the later, it would be called a hair light. If accenting the edge of the face or shoulders, this light would be called a rim light or a kicker.

3-point Lighting

– standard lighting for portraits, video and film, uses all three: a main light, a fill light and a background light.

Lab Exercise

Two and Three Light Portraits

Homework

HW 8: Environmental Portraits

Final Project

Portrait Poses

There are three basic positions for someone’s head and face in a portrait.

1. Front view
2. 3/4 view
3. Profile

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Expression

For family photos a smile is a must but not so for a portrait. It is however important that your subject look comfortable. It is your job as the photographer to talk with your subject and make them feel comfortable.

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Focus

When shooting a portrait, the subject’s eyes must be in focus. Full stop. Period.

Portrait Lighting Styles

There are a 5 basic lighting styles for portrait photography. Each style is defined by how light falls on the face.

1. Rembrandt Light – the model is face forward, main light is at 45 degrees and casts a light on the opposite side of the face to form a triangle on the cheek.

2. Broad Light-model’s face in 3/4 view-light falls on the side of the face with the visible ear. Good for controlling the reflections on glasses.

3. Short Light-model’s face is in 3/4 view, the light falls on the side of the face with the features. (Not on the side with the visible ear.)

Both of these are examples of short light.

4. Butterfly Light, Clamshell or beauty or glamour light-model is face forward, front light.

5. Split Light-model is face forward, the main light is at 90 degrees to the camera and falls on one side of the face. 

Inspiration

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Lab

Portrait Lighting Styles

Homework Assignment

Window Light Portraits