Principles of photography

1. Photographyis theseries of actions involvinglightorelectromagneticradiationto
recordimages of objects onvarious surfaces. Photographyalways requires lightto
duplicatethereal-lifeimagebeingtaken. Photographyenlists theuseofacamerato
capturetheimageneededtoproducetherecreationof theimageontophotographic
film.

2. principles of
Balanceis arrangingthe
elements inapieceso
thatthereis equalityfrom
onesidetotheother. A
symmetricalimagehas
perfect balance. Balance
canalsobeachievedby
asymmetryorradial
arrangement. Beloware
anexampleof bothpoor
andgoodbalance.
1. Balance
balance. Balancecanalsobeachievedbyasymmetryorradialarrangement.
2. Harmony
Thedictionarydefinitionof
harmonyis “aconsistent,
orderly,orpleasing
arrangementof parts;
congruity”. This happens in
artbyusingsimilar elements
throughoutapiecethatbring
ittogetherina“pleasing”
way. Harmonycanbe
consideredsimplicity.
I chosethis imageto
representagoodharmony.
elements throughoutapiecethatbringittogetherina“pleasing” way. Harmonycan
beconsideredsimplicity. This is oneof themost difficultprinciples tograsp.

3. 3. Rhythm/Pattern
Patternorrhythmis simplyrepeatingan
element insuchamanner. This willcausethe
viewer’s eyetomovearoundtoeach element.
4. Unity
Unityis takingtheparts of apieceofartandunifyingthemintosomethingbetteras
awhole. Compositionis agreatwaytodothis. This imagecouldbeseparatedinto
eachpartas its ownpiece,buttogethertheybecomeaunifiedcomposition.
5. Contrast
Contrastis easy. Itis similartoadding
contrast toanimageoverall,butthis is
donebyusingtheelements. Youcan
createcontrastinanimagebyusing
complementarycolors ordifferences in
light anddark.

4. 6. Proportion
Proportionis usingthesizeof an
objecttogiveitmoreorless
importance. Findinganimagethat
uses this purposefullywas
difficult.
7. Variety
Varietyis exactlywhatitsounds like,
havingvarietyinyourelements. The
imageontherighthas varietyin
eachof theshells. Bydifferingthe
kinds of shells,I’vecreatedvariety
thatstillmaintains unityinthatthey
areallshells.
varietyis createdthatstillmaintains unityinthattheyareallshells.
8. Movement
Movementis oneof thesimpler
principles tolearn; I actuallyusedit
alotwhendiscussingtheElements
of Art. Thegoalof creatingmovement
is toleadtheviewer’s eyeallaround
thephotoandlandonthefocal
point. Theimagebelowdoes agreat
jobof thatusinglineandtone.

5. origin of
Likemanymoderntechnologies digitalphotographycantraceits beginnings back
to“SpaceRace” whentheUnitedStates andtheSovietUnionwereincompetition
forsupremacyinouterspaceandwereracingtobethefirstcountytoputamanon
themoon.
This timeperiodfrom1957-1975sawanunparalleledadvancementintechnology,
includingthebeginningdevelopmentof digitalcameras anddigitalphotography.
1961
EugeneF. Lallyof theJetPropulsion Laboratorybeganworkingonawaytouseamosaicphotosensor to
capturedigital images.
1969
Was particularlyimportantin thehistoryof digital photographybecauseGeorgeSmith andWillard
Boyleof Bell Laboratories developedtheCCD (charge-coupled-device) anddemonstratedit on October
17, 1969. This CCDimagesensor is theheartthedigital cameradevelopmentbecauseit is thesolid-state
devicethatconverts light intoelectricsignals. This major breakthrough in 1969providedthekeypiece
of technologytobegin thedigital photographyrevolution. CCDimagesensors arestill widelyused
today. Whiletoday’s CCDimagesensors oftenhave12-14megapixels thefirstonein 1969was only100x
100pixels. From1969to1978CCD technologycontinuedtobedevelopedandin 1978Bell Laboratories
successfullycreatedanimagesensorwith 500x500pixel array.
1970
GeorgeSmith andWillardBoyleof Bell Laboratories builtthefirst solid-statevideocamera.
1972
Texas Instrumentemployee,Willis Adcockpatentedafilm-less camerahowever thetechnologywas still
not availabletomakeitaviableconcept.
1973
FairchildImagingproducedthefirstcommercial CCD imager. This 10,000pixel sensor (100x100pixels)
wouldbecomethefoundation fortherapidlydevelopingworldof digital imaging.

6. 1985
Fuji makes theES-1aSVC (still videocamera) witha640x480pixel CCDimager. This camerawas an SLRwith
a50-150mmmanualzoom.
1975
EastmanKodakengineer StevenSasson patentedaprototypedigital camerausingtherecentlyinvented
FairchildCCDimagesensor andalens fromaKodakmoviecamera. This camerawas aboutthesizeof a
largetoaster andweighedalmostninepounds. Theblackandwhitedigital imagewas storedona
cassettetapeandin ordertoviewtheimages theKodakengineers hadtodevelopaspecial screen. It
was abletocapturea.01megapixel image(10,000pixels) andtook23seconds torecordanimagetothe
tape.
1975
Anothermilestoneinthehistoryof digital photographywas when BryceBayerinventedtheBayerColor
Filter Arraythat enabledasingleCCDorCMOSimagesensortocapturecolor images. Without this filter
capturingcolorimages wouldrequirethreeseparatesensors attachedtoacolorbeamsplitterwhich
wouldbeboth largeandexpensive. BayerColor FilterArrays areusedinalmosteverydigital camera
madetoday.
1978
Leicademonstrates thefirstSLRwith fullyoperationalautofocus at thePhotokinaphotographyshow.
1981
Thefirsttrueworkingdigital camerawas built bytheUniversityof CalgaryCanadaASI ScienceTeam.
Their All-Skycamerawas designedtophotograph auroras andusedoneof the100x100pixel Fairchild
CCD imagesensors.
1986
Canon beganmanufacturinganddistributingdigital cameras withthereleaseof theRC-701aSVC(still
videocamera)thathadfourinterchangeablelenses andsoldforabout$3,000.
1981
SonyElectronics introducedtheMavica(MagneticVideoCamera), avideocamerawhich recordedimages
on afloppydisk. This earlyelectroniccamerahadaresolution of 720,000pixels (.72megapixels) andwas
abletostoreupto50images on asingle2.0” videofloppydisk. Describedas havingbeginning“anewera
in photography” theSonyMavicawas asinglelens reflexcamerawiththreeinterchangeablelenses
capableof capturingimages tothefloppydiskanddisplayingthembackon aTV. Whilean important
milestonein thehistoryof digital photographythis was essentiallyavideocamerathat tookstill images
andnotatruedigital camera. Nevertheless thedevelopmentof this camerais averyimportantevent
alongthedigital photographytimeline.

7. 1986
Kodakintroduceda1.4megapixel sensormakingit thefirstmegapixelsensorsmallenough tofit in a
handheldcamera. This sensorwas usedintheVidekMegaplus cameradesignedforscientificand
industrialuse. Thesecameras soldbetween $10,000and$40,000andwereessentiallythefirstcamera
with enoughresolution toproducea5x7photoqualityprint.
1988
Fuji developedtheDS-1Pwhichis consideredtobethefirstfullydigital consumercameratobesold.
This camerarecordedimages digitallyona16MBinternalmemorycardandhad16mm F/5.6lens with
shutterspeeds from1/60/to1/200of asecond.Nikon_D90Nikon_D90
1988
Sonyintroduces theMVC-C1thefirst consumermodelof their MAVICAlineof electronicstill videocameras.
This MAVICAwas describedas “astill videocamerathat records pictures magneticallywithout theuseof
film.” Likeother MAVICAmodels this was not atruedigital camerabut was averyimportantstepin the
evolutionof digital cameras.
1988
Digital Darkroomwas releasedbecomingthefirstimageeditingsoftwarefortheMacintosh computer. 1988
sawanotherkeyeventinthehistoryof digital photographywhenthefirst JPEGandMPEGstandards wereset.
Thesestandards setinplaceauniversal format whichallowedimages (JPEG)andvideo(MPEG) tobestoredin
acompressedformat.
1990
Kodakdevelops thePhotoCDsystemandproposes thefirst“ worldwidestandardfordefiningcolor inthe
digital environmentof computers andcomputerperipherals.”
1990
AdobereleasePhotoshop1.0makingit theseconddigital editingprogramavailablefor Macintosh
computers andan importantmilestoneinthedigital photographytimeline.
1990
Logitech introduces theDycamModel IandFotomandigital cameras. Itwas atruedigital cameracapable
of capturing320x320pixel blackandwhitephotos. Thecamerahad1MBof internal memorythat could
storeupto32photos. Ithada8mmfixed-focus lens with ashutterspeedrangeof 1/30to1/1000second.
Thecameracamewithacabletodownloadthesephotos toacomputer andsoldfor $995.
1991Anothermilestoneinthedigital photographytimelinewas whenKodakreleasedthefirst professional
digital camerasystemmarketedtowards journalists. ItusedaNikon F-3camerafilmbodyadaptedwith a
1.3megapixel KodakCCD imagesensor. It soldfor $13,000.

8. 1. Lookat yoursubject intheeye.
Direct eyecontactcanbeas engagingina
pictureas it is inreallife. Whentakinga
pictureof someone,holdthecameraat
theperson’s eyeleveltounleashthe
powerof thosemagneticgazes and
mesmerizingsmiles. Forchildren,that
means stoopingtotheirlevel. Andyour
subject neednotalways stareat the
camera. Allbyitself thateyelevelangle
willcreateapersonalandinvitingfeeling
thatpulls youintothepicture.
2. Useaplainbackground.
Aplainbackgroundshows off the
subjectyouarephotographing.
Whenyoulookthroughthe
cameraviewfinder,forceyourself
tostudytheareasurrounding
yoursubject. Makesurenopoles
growfromtheheadof your
favoritenieceandthatnocars
seemtodanglefromherears.
tips on taking
always stareatthecamera. Allbyitself thateyelevelanglewillcreateapersonaland
invitingfeelingthatpulls youintothepicture.

9. Bright suncancreateunattractivedeepfacialshadows. Eliminatetheshadows byusing
yourflashtolightentheface. Whentakingpeoplepictures onsunnydays,turnyourflash
on. Youmayhaveachoiceof fill-flashmodeorfull-flashmode. If thepersonis withinfive
feet,usethefill-flashmode; beyondfivefeet,thefull-powermodemayberequired. Witha
digitalcamera,usethepicturedisplaypaneltoreviewtheresults.
3. Useflashoutdoors.
4. Moveinclose.
If yoursubjectis smallerthanacar, takeastepor
twocloserbeforetakingthepictureandzoominon
yoursubject. Yourgoalis tofillthepictureareawith
thesubject youarephotographing. Upcloseyoucan
revealtellingdetails,likeasprinkleof freckles oran
archedeyebrow.
Butdon’tgettoocloseoryourpictures willbeblurry.
Theclosestfocusingdistanceformostcameras is
aboutthreefeet,oraboutonestepawayfromyour
camera. If yougetcloserthantheclosestfocusing
distanceof yourcamerayourpictures willbeblurry.

10. 5. Moveitfromthemiddle.
Center-stageis agreatplaceforaperformertobe.
However,themiddleof yourpictureis notthebest
placeforyoursubject. Bringyourpicturetolifeby
simplymovingyoursubjectawayfromthemiddleof
yourpicture. Startbyplayingtick-tack-toewith
subjectposition. Imagineatick-tack-toegridin
yourviewfinder. Nowplaceyourimportantsubjectat
oneof theintersections of lines.
You’ll needtolockthefocus if youhaveanauto-
focus camerabecausemostof themfocus on
whateveris inthecenterof theviewfinder.
6. Lockthefocus.
If yoursubjectis notinthecenterofthe
picture,youneedtolockthefocus tocreatea
sharppicture. Mostauto-focus cameras
focus onwhateveris inthecenterofthe
picture. Buttoimprovepictures,youwilloften
want tomovethesubjectawayfromthe
centerof thepicture. If youdon’twanta
blurredpicture,you’ll needtofirstlockthe
focus withthesubjectinthemiddleandthen
recomposethepicturesothesubjectis away
fromthemiddle.

11. 7. Knowyourflash’s range.
Thenumberoneflashmistakeis takingpictures
beyondtheflash’s range. Whyis this amistake?
Becausepictures takenbeyondthemaximumflash
rangewillbetoodark. Formanycameras, the
maximumflashrangeis less thanfifteenfeet—
aboutfivesteps away.
Whatis yourcamera’s flashrange?Lookitupin
yourcameramanual. Can’tfindit?Thendon’ttake
achance. Positionyourself sosubjects areno
fartherthantenfeetaway. Filmusers canextend
theflashrangebyusingKodakMaxversatilityor
versatilityplus film.
8. Watchthelight.
Nexttothesubject,themostimportantpartof everypictureis
thelight. Itaffects theappearanceof everythingyou
photograph. Onagreat-grandmother,brightsunlightfromthe
sidecanenhancewrinkles. Butthesoftlightof acloudydaycan
subduethosesamewrinkles.
Don’tlikethelightonyoursubject?Thenmoveyourself oryour
subject. For
landscapes,trytotakepictures earlyorlatein
thedaywhenthelightis orangishandrakes
across theland.

12. 9. Takesomeverticalpictures.
Allsorts of things lookbetterina
verticalpicture. Fromalighthouse
nearacliff totheEiffelTowertoyour
four-year-oldniecejumpingina
puddle. Sonexttimeout,makea
conscious efforttoturnyourcamera
sideways andtakesomevertical
pictures.
10. Beapicturedirector.
Takecontrolof yourpicture-takingandwatch
yourpictures dramaticallyimprove. Becomea
picturedirector,notjustapassivepicture-
taker. Apicturedirectortakes charge. Apicture
directorpicks thelocation. Apicturedirector
adds props. Apicturedirectorarranges people:
Mostpictures won’tbethatinvolved,butyou
get theidea: Takechargeof yourpictures and
winyourownbestpictureawards.
http://www.kodakmoments.com/projects
-center/top-10-tips-for-great-pictures/