For Art appreciation

1. BASIC
PHOTOGRAPHY—
ART AND COMPOSITION

2. 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

3. 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

4. Exposure can be controlled
mainly through two lens settings:
Aperture…
… and
Shutter
Speed

5. Aperture is the size of the gap
light is let through in the lens –
similar to an eye’s pupil
High f-stop =
Low aperture =
Small gap =
Less light =
Lower Exposure
Low f-stop =
High aperture =
Large gap =
More light =
Higher Exposure
- Aperture is measured in f-
stop numbers (e.g. f/2.1
or f/8.3)
- The higher the f-stop,
the lower the aperture,
the smaller the gap
(and vice versa)

7. 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 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
Long Shutter Speed Short Shutter Speed

9. - 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 thinks is ‘correct’ if it gets it wrong
On most SLRs 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 camera picks
the aperture – compacts usually
have this too) -
depending on which is most
convenient for what you want
Remember: Practice
makes perfect!

10. 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.

18. What makes these
images effective?

19. 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

20. CHARACTERISTICS OF A
GOOD PHOTO
•Shape
•Line
•Pattern
•Texture
•Size and space

21. 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

22. CREATING SHAPE
• Common—
• use backlighting to create a silhouette
• Uncommon—
• side lighting with simple background
• underexpose to focus on shape vs. color or
texture

24. LINE
• Lines create
• Shape
• Pattern
• Depth
• Perspective
• Line leads the eye
• Focal point/subject
• Diagonals
• S-curves

25. 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

29. 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

32. 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

34. 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

36. 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

37. DEPTH AND PERSPECTIVE
• Overlapping forms—overlapping objects in a
picture create depth and distance
• Selective focusing—focusing on the
foreground and blurring the background

41. IMPROVING
COMPOSITION
• Rule of thirds
• Simplicity
• Angle and perspective
• Framing

42. HAVE A STRONG CENTER
OF INTEREST
• Take pictures at different angles with different
compositions
• Work around the rule of thirds

50. 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

55. CUT OFFS
• Avoiding cutting out parts or main subjects
• Avoiding cutting out the path of a moving object

57. Give the object
somewhere to go

59. 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

61. 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

66. BALANCE
• Balance color and weight in a picture
• Formal and informal
• Symmetrical and asymmetrical

67. 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.

68. WHEN A PHOTO IS ASYMMETRICAL, IT HAS UNEQUAL
VISUAL WEIGHT ON EITHER SIDE. BUT THOSE VISUAL
ELEMENTS BALANCE OUT EACH OTHER.

69. Symmetrical
Asymmetrical

70. 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

74. TAKE-AWAY TIPS
•Think
•Experiment
•Move
•Wait
•Rule of Thirds

75. THANK
YOU!!!