BASIC

PHOTOGRAPHY—
ART AND COMPOSITION
 WHAT IS
PHOTOGRAPHY?
• It is a process of reproducing images
on sensitized materials by various
forms of radiant energy.
• Radiant energy includes visible light,
ultraviolet, infrared, x-rays, atomic
radiations and electron beams.
• It came from two Greek words:
• “photo” meaning light
• “graphos” meaning to write
Let there be light!

All
photography is
based on light

Exposure is the total

amount of light
allowed to fall on the
film/image sensor
Exposure can be controlled
mainly through two lens
settings:
Aperture…

… and
Shutter
Speed
Aperture is the size of the
gap light is let through in the
lens – similar to an eye’s pupil

Low f-stop =
- Aperture is measured
High aperture = in f-stop numbers (e.g.
Large gap = f/2.1 or f/8.3)
More light =
Higher Exposure

High f-stop = - The higher the f-

stop, the lower the
Low aperture =
aperture, the smaller
Small gap = the gap (and vice
Less light = versa)
Lower Exposure
 Shutter Speed is the length of time the camera’s lens shutter
is open – in other words, how long the camera spends taking
the picture

Long Shutter Speed Short Shutter

Speed

- Long shutter speeds spend more time letting light in, which
can help in dark environments and create artistic blur effects
with movement
- Short shutter speeds spends less time letting light in, which
allows for quicker pictures and the ability to ‘freeze time’ in
great detail
- To get a good exposure on manual mode, you have
to make sure the aperture and shutter speed
balance each-other out correctly for the sort of
photo you want
- Most digital compacts/SLRs on automatic mode will
judge the aperture and shutter speed for you when
taking a picture – but you can still change an
exposure compensation setting to alter what it
Onitmost
thinks is ‘correct’ if it gets wrongSLRs you can
switch on: Aperture
Priority (you pick the
aperture, the camera picks
the shutter speed), or -
Shutter Priority (you pick
the shutter speed, the
Remember: Practice camera picks the aperture –
makes perfect! compacts usually have this
too) -
depending on which is most
 ISO
In digital photography, ISO measures the sensitivity of
the image sensor.
The same principles apply as in film photography:
The lower the number, the less sensitive your camera is
to light and the finer the resulting grain.
What makes
these images
effective?
 CREATING MOOD
• Overall feel of a picture
• Created by
• Perspective
• Color
• Focus (isolation and distance)
• Weather and light
• Sunrise/sunset
• Misty, rainy days
• Sun vs. overcast
 CHARACTERISTICS
OF A GOOD PHOTO
• Shape
• Line
• Pattern
• Texture
• Size and space
 SHAPE
• Tends to be noticed first, before texture
and pattern
• Easiest and most recognizable
composition tool
• Shape helps create a mood/character
for the picture
 CREATING SHAPE
• Common—
• use backlighting to create a
silhouette
• Uncommon—
• side lighting with simple
background
• underexpose to focus on shape vs.
color or texture
 LINE
• Lines create
• Shape
• Pattern
• Depth
• Perspective
• Line leads the eye
• Focal point/subject
• Diagonals
• S-curves
 LINE CREATES
PERSPECTIVE
• Lines into the horizon show depth and
perspective for the viewer
• Vanishing point
• Point at which lines converge and vanish in to
the horizon
• Place off-center
• Close-ups decrease perspective while wide-
angles can exaggerate it
 PATTERN
• Orderly combination of shape, line, or
color
• Pattern can help echo the character of a
photo
• Catching attention
• Random patterns
• Slight variation in a pattern
• Pattern in common places
 TEXTURE
• Adds realism (sense of touch) to a
photo
• Sharp (hard) light highlights texture
• Especially important for close-up and
b/w shots
• Side lighting highlights texture
• Most portraits use front lighting to
decrease texture on skin
 USING LIGHT FOR
DEPTH
• Sometimes hard light is inappropriate
for illustrating shape and depth
• Soft side lighting can give a sense of
shape and depth without high
contrast
• Portraits
• Still life
• When shape/depth is more
important that texture
 GIVING PERSPECTIVE
• Linear—Lines which converge into
the distance
• Diminishing size—objects further
away are smaller
• Aerial perspective—atmosphere
creates haze, which lightens
objects farther away
 DEPTH AND
PERSPECTIVE
• Overlapping forms—overlapping
objects in a picture create depth
and distance
• Selective focusing—focusing on the
foreground and blurring the
background
 IMPROVING
COMPOSITION
• Rule of thirds
• Simplicity
• Angle and perspective
• Framing
 HAVE A STRONG
CENTER OF INTEREST
• Take pictures at different angles with different
compositions
• Work around the rule of thirds
 SIMPLICITY
• One strong center of interest
• Foreground or background should be
simple or complimentary to center of
interest
• Include foreground or background for
sense of isolation, distance, depth,
etc.
• Avoid mergers
 CUT OFFS
• Avoiding cutting out parts or main
subjects
• Avoiding cutting out the path of a
moving object
Give the object
somewhere to go
 WORKING WITH
ANGLES
• Low angles
• Clear sky backdrop
• Accentuate movement or action
• High angle
• Eliminate cloudy sky
• 45 degree angles will cut glare
• Avoid centered horizons
 FRAMING
• Adds depth
• Should fit theme
• Helps subject fill the frame
• Can block unwanted subjects from view
• Watch focus on foreground
• Focus on foreground in landscape
• Focus on subject in portraits
• Auto-focus should be centered on main topic
• Overall—DEPENDS ON CAMERA
 BALANCE
• Balance color and weight in a
picture
• Formal and informal
• Symmetrical and asymmetrical
A PHOTOGRAPH IS SYMMETRICAL IF IT HAS TWO
(ALMOST) IDENTICAL SIDES WITH A CENTRAL POINT
OF AXIS. IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU CUT THE PHOTO
IN HALF, THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE MIRROR EACH
OTHER. OR THE UPPER AND BOTTOM HALF ARE
IMITATING EACH OTHER.
WHEN A PHOTO IS ASYMMETRICAL, IT HAS UNEQUAL
VISUAL WEIGHT ON EITHER SIDE. BUT THOSE VISUAL
ELEMENTS BALANCE OUT EACH OTHER.
Symmetrical

Asymmetrical
 FILL THE FRAME
• Would this picture look better if I
was closer?
• Focus on subject
• Detail
• Start far and move closer
• Fill the frame with objects that
“fit”
• Long range shots provide depth
and perspective
 TAKE-AWAY TIPS
• Think
• Experiment
• Move
• Wait
• Rule of Thirds
THANK
YOU!!!