Introduction to Photography To take beautiful photographs you do not need an expensive camera and a bag full of equipment. What is important is the photographer’s ability to see his/her surrounding and use knowledge and personal feel for the subject.

 The word “photography” is French but is based on Greek word and literally means “drawing with light“. That’s what photography is all about, without light — no photograph. The art of photography is basically seeing and balancing the light.

The illustration shows the path the light travels from the object to the sensor (or film in non- digital cameras).  First the light needs to go through the lens, which is a series of differently shaped pieces of glass. If the focus is good then the light will meet on the sensor.  The aperture is placed inside the lens and is basically an opening that controls how much light reaches the sensor.

Aperture  Knowing how the aperture affects the photograph is one of the most important parts of photography — it affects the amount of light, depth of field, and sharpness.  F-numbers, a mathematical number that expresses the diameter of the aperture, are an important part of understanding how the aperture and exposure work.  A higher f-number = a smaller aperture = less light  A lower f-number = a larger aperture = more light

 On most modern cameras the shutter is placed inside the camera body. This piece of mechanics is what controls how long the sensor is exposed to the light.

Shutter  The shutter is what controls how long the sensor is exposed to the light. The longer the shutter is open, the more light can be captured by the sensor.  A fast shutter speed will result in “freezing” a moving object and a slow shutter speed will let you capture the motion of a moving object.

 The sensor is a very sensitive plate where the light is absorbed and transformed into pixels. As you can see on this illustration, the image the sensor picks up is actually upside down, just like our eyes sees the world, the processor inside the camera then flips it.

ISO  The ISO speed (the name comes from the International Organization for Standardization) is a measure of the film speed, or its sensitivity to light. With digital cameras the ISO affects the sensor instead of the film, but the principle is the same.  A low ISO speed requires a longer exposure and is referred to as slow, a high ISO speed requires less time to give the same exposure and is therefore referred to as fast.

WHAT ALL GOOD PHOTOS MUST HAVE

What defines a ‘good’ photo?  Like all artwork, photography is subjective (depends on personal taste, views)  What defines a ‘good’ photo? Some are seen as ‘great’ by the revealing way the subject has been treated or the way in which the elements are composed to convey mood.

5 Elements all good photos must have: 1. MAIN SUBJECT  All images need a FOCAL POINT (what the photograph is about and where the eye goes to first).  Without a main subject, it becomes an uninteresting photo.

 Remember that the focal point may be: a subject OR an element of design (texture).

5 Elements all good photos must have: 2. VIBRANT COLOUR/CONTRAST  Strong colours attract the viewer’s eye. (*Can be a muted or vivid colour palette )  Heighten the colour saturation (intensity) by shooting subjects that are vibrant and with the right lighting, or look for a scene with an interesting colour palette  B&W photos need high contrast

Which photo is more interesting and why?

5 Elements all good photos must have: 3. TELL A STORY  Each picture should tell a story, although not all answers are given  What is going on?  Who is it?  Where is it?  When is it taking place?

What questions do you have based on the following images? How do they tell a story?

5 Elements all good photos must have: 4. COMPOSITION  Try different angles, viewpoints, and compositions to find the most inspiring image  Place your subjects at different places in the frame

5 Elements all good photos must have: 5. LIGHTING  Without light, there could be no picture  Dramatic lighting can heighten the mood, cast shadows, and change how we look at the subject