|
Composition
When composing a photo Consider: Lighting Daylight is the best time to take photos...avoid direct flash like it's the plague. Think about your photo. Make someone WANT to look at it...try a new angle, consider what you want to tell the viewer. Narrative The photo should tell what you are trying to convey. Maybe you don't need to show a face, maybe you capture small details from the time or day, maybe you catch unique angles. Sit on the ground, stand on a chair, take the photo as if you are an object as a part of the scene, not a person standing on the sidelines...make the perspective count! Don't pose everything! (actually pose things but pretend they are candid...that's how you get the best shot! Relatable If the day on the hill is about the snow...photo that...more people can relate! Leave some for the imagination, and be CREATIVE! Use the rule of thirds, and consider orientation. Take the photo to match what you grasp. A landscape is always horizontal. Making a movie? horizontal as well...I've never seen a skinny tall tv or computer monitor to use any other orientation. For groups: instead of taking a messy picture of a whole parade...ZOOM in on parts of it to give the viewer the IDEA of a parade...snapshots. Pull some aside for a pose!
|
Asymmetry is your friend. There are tons of articles on the rule of thirds. There is even a Golden one based on mathematical principals, but for now...think of this: divide your photo into thirds. Make the focal point on one side or the other, do not place your focal point in the middle. As you can see with the group photo it is much more interesting to have the photo look more natural and asymmetrical. The composition is MUCH stronger when you use the rule of thirds. Zooming in also helps. The photo can be divided horizontally or vertically. Also use lines to draw the viewer into the photo, create a focal point.
|
|
|
Zoom, Focus and Depth of Field
Depth of field refers to how much of the photo is in focus and out of focus. This is a lengthy description, for another time, but two things affect depth of field.. NUMBER ONE: How close you are to the subject (pretty basic) NUMBER TWO: Aperture [how big or small the opening is in the camera lens, which acts just like an eye...sooo study up your anatomy ;)] The chart in the slide show explains this a little bit. For a detailed photo like the one with tennis balls, or the piece of grass you want shallow depth of field, where the background is fuzzy and there is only one thing that is in focus. This is for details and close up photo taking. Now, deep depth of field is when every thing is in focus. Typically you see this in photos that are NOT zoomed in. Think about why you would take a photo not zoomed in...it needs to be for a purpose...usually to capture a LARGE scene...a landscape or a huge crowd or something else that is large. The zoomed out backpacking photo shows how BIG the mountains are, and how high up the backpackers are...it is impressive, giving the viewer a feel for the massiveness.
|
Lighting
DO NOT USE DIRECT FLASH!!!!!!
So as you can tell...not a flash fan....direct flash makes photos look unpleasant and unnatural. You can see the difference in the flash/noflash examples. Flash washes out skin, makes it shiny, gives TERRIBLE shadows, makes skin look blotchy and awful, and causes red eye. If you are using a DSLR you can consider using a bounce flash or indirect flash sources but thats for later. Generally...take photos in natural lighting. In darker lit areas, you may need to have your subject sit very still and make sure you are not shaky or, use a tripod or rest. The shutter speed (how fast the camera clicks...its like how fast you blink your eye) can be slow, meaning it allows more light to come in, but that means the photographer and subject need to be very still. In daylight, you have the optimal amount of light to take photos...experiment with the light source to the side, behind, or in front of the subject. Take photos at night by using a longer shutter speed...get the sparkler photo by using a long shutter speed, and the cameral will only capture the bright sparkler and records the whole time you are 'sparkling'. Same for blurry sky or traffic photos... |
|
|
Marketing
I can pretty much guarantee that if you are have never had either of these cereals you would choose the kellogg's version over great value...why?! because it looks better! The ENTIRE consumer world is trickery....yes, I said it...Designers, the visual arts world, and corporations make BILLIONS by having good marketing. If you don't have good design skills, chances are whatever item or concept you are trying to sell, won't. Take for example my classroom rules...One is listed out...and I'm not even going to take 5 seconds to look at it...the infographic shows the EXACT information, but it is WAY more appealing.
Did you also know that colors and characters influence what we buy as well. Many cereal boxes have eyes on characters that link eyes with children walking through the grocery store to make a connection with them, so they want to have the box. A web site with terrible visuals and organization won't be looked at for five seconds, a product wont be bought, a video game won't be played...it's all based on visual design concepts. Check out the Pinterest design board for more interesting information! |