Assignment 1

1. Digital Photography and Media products
To explain the component parts of a digital camera I will be explaining aperture, shutter
speed, focusing, ISO, file formats, camera modes and camera components themselves.
Photographs are produced in most media and I will be explaining why and how by
comparing two different media products a magazine and a album cover.

2. Focusing
• I am going to start of with focusing which can be achieved in many ways when taking a photo
but the one I use most regular is the macro mode a setting on a digital camera that enables
users to focus on subjects close to the camera lens, it is most commonly used to focus mainly
on flowers and insects so you can get the real detail of their shape and body and it is very
rewarding when you can see such a small thing in such intricate detail. I recently took a
picture of a speckled wood butterfly using macro and you can see all of it's color and
antennae which you wouldn't be able to without it, it also blurs out the background so the
person viewing the photo pays specific attention to the object that is closest to the camera
lens.
The name of this is depth of field because it refers to the refers to the range of distance that
appears acceptably sharp it varies depending on camera type, aperture and focusing
distance, although print size and viewing distance can also influence our perception of depth
of field.
• Below is a picture from the internet of a insect and my own picture of Laura’s furry hood and
Jamie blurred out climbing the stairs.

3. Shutter speed
• Slow shutter speed combined with panning the camera can achieve a motion blur for moving
objects. In photography shutter speed or exposure time is the length of time the camera’s
shutter is open when taking a photograph, the amount of light that reaches the film or image
sensor is proportional to the exposure time.
• People do this to let more light in or show more things happening in the picture in a period of
time, this will make the picture blurry but if done properly there can be good effects (that are
very aesthetically pleasing), such as looking like a ghost and capturing the detail of the
objects that are moving.
• In my own picture we made the shutter open for 10 seconds in which I moved my hands up
from my chest to above my head in a prayer position to look as if there are many hands
moving up.
• Below is a picture from offline and my own

4. Aperture
Aperture is the iris of the lens that controls the size (diameter) of the aperture is called the diaphragm
in optics. The sole purpose of the diaphragm is to block or stop all light, with the exception of the light
that goes through the aperture. In photography, aperture is expressed in f-numbers, for example f/5.6.
The f number can have a effect of depth of field because the smaller the f number the blurrier the
image is so the sensor has looked at a certain part in more depth.
Below is a picture from offline and my own.

5. ISO
• The camera’s ISO setting is it’s sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive it is.
This is measured according to international standards, so ISO 100 on one camera will be
exactly the same as ISO 100 on another.
• Each ISO setting is double the one before; if you increase the ISO from 100 to 200 you double
the camera’s sensitivity and if you increase it from 200 to 400, you double it again, this
carries on through the ISO scale.
• This is deliberate. The ISO settings are designed to double or half the exposure in the same
way that the lens aperture settings and shutter speed settings are, and this is why the lens
aperture, shutter speed and ISO are often described as the ‘exposure triangle’.
• For example, if you want to use a faster shutter speed without changing the aperture, you
could increase the ISO instead.
• The lower the number the finer the grain in the shots you’re taking, in daylight you shoot at a
100 and at night you would shoot at a 400.
• Below is a picture from offline and my own.

6. Camera modes
Camera modes are different settings you can put your camera on to help you
get the best picture for example if you put your camera on sports mode then
it will help you take pictures of moving objects like cars or sportsmen.

7. File formats
• File storage is the size of the file when you save it. A JPEG is a small file because all the data is
compacted and it’s not so easy to edit. A RAW file is much bigger and takes up more room
when you save but you can do a lot more with it when you edit the image, it contains
unprocessed and undeveloped data from the image sensor which makes it easier to edit.
• Photographers would shoot in RAW because it is better quality, more precise and gives you
more control.
• The benefits of a Jpeg file is it does not take up to much memory and has much less mega
bites than RAW, it is also easier to email as it is a smaller file.

8. Camera components
Camera components are the different parts of a camera and there are
labels so you know exactly what they do, for example you can twist the
zoom ring to zoom in and out of the picture you are about to take.

9. Media products
Photographs are produced in most media products and I will be explaining why and how in two different
types of sectors.
The first thing I will be talking about is a album cover by Falling in Reverse called Fashionably late. Falling
in reverse is a alternative band that was formed in 2008 and have songs that include screamo, rap,
normal singing and rock. They are well known for devil may care past for example the lead singer Ronnie
has been charged with battery and possession of narcotics and has been in rehab however when he
formed the band all of that changed and he is now a respected and talented singer, other members of
the band are lead guitarist Jacky Vincent, drummer Ryan Seaman, rhythm guitarist Derek Jones and bass
player Jonathon Wolfe.
It is a black and white cover with Ronnie sitting on the edge of a very tall building, he is covered from
head to toe in tattoos and has long black hair and is dressed in all black designer clothes, he is frowning
at the ground and looks as if he is thinking very hard about something. The text is fashionably late
written in pink writing and has a very girly kind of font.
I think the album's photograph shows a lot about the people in the band and the bands genre itself.
Without even hearing the song or being familiar the consumer can tell it is a rock band because these
particular bands are stereotyped to be dark and gloomy, and the band members are also stereotyped to
have a 'emo' look which is tattoos, piercings, dark hair and clothes and a rebel attitude.
So by the person just viewing the CD they can deduce whether they would want to buy it, if they are
more of a Beyoncé fan they probably wouldn't where as if they were a Sleeping with sirens listener they
would probably love the music in the album.

10. This is a magazine advert for Mac cosmetics, they have used a photograph to advertise their
product so the people know what the lipstick and other makeup looks like.
They have used Lorde (who is a singer from New Zealand and is very famous all over the world
with many songs being in the top 400) because it has a ethos appeal because the advert is
celebrity endorsed and makes people like it because of her credibility and character which means
they may not be particularly interested in the product but just because she is wearing it they may
want to as well because a lot of teenage girls and young adults aspire to be here or simply like
her music, she is very recognizable so consumers might see a picture of her and instead of flicking
through they may pause to read.
The picture is very dark and has lots of shadows to reinforce that the type of lipstick they are
advertising is gothic.
The target audience buying this would be interested in fashion so they look after their
appearance by buying the best brand to help them look the best and since mac lipstick is at price
of £15 not everyone will pay it but if they say Lorde they might just buy it regardless of the price.
In conclusion both adverts are very different one is
selling lipstick and the other is selling music but both
use the same techniques to sell their product and both
work very well since they are both very well known
brands.
They both use ethos as a persuasive technique and both
photographs look gothic and help sell the product to
the right target market.