Introduction to

Photography

sai

What is
Photography?

Photography is an art form like drawing and painting.

Photographers use their camera to make us see life in a
different way, feel emotions, and record stories and events.

There are three basic styles

of photography.
Landscape

Portrait

Documentary

Landscape
Landscape is a
photograph of the
environment. It
could be the forest,
mountains, oceans,
or your backyard.
Ansel Adams is a
famous landscape
photographer. Here
is one of his images.

Landscape

sai

What is Landscape
Photography?
Landscape photography is a
photograph of the outdoors.
It could be of the land,
water, or buildings.

Portrait Photography
Portrait photography is a
photo of a person or animal.
It is important to show an
emotion.
HoldingVirginaSallyMann

Whatistheemotion
showninthisphoto?
Scared

Angry

Other

MorePortraits
Portraitscanbethewholebody.

TheDressSallyMann

BoyandCar,NewYorkCityJeromeLiebling,1949

What is Portrait
Photography?
A portrait photograph is a
picture of a person or
animal that shows an
emotional connection.

Documentary
Documentary
photography presents
facts without
changing anything.

MigrantMotherDortheaLange

Good documentary
photographs make
you wonder what the
story is behind the
photograph.

What are the stories in these

photos?

Where do you find

documentary
photographs?
Magazines
Newspaper
Books
Internet

Documentary photographs can be either landscape or portrait.

DantesView1938EdwardWeston

Portrait

Landscape

Whichphotoshowsaportrait,andwhichshowsalandscape?

What is Documentary
Photography?
Documentary Photography tells a
story without changing
the facts.
It can be a portrait or landscape.

Remember that a good documentary photog

makes you wonder what the story is behind
picture!

Some Important Tools

Contrast, RuleofThirds,
PointofView, andProximity
are tools to help you MASTER
the art of photography.

Contrast
Contrast refers to
the brightness
between the light
and shadow areas
of a picture.

Doesthisphotographhavecontrast?
Mapplethorpe, Orchid and Leaf in White Vase 1982

Does it have contrast? What

direction is the light on the
trees coming from?

Alfred Stieglitz - Icy Night, 1893

What is Contrast?
Contrast is the difference between
light and shadow.
Think about a flashlight in a dark room.
Dont think about zebras or pianos!

LIGHTS

SHADOWS

Rule of Thirds
AphotoismoreinterestingifthesubjectisNOTdirectlyinthe
center.Tryplacingyoursubject1/3totheleftorright,or1/3
fromtoporbottom.

Onephotographusesruleofthirdsandtheotherusescentralfocus.

Central Focus

Rule of Thirds

Whichphotographdoyoufindmoreinteresting?
WHY?

PointofView
Tryselectinganunusualpointofview.

Above
Eye Level

Below

Wherewasthephotographerstandingforeachpicture?

Proximity
Dontbeshy!Getclosetoyoursubject.

8 Most Common
Photography
Effects

BOKEH
BOKEH is the aesthetic
quality of blur, the out of
focus area
of the image. It is how the
light renders the lighted
areas that are out of focus

PANNING
PANNING is the horizontal,
vertical or rotational
movement of an image still
or video. It is an age-old
technique,

RULE OF THIRDS
Rule of thirds is one of the
most basic techniques of
composition. With the rule of
thirds, the photographer
breaks down the photo into
thirds, horizontally and
vertically so you have nine
equal parts.

THE GOLDEN HOUR

The golden hour, also
known as the magic
hour, refers to the first
hour that the sun rise
and the last hour the
sun sets.

FIBONACCI RATIO
Fibonacci Ratio or spiral is
another guideline for
composition and is an intricate
version of the rule of thirds.

FILL FLASH
Fill Flash is a technique in
photography where the
photographer uses flash to
fill in dark areas of the
image. It is perfect for backlit
environments.

LONG EXPOSURE
Long Exposure is another
interesting photography effect
which entails a narrow aperture
and long duration shutter speed.
This is done in order to create
dreamy landscapes, capturing the
stationary elements while blurring
the moving elements of the image.

CONTRE-JOUR
Contre-jour is a popular
photography effect. It is French for
against daylight, the camera is
directly pointing towards the light
source.Contre-jour is, basically, is
the fancy speak of silhouette
photography. The light source is
located directly behind the subject.

CONCLUSION

Art is about exploring yourself and

medium, after all. to be an artist o
own you have to learn the basics fi
you them. Thats what Pablo Picass
and Van Gogh did.
sai

One should really use the

camera as though tomorrow
you'd be stricken blind.
-Dorthea Lange

Create an account in:

eyeem.com
Upload pictures using:
#nuartapp
#saiailand
#thegreymatter
#(section)
#(effects of composition)
Deadline: August 3, 2015