1. Basic photography— Art, composition, and computer principles
AEE 211
February 24, 2003

2. What makes these images effective?

3. Overview Basic composition Working with the computer
Mood and atmosphere
Qualities of a good photo
Improving composition
Working with the computer
Files
Scanning
Printing

4. Creating mood Overall feel of a picture Created by Perspective Color
Focus (isolation and distance)
Weather and light
Sunrise/sunset
Misty, rainy days
Sun vs. overcast

5. Characteristics of a good photo
Shape
Line
Pattern
Texture
Size and space

6. Shape Tends to be noticed first, before texture and pattern
Easiest and most recognizable composition tool
Shape helps create a mood/character for the picture
Search for the unconventional or surprise shape in objects

7. Creating shape Common— Uncommon—
use backlighting to create a silhouette
Uncommon—
side lighting with simple background
underexpose to focus on shape vs. color or texture

9. Line Lines create Line leads the eye Shape Pattern Depth Perspective
Focal point/subject
Diagonals
S-curves

10. Line creates perspective
Lines into the horizon show depth and perspective for the viewer
Vanishing point
Point at which lines converge and vanish in to the horizon
Place off-center
Close-ups decrease perspective while wide-angles can exaggerate it

17. Pattern Orderly combination of shape, line, or color
Pattern can help echo the character of a photo
Catching attention
Random patterns
Slight variation in a pattern
Pattern in common places

20. Texture Adds realism (sense of touch) to a photo
Sharp (hard) light highlights texture
Especially important for close-up and b/w shots
Side lighting highlights texture
Most portraits use front lighting to decrease texture on skin

22. Using light for depth
Sometimes hard light is inappropriate for illustrating shape and depth
Soft side lighting can give a sense of shape and depth without high contrast
Portraits
Still life
When shape/depth is more important that texture

24. Size and space 2D pictures distort depth, relative size, and distances
Include reference item
Include parts of the fore- or background
Use a frame
Be creative—maybe you want to distort

25. Giving perspective Linear—Lines which converge into the distance
Diminishing size—objects further away are smaller
Aerial perspective—atmosphere creates haze, which lightens objects farther away

26. Depth and perspective
Overlapping forms—overlapping objects in a picture create depth and distance
Selective focusing—focusing on the foreground and blurring the background

30. Improving composition
Rule of thirds
Simplicity
Angle and perspective
Framing

31. Have a strong center of interest
Take pictures at different angles with different compositions
Work around the rule of thirds

35. Simplicity One strong center of interest Avoid mergers
Foreground or background should be simple or complimentary to center of interest
Include foreground or background for sense of isolation, distance, depth, etc.
Avoid mergers

40. Cut offs
Avoiding cutting out parts or wholes of people or main subjects
Avoiding cutting out the path of a moving object

42. Give the object somewhere to go

44. Working with angles Low angles High angle
Clear sky backdrop
Accentuate movement or action
High angle
Eliminate cloudy sky
45 degree angles will cut glare
Avoid centered horizons

47. Framing Adds depth Should fit theme Helps subject fill the frame
Can block unwanted subjects from view
Watch focus on foreground
Focus on foreground in landscape
Focus on subject in portraits
Auto-focus should be centered on main topic
Overall—DEPENDS ON CAMERA

52. Balance Balance color and weight in a picture Formal and informal
Symmetrical and asymmetrical

55. Symmetrical
Asymmetrical

57. Fill the frame Would this picture look better if I was closer?
Focus on subject
Detail
Start far and move closer
Fill the frame with objects that “fit”
Long range shots provide depth and perspective

61. Digital issues
File formats
Scanning
Printing

62. Native file formats Format used by computer program
Retains ability to edit within native program
Unreadable on WWW or graphics programs
Product families (Adobe, Microsoft, etc.)
Examples
.ppt, .doc, .mix

63. Nonnative file formats
General formats that multiple programs can open
.gif, .jpg, .tif, .bmp
Formatting cannot be undone within a program – picture must be reedited
Save pictures in both native and nonnative file formats

64. Resolution Quality of the pictures on a screen, print, or file
DPI = dots per inch (printer)
PPI = pixels per inch (screen)
More resolution means higher file size
Different file types contain more or less information (resolution)

65. Resolution and bits

66. Tagged Image File Format
Very flexible and can be opened by most programs
Saves as pixels
Scan as a .tiff or as a native file format if possible

67. EPS files (vector)
Only some programs use: FreeHand, Illustrator, CorelDraw
Saved as separate images not as pixels – no resolution lost with resizing
Use the “Options” button under PRINT in PageMaker to save as EPS

68. Graphical Interchange Format
Great for the WWW
8-bit – 256 colors (indexed color)
Usually set at 72 pixels for the WWW
Allows for transparency
NOT used in printing

69. Portable Network Graphic
24-bit (millions of colors)
Transparency with jagged edges
Alternative to the .gif
Newer computer programs only

70. Joint Photographic Experts Group
24-bit color
Lossy compression
You can usually set your compression here
Best for WWW pictures

71. Portable Document Format
Embeds all data into a single file
Fonts
Format
Pictures
Text
Works on any computer with reader
Standardizes your document
Work on WWW and as attachments

72. Postscript files Will print on any postscript printer
Do not need program to output data
Print to file
Make sure you know what kind of printer you are dealing with

73. PNG – GIF – JPG - TIF

78. General rules Scan a photo as a .tiff file For web pictures, use .jpg
For print pictures, use .tiff or vector format at a minimum of 300 dpi
When possible, scan/save the picture at the size to be used – 300 dpi will look poor if enlarged

79. RGB Color Red-green-blue
Monitors and scanners determine level of the three to put on a pixel
Light directly into the eye = cannot look the exact on paper
Out of gamut (cannot be printed in CMYK format)

80. CMYK Mode Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Key (black)
Commercially output documents or special printers
Four-color printing
Process colors
Color bounces off object and onto your eye
Get a process book or color guide to select (Pantone, Tru-Match, Agfa)

81. Comparing the two RGB have smaller file sizes
RGB has some features that the other does not
Convert between the modes at the end or you will lose information

82. Understanding resolution
Resolved to our eyes = realism and accuracy
Printer = DPI
Monitor = bit depth (colors displayable)
72 ppi is good enough for electronic photos

83. Understanding pixels Picture elements (dots) per inch
Standard monitor displays 640 by 480 pixels
640 by 480
1024 by 768
More pixels requires more RAM, which may mean lower bit depth

84. Enlarging with pixels