Digital Photography

Future Memories

I've been asked to experiment with the camera and to have a greater understanding of how to use a camera and to understand theories of composition, genre and to produce a series of photographic images.

Elements of photographic art

The visual elements in a photograph each have attributes which are called the ''photographic elements'' of a photograph. These are:

• Line - lines and edges that the eye follows within the scene.
• Colour - the variety of colours and individual hues (and intensities/brightness of each).
• Shape - a two dimensional area, marked out by edges, which exhibits similar textures/colours and may be geometric or defined by organic or natural processes.
• Form - three dimensional structure with length, width and height.
• Tone - shade and light variations that define 'form' persuading the eye of its three dimensionality.
• Texture - the surface detail of 'shapes' or 'forms' that persuade the eye they would have the feel of the real thing if touched.
• Space

Positive space - the space occupied by a shape or form.

Negative space - the space between shapes or forms.

• Depth - the viewers perception of distance between 'foreground' and the 'background' in the picture.
• Sharpness - the degree to which an object or particular part of the picture is sharp or blurred.

Principles of photographic art

1. Unity - the overall concept of the whole piece, how it hangs together as one piece and how well the elements are coherently organised overall to create the piece.
2. Harmony - the cultivation of a consistent overall theme which seeks to pull everything into a well ordered and uncomplicated outcome, minimising discordant and unnecessary elements.
3. Colour - individual colours act as independent elements in a picture, but the overall control of colour, its contrasts as well as complementary attributes make it an important part of the final organisation of the picture.
4. Variety - the degree to which different type of things, forms, and shapes are used as well as how to contrast and emphasis are deployed.
5. Movement - shows action or partially completed action, line of sight, implied movement into a scene or along a line, or control of the eye along a path defined by motion blur, or even the passive control of the eye movement through the scene by compositional use of elements (particularly lines and edges).
6. Contrast - the degree to which conflicting elements are used. Light and shade; brightness and darkness; colour differences; texture variations; pattern differences; etc - contrast has a powerful effect on the eye.
7. Balance - the arrangement of elements to create a harmonious distribution of visual weight in the picture. If an element occupies too much of the picture, or seems too heavy the picture is unbalanced. The eye tends to be drawn to the heavier elements.
8. Proportion - the relative size of shapes and forms; the relative quantity of an element; or the relative quantity of different elements.
9. Pattern and rhythm - use or recurring elements in an organised or rhythmic way introduces a dynamic to the picture. Pattern and/or rhythm can be used to imply movement, activity or organisation.
10. Geometry - the degree to which the shapes and forms in the picture are planned and organised as a part of the overall image. Is the picture constructed using symmetry/asymmetry, the golden mean, rule of thirds or other geometric principles to organise the final picture.
11. Focus - through the depht of field, focus controls how much sharpness there is at any given point or individual element and where that sharpness is created. The eye is naturally drawn to the sharpest part of the picture. However the transition from sharp to unsharp can be relatively abrupt or distributed throughout the depth of the picture. Focus also includes the quality of the unsharp (blurred) areas of the image.
12. Viewpoint - often not considered a principle of art, viewpoint is important in the principles of photographic art. The radical difference of a scene taken from different viewpoints make it a powerful way to use different elements of photography. The birds-eye view, adult eye-height view and ground level view offer three very different perspectives and probably different elements of the same scene. The point of view must therefore be an important principle in organising individual elements.

There is my response to this research.

B&W Portrait Photography

Final Image

Sword 

Hand

Symmetry

Background

Cigarette

Light

Nothing

Solders 

Colour

As photography is my passion I really enjoyed this project. I found it very successful as I learn how to control the light. I place the light source on the left side. I used Canon EOS 5D Mark II with 85mm/1.2f Lens. I got good feedback about my chosen photograph. Students said that it is well chosen B&W photograph with a good lighting & composition.

I've learn how to control the light, compose a shot & how to find a Golden Ratio.

The Golden Ratio

The Golden Ratio is a little harder to use, however when you use it to align your primary subjects (such as portrait), it can lead to the most pleasing compositions. 

I am going to apply this rule for my future projects.

Note the point of convergence of the red and green lines. That particular point is the key point when using the Golden Ratio in photography. The simple rule here is to start from one side of the image, and visualize a square starting from that edge. Bisect that square along a diagonal. Bisect the entire image from the opposing corners, and place the key element of your key subject at the intersection of those bisecting lines. In the case of a portrait (where this rule is commonly used), you would want to place the eyes right around the point of intersection. You can also use this rule to photograph still subjects. It should be noted that the Golden Ratio is infinitely divisible (as you can see in the spiral image above), so you could identify multiple points of intersection for sub areas of a photograph, and place key still subjects at those points. You also have the option of following the spiral, and placing key subjects at the intersection of any two lines and part of the spiral curve.