Photography: Some Basics

Subject

• The main object or person(s) emphasized in the photograph. – What do you want to say about your subject.– Look at

• Position• Lighting• Expression• Actions• Etc…

– How do these affect the EMOTION and MESSAGE?

Foreground/Background

• Foreground– The part of the scene or picture that is or

seems to be toward the front.

• Background– The part of the scene or picture that is or

seems to be toward the back.

* How does the foreground/background affect our understanding of the subject?

Different types of shots• Long Shot

– The subject is shown at a relatively small scale (from far away). Emphasizes setting.

• Wide Shot– Subject takes up full frame, or most of it.

We look at whole subject, within setting.

• Mid Shot– Closer in – shows part of the subject in

detail. The photographer wants us to look closer.

• Close Up– A certain feature takes up the whole frame.

Detail or emotion is important here.

Reindeer Herding:

Interpret these 3 photos using terms you’ve learned.

Composition: The Rule of Thirds

• The rule of thirds is the simplest rule of composition. All you do is take your frame and overlay a grid of nine equal sections. This means you split the vertical space into three parts and the horizontal space into three parts. Here's what that looks like:

Generally you want to place important elements where the

grid intersects.

3) Tips for your photographs

Think about your shots

• Before you even lift your camera, look at your subject and think about – What you think is interesting– What you want to emphasize– How you want your image to look

(composition)

Move around

• When you’ve chosen your subject, try moving around and seeing how it looks from various angles or perspectives.

• A shot from above, from below, from close up or far away will have very different effects.

Take a lot of photographs!

• Shoot a lot more than you need (if you’re using digital)

• Take multiple angles and shots of the same subject… experiment!!!

• Go through what you’ve shot and pick the very best.– The more you shoot, the more options you have.– The more you practice taking good photographs, the

better you’ll get.

Don’t…

• If you’re photographing someone who’s looking out of the frame, leave space…

The viewer will follow their gaze… give them room.

Don’t let features in the background interfere with your main subject… Look at the entire image as you’re shooting.

Be careful… don’t crop off heads, or cut off feet in a wide shot... If you are cutting something out, try to do so on purpose.