Somenske-Jenna

= Composition, Focus, and Lighting  =

Focus
Focus is one of the most important aspects of picture taking because it can make or break your photo. If your camera is out of focus, the subject or other objects in the picture won’t appear clearly in the photo. You can focus your photograph either manually, or by using the auto focus mode on the camera. A helpful tip to make sure your camera doesn’t shift and change focus is to use a tripod.

Depth of Field
Depth of field is a way to measure focus. It is the range of distance for the part of the picture that looks to be in focus. If you choose a larger aperture and closer focusing distance you will end up with a shallower depth of field.

The Exposure Triangle
The exposure triangle is a term used to describe the three most important settings on your camera: ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. ISO is the measure of your camera’s sensitivity to light, aperture is how much of the lens is exposed when taking a picture, and shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter is open. All three things are directly related and all influence each other. For example, say you wanted a certain amount of light in your picture. One way to achieve this is to have a lower ISO setting. Another way is to increase the aperture. You could also decrease the shutter speed to allow more light to enter. All three ways will increase the amount of light in your picture depending on the situation, but doing all three will let an extremely large amount of light in. If you increase one, you have to decrease the others to balance it out.

Compositional Techniques
There are five main compositional techniques that are used in photography. Using one or all of them while taking pictures can greatly enhance the quality of your photos and transform them from snapshots into works of art.
 * The first one is the rule of thirds. Divide your photo into three spaces horizontally and vertically to make nine total squares. All of the intersection points are where there should be the most interest in your photo.
 * The next technique is framing. Shooting a picture though an open window or through some tree branches are examples of framing. Frames help draw attention to the focal point of your image.
 * Another technique is filling the frame. The most interesting shots come when the subject is close up, and is the main part of the image. No one will be interested in a photo of something the can’t see.
 * Having a level horizon is also a way to enhance your photography. This one is pretty straight forward, as having an uneven picture will really take away from its quality.
 * You might also want to think about using leading lines in your next picture. Leading lines are lines that lead through the photo and converge near the subject. These lines will draw the eye towards the most interesting part of your image.
 * The last thing you can do is take your picture from an interesting point of view. Changing the way you look at something can give it a whole new perspective that can be quite interesting.

Lighting
Lighting is an important mood-setter for your photography. There are natural sources of light such as fire or sunlight, as well as artificial light like the light from a bulb or a computer screen. How you manipulate light in your photo can make a big difference in the appearance of your photo. For example, using a single candle flame in a dark room will make the picture look different than if you take the same picture with the lights on.

My Experience
I have never really taken photographs as a hobby before, so I haven’t used that many types of light. If I am taking pictures outside I usually rely on the sunlight, and I rely in the artificial light in the room if I am taking a picture inside. Although I haven’t experimented much with light before, I am really excited to begin doing so now.