BAAO COMMUNITY COLLEGE

San Juan, Baao, Camarines Sur

Email add: [email protected]
College of Education

PHOTOGRAPHY

JESUS B. RANCES, LPT MARICON B. RANCES, LPT

Instructor, Baao Community College Instructor, Baao Community College
 ELEMENTS OF
PHOTOGRAPHY
PATTERN
 There are patterns all around us if we only learn to see them.
Emphasizing and highlighting these patterns can lead to
striking shots- as can high lighting when patterns are broken.
SYMMETRY
 A symmetrical shot with strong composition and a good
point of interest can lead to striking image- but without
the strong point of interest it can be a little predictable.
Symmetry is when a photograph looks like it consists of
two objects that are mirror images of each other.
TEXTURE
 Images a two dimensional thing yet with the clever use
of texture they can come alive and become almost three
dimensional. Texture particularly comes into play when
light hits objects at interesting angles.
DEPTH OF FIELD
 Each picture should have only one principal idea, topic,
or center of interest to which the viewer’s eyes are
attracted. It can isolate a subject from its background
and foreground (when using a shallow depth of field) or
it can put the same subject in context by revealing it’s
surrounds with a larger depth of field.
LINES
 Diagonal, Horizontal, Vertical and converging lines all
impact images differently and should be spotted while
framing a shot and then utilized to strengthen it.
FRAMING
 Framing involves identifying an obvious foreground
object close to the camera, with the main subject of the
photograph further away.
PERSPECTIVE
 It is the point of view of the viewer of the photograph.
Different vantage points can convey different
relationships with the objects depicted in the
photograph.
SPACE
 There can be a fine line between filling your frame with
your subject (and creating a nice sense of intimacy and
connection) and also giving your subject space to breath.
BALANCE
 The positioning with elements in a frame can leave an
image feeling balanced or unbalanced.
COLOR
 The colors in an image and how they are arranged can
make or break a shot. Bright colors can make or break a
shot. Bright colors can add vibrancy, energy and interest-
however in the wrong position they can also distract
viewers of an image away from focal points.
PRINCIPLES OF
PHOTOGRAPHY
UNITY OR HARMONY
 We can say that unity exists when all elements in the
image are in harmony or agreement. Especially when
you are composing several elements, it doesn’t matter if
you’re using different elements as long as each of them
belongs to the composition and all these parts equal a
whole.
BALANCE
Here are three ways to achieve balance in an image:
 Symmetrical balance – This is also known as 
perfect balance. In the photo below, for example, both
sides of the image have the same elements.
 Radial balance – This is a type of balance that is based
on a circle with all elements arranged around a central
point like they are radiating from it. The photo below is a
good example of achieving a radial balance.
BALANCE
 Asymmetrical balance – Balance doesn’t always mean
you need to have the same elements on both sides of
the composition. Sometimes a balance can be achieved
by playing with shapes, colors and textures to make sure
that the different elements in your image give a feeling
of having the same visual weight. Using the rule of thirds
can achieve asymmetrical balance like what was
discussed earlier. You can also achieve this by putting
two subjects of different importance that contrasts with
each other in terms of size, color, depth, etc.
EMPHASIS
 is used to create a sense of visual dominance to a certain
element to draw the viewer’s eye to important parts of
the image. This can be achieved through differences in
size, depth, and color.
PROPORTION
 Proportion or scaling is using different sizes of elements
to attract the viewer’s attention to a certain subject. The
photo below is a great example of using a proportion to
make a rather small subject look greater than life.
CONTRAST
 The contrast in photography is just a position of two or
more different elements with the purpose of letting one
element pop out compared to another. This is easily
achieved through using highlights and shadows or by
using complementary colors. Silhouette images fall into
this category.
RHYTHM OR REPETITION
 This is pretty self-explanatory. When an element occurs
over and over again in a composition, it creates rhythm
 or repetition.
MEDIUMS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
FILM SLR (SINGLE LENS
REFLEX) 35MM
 The SLR (single lens reflex) camera lets photographers
shoot with a handheld camera with automatic or manual
settings. The SLR camera can have a medium or wide
lens, which makes the viewfinder large. The images burn
onto film, which is later developed and chemically
treated to produce a photograph. With an SLR 35mm
film camera, a photographer is only allowed up to 36
shots, due to the length of the roll of film inside the
camera.
FILM SLR (SINGLE LENS
REFLEX) 35MM
DIGITAL CAMERA
 Digital cameras are a very manipulable photography
method. This camera technology allows a photographer
to shoot hundred of pictures without worrying about
running out of film. The image of the bird, house, river
or portrait you took remains because the digital sensor is
made of millions of tiny sensor points, or "pixels," a term
short for "picture elements."
INSTANT CAMERA
• An instant camera, also called a Land camera, prints
pictures instantly.
PINHOLE CAMERA
• A pinhole camera uses the same logic as the original camera
obscura, though in smaller form. While the camera obscura
was a large as a house and needed a mirror, a pinhole camera
just uses a tiny hole and photographic paper to make a negative
image.
KINDS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
 ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY
• is a creative form of expression that lets the
photographer communicate his ideas with no established
rule of composition or technique. It’s often a
deconstructed scene where an object is shown in a
different concept or context.
• Architecture, nature, and landscapes are often used to
create abstract photographs.
ARCHITECTURE
PHOTOGRAPHY
 Architecture photography involves capturing images of
buildings, structures, and landmarks. It can be a lucrative
business and many professional photographers make a
decent living from it. They work with architects, builders,
and interior designers.
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
• If you are an astrophotography, your subjects are
celestial objects!
• Astrophotography requires planning, location scouting,
patience, and preferably time-lapse photography
knowledge.
BLACK & WHITE
PHOTOGRAPHY
 Tunnel View scenes in black and white It used to be that
we had to load a roll of black & white OR a color film into
our cameras. Now we can choose to shoot color or black
& white straight from our digital cameras. However, we
recommend that you shoot in RAW and later convert to
black and white in post-processing.
 BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHY
• Boudoir photography is becoming popular because
clients enjoy offering sensual portraits to their partners
or as a way to boost their self confidence.
COMMERCIAL/PRODUCT
PHOTOGRAPHY
 Practically every product advertisement that we see
today has photos that were most probably shot by a
commercial photographer. Brands hire professional
commercial product photographers to enhance their
product appeal.
CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY
 Concert photography is an exciting way to capture
moments and emotions from a live performance.
DOCUMENTARY
PHOTOGRAPHY
 Documentary photographers travel to capture events and
build stories with the images. These photographers
heavily research a story and capture the images that
reflect the context.
DOUBLE EXPOSURE
PHOTOGRAPHY
 This is a creative way to get unique images by
superimposing two images together.
DRONE/AERIAL
PHOTOGRAPHY
 Drones have become popular and affordable in the past
few years. Anyone can now purchase their own
unmanned flying vehicle and take amazing aerial
photographs.
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
 Landscape photography is all about capturing the scenic
view of those beautiful landscapes.
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
 Portrait photography is all about capturing humans and
their emotions. In recent years professional portrait
photography demand has boomed due to demand from
professionals, models, and entertainment industry.
SILHOUETTE PHOTOGRAPHY
 Silhouette photography captures subjects in backlighting
which makes the subject’s features and details too dark
to recognize. Only the figure and shape of the subject is
visible. If you aspire to take stunning silhouette
photography, master your camera’s metering modes.
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
 Wildlife photographers are passionate about nature and
animals. They capture wildlife in their natural habitats
and usually rely on zoom lenses so as not to disturb the
animals.
BASIC PARTS OF THE CAMERA
CAMERA LENS
 The purpose of the camera lens is to focus and direct the
incoming light. The camera lens consists of one or more
precisely shaped pieces of glass or plastic called
elements. The light coming through the elements is
"bent" or directed to the image sensor where the
information about the light is captured.
CAMERA LENS APERTURE
 The lens aperture is actually a part of the camera lens.
The camera lens aperture controls the amount of light
that will reach the camera's image sensor. (as opposed
to the camera shutter which controls the length of ​time
light is exposed to the image sensor.
EYE LEVEL OPTICAL
VIEWFINDERS
 All Digital SLR cameras are equipped with eye level
viewfinders and most of them also have LCD screens.
Many Compact System cameras and Bridge cameras are
also equipped with eye level viewfinders.
SCREENS
 Just about all cameras manufactured these days have
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screens. The LCD screen is
the part of the camera that allows you to view your
subject or scene before taking ​the picture. The LCD
screen also allows you to see your images immediately
after you take a picture.
BASIC CAMERA SHOTS
BASIC CAMERA SHOTS
High Angles
 The camera looks down on the subject. Can make
subjects appear smaller or less important.
BASIC CAMERA SHOTS
Low Angle
 The camera looks up at the subject. Can make
subjects appear larger or more important.
BASIC CAMERA SHOTS
Straight Angle
 The camera is on the same level as the subject.
Usually used in news or “realistic” shots
BASIC CAMERA SHOTS
Close Up (CU)
 A shot in which the camera is close to the subject
.when the subject is a person, this usually means only
the person’ face or face and shoulders are shown
often used to show emotion.
BASIC CAMERA SHOTS
Extreme Close Up (ECU)
 A shot in which the camera is very close to the
subject . If the subject is a person’s face , only features
such as the eyes and mouth are shown . Often used to
exaggerate features so that characters look ugly or
provocative.
BASIC CAMERA SHOTS
Long Shots (LS)
 Also called a full shot, uses the camera ‘s full angle of
view, so that the subject is a long distance away from
the camera.
BASIC CAMERA SHOTS
Medium Shot (MS)
 The shot between a long shot and a close up. With
characters, it usually shows them from the waist up.
BASIC CAMERA SHOTS
Extreme Long Shots (ELS)
 A shot in which characters appear very small in the
distance.