Lesson 8 • Focus & Lighting Introductione

1. Today, I will learn…
Ground plane
Lighting types
Focus
Learning Goals

2. Ground Planes

3. Ground Planes
When thinking of your composition,
framing, and balancing your photograph;
you should take into consideration the
three distances or areas of the ground plane
to break up your photo appropriately

5. Foreground
Boats on
shore
Foreground
Boats on
shore
Middle
ground
Water and
boat in water
Middle
ground
Water and
boat in water
Background
Mountains
and horizon
Background
Mountains
and horizon

6. Lighting
By changing the amount of light and
shadow, a photographer can change the
mood and create dramatic effects
When the subject is behind a light
source the viewer sees fine colour and
detail.

7. Back Light
“Good” Example
Placing a subject in front of a light source (back
light) can create a silhouette, emphasizing
general shapes rather than detail
Can create beautiful and dramatic effects if done
correctly

11. Back Light
“Bad” Example
The photo is backlit by the natural lighting
of the sun, however, the photographer
hasn’t compensated with their exposure
settings, nor used a front lighting source
(i.e. flash, or reflectors)

12. Front Light
“Good” Example
A good cast of lighting from natural
sources such as the sun, indirect lighting
from reflectors, or diffused light

15. Front Light
“Bad” Example
No consideration of how shadows are cast
Sometimes, subjects can be “washed out”
due to harsh front light sources; loosing
details and contours of objects and subjects

16. Side Light
Light source is directed at the subject from either side
Can create dramatic effects and moods for the
audience

19. Bounce / Reflected Light
Bounce light is an indirect light source
Typically reflected or “bounced” off walls or
reflectors, which helps diffuse light
Creates a much softer casting of light, less harsh
shadows and highlights
Evens out harsh light sources

21. Artificial Lighting
Commonly associated with studio photography
Generated from a studio lights, and built-in or
external flash.
Artificial lighting provides a lot of flexibility and
creative opportunities; you can control the effects
created within your photographs

22. Focus

23. Focus
By manipulating how sharp or blurry a
picture appears, a photographer can change
the mood of a photograph.
We often think the best photos are those
where everything is in clear, sharp focus,
this is not always the case.

24. Soft Focus
Photographers often deliberately blur the details of a
picture, either during shooting or during post-production
(editing), this is known as soft focus
Soft focus is used to suggest a romantic, ideal, angelic, or
dreamlike quality
Common in wedding photography & glamour shots (yay!)

30. Shallow Focus
A narrow/shallow depth of field needed
(large aperture, small f-stop, i.e. f 2.8)
Only a small area (foreground, middle
ground, or background) is in focus,
while the rest of the planes are out-of-
focus
This can help emphasize and draw
importance to your subject and ensure
the audience is focused on your subject

31. Only the surfer in the background is in focus = shallow focusOnly the surfer in the background is in focus = shallow focus
Narrow/shallowNarrow/shallow depth of field (small f-stop number)depth of field (small f-stop number)
In focus
Out-of-focus

34. Deep Focus
A wide/deep depth of field needed
(small aperture, large f-stop, i.e. f 16)
Foreground, middle ground, and/or
background can all be in focus
This can help to ensure your audience
observes the photograph as whole

35. All of this is in focus = deep focusAll of this is in focus = deep focus
Deep/wideDeep/wide depth of field (large f-stop number)depth of field (large f-stop number)

37. Practice
Practice your composition & framing skills;
Take photos of objects, buildings, people;
anything that catches your eye
Move around; think about your composition and
how you position your subjects within your
camera frame
Experiment with different camera shots, angles,
aperture settings (to get different DoFs/focuses),
and shutter speeds (to capture motion blur)

38. To Do
Reflection #1 – Overdue
Journal #1 (Rule-of-thirds) – Overdue
‘Composition…’ article questions – Overdue
Camera techniques glossary – Due today!
Journal #2 (Exposure) – Due today!
Detailed instructions on Edmodo