Today, I will learn…

� Ground plane

� Lighting types

� Focus

Learning Goals

Ground Planes

Ground Planes

� When thinking of your composition,

framing, and balancing your photograph;

you should take into consideration the

three distances or areas of the ground plane

to break up your photo appropriately

ForegroundBoats on

shore

ForegroundBoats on

shore

Middle ground

Water and boat in water

Middle ground

Water and boat in water

BackgroundMountains

and horizon

BackgroundMountains

and horizon

Lighting

� By changing the amount of light and shadow, a photographer can change the mood and create dramatic effects

� When the subject is behind a light source the viewer sees fine colour and detail.

Back Light“Good” Example

� Placing a subject in front of a light source (back light) can create a silhouette, emphasizing general shapes rather than detail

� Can create beautiful and dramatic effects if done correctly

Back Light“Bad” Example

� The photo is backlit by the natural lighting of the sun, however, the photographer hasn’t compensated with their exposure settings, nor used a front lighting source (i.e. flash, or reflectors)

Front Light“Good” Example

� A good cast of lighting from natural sources such as the sun, indirect lighting from reflectors, or diffused light

Front Light“Bad” Example

� No consideration of how shadows are cast

� Sometimes, subjects can be “washed out” due to harsh front light sources; loosing details and contours of objects and subjects

Side Light

� Light source is directed at the subject from either side

� Can create dramatic effects and moods for the audience

Bounce / Reflected Light

� Bounce light is an indirect light source

� Typically reflected or “bounced” off walls or reflectors, which helps diffuse light

� Creates a much softer casting of light, less harsh shadows and highlights

� Evens out harsh light sources

Artificial Lighting

� Commonly associated with studio photography

� Generated from a studio lights, and built-in or external flash.

� Artificial lighting provides a lot of flexibility and creative opportunities; you can control the effects created within your photographs

Focus

Focus

� By manipulating how sharp or blurry a

picture appears, a photographer can change

the mood of a photograph.

� We often think the best photos are those

where everything is in clear, sharp focus,

this is not always the case.

Soft Focus

� Photographers often deliberately blur the details of a

picture, either during shooting or during post-production

(editing), this is known as soft focus

� Soft focus is used to suggest a romantic, ideal, angelic, or

dreamlike quality

� Common in wedding photography & glamour shots (yay!)

Shallow Focus

� A narrow/shallow depth of field needed

(large aperture, small f-stop, i.e. f 2.8)

� Only a small area (foreground, middle

ground, or background) is in focus,

while the rest of the planes are out-of-

focus

� This can help emphasize and draw

importance to your subject and ensure

the audience is focused on your subject

Only the surfer in the background is in focus = shallow focusOnly the surfer in the background is in focus = shallow focusNarrow/shallow Narrow/shallow depth of field (small f-stop number)depth of field (small f-stop number)

In focus

Out-of-focus

Deep Focus

� A wide/deep depth of field needed

(small aperture, large f-stop, i.e. f 16)

� Foreground, middle ground, and/or

background can all be in focus

� This can help to ensure your audience

observes the photograph as whole

All of this is in focus = deep focusAll of this is in focus = deep focusDeep/wide Deep/wide depth of field (large f-stop number)depth of field (large f-stop number)

Practice

� Practice your composition & framing skills;

� Take photos of objects, buildings, people;

anything that catches your eye

� Move around; think about your composition and

how you position your subjects within your

camera frame

� Experiment with different camera shots, angles,

aperture settings (to get different DoFs/focuses),

and shutter speeds (to capture motion blur)

To Do

� Reflection #1 – Overdue

� Journal #1 (Rule-of-thirds) – Overdue

� ‘Composition…’ article questions – Overdue

� Camera techniques glossary – Due today!

� Journal #2 (Exposure) – Due today!

� Detailed instructions on Edmodo