Category: Class Topics (Page 3 of 3)

Painting with light – Use a long exposure to draw an image with light over time in the frame.

Inspiration: Atton Conrad

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Sprint Campaign: http://lightpaintingphotography.com/?s=sprint 

Tripod use

• Spread the legs out and make sure the tripod is stable. Use the height from the legs before using the neck of the tripod. Put one leg forward and the two legs on your side.
• Put the plate on the camera and make sure that the lens arrow is pointing towards the lens. Insert the plate into the locking mechanism and make sure that the camera is secure.
• Use the camera timer and DO NOT TOUCH the camera or the tripod during the exposure.

Considerations for painting with light: 

1. Use a tripod 

2. Use Manual as the shooting mode.

3. Set the ISO to 100

4. Set the aperture to f/11 as a starting point to get a wide range of depth of field. 

5. Set the shutter speed to 2″ as a starting point.

6. Use manual focus. Make sure the subject is in focus. To do this shine a light on the subject and use auto focus. Then flip the lens back to MF. Remember that if the distance of the subject to the camera changes, you need to refocus!

Mixing Strobe Lights or Flash with Painting with Light 

The aperture controls the exposure of whatever is lit by the strobe lights. 

The shutter speed controls the illumination of the background. 

Strobes

Strobes have two bulbs:

• the modeling light which helps you see where the light will fall
• the flash bulb that fires when you press the shutter release

A trigger on the camera uses radio waves to tell the receiver to fire the light. The power pack stores the power used to make the exposure.

Lab

Painting Emotions with Light

Homework

HW 4 – Freezing Motion

Review

Angle of view

From America at Hunger’s Edge, The New York Times, September 2, 2020

Photos by Brenda Ann Kenneally

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Depth of Field

Depth of Field-The distance between the nearest and farthest points that appear in acceptably sharp focus in a photograph. Depth of field can be shallow or extensive. While the term includes the word depth, depth of field refers to focus.

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The Depiction of Space

Perspective-the representation of a 3-dimensional space on a 2-dimensional surface by converging lines, diminishing scale and/or atmospheric perspective.

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How to control depth of field

These four factors control depth of field:

• lens aperture
• focal length
• camera-to-subject distance
• sensor size.

Aperture is the size of the opening that allows light to hit the camera’s sensor when the photograph is taken. 

1. Aperture values are expressed in numbers called f-stops. A smaller f-stop number means more light is coming into the camera and will create shallow depth of field. A larger f-stop number will let less light into the camera and create extensive depth of field.
2. The full stops for aperture are: F2, f28, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, f22, f32
3. Cameraphones have a fixed aperture.

Focal Length  is the distance from where the light converges in the lens to the sensor. If it is a short distance then the lens is a wide angle lens and shows a lot of the scene. If it is a long distance, the lens is a telephoto lens and it magnifies the scene. Wide angle lenses create extensive depth of field while telephoto lenses create shallow depth of field.

Camera-to-subject distance is how far the subject is from the camera. If everything is far from the camera, it is easier to achieve extensive depth of field. If the main subject is very close to the camera and the background elements are far from the camera, it is easier to achieve shallow depth of field.

Sensor size-the smaller the sensor the easier it is to achieve extensive depth of field. Bigger sensors allow for shallow depth of field.

 Bokeh-Bokeh comes from the Japanese word boke (ボケ), which means “blur” or “haze”, or boke-aji, the “blur quality.” Bokeh is pronounced BOH-Kə or BOH-kay. 

 — From http://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/article/h0ndz86v/bokeh-for-beginners.html

Quiz Questions

1. Compare perspective and depth of field. Summarize the difference between them.
2. Explain how do you control depth of field with a camera vs with a cameraphone.
3. When working with a cameraphone, what is the difference between optical shallow depth of field or depth of field created in the camera and the appearance of shallow depth of field created with software?

Lab Exercises

Depth of Field

Homework

Near and Far

The Frame: A Review

Cropping: how much information is in the frame

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

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

• a worm’s-eye view

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• a low-angle

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• eye-level

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• a high-angle

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• a bird’s-eye or aerial or overhead view

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• oblique angle

Tram on Sukharevsky Boulevard, 1928. Alexander Rodchenko.

Quiz Questions

• Identify the angle of view used in a photo
• Select the angle of view to create the mood you want in a photo

Lab Exercises

Angle of View

Silhouettes

Homework

Angle of View

Needed for this class

• a camera or cameraphone
• an account on openLab and membership in our class
• an account on Flickr and membership in the class group

Composition Review

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.

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Diagonal Lines – lines that reach towards opposite corners of the photo

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

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Patterns – repeated elements. Break the pattern for visual interest.

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Symmetry – If you fold the image in half the two haves are very similar and have equal visual weight. Or make it asymmetrical to add tension to the composition.

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

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Contrast of Light and Dark – The darks are close to black and the lights are close to white with few mid-tones.

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A Frame within a Frame

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Lab Exercise

Composition Review

Homework

HW 1: Gordon Parks