Today, I will learn…
� Ground plane
� Lighting types
� Focus
Learning Goals
Ground Planes
Ground Planes
� When thinking of your composition,
framing, and balancing your photograph;
you should take into consideration the
three distances or areas of the ground plane
to break up your photo appropriately
ForegroundBoats on
shore
ForegroundBoats on
shore
Middle ground
Water and boat in water
Middle ground
Water and boat in water
BackgroundMountains
and horizon
BackgroundMountains
and horizon
Lighting
� By changing the amount of light and shadow, a photographer can change the mood and create dramatic effects
� When the subject is behind a light source the viewer sees fine colour and detail.
Back Light“Good” Example
� Placing a subject in front of a light source (back light) can create a silhouette, emphasizing general shapes rather than detail
� Can create beautiful and dramatic effects if done correctly
Back Light“Bad” Example
� The photo is backlit by the natural lighting of the sun, however, the photographer hasn’t compensated with their exposure settings, nor used a front lighting source (i.e. flash, or reflectors)
Front Light“Good” Example
� A good cast of lighting from natural sources such as the sun, indirect lighting from reflectors, or diffused light
Front Light“Bad” Example
� No consideration of how shadows are cast
� Sometimes, subjects can be “washed out” due to harsh front light sources; loosing details and contours of objects and subjects
Side Light
� Light source is directed at the subject from either side
� Can create dramatic effects and moods for the audience
Bounce / Reflected Light
� Bounce light is an indirect light source
� Typically reflected or “bounced” off walls or reflectors, which helps diffuse light
� Creates a much softer casting of light, less harsh shadows and highlights
� Evens out harsh light sources
Artificial Lighting
� Commonly associated with studio photography
� Generated from a studio lights, and built-in or external flash.
� Artificial lighting provides a lot of flexibility and creative opportunities; you can control the effects created within your photographs
Focus
Focus
� By manipulating how sharp or blurry a
picture appears, a photographer can change
the mood of a photograph.
� We often think the best photos are those
where everything is in clear, sharp focus,
this is not always the case.
Soft Focus
� Photographers often deliberately blur the details of a
picture, either during shooting or during post-production
(editing), this is known as soft focus
� Soft focus is used to suggest a romantic, ideal, angelic, or
dreamlike quality
� Common in wedding photography & glamour shots (yay!)
Shallow Focus
� A narrow/shallow depth of field needed
(large aperture, small f-stop, i.e. f 2.8)
� Only a small area (foreground, middle
ground, or background) is in focus,
while the rest of the planes are out-of-
focus
� This can help emphasize and draw
importance to your subject and ensure
the audience is focused on your subject
Only the surfer in the background is in focus = shallow focusOnly the surfer in the background is in focus = shallow focusNarrow/shallow Narrow/shallow depth of field (small f-stop number)depth of field (small f-stop number)
In focus
Out-of-focus
Deep Focus
� A wide/deep depth of field needed
(small aperture, large f-stop, i.e. f 16)
� Foreground, middle ground, and/or
background can all be in focus
� This can help to ensure your audience
observes the photograph as whole
All of this is in focus = deep focusAll of this is in focus = deep focusDeep/wide Deep/wide depth of field (large f-stop number)depth of field (large f-stop number)
Practice
� Practice your composition & framing skills;
� Take photos of objects, buildings, people;
anything that catches your eye
� Move around; think about your composition and
how you position your subjects within your
camera frame
� Experiment with different camera shots, angles,
aperture settings (to get different DoFs/focuses),
and shutter speeds (to capture motion blur)
To Do
� Reflection #1 – Overdue
� Journal #1 (Rule-of-thirds) – Overdue
� ‘Composition…’ article questions – Overdue
� Camera techniques glossary – Due today!
� Journal #2 (Exposure) – Due today!
� Detailed instructions on Edmodo
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