Composition+Focus+and+Lighting+research

=Composition Focus and Lighting Research=

Depth of Field is how in focus you have your shot. It is very important to understand depth of field when taking photographs because it can change the tone and how you have your shot seen. The depth of field is also very noticeable.

The first gnome isn’t in focus, so it makes the second gnome look more important

The exposure triangle references the three aspects that all relate to light and how it interacts and enters the camera. These three aspects are shutter speed, which the time that the shutter is open, ISO, which is the measure of a digital camera sensor’s sensitivity to the light, and aperture, which is the size of the opening in the camera’s lens when a shot is taken. All these parts of the exposure triangle relate to each other and making a good photo as they all will impact each other negatively if one is out of place. They all have to do with understanding how to optimize your abilities with the camera you have and using them to your advantage to make a good photo.

The image above shows the different ways that the exposure triangle can affect different aspects of the photo.

One of the 5 compositional techniques we use in photography is the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is splitting your picture up into 9 boxes and then using the crossing lines to place interesting parts of your photograph. This adds more interest and makes the photograph not be boring by placing the main focus in the middle. Another technique is Framing. This is using arches or other things that add a ‘frame’ around the real focus of your image. One more technique is filling out the frame. This is allowing your subject fill out the entire frame. You can do this by either moving in closer or zooming in on your subject. It is really important to make sure you don't cut off anything that is important to your photograph when you zoom in. Some things in the background may even be making your photograph look strange. And last but not least, having an interesting point of view in your image can completely change what it looks like. It adds interest and makes your image look very different from the norm.

The above image shows that this photograph is following the rule of thirds very well. The main focus is on the line rather than the center. This image shows framing, as the entrance is not the main focus but the attention is brought to the outside. This picture shows filling out the frame as the sunflower is completely covering the entire frame and shows a lovely amount of detail. This picture shows some letters being taken out of a mailbox which normally isn't seen while checking for mail which adds interest.

A very important part of any photograph is lighting. There are two types of lighting, natural and artificial. Some examples of natural lighting is the sun, firelight, and moonlight. Examples of artificial lighting are fill lights, bounce lights, flash from a camera, lighting in a room, studio lighting, and spotlights are just a few. You would normally use the natural lighting outside or in areas with large windows or access to natural lighting. But if that is not enough, such as situations where you are inside a room without much natural light (or not enough natural lighting) you can use different kinds of artificial lighting to make up for it. Another time to use artificial lighting would be inside a dark room or if it’s dark outside due to their being little to no natural lighting.

The image on the left is the picture with no flash and on the one on the right is with flash. This shows how much of a difference the lighting can make.

I have a good amount of experience taking pictures with natural lighting with just using a phone or a low quality camera to take pictures of whatever I thought looked nice. I have a little experience taking photos with artificial lighting at my Aunt’s baby shower. In general, I barely have any photography experience but I have much more experience with natural lighting rather than artificial.