DeAngelis-Weisensel

=__Composition, Focus, and Lighting: __=

1.) Focus:
Many people just think that focus in a picture is just the picture's sharpness but it is much more. In any photo focus will help the viewer to see what object in the photo the artist wanted to be emphasized more than the other objects in the picture. It is important to always have focus in your pictures because it draw a viewer in and they could take one look at the picture and feel some kind of emotional connection that you(the artist) were trying to get across. So to get a good focus on a Digital SLR photo you need to ta ke into account your depth of field and then make sure you then move away a good distance from your subject so you can get that good focus on your intended subject.

** 2.) Depth of Field: **
When you look at a picture you will notice that there are some objects that are more in focus than the other, that is called, depth of field. In any picture there will either be a larger or a shallower depth of field. You will be able to notice that the picture uses a larger depth of field because the majority of the picture will be in focus. Whereas in a shallower depth there will be a smaller part of the image that is focused and the rest of the picture will be blurrier. This is important to have in any picture because by one section of the picture being more focused than the other it makes it less distracting to the viewer of the picture and they will know what part of picture you were emphasizing more.

** 3.) Exposure Triangle: **
The exposure triangle has three elements...makes sense right? The first element is ISO; ISO is how sensitive the camera is to light. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive your camera is to light. This means that a lower ISO number equals less sensitivity to light. You would most likely use a lower ISO when in the sunlight or other intense lightings. This element is important as it ensures that your photo will not be over or under exposed.

The next element is aperture; aperture is the size of your lens opening when taking a photo. The size of the aperture is measured in something called f-stop. You see f-stop written as f/4, f/11, etc. F-stops are written with a number; the number after the slash is the size of the opening of a lens. The smaller the F-stop, the larger the aperture is. which means more light is getting through. Smaller apertures have larger f-stop numbers and less light is getting through. Changing the aperture can have an affect on your depth of appeal.

The final element of the exposure triangle is shutter speed. Shutter speed is how long the shutter is open. This element is used when you want a moving object to appear still. For example, if you were at a soccer game, and you wanted to get a photo of someone’s foot striking the ball, you would adjust the shutter speed. This is measured in seconds and written 1/500, 1/250, etc. If you choose a faster shutter speed, the movement will “freeze” as opposed to a slower shutter speed which would blur the movement.

4.) Compositional Techniques:
There are 5 compositional techniques we use in photography; one technique we use is the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is used to help you decide where to place your main focal point before taking a photo. Placing the focal point outside of the center is said to make your photo more interesting.

Another compositional technique is framing. Framing is a technique that is used to draw the viewer's attention to the subject of the image. Frames come in all shapes and sizes and don’t necessarily have to go around all edges of your focal point. Using framing also gives your photo a foreground which makes it more interesting and makes your viewer want to look closer to see what’s within the frame.

Filling the frame is also a compositional technique. Filling the frame means that you are making your subject large enough that the frame is filled. This makes a photo more interesting as it’s easier to see details when a subject is close up opposed to it being far away. Be careful if you’re cropping an image to fill the frame, this could result in the photo becoming grainy or blurry.

Leveling the horizon is a very important technique. You want to make sure that the horizon is level and not at a slant. A tip on how to do this is to line up the horizon with either the top or bottom of the view finder.

Lastly, leading lines. Leading lines draw the viewer's attention and their eyes follow where the lines are leading to. For example, if you were to take a photo of a road with a person or object at the far end of the road, the viewer’s eyes will automatically go to what’s at the end of the road.

5.) Lighting Techniques:
In a picture you can use two main lighting techniques, which are: Artificial and Natural lighting. One place natural lighting can come from is the outdoors. For example light coming from the sun and sun shining through the clouds, the moonlight or a fire. Also natural light can come from the indoors as well because when the sun shines through the windows that shows in a picture that that is the only source of light at that time. Another lighting technique mentioned was artificial lighting and that can come from just a light shining in the room at the time, a flash from the camera taking the picture, and a spot light also. These are classified under artificial lighting because the light is produced by man not earth itself. There are also different types of artificial lighting in studio lighting which are: light reflected on you by a computer screen, bounce light, fill light, and dramatic lighting.

When you take a picture you will want to use these lighting techniques at different times because they are used in different instances. So when taking a photo outside or close to a window inside you would use the natural lighting given to you. But when you are inside with no light coming through the windows and you just have lights in your house on you will use the artificial lighting technique. Overall each technique will give you great results in your picture.

6.) Light Sources I Use:
Personally, I use both natural and artificial lighting quite often. When I’m outside, I use sunlight when taking photos of my surroundings. Recently, I went to Downtown Chicago to take photos and sunlight was a very important factor as it was the only source of lighting that was provided. An artificial lighting source I use on a daily basis is from fluorescent light bulbs. I prefer to use sunlight over other natural lighting sources as sources like fire give the picture a more grainy texture.