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Why Photograph? To understand great photography, we must know its coming of age story. We must also ask ourselves, "Where do we fit in this spectrum?" In this lesson, we will look at the birth, evolution, and future of photography, as well as why each of us photographs.
Introduction
In this lesson, we will understand the first photographic process that was used to capture a truthful likeness. Seeing how photography was born, we will also trace its development through the centuries and speculate how it next evolves. Most importantly, where do we fit into this spectrum? The objectives are outlined as such: - Know who first invented photography and the process that is named after this person.
- Name 2-3 major players in the evolution of photography, as well as what they contributed to the field. - Come up with an idea of how photography will be used in the future. - Answer in 2-3 sentences what inspired you to first pick up a camera and capture images and what you hope to "do" with photography (become a fine artist, capture family photos, make a business out of it).
was also recognized by the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, thanking him for his contribution to the country. However, when the first public announcement was made regarding the invention of a successful photographic process, it generated much animosity. One German publication said it was "impossible" according to their own investigations and the desire to capture reflections, as Daguerre claimed, was blasphemous.
returned it to the Eastman Company with the exposed film inside. What they got back was developed and printed photographs and the camera, reloaded with film. In 1888, a factory in Berlin that had been producing colour dyes began manufacturing material for the new rage of photography. That factory, Aktiengesellschaft fr Anilinfabrikation, soon adopted the acronym Agfa as its official name. In 1891, an Agfa chemist invented Rodinal, which quickly became the world's most famous black & white developer concentrate, still in use today. In 1898, Hannibal Goodwin perfected roll film. He made it a transparent, flexible plastic, which was coated with a thin emulsion and sturdy enough to be used without a paper support. Whew! What an industrious coming of age photography had! Part II of the evolution of photography looks at what occurred in the 20th century and beyond.
Also in 1935, Agfa introduced its own color film to the market, which was the world's first single film/single exposure/single developing process. In 1964, the largest European photographic company was created by the merger of Agfa and Gevaert (a Belgian photographer named Lieven Gevaert started producing highquality photographic products, forming his own company, L. Gevaert & Cie.). From this point onward, photography was in the hands of the general public. What came about as a result were heated debates and separate schools of thought. Photography was debated, Is it an art form? Some said yes, if it was not posed or manipulated. Others said, No way! Anyone can take a snapshot. Straight photography dominated as an art form from the 1930 to the 1950s and is best shown by Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Paul Caponigro, and Imogen Cummingham. Each believed in seeing something, capturing it, and not cropping any of the final image. In 1944, Edward Land's daughter asked why she had to wait to see the picture he had just taken of her. Being the inventor of polarized glass and the owner of the Polaroid Corporation, he conceives the idea of the one-step photographic system that popularized Polaroid with the general public. During the 1960s, an increasing number of colleges and art schools in the United States offered photography courses within their art departments. However, the first photography degree in the world was given by University of Westminster in London in 1841. Throughout the 1970's, camera color negative speed remained low. It was a great improvement on the early days but still insufficient when low light level filming was required. All film companies concentrated on increasing film speed and in the 1980's high speed negative film came into the foray. With the close of the 1980s came a whole new product for photography. One of the first digital cameras was the Sony ProMavica MVC-5000, appearing in 1989. The word "MAVICA" stands for Magnetic Video Camera. The camera recorded images as magnetic impulses on a compact 2-inch still-video floppy disk. The images were captured on the disk by using two CCD (charge-coupled device) chips. One chip stored luminance information and the other separately recorded the chrominance information. This camera provided a 720,000-pixel image. In 1990, the Dycam Model 1 was the worlds first completely digital consumer camera. It had a fixed-focus 8 mm lens and stored 32 compressed images on internal 1MB RAM. It had 1/3-inch, 376 x 240 pixel CCD at 256 gray levels. The formats were TIFF or PICT 2. In 1994, the first mass-market color digital camera was offered. The APPLE QUICK TAKE 100 had a 640 x 480 pixel CCD and up to eight images could be stored in internal memory. The lens was a fixed-focus 50mm, and this even had a built in flash. Improvements to digital cameras keep occurring. In the last 10 years, theyve gotten smaller, faster, and weve even got them embedded in cellular phones. What I want to know is this: With all the development thats happened in the history of photography (100+ years), whats next? What do you foresee in the future of photography?
So, where do each of us fit into all of this? Why do people photograph? What inspired each of you to pick up a camera over and over again? What inspires you to keep looking? To keep capturing? For me, having 3 brothers meant competing with them. When it was time for a family portrait in front of the new house we moved into, I demanded to be the one chosen to take the picture. From the moment I pushed the button on our Polaroid, the whirring fascinated me and the popping out of the picture while the image came into view was exhilarating. I mean, wow! I was 5 years old, and I felt like a grown up because I had just shot an amazing photograph of my family. The next question is what do you DO with your photographic skills? Is it a hobby? Does it pull in some extra cash? Is it your livelihood? .
Lesson 2: Toolbox
In this lesson, we will introduce camera types, capture types, and accessories. Have your mind thinking what kind of camera and setup is ideal for you. Books referenced include "Photography" by Barbara London et al.
Introduction
A camera and its accessories are really just tools. Some tools are high quality and some aren't, but they are all aides to help you translate your vision into a captured scene with photography as the medium. Vision comes from within you and it's yours alone. Here's the key to enhancing your vision: Don't use your tools without thinking. Here's a scenario: You think you've gotten this amazing shot, but when you look at your LCD display or printed photographs, it doesn't even resemble your original idea. What happened? And more importantly - how do you encourage yourself to keep shooting? Understanding some essential camera functions will give you the knowledge and confidence that you can get the shot translated from your vision.
Camera Types
Lets start right from the beginning with a photographers toolbox. There are two most commonly used types of camera for the general public. Their formats are point and shoot and a single lens reflex or SLR, for short. A point and shoot camera does exactly what the name says. You point the camera and you shoot the picture. No focusing, therefore, what you see is not necessarily what you get. Lenses are not interchangeable. Point and shoots are also fully automatic so it doesnt allow for creative control. On the bright side, it's compact (packs well!), lightweight, and its easy to learn and use. This type of camera is great for vacation when you dont want to carry a bulkier camera around.
Versus A single lens reflex (SLR) camera can be bulky, heavy (depending on your lens), longer to learn to use effectively, but the automatic and manual exposure modes allow you more creative control, you can change lenses around, what you see through the viewfinder is what you get. Also, this format is best for fine art and portrait shots. Most important!!! While shopping for a camera, consider your budget, consider the functions and capabilities you want, and then hold it. No, really hold the camera(s) youre interested in your hand, like you are about to photograph with it. Does it fit in your hand? If it doesnt fit or if its not comfortable, youre not going to want to hold it. I used to work at this great camera shop in Savannah, GA, Worldwide Camera. Tom and Pam Coffer are the owners, and I attribute my camera factoids to the two of them. Theyre great people! Anyway, it was through these two that I realized you couldnt keep a customer happy with a camera if it didnt fit comfortably in their hands. Thats basic. Sure, we all need to learn how to use a camera, but if youre struggling to get a large camera gripped in your small hand or vice versa, youre never going to enjoy using it. Go on! When it comes to cameras, hold it before you buy one. Got your camera? Good...next part - what are you capturing them on?
Capture Types
Film versus Digital - need I say more? When I hear people speak of one or the other, they are very passionate about their beliefs in the capability of either one. Remember this, no photographer needs to be mutually exclusive. I know more wedding and event photographers that use both. Why restrict yourself to one or the other if you enjoy the benefits of both? Film Color negative films are made for color prints and enlargements whereas color positive films (slide film) are made for color transparencies. The advantage of color negative film is that they tolerate color correction in the printing stage and can be forgiving of exposure errors. Slide film is not forgiving of exposure error and cannot be color corrected as there is no printing stage to this. Films also vary according to their ISO number or film speed. This number denotes the films sensitivity to light. The higher an ISO number, the faster or more responsive to light it is. For example, if youre shooting in bright sunlight then a film speed of 100 will suffice. However, if youre indoors or in a dimly lit situation, youll need a faster film like 400 or 800. Also, if youre in a museum that says no to flash photography, a film speed of 1600 or 3200 could be used. Do the film speeds seem like random numbers to you? Each number is equal to one stop of light. Therefore, an ISO 400 film is twice as fast as an ISO of 200 film, or one stop more sensitive. Next light stop? 800. Next after that? 1600. Random factoids, Im full of them! Black and white films are all negative films, so the choice comes down to speed.
Based on your experience, what types of film do you like and why? I use Kodak, Agfa, Fuji, and Ilford. Which one depends on what Im shooting, but this is a personal preference. If you shot a lush grassy hill, a person, and the ocean with each of these color films, youd find discrepancies with each. What works for you and your color preference can only be determined by shooting a roll of each of these and then determining what color combination works for you. Color film and its processing is basic chemistry. Find the chemistry that calls out to you. Digital A digital camera is a computer with a lens. It produces an image by converting the tones of a scene into numbers. The positive side is that you dont have to buy any more rolls of film. You can take pictures, transfer this to a computer, and then reuse the same media card. You see immediate results and get immediate gratification. The down side of this is that theres a learning curve for various software and its initial investment. As performance in technology improves, the prices come down. Some things to look for when going digital include image resolution, memory, and basic features. One of the topics that comes up constantly with digital capture is resolution. Whats your res? digital photographers say when first meeting up and comparing notes. Lens sharpness aside, resolution in a digital camera depends on the number of pixels that the image contains. At the lower end of consumer cameras, the resolution provided is 640x480 pixels which works for posting to a website, sending via e-mail or small prints (4x6). In the mid-range are the megapixel cameras (1 million pixels) that are about 1152x864 pixels and can make good prints up to 5x7. At the upper end of the chain are the two-megapixel cameras. They store 2 million pixels. How much res you buy depends on how critical you are regarding image quality and what you can afford. Memory, not your own, but your cameras is significant when considering how many images can be stored before you have to have the images downloaded to a computer. Digital cameras became more flexible for people with the invention of removable storage cards. It doesnt matter which brand you buy as long as the memory cards are compatible with whatever camera you buy. Some of these cards can store a handful of images at a moderate resolution (~4 megabytes) or it could get you through a whole vacation (160 megs). More, bigger, and better are on the horizon, too. Features in digital cameras are varied as well. LCD display screen on the back and what size is to be considered. The bigger it is, the easier it is to view the photo youve just shot. Capture time and download time are something to keep at the back of your mind. How long does it take the camera to capture and store the image? For working with children, unless its a high-end digital camera, the capture time is not quick enough for me. Ive photographed children whove just discovered the joys of walkingwhew! What a workout that can be!
For example, how are you going to carry everything around? A sturdy camera bag is the answer. Find one with sections that can be configured for your equipment, as well as one thats comfortable for you to carry. The styles are endless these days! Backpacks, shoulder bags, and the list goes on. How are you going to know what you did? A small notebook is great to jot notes regarding creative ideas, lighting or weather conditions, different techniques used, etc. This notebook can be a great resource and learning tool. What if you only want one multi-use lens in your arsenal? Go with a mid-range zoom lens, like a 35-135 mm. The human eye sees at ~50 mm. Less than 50 mm is considered wide angle and more than that is considered telephoto. The mid-range allows you to have the best of both worlds. Speaking of lenses, how do you insure yours against damage? A UV filter is pennies next to what youve paid for a good lens. (A lens has more impact on your photographs than any other piece of equipment. Please invest wisely.) The filter will screw onto the end of the lens to protect it from scratches, the odd object flying through the air, and dust. How to power it all? Sure, batteries, but what if your camera has a complete shutdown while shooting an amazing sunset? Backup batteries, film or memory cards are key because Murphys Law will go into effect. If anything can go wrong, it will. What about low light or fast action? Faster speed film can help, but your greatest asset will be a flash unit and a tripod to hold the camera super still. What if you drop the camera? Heres a bit of insurancea camera strap. Wrap it a couple of times around your wrist. Trust me, it works. These may seem basic, but theyre the tools that will keep you and your passion for photography together.
Introduction
In this lesson, we will explore the basics of "doing." This includes -getting started factors, -shutter speed -aperture control -what will you photograph?
All you really need at hand is a minimum of one Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera, film or digital is your choice. The books being referenced include: "Photography" by Barbara London, et al; "Designing with Photos" by Allison Tyler Jones and Donna Smylie; "Kodak Guide to Shooting Great Travel Pictures" by Jeff Wignall.
Composition
When it comes to photography, don't ever forget to check the basics: Have I charged up my camera? or Do I have film and batteries that work in my camera? (Don't laugh. It's happened to us all.) A camera's main function is to help you capture a scene the way you see it. Focus to get the scene sharp where you want it to be. Expose the film so the picture is not too dark and not too light. Okay, knowing that is the easy part. If you're digital, you can correct images via computer and programs such as Adobe's Photoshop. If you're using film, gauge the light you have available. [If your film is sold in a box (package of 1 or 4) look for the expiration date on the box. Film that has expired can be damaged by excessive heat or an extra-long shelf life.] To create a dramatic composition, keep it simple and focus on the most important part of your scene to insure sharpness. When photographing an individual, focus on their eyes. Look through any major magazine and if you are drawn to a photograph of a person's face, look at their eyes. Usually, it's what is highlighted for attention. When photographing a thing, focus on the most interesting part. Is it the handle of a jug? The door of a house? The unique mailbox? Most of us photograph from too far away. Get in, get up, get closer! Whatever caught your eye first, focus on that. How is it framed by your viewfinder? Are you interested in a person's expression? Their shoes? Their hands? If you ask politely, most people will oblige you. I once photographed a girl's shoes at a subway station. They were so bright colored, and it was a great contrast against the dirty floor of the station. To get a photo that is exposed to light correctly, set the aperture (lens opening) and the shutter speed (how fast the lens opens and closes) based on your film speed and how well-lit the subject is. The aperture size determines how much light will pass through the lens; the shutter speed determines the length of time that the light hits the film. More detail (and exercises!) on this later. Camera shake is one of the deadliest things that can happen to a photo. Your subject is still and the aperture seems to open and close with no problem, but when you see the finished result it's more of a blur. What happened? Even the most minute shake of your hand or your arm, can jolt the entire picture. For horizontal photographs, keep your arms against your body to steady the camera. One hand is clicking the shutter release button and other one should be under your lens to steady that. For vertical photographs, support the camera in either hand, but keep your elbow against your body to steady the camera.
A tripod is a guarantee that your camera will be steady (unless, of course, the ground is shaking). A tripod also allows you to use slow shutter speeds which is great for night shots or other dimly lit spots. Keeping a record of your exposures (this is where the small notebook is handy!) helps the learning curve immensely. Write down the frame number, the subject, the aperture, and shutter speed settings, and any other relevant information like location or weather condition. When you see your finished photo, you now have a record of the written components. (This is great when sending submissions into photo magazines...they always like to have that technical data.) Some things to keep an eye out for...(I'd recommend printing this out and going around your house, your yard, or your neighborhood with some of these things to look for.) When you see something you'd like to photograph, just put your camera up to your eye to check it out through the viewfinder. Having the scene before you framed allows you to see it more clearly. I'm constantly putting my own camera up this way to "see" better. People are always amazed because they think I've gone through so much film, but in fact I'm just testing my scenery. I think about what interests me in this scene, as well as why I want to photograph it. Is it the juxtaposition of color? The lines of light? Another rule of thumb to make photos more interesting is the rule of thirds. Whatever has captured your eye, focus on that and then realign to put the subject in 1/3 of the frame. This allows the eye to travel to the subject of the photograph. Look at the edges of what is framed within your viewfinder. How do the edges work with your subject? Does it cut into your subject's head? Is the subject at one side of the frame with lots of empty space around it? Look at what you've got and keep re-framing in your viewfinder to find something you love. Look at the background and foreground of your potential photograph. How does your subject fit in with surroundings? One of the greatest issues on this is...does your subject have something coming out of his/her head due to improper positioning? Towers, trees, and signs are huge culprits...they just seem to show up without our realizing it. Check your lighting. Is it fairly even? When your subject is against a fairly light background like the sky, a wall, or a sign, they can get bleached out. Find a background that allows contrast. Hey! Don't forget to have fun and experiment! See what happens when you've got a subject and you shoot him/her/it from a high angle, a low angle, a dead-straight angle, include something bright in the picture. Embracing photography means having fun with what you are photographing! Woo-hoooo! Next lesson shutter speed and aperture. These two are the heart and soul of manipulating images, the left and right hands of the camera body.
Aperture
The aperture is the opening that allows the light through your lens. Think of it as the eye of your camera, opening and closing. The numbers that measure the size of the opening are called f-stops. The larger the f-stop (or number) is, then the smaller the opening size is, and vice versa. Its a lot like fractions, when you stop to think about it. F-stop 4 sounds like a small number compared to F-stop 22 (or f/22), but think of it as a fraction. Would you
rather have of the pizza when youre ravenous or 1/22 of the pizza when youre that hungry? Smaller number = more pizza for you (or more of an opening through the camera lens). The aperture mode controls the depth of field in a photograph. Depth of field is the amount of the picture that is in or out of focus. If most of your photo (the foreground, middle ground, and background) is all in focus, then it has a long depth of field. If just a little bit is in focus (the foreground OR the middle ground OR the background), then it has a short depth of field. Try pre-visualizing what youd like your end results to be. Many professional photographers do this and even sketch out a general scene of what theyre trying to capture. All of these exercises help to focus your mind and your thinking. The rule of thumb is to simplify your photographs. You dont want a busy scene with many points clamoring for attention. If the background is distracting, throw it out of focus by using a short depth of field. It takes about a roll of film or about 20 shots to understand a photographic concept. Take some shots (and record the readings!) of a gorgeous landscape with every inch in focus (long depth of field). At what aperture were your best shots of the landscape? At what aperture were your best shots of a person? Try shooting the same subject with different depths of field. What are your results? The key to being successful is to experiment and record the results. Note-takers can learn from their experiments. A note on depth of field and pre-programmed modes: The face profile is the portrait mode and that has a short depth of field, so as to blur the background. The mountain is the landscape mode and that has a long depth of field for landscapes. The flower is the close-up mode and that has a short depth of field for extreme close-ups.
Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter remains open once you take your photo. With the manipulation of shutter speed, you can show fast action frozen or blurred to varying degrees. A fast shutter speed - like 1/500 - freezes motion like a waterfall or a child swinging at the playground. A slow shutter speed - like 1/30 - shows water blurred on the waterfall and the child as a blur on the swing. Each full stop shutter setting is half (or double) the time of the next one, and is marked as the bottom part of the fraction of a second that the shutter stays open. 1 (or 1/1 stands for one second) 2 (1/2 second) 4 (1/4 second) 8 (1/8 second) and so on for 15, 30, 60,125, 250, 500 B (or bulb setting) keeps the shutter open for as long as the release button is held down. Again, use a roll of film to experiment with various shutter speeds. Using water coming out of the tap or a fountain, try various shutter speeds. Take note. Which ones did you enjoy? The blurred look of water or the frozen-in-time look? Sporting events are another great place to practice with your shutter speed. Take note, and see where you prefer the actionfrozen or a blurred streak across the field? How about people on bikes or someone on a jump shot? All of these will work.
Youve been introduced to the timing and lighting components within a camera. Use these to think about the structure of a photograph. In our next lesson, well address lighting a subject
Lesson 4: Lighting
In this section, we will address types of lighting, natural and otherwise. Students will understand ways to light a subject, as well as resources that can be consulted for further advice. This is another section where ~20 shots are needed to practice the exercises and see results for yourself. Remember the notebook? Might want to use it here for notes.
Introduction
In this section, students will be introduced to various aspects of lighting like: -direction -diffusion -available light (outdoors and indoors)
-artificial light -main light -fill light -lighting with flash Resources include "Photography" by Barbara London et al, but most importantly, go out and experiment with light. Changes in light will change the effect on your photograph. Pick a favorite spot of yours. Have you seen this spot at sunrise, at high noon, at sunset, and at midnight? Chances are if you captured this spot at those times, the mood of the photograph is different in each. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that light was the first of painters, and since the word "photograph" comes from Greek; "Photo" meaning light and "Graph" meaning to write, let us learn to manipulate light so that we may write with it.
Types of Lighting
Hard Light This type of light comes directly from the source. Sunlight and on-camera flash are two types of hard light. They're strong types of light that create strong and distinctive shadows. Strong light can eliminate details, flatten a subject, and produce the harsh shadows. Soft Light
This type of light is indirect. It can be sunlight coming through curtains or the hazy sunshine we often see on a cloudy day. Shadows are not as harsh with softer light. This type of lighting is ideal for portraits. Natural Light Pretty self-explanatory, I know, but worth mentioning. This type of light comes from a natural source. Sunshine is the prime example of natural light. Artificial Light Artificial lighting comes from photofloods, halogen, "local" light (the lamps in the room), candlelight, etc.
Mood Lighting
The mood of a photograph can be enhanced by lighting and the position of light. Side lighting has been used for masculine portraits to show off rugged facial features. Front lighting has been used to flatter celebrities because it smoothes the shadows of skin texture, while sculpting facial contours. Find the light that fits your subject and your photographs will come to life with your vision. Front Lighting A light is placed near the lens and directly in front of the subject. This can be a flash unit attached to the camera or a prop light slightly to the left or right of the camera. This lighting seems to flatten out the volume of the subject and minimizes textures. Side Lighting A light is placed at a 90-degree angle to the subject. This can look like the face is split in two. One side is completely in shadow, and the other side is lit up. This type of lighting emphasizes facial features and can reveal textures of the skin. High Side Lighting A main light stands at a 45-degree angle to one side and 45-degree angle above the subject defines the high and side lighting. This is a classic lighting shot for portraits. It can be done outdoors with the sun on top and a side light. This is the most natural of light set-ups and is very flattering, as it allows the face to be sculpted into a 3-D form. Top Lighting A light shines down directly on top of the subject. With people it creates deep shadows in the eye sockets and under the nose and chin, such as when trying to photograph someone outside at noon. For product lighting, the shadows are still present, but it can be quite flattering if detail at the top of the piece needs to be highlighted. Under Lighting Lit from below, this produces odd-looking shadows because natural light rarely comes from below a subject. Okay, maybe firelight. In fact, this lighting is now best used for a ghoulish look during ghost stories. Think of the Blair Witch Project with the flashlight under her nose when she was getting a bit frantic. Back Lighting This is a light coming from the back of a subject. The front of the subject can be left in complete darkness unless a fill-flash is used. This might be a flash shot at the front of the subject to light it up. Snow, sunny skies, or bright windows are all back lighting culprits. With fill-flash to compensate, you can make shadows less dark by adding light to them.
Closing
Now you have been introduced to the basics of the camera. All that's left is to go out there, photograph, and evaluate your own work. With each photograph you take, can you define the type of lighting used? The aperture? The shutter speed? This is your art and your vision. Go out and create!