Thursday Thoughts

7 March, 2013 Edition

This week we discussed with portrait photography.

Examples of portrait photography:

http://www.gregoryheisler.com

• http://squidvicious.com/wordpress/

• 
  

• http://www.fivezerothree.com/

definition: Portrait photography or portraiture is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people (a group portrait), in which the face and expression is predominant.

So our yearbook photos, for example, would be portraits.

We also spoke about lighting with artificial lights and the reflectors - which I especially wanted to throw like a frisbee.

http://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/three-point/

The Three Point Lighting Technique is a standard method used in visual media such as video, film, still photography and computer-generated imagery. It is a simple but versatile system which forms the basis of most lighting. Once you understand three point lighting you are well on the way to understanding all lighting.

The technique uses three lights called the key light, fill light and backlight. Naturally you will need three lights to utilise the technique fully, but the principles are still important even if you only use one or two lights. As a rule:

• If you only have one light, it becomes the key.
• If you have 2 lights, one is the key and the other is either the fill or the backlight.

~Key Light~

-This is the main light. It is usually the strongest and has the most influence on the look of the scene. It is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that this side is well lit and the other side has some shadow.

~Fill Light~

-This is the secondary light and is placed on the opposite side of the key light. It is used to fill the shadows created by the key. The fill will usually be softer and less bright than the key. To achieve this, you could move the light further away or use some spun. -You might also want to set the fill light to more of a flood than the key.

~Backlight~

-The backlight is placed behind the subject and lights it from the rear. Rather than providing direct lighting (like the key and fill), its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject's outlines. -This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.

If you have a fourth light, you could use it to light the background of the entire scene.

Thursday Thoughts

~28 February, 2013 Edition~

~This week we talked about the process in which to take photos in buildings and how to correlate the triad and white balance to shoot correctly. You change the white balance, then the ISO, then the shutter speed, then, finally, the aperture. You choose flash or no flash. Then you either use a tripod or you attempt to shoot steadily.

~We also got our next project - the Architecture and Urban Photo Project. Needless to say, I'm excited. I love shooting buildings and trolleys and just all of that stuff. :)

~ I've shot a little bit already in Powell's Bookstore, down by St. Johns, at a Winterhawks game, on the highway, and on the freeway. It was difficult to find the correct white balance, but I eventually got the hang of it. My father helped me figure things out - in fact, he was overly helpful. I eventually had to tell him to not help me, to let me figure it out. I shot the hockey photos in AV mode, Manual focus, 1600 ISO, and a shutter speed of about 4.0/4.5.

Thursday Thoughts

21 February, 2013 Edition

Today, we're deciding on places to shoot. We talked about respect in people and businesses and also the project in general.

On Tuesday, we talked about aperture, f-stops, and depth of field to refresh our memories and just to learn it again. We also talked about respect of our subject.

Thursday Thoughts

14th of February, 2013 Edition

We focused on ISO this week - like if we were inside shooting with unnatural light, what would the ISO be, and what it would be shooting outside with natural light.

We shot photos at school - which are in the previous post.

Today, we also took a walk around the area of school. We ended up at Target where Tali met enlisted members of the United States military and a photographer named John.

John had many stories to tell, and we had to leave before he could finish his story. He talked of an Indian wedding in Fiji - how it lasted 7 days, a fourteen-pund wedding dress, and the ceremonial baby powder throwing at the end of each day.

Lizzy also handed out candy to strangers and waved at them as well.

On our walk - to and back from Target - we shot in the style of street photography. We shot moving objects, people, lost shopping carts, and anything we could find along the way.

So even if you're just walking to the store down the street, you can find little things that catch your eye(s). Instead of a ten minute trip to Fred Meyer's. it turns into a hour trip.

Shooting Exercise and Edit - Architectural

So Lizzy and Joelle were in my group for this exercise. We were told to focus on things with typography. Some of our photos weren't focused on typography but were more focused on juxtaposition and details.

Step 1: Lizzy, Joelle, and I get assigned to a group. We go outside to take photos.

- we used manual focus and we adjust everything by hand.
- shot in aperture priority

Step2: We strolled around outside looking for subjects for our photos that are in plain sight and unnoticed - or subjects noticed too much and therefore not appreciated.

Step 3: Saunter back to class since the camera battery was "exhausted."

Step 4: Transfer Photos

- personally, I prefer to transfer the photos from the SD Card to the computer/mac before importing to Lightroom.

Step 5: Import to Lightroom

-  using add instead of copy since I already transferred the photos from the SD Card

Step 6: Sort through photos
- flag, delete from lightroom, etc.
- be sure that I keep the photos the group chooses

Step 7: edit
- crop/rotate
- white balance
- exposure
- highlights, lowlights, midtones
- blacks, whites
-clarity

Step 8: export
- Quality @ 100
- press export



The Photos

My Photo

Lizzy's Photo

Joelle's Photo

Thursday Thoughts

31st of January Edition

So last week I was ill. But I made it on Monday - where we talked about WHITE BALANCE.

We figured out where to change the white balance and that was incredibly helpful since photos can look over exposed or under exposed quite easily. If you change the white balance, you may not have to change the shutter speed or the aperture.

Thursday Thoughts

The 7th of February Edition

So this week we learned about - and refreshed our memories about - EXPOSURE.

Especially today.

Today we wen over Exposure Compensation.

According to Nikon:

"Exposure compensation is used to alter exposure from the value selected by the camera, making photographs brighter or darker.

In modes P, S, and A, the camera automatically adjusts settings for optimal exposure, but this may not always produce the exposure the photographer intended. Exposure is a matter of personal preference, and an exposure brighter or darker than that selected by the camera may sometimes better reflect the photographer’s intent. The feature used in such situations is called exposure compensation. Digital SLR cameras allow you to check the results immediately, so you can take a photograph, display it in the monitor, and then raise exposure compensation for brighter results or lower exposure compensation for darker results and take another picture."

So yeah. Exposure Compensation is an important factor for a photographer's choices of places to shoot and how to keep shooting everywhere you go.

Sadly, Joelle, Lizzy, and I could only shoot for about 10 minutes since our camera's battery became exhausted.