Rebecca Cummins http://www.reframingphotography.com/artists/rebecca-cummins
Carrie Mae Weems http://www.art21.org/videos/episode-compassion
Eddie Adams
Yasumasa Morimura
Vik Muniz
Julia Margaret Cameron 1879
Larry Sultan
FILE FORMAT Jpeg (.jpg) > compresses > opening it = changing it, i t, saving it = degrading image. TiFF (.tif) > universal format > high quality good for printing LOSSLESS PSD (.psd) > Can opened & edit only in photoshop Camera Raw (.nef, .crw, .pef & more) = the most direct representation, no data lost DNG (.dng) just like camera raw but universal GIF (.gif) > small web file, good for flat color, drawing EPS (eps) > good for photo & text, use in publishing BMP (.bmp) windows & PICT (.pct) mac > these are platform specific. PNG (.png) = adobe fireworks fi reworks > lossless, use for web
Shutter Speed > Time > moving subject Aperture > Amount of light > depth of field
ISO = sensitivity of film or sensor
Focusing your lens Manual Focus (MF) You select the part of the scene you want to be sharpest.
Think! What is the most important part of the scene to be sharp? What do you want to emphasize? What do you want viewers to look at first?
The nearer you are, the more important it is to focus critically. Ex. 2 feet > depth of field will be shallow
200 feet away > greater depth of field > everything at that distance and beyond will be sharp.
Focus manually like you might tune a guitar. Go a little past the Point you think is correct, then come back.
Follow focus technique keeps a subject that is moving toward you well focused. You have to adjust the focus at about the same rate that the subject is moving. PRACTICE PRACTICE!
Don’t forget that shutter speed and aperture also play an important role in making objects appear sharp in the final picture.
Elliott Erwitt
Elliott Erwitt
Elliott Erwitt
Focusing your lens Automatic Focus (AF) > Camera does the focusing for you. The camera adjusts the lens to focus sharply on whatever object Is at the center of the viewfinder or within the focusing brackets. AF works well when the main subject is and stay in the middle of the picture.
If your subject is not in the center use auto focus lock to make it sharp. Placing auto focus braccket on the select area & press shutter release half way Hold the release button and reframe then press all the way down to make an exposure
Autofocus Lock •
1. Look Look through through the viewfi viewfinder nder and positi position on its its focu focus s point point on the the most important part of the scene — your main subject.
•
In effe effect ct,, you you cent center er that that subj subjec ect. t.
•
2. Pres Press s the the shutt shutter er butt button on half halfway way down, down, until until the green green focusfocus-OK OK lamp in the viewfinder eyepiece glows steadily.
•
See the next section section,, "Makin "Making g sure sure your your focus focus is locke locked," d," for more more on the focus-OK lamp.
•
3. Hold Holding ing the shutter shutter button button halfway halfway down, down, reor reorien ientt the the camer camera a so that your desired composition appears in the viewfinder.
•
4. Pres Press s the the shutt shutter er butt button on all all the the way way down down to take take the pictur picture. e.
Wide area auto focus allow you to stay frameed on the situation
READ YOUR CAMERA’S MANUAL!!!!! Some camera can predict where the focused object will be next, some have 2 focus systems (active > glass window, passive > low contrast)
Autofocus system can be fooled
When is Manual Focus Better than Auto Focus?
MACRO OR CLOSE UP SHOT
Low Light
Portraits Manual focusing in portrait work helps to ensure the viewer of the image is drawn to the part of the face that you want them to notice.
Shooting Through Glass/Wire Fences
Focusing upon the subject behind that glass or fence in conjunction with a large aperture (which decreases depth of field) and get in close to the fence or glass you might well eliminate it completely from being noticeable in your shot.
Action Photography
Additional options Zone Focus = set depth of field in advance of shooting so you can shoot quickly without refocusing every shot. (need lens with DOF scale)
Helen Levitt
Helen Levitt, New York, 1971
Focusing on the hyperfocal distance will give you the maximum (most possible) depth of field every time. ( need lens with DOF scale)
Jan Imberi (hyperfocal distance focus)
video
focusing about a third of the way into a scene DOFmaster.com
John Pfahl
John Pfahl
what is the most important part of the scene to be focus
Or what is the most important part of the scene to be un-focus
Sally Mann, The Perfect Tomato, 1990.
From Pinhole to lens
The focal length of a lens is defined as the distance in mm from the optical center of the lens to the focal point, which is located on the sensor or film if the subject (at infinity) is "in focus". The camera lens projects part of the scene onto the film or sensor.
Focal length controls -magnification -the size of image formed by the lens. THE LONGER THE LENS = THE GREATER THE SIZE PF OBJECTS IN THE IMAGE.
Focal length also controls angle of view > the amount of the Scene shown on a given size of sensor or film.
Long lens = larger image = less of the scene
Focal length also controls angle of view > the amount of the Scene shown on a given size of sensor or film.
Long lens = larger image = less of the scene
Henry Cartier-Bresson Normal focal length
Normal focal length lens (or standard focal length lens), approximates the impression human vision gives.
A lens that is normal focal length for one camera can be a Long focal length for another. Film or sensor size determines What will be a normal focal length. The larger the sensor size =The longer the focal length of a normal lens for that format
35 mm film = 50 mm lens
For digital normal focal length = 40-58mm lens
Henry Cartier-Bresson
Long focal length lens -Greater image magnification, magnification, narrower angle of view, good for zooming distance object -MEDIUM LONG LENS > good for portraiture (prevent distortion when Shooting up close) -OFTEN CALLED Telephoto or tele
For 35mm or DSLR > POPULAR LONG FOCAL LENGTH = 105
Lou Jones, 2006 Winter Olympics - Torino, Italy
LONG LENS lets
you get portraits without crowding in on the subject. This lets you capture more natural expressions.
Long lens use at moderate distance also avoid distortion
Don’t forget shutter speed! Ex. 105 mm lens need at least 1/250 Also use tripod if possible.
Annie Leibovitz
Short focal length lens or wide-angle lens -Increases the angle of view >show more of a scene from the same position
ANSEL ADAM
For 35mm or DSLR > POPULAR = 28MM
ANSEL ADAMS
SHORT LENS IS ALSO GOOD FOR FAST MOVING SITUATION
Short lens can show apparent distort di stort of perspective
David Muench
Using a short focal length lens close to the subject adds some distortion to the portrait but it still works as an image. Perhaps not as flattering as it might be, the image is probably more interesting to others than to the subject.
Typical Lens Focal Length* Less Less than than 21 mm Extr Extrem eme e Wide Wide Angl Angle e = Arch Archit itec ectu ture re 21-35 mm Wide Angle = Landscape 35-70 mm Normal = Street & Documentary 70-135 mm Medium Telephoto = Portraiture 135-300+ mm Telephoto = Sports, Bird & Wildlife *Note: Lens focal lengths are for 35 mm equivalent cameras. If you have a compact or digital SLR camera, you likely have a different sensor size. To adjust the above numbers for your camera, use focal length calculator or look at lens & camera manual
Zoom lenses combine a range of focal lengths into one lens. Ex. 28-105 mm = 28mm, 50mm, 85mm, & 105mm
Zoom lenses can be very useful! Make sure your shutter speed is fast enough or use tripod (ex. Lens at 28mm = 1/30, when zoom to 100mm use 1/125
Macro Lens is useful for extremely close shots
Catherine Chalmers
Fisheye lens = widest of wide-angle view
Fisheye lens distort space
"Tilt-shift photography" refers to the use of camera movements on small- and medium-format cameras, and sometimes specifically refers to the use of tilt for selective focus, often for simulating a miniature scene. Sometimes the term is used when the shallow depth of field is simulated with digital postprocessing; the name may derive from the tilt-shift lens normally required when the effect is produced optically.
Tilt Shift
Play around with this site > http://tiltshiftmaker.com/
Focus & Depth of Field Depth of field is the area from near to far in a scene that is acceptably sharp in a photograph.
One of the most important things to look for in a new camera is how well it focuses. This is important because a lens can only bring one part of the scene into the sharpest possible focus. This part of the scene falls on what is called the plane of critical focus. focus. Subjects falling on this plane will be the sharpest part of the picture. You move this plane toward and way from the camera as you focus.
Remember! The smaller the aperture, the greater depth of field The shorter the focal length of the lens, the greater the depth of field. The greater the distance from the subject, the greater depth of field
Bokeh is the blur or the aesthetic quality of the blurin out-of-focus areas of an image. Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions.
Martin Franck
Perspective = how we see or judge depth in 2D. Perspective can be controlled by adjusting lens to subject distance
Perspective is not depth of field. Depth of field is the area from near to far in a scene that is acceptably sharp in a photograph.
Perspective is effected by the lens-to-subject distance, Not by the focal length. Move camera closer to subject will Make objects in the foreground larger relative to background
Forced perspective
Andreas Feininger, New York, NY, US
Long focal length lens = telephoto effect = exaggerated perspective
Short focal length lens = exaggerated perspective
Jan Dibbets
Jan Dibbets
Remember! The smaller the aperture = the greater depth of field The shorter the focal length of the lens = the greater depth of field The greater the distance from the subject = the greater depth of field
The sizes of the aperture openings are determined so that at a given f-stop number the same amount of light reaches the film/image sensor.
F- stop = lens focal length Aperture diameter Ex. 100mm lens 25mm lens opening
=
F/4
200mm lens 50mm lens opening
=
F/4
Sally Mann
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Tokohiro Sato (long exposure)
Jeff Wall, Passerby, 1996
Tina Modotti
An-My Lê
The Daguerreotype Louis-Jacques-Mandé Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre invented the daguerreotype process in France. The invention was announced to the public on August 19, 1839 at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris. American American photographers photographers quickly quickly capitalized on this new invention, which was capable of capturing a "truthful likeness." Daguerreotypists in major cities invited celebrities and political figures to their studios in the hopes of obtaining a likeness for display in their windows and reception areas. The Process The daguerreotype is a direct-positive process, creating a highly detailed image on a sheet of copper plated with a thin coat of silver without the use of a negative. The process required great care. The silver-plated copper plate had first to be cleaned and polished until the surface looked like a mirror. Next, Next, the plate was sensitized in a closed box over iodine until it took on a yellow-rose appearance. The plate, held in a lightproof l ightproof holder, was then transferred to the camera. After exposure to light, the plate was developed over hot mercury until an image appeared. To fix the image, the plate was immersed in a solution of sodium thiosulfate or salt and then toned with gold chloride. Exposure times for the earliest daguerreotypes ranged from three to fifteen minutes, making the process nearly impractical for portraiture. Modifications to the sensitization sensitizati on process coupled with the improvement of photographic lenses soon reduced the exposure time to less than a minute.
Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln. Three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing front
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/daghtml/daghome.html
