Technology in Teaching and Learning in the Elementary Grades | 1

Module 4:Visual Media - Photography

Topic Learning Outcome:

a. Design visual materials through photography to enhance attainment of specific lesson

Enabling Activity

Instruction: Using your smartphones, take two selfies or selcas (self camera). One is a picture of
yourself wearing a teacher’s uniform and the other is your student self. Afterwards,
upload it in your Facebook, Instagram and Twitter Accounts with the hashtag
#FutureSelf. Do not forget to share it to your class’ discussion forum.

Deepen!

Photography
o Selecting a Camera
 Choosing a digital camera becomes complex because of many interesting
features that each camera offers.
 Understanding your camera is the best way towards taking good photos.
 Cellphone and Smartphones
 Today’s cellular phones are called smartphones because
of its almost complete features including having a
camera.
 Point and Shoot Camera
 It is also called as the compact camera. This is easy to
use because you only need to point it in the general
direction of the subject and press the button then the
camera does the rest.
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 EVIL Cameras
 It stands for Electronic Viewfinder with Interchangeable
Lenses.
 It is also called as the mirrorless cameras.
 This is a new hybrid of camera.
 It describes the type of camera that exists between Point
and Shoot and DSLR.
 DSLR Camera
 It always takes amazing photos. They offer so much
control and customization on the photos that you would
like to take. It has interchangeable lenses which allows
you to always have the best lens for a specific exposure.
o Basic Camera
 Lens
 Is one of the most vital part of a camera
 It can be fixed permanently or interchangeable
 It can vary in focal length, aperture and other details.
 Viewfinder
 It will be the main visual source for image-taking.
 Body
 It is the main portion of the camera and bodies can be a number
of different sizes and shapes
 Shutter Release
 It is the mechanism that “release” the shutter and therefore
enables the ability to capture the image.
(Watch Camera Basics – Shutter Speed :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R9ZTxoTOSk)
 Aperture
 affects the image’s exposure by changing the diameter of the lens
opening, which controls the amount of light reaching the image
sensor.

(Watch Camera Basics – Aperture :

 ISO
(Watch Camera Basics – ISO : https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=q8cj9Lj9w-g)

 Image Sensor
 It converts the optical image to an electronic signal, which is
then sent to your memory car.
 Memory Card
 It stores all the image information and they range in size, and
speed capacity.
 LCD Screen
 It is found on the back of the body and can vary in size.
 Flash
 It is sometimes be useful to provide a bit of extra light during dim,
low light situations.
 User Control
 These controls will vary depending on the model and type.
 A DSLR will have numerous of controls for auto and manual
shooting along with custom settings.
o Technical Terms Used in Photography
 Pixels – it is also called as the picture element. These are tiny squares
that compose digital images. Each square has its own color assigned to it
and when you compile all these squares, it will allow images to appear
smooth when viewed at original size.
 Megapixels – it means one million pixels. It is used to describethe
maximum number of pixels found in an image produced by a digital
camera.
 Zoom - it can either be a digital or optical zoom.
 Digital zoom – simply crops the image to a smaller size, the
enlarges the cropped portion to fill the frame again. It result in a
significant loss of quality.
 Optical zoom – works just like a zoom lens on a film
camera. Image quality stays high throughout.
 White balance – one of the most underused settings in digital cameras.
o Other terms
 Red eye – the red blot that appears in the eyes of the subject
 Metering system – the camera’s automatic system that identifies the
aperture and speed to be used
 Macro mode – used in photographing smaller objects especially for the
purpose of enlarging said subjects in the reproduction
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 Depth of field – the relative sharpness in relation to its distance from its
foreground and background
 Shutter speed – the fastness of the opening and closing of the camera’s
shutter. Ex: B, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 90, 125, 250, 500, 750, 1000, etc
 Auto-focus – the camera’s ability to readily adjust to various focusing
situations
 Telephoto lenses – lenses with distances from 300 mm up
 Wide and normal lenses – refer to the appearance of the subjects in
relation to the entirety of the picture. The smaller the mm number, the
wider the lens. Thus a 28 mm lens is wider then a 35 mm lens. A 50 mm
lens is a normal lens, meaning what the eyes perceive is also what the
camera ‘sees’
 Flash – an electronic or battery – powered source of light of any camera.
Some have flashes that simply synchronize with the need of the situation
 Tripod – an important gadget used to steady the camera. It is also very
important in the achievement of sharpness and the avoidance of
unnecessary blurs
o How to compose Better Pictures
 Rule of the Thirds
 It means that you should divide up each and every photo you
shoot into nine parts. Then, you should position the most
important elements in your scene along these lines, or at the
points where they intersect. Doing so will add balance and
interest in your photo.
 Balancing Elements
 It means that your main subject off-centre to create a more
interesting photo.
 Leading Lines
 It will take our eyes along the lines of the photo.
 Lines can be straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag, radial and etc.
 Symmetry and Patterns
 Use patterns as the theme for your composition. They can make
for very eye-catching compositions. You can break the pattern by
including objects in the scene.
 Viewpoint
 Viewpoint means taking your photos at a different angles.
 You can take from eye level, from high above, from down at
ground level, from side, from back, and so one. This will create
interesting result that will greatly affect the message that it wants
to convey.
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 Background
 Subject is not only important in taking photos but the background
as well. To compose your shot, look for a plain and unobtrusive
background so that it doesn’t distract or detract from the subject.
 Depth
 You can create depth in a photo by including objects in the
foreground, middle ground and background.
 Overlapping is a technique to add depth to your photo. This
means deliberately partially obscure one object with another.
 Emphasize your scene’s depth by including interesting subjects at
a varying distance from the camera.
 Framing
 Frames are usually, trees, archways, holes and many more that
can isolate your main subject with the rest.
 The result is a more focused image which draws your eye
naturally to the main point of interest.
 Cropping
 It is important because sometimes the main subject is so small
that it becomes lost among its surrounding. By cropping tight
around the subject, you eliminate the background “noise”, so the
focus is only on the subject.
 Experimentation
 Digital photography allows us to experiment with different
compositions until we find the perfect one. Just keep on taking
photos until you get the perfect one that conveys the message
that you want.
 Basic Photography is FAST:
o F - Focus
o A - Aperture
o S - Shutter
o T - Think
 Depth of Field
o Shallow – subject is clear and sharp; background is blurred
o Deep – subject is clear and sharp; so with the background
 The higher the ISO / ASA number, the lesser the needed light. Therefore, a 100 ASA film
needs greater light than the 200, 400, 800, or 1600 ASA films.
 Think:
o What do I need to take?
o What do I want to come out (subjects) in pictures?”
o How did I draw attention to the subjects?
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o Is the photo simplified?