Photography Cert. 2014 -

For six weeks we have been learning different techniques of photography namely: Shutter  Aperture Vantage point, Fore/mid/background, leading lines Framing and compositions, rule of thirds Texture and positive/negative space Colour, focal length Light Flash Three point lighting On top of that, we also learnt different techniques to edit our photos in photoshop Below is a couple of photos that i'm looking to use for my assessment which i think reflect my understanding and application of some of the different techniques which i've learnt over the past six weeks. f/5.6, 1/200, ISO 200  Titled: Lovers Lock What i used in this shot was a narrow depth of field - to focus on the subject (which are the locks), i like the negative space which mirrors the roughness of the locks.  This is seen in the texture of the wood and the deteriorating paint of the iron rails.  I also like how their is a pop of green which comes through the spaces of the chair. ...

Today we worked on photoshop photomerge.  This tool is used to create panoramic photos, or combining multiple pictures into one photo.  Our class trotted out to the park and shot our images and did group shot.  Below are our photos - With this photo i adjusted the exposure and contrast to bring more light into the photo and bring out the blue of the sky. f/13, 1/160, ISO 100 f/16, 1/50, ISO 100 Here are some other photomerge examples i did - f/13, 1/250, ISO 100  In this photo i wanted to really emphasis the sky, so i adjusted the brightness and contrast.  I also adjusted the hue and colour balance.  f/13, 1/40, ISO 100 In this photo i adjusted the brightness and contrast.  I also worked on the colour balance to highlight the greens and browns.

Hellen Van Meene A dutch photographer.  Her photos consist of mostly portraits of girls and young people.  She uses natural light and shadows to frame her subjects of which she is well known for.  Working with girls with no experience in model, and directs their poses.  She shoots in square format and operates from a medium focal range.  Being square photos the images can appear quite static but with the use of strong lines in the photographs from the walls, stairs as well as the lines casts by the light gives it more depth. Artist: Hellen Van Meene Artist: Hellen Van Meene What i like about her photos is that she uses only natural light.  I like how the light is strong and defines the spaces that it covers.  I don't really know how to view the subjects in the photos, their poses seem unnatural.  NY Times (2005) describes her work as "seeing her subjects as the raw material of her own fictions."  I get that these are directe...

Today looked at the flash - Caryline took us through the various ways to use flash.  Speedlights sync with aperture, they read the light and chose the settings which would suit the light readings.  The output will correspond to the reading of the camera. Direct flash this is when your light source in placed in front of your subject.  The result is very harsh light and photos appear quite raw.   Good to use in the daytime as you would a reflector to fill in shadows Here is an example of a shot taken before and after using direct flash f5.6, 1/200, ISO 100 - Without direct flash With direct flash Bounce flash Can be used inside, where you can bounce light off the side of walls, ceiling or behind a subject Can use a piece of white paper if you do not have a bounce attachment Here is an example of a shot taken using a bounce attachment f/5.6, 1/60, ISO 100 - Taken without any flash Taken with bounce card facing forward Taken with b...

This week we used a fair amount of photoshop techniques to our photos.  Our first task was to find an image that has an area of block colour and then change the colour of this area. f/13, 1/25, ISO 100 We took two shots of a subject, one with their eyes opened and the other with their eyes closed.  Then in photoshop we cut the open eyes out (using the lasso tool) then copied and pasted them into the photo with the eyes closed.  Below is my edited version of the closed eyes .  I was lucky that the photos that i shot had the same lighting, as some of my fellow students had some problems matching their photos up. f/22, 1/15, ISO 100 Edited close to open Original open eyes photo Flawless don't you think - i'm pretty happy with it too.  I thought i'd be clever and place my model infront of the red car and crop it so it forms an eye.  Can you see the difference? Our next task was to change the background - here are my before and after...