Photography Assignment 3/9-3/13

Notes:

• Understanding exposure separates photographers from picture takers!
• Exposure occurs any time that light reaches your film or digital sensor.
• A good exposure accurately represents light and color throughout your image.
• An underexposed image generally appears dark and has loss of detail in the darkest areas.
• An overexposed image generally appears too bright and has loss of detail in the brightest areas.
• Quality and quantity of exposure can be manipulated in your camera with the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.
• No singular exposure exists for any given situation. There are always multiple combinations of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO that will result in the same exposure.

Assignment:

• Write a magazine article that thoroughly defines and explains exposure.
• Include in your article an explanation of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.
• There is no required length for your article, but it must do a great job explaining these topics. 500 words is probably a pretty good estimate.
• You must include 6 pictures taken by you specifically for this assignment in your article.
• Cite any sources!
• You will have 3 full class periods to complete this assignment including the 6 pictures. Get to work!
  

It's a Girl!!!

Born March 4th, 2009. 7 lbs. 14 oz., 19 inches long.
Still lacking a name, but we're working on it.
Mommy and baby are doing great!!!

From Harper Birth

From Harper Birth

From Harper Birth

From Harper Birth

From Harper Birth

From Harper Birth

From Harper Birth

From Harper Birth

Photography Assignment 3/5, 3/6

The third ingredient for exposure is ISO. ISO is a measure of how sensitive your film (sensor) is to light. A higher ISO setting will result in a more sensitive sensor, and will therefore decrease the length of time (shutter speed) needed to take a picture. A low ISO setting will result in a less sensitive sensor, and will therefore increase the length of time (shutter speed) needed to take a picture.

It is generally considered best to shoot at the lowest ISO possible to capture the cleanest images possible. Shooting with a high ISO value results in increased grain size and noise.

Grain is another term that has come from film photography and it refers to the visible interruptions in smooth gradients. These interruptions look much like grains of sand...hence the name. For example:




Noise is the photographic equivilent to static in music. Noisy pixels are colorful pixels not part of the image recorded. Noise is a bad thing! We try to shoot at the lowest possible ISO possible in order to avoid noise, but sometimes in low light situations we have no other choice. The following picture is an example of a very noisy picture.





High grain pictures are often converted to black and white pictures, which is what we're going to do today!



Your assignment:

1. Set your camera to aperture priority and open the aperture as wide as it can go.
2. Set the ISO as high as possible (1600 on Nikon, 800 on Canon I think).
   
3. Take a picture of someone's face in the best light that you can find (hallway, outside, right by a window.
4. Set the ISO as low as possible and take an identical picture.
5. Convert each of the two images to black and white in Photoshop.
6. Label and post the two images to your blog.
   

Photography Assignment 3/3,3/4

Your assignment:
First, search Google (or you're favorite search engine) for slow shutter speed or shutter drag pictures. Look over pictures for 10-15 minutes to help you come up with an idea for your picture.

Then, you are to take one picture using a shutter speed of 1/20th of a second or slower to demonstrate effective use of slow shutter speed to enhance an image. Post the image to your blog along with at least 100 words reflecting on the image you created and the process you went through to create it.