HUMANITIES MIDTERM (PHOTOGRAPHY)

PHOTOGRAPHYDEFINITIONS, MEDIUM, TYPES AND

HISTORYPREPARED BY:

ROGER B. TRAJANO

PHOTOGRAPHY

• Photography is derived from the Greek words Fotos – light and graphein - to draw

• It is a method of recording images by the action of light, or related radiation, on a sensitive material.

ELEMENTS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

pattern

• There are patterns all around us if we only learn to see them. Emphasizing and highlighting these patterns can lead to striking shots – as can high lighting when patterns are broken.

Symmetry• A symmetrical shot with strong composition

and a good point of interest can lead to a striking image – but without the strong point of interest it can be a little predictable

• Symmetry is when a photograph looks like it consists of two objects that are mirror images of each other.

Texture

• Images a two dimensional thing yet with the clever use of ‘texture’ they can come alive and become almost three dimensional.

• Texture particularly comes into play when light hits objects at interesting angles.

Depth of Field• Each picture should have only one principal

idea, topic, or center of interest to which the viewer's eyes are attracted.

• It can isolate a subject from its background and foreground (when using a shallow depth of field) or it can put the same subject in context by revealing it’s surrounds with a larger depth of field.

Lines

• Diagonal, Horizontal, Vertical and Converging lines all impact images differently and should be spotted while framing a shot and then utilized to strengthen it.

Framing• Framing involves identifying an obvious

foreground object close to the camera, with the main subject of the photograph further away.

Perspective

• It is the point of view of the viewer of the photograph. Different vantage points can convey different relationships with the objects depicted in the photograph.

Space

• There can be a fine line between filling your frame with your subject (and creating a nice sense of intimacy and connection) and also giving your subject space to breath.

Balance

• The positioning with elements in a frame can leave an image feeling balanced or unbalanced.

•

Color• The colors in an image and how they are

arranged can make or break a shot. • Bright colors can add vibrancy, energy and

interest – however in the wrong position they can also distract viewers of an image away from focal points.

Mediums of Photography

• The SLR (single lens reflex) camera lets photographers shoot with a handheld camera with automatic or manual settings. The SLR camera can have a medium or wide lens, which makes the viewfinder large.

Mediums of Photography• Digital cameras are a easy to manipulate as a

photography method. This camera technology allows a photographer to shoot hundred of pictures without worrying about running out of film. Instead of light burning on film inside the camera, light hits a "digital sensor array,"

Mediums of Photography

• A pinhole camera uses the same logic as the original camera obscura, though in smaller form. While the camera obscura was a large as a house and needed a mirror, a pinhole camera just uses a tiny hole and photographic paper to make a negative image

Principles of Photography


• Photographic composition is the pleasing arrangement of subject matter elements within the picture area. Creative photography depends foremost on the photographer's ability to see as the camera sees because a photograph does not reproduce a scene quite the way we see it.

By dividing the picture area into thirds, both vertically and horizontally, can usually create a feeling of balance to the composition


• The principle of dynamic symmetry is a similar idea. By drawing or imagining a diagonal line from one corner to an opposite corner. A second line perpendicular to the first from a third corner. The intersections of the lines are the location for the center of interest.


• Simplicity is the key to most good pictures. There are several things to be considered when we discuss simplicity. First, select a subject that lends itself to a simple arrangement;


• Select different viewpoints or camera angles. View the scene through the camera viewfinder. Evaluate each view and angle


• The last point of simplicity-tell only one story. Ensure there is only enough material in the picture to convey one single idea.

• Do not allow the scene to be cluttered with confusing elements and lines that detract from the primary point of the picture

History of Photography

• An art form invented in 1830s.• Today, photography is the largest growing

hobby in the world with the hardware alone creating a multi-billion dollar industry.

• The instrument that people used for processing pictures was called the Camera Obscura (which is Latin for the Dark Room) and it was around for a few centuries before photography came along.

• Camera Obscura was invented around 13-14th centuries, however there is a manuscript by an Arabian scholar Hassan ibn Hassan dated 10th century that describes the principles on which camera obscura works and on which analogue photography is based today

• The first photo picture was taken in 1825 by a French inventor Joseph Niepce. It depicts a view from the window at Le Gras.

• The process of using camera obscura looked very strange and frightening for the people at those times and the Giovanni Battista had to drop the idea after he was arrested and prosecuted on a charge of sorcery.

• 1839 Sir John Herschel came up with a way of making the first glass negative as opposed to metal. The same year he coined the term Photography deriving from the Greek “fos” meaning light and “grafo” – to write

• The mass use of cameras began with Eastman’s Kodak’s camera in 1888 with the slogan “You press the button, we do the rest”.

• In 1901 the Kodak Brownie was introduced, becoming the first commercial camera in the market

Known Photographers

• Alfred Stieglitz - an American photographer and a promoter for modern art. Many believe it is Stieglitz who made photography as art what it is today. His work with the photography was revolutionary for how he portrayed still life and what he brought into photo portraits.

• Felix Nadar (a pseudonym of Gaspard-Félix Tournachon) was a French caricaturist, journalist and – once photography emerged – became a photographer. He is most famous for pioneering the use of artificial lightning in photography

• He was known for depicting many famous people including Jule Verne, Alexander Dumas, Peter Kropotkin and George Sand.

• Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer who is believed to be the father of photojournalism. Cartier-Bresson is most famous for creating the “street photography” style of photojournalism

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Art & Photos

HUMANITIES MIDTERM (PHOTOGRAPHY)