DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY:EXPERIMENTING WITH CONCEPTS

EME 6205: Teaching Tool 2

OksanaHlodanMay 242007

This activity is about concepts:

•Lighting•Close-ups•Exposure•Perspective•Motion

Photo credits: All photos by Oksana Hlodan

Lighting of Indoor Close-ups

• Don’t stand close to the subject. Let the zoom do the work for you. Too close, and the flash washes out the subject.

• Play with the indoor lighting - overhead lights, lamps, candles. Soft lighting from lamps, placed strategically, may help the colors shine through.

• If the subject is naturally dark, place natural light close to it.

Example 1: Small, Colorful

Objects

• Small photo: AUTO setting and FLASH, w. overhead lights on• Large photo: INDOOR setting and FLASH, w. corner lamp,

adjusted distance and zoom

Example 2

The same photo techniques were used for this oil painting hanging on the wall.

Q: What is the main problem in these shots? How would you correct it?

Outdoor close-ups

• Use micro/foliage mode in SCN or adjust stops manually.

• Keep sunlight behind you or else use a polarizer filter.

• If windy day, adjust film speed.• Choose focal point carefully.

Example

Both pictures are of seagrape leaves and stems of flowers and were taken using the foliage mode, no flash and from the same

distance. L: shutter 1/20, f4.0, ISO 80; R: 1/60, f4.0, ISO 80.

Q: What could be some of the reasons the photo on the left is blurry and the one on the right is

clear?

Landscapes: Exposure

• For beginners, buildings can be shot in the landscape mode.

• Composition is important to framing the building.

• Experiment with exposure settings to take into account sunlight, clouds, and reflections.

Example

L: AUTO setting - 1/1000, f5.5, and ISO 80, -2 exp. R:

LANDSCAPE setting - 1/60, f2/6, 0 exp., ISO 200.

Q: Changing the viewpoint improved

composition but how can the photo at right

be improved even more?

Frost Bank, Austin, TX

Landscapes: Perspective

• The Landscape Mode is made for outdoor landscapes where you want clarity of foreground and background.

• Where you place your focal point will define the clarity of the perspective and create a pleasing composition.

Examples

• L: Landscape Mode: 1/200; f3.5; ISO 80; focal length of 9.82 mm• R: Landscape Mode: 1/125; f5; ISO 200; focal length 18.35 mm

Motion

• Capturing motion within or on an object makes for an interesting photo.

• Use the focus lock (AF) to capture the movement quickly or low contrasts.

• Try the exposure lock (AE) for strong contrasts.

Example 1Auto Mode: 1/800; f3.5; ISO 80; AE lock used due to extreme sunlight and intent to capture moving clouds and shadows in

window panes.

Example 2

Using Auto Mode: 1/200; f2.6; ISO 80; the focus lock was

used to capture the movement on the

street, which is reflected in the

metal guitar and glass window.

Q: Which concept would you focus on for these subjects? How would you achieve your goal?