Robin Michals | COMD 1340 Photography 1 DO97

Author: rmichals (Page 4 of 9)

Lab: Week 9 – Lighting Direction and Quality

Photograph flowers with strobe lights.

In-class Flower Shoot Camera Settings:

  • Resolution=RAW
  • ISO=100
  • WB=Flash
  • Shooting Mode=Manual
  • Shutter speed = 1/125
  • Meter for the aperture

You will photograph flowers to create shots with:

1. Front light: reduces detail, low contrast

Make the light a floodlight by diffusing the light with a soft box. Place it close to the camera position and subject.

2. Side Light floodlight with diffusion: brings out texture.

3. Side Light spotlight: brings out texture, high contrast

To get the background to fall off to black, increase the distance between the subject and the backdrop and angle the light so that it falls on the subject not the background.

4. Extreme close-up for texture-use extension tube

5. Back Light (white background): high contrast, reduces subject detail

Light the background only. Increase the distance between the background and the subject to increase the difference in the lighting ratio and to achieve a silhouette.

Put your best 20 in an album on Flickr. Send your best two to the class group.

Week 9 – Light Quality and Direction

Light Quality

Direct light or hard light – the rays of light are nearly parallel and strike the subject from one direction creating hard edged dark shadows with little detail.
Examples: a spotlight, sun on a clear day, or a bare flash

Diffused light or soft light– the rays of light are scattered and coming from many directions. It appears even and produces indistinct shadows. Examples: overcast daylight, a light covered with tracing paper or other translucent material.

Directional/Diffused Light.   This light is a combination of directional and diffused light. The light is partially diffused yet it appears to come from a definite direction and creates shadows. The shadows are less harsh and contain more detail than in direct light. More subtle transition between light and dark areas. Examples: window light, sunlight on a hazy day, sunlight on a partly cloudy day or sunlight bouncing off a reflective surface.

Light Direction

Front light comes from in front of subject from the camera position and the shadows fall behind the subject not concealing any details.

Side Light comes from 90 degrees to the camera. it adds dimension and texture to the subject.

Backlight comes from behind the subject towards the camera.

Inspiration

Labs

Lighting Direction

Homework

HW 7: Lighting Direction

Next Week

Please bring in a small stuffed animal to work with.

Week 8 – Midterm – Critique Guidelines

Critique Etiquette

  1. Respect the presenter. Give them your full attention.
  2. Ask questions about your colleague’s photography. This is not the time to ask questions about your personal concerns.
  3. Start with the positive when you comment on your colleague’s works. Use the terms below that we have learned this semester.
  4. Be generous. Offer your thoughts. Your opinion and judgements are important. Do not leave the work of giving feedback to the others in the class.
  5. Conversely, please do not speak over your classmates.

Vocabulary

Framing: How the frame brings together the elements inside the rectangle juxtaposing them, creating relationships between them

Types of shots: how much information is in the frame

  • a long shot
  • a medium shot
  • a close up
  • an extreme close up.

Frame within a frame – use elements in the frame to enclose the main subject and draw attention to it. A frame within a frame can be a window or door or it can be items in the foreground such as branches.

Angle of View:  describes the camera position in relationship to the subject. The angle of view may be: 

  • a worm’s-eye view
  • a low-angle
  • eye-level
  • a high-angle
  • a bird’s-eye or aerial or overhead view
  • an oblique angle.

Rule of Thirds – Instead of placing the main subject in the center of the frame, divide the frame into thirds horizontally and vertically and place the main subject at one of these intersections.

Fill the Frame –  (get closer) – do not leave empty areas that do not add to the composition and plan to crop in later.

Diagonals – Sloping lines

Leading Lines – lines in the photograph that lead the eye to the main subject

Patterns – repeated elements. Break the pattern for visual interest

Figure to Ground -the relationship between the subject and the background sometimes described as negative and positive space.

Diffused light – light that comes from many directions and creates soft shadows

Direct light– light that come from one direction and creates hard shadows

Contrast: The measure of difference between bright areas (highlights) and dark areas (shadows) in a photo

High contrast : Large difference between highlights and shadows. Mostly lights and darks without many mid tones        

Low contrast :  Little difference between lights and darks. Mostly mid tones.

Frozen Motion-Motion is stopped and captured in the frame with a fast shutter speed.

Blurred motion-moving elements blur with a longer shutter speed.

The Decisive Moment: A term coined by Cartier Bresson- “the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression.”

CUNY Photo Challenge – deadline Oct 28th

Enter your best photo taken in the class to date.

Read the criteria of the judges and select the image you think best fits what they are looking for.

You will need to include a title, a brief description which could include the class and assignment or not and location.

Forward the submission email for 1 pt credit.

Homework

HW 6: Reflections

HW 6: Reflections

Due November 2, 2:30 pm. 4 pts. 

Reflection – 1. the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it.

Working outside during the day, photograph reflections to create strong compositions that include a combination of elements that are seen directly and by reflection. Reflections can be found in water, windows, and cars among other surfaces. Do not confuse reflections with shadows. Working outside during the day, take enough photographs to end up with 30 interesting photographs with reflections. No credit will be given for improperly exposed photographs or out of focus photographs. No credit will be given for photos taken inside without sufficient light.  Upload to an album on Flickr. Send your best two to the class group.

Reflections example by Edward Burtynsky:

Lab: In-process Midterm Critique

1 pt. Look at your partner’s work to date for the midterm. Select what you think are their 4 best photos. Download small versions of those photos and create a post on Openlab that includes those four photos with at least two sentences describing each one and what makes it a good photo. You must use two of these terms to describe each photo: rule of thirds, diagonal lines, leading lines, pattern, symmetry, figure to ground, contrast of light and dark, a frame within a frame, depth of field, angle of view. 

Category: Midterm Critique

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