Photography as an Art - Coursework Example

Titus Rock Manickam Order No. 206528   20 February 2008 Media Introduction Photography is all about management of light and shades. It is important to have a good feel about the effects of light on the object and its environment. The photographer uses light the way an artist uses color. It takes time, experience and good deal of patience to get the necessary grasp of manipulating light and shades to get the desired effects. The difference between a novice and a seasoned photographer is the former begins to click away at random and waits to see the results. The seasoned photographer knows what she wants and what it takes to get the desired results. A good picture is worth a million words. Photographs have stirred emotions, stoked mass movements, shaped world opinions, chastised wrongdoing, shaken governments, and brought incredible reality in colors and shades to the living room. It is not enough to own a camera to learn photography, indispensable as it is. The management and treatment of light, background, foreground, focus, angle, exposure, and so forth convey meaning and purpose in photographs. The process of learning photography could stretch the nerves to the limits. The lessons learned in the process make the subject enthralling and endurable. (Liz Masoner). Focus The best photographs are first clicked in the mind. The best moments and places when they are actually captured become known through persistent application and experience. Photographers are known to have waited for days at one specific location to get the right effect and ambience. It may not be possible every time to convey a message through single photographs. A series of two or more sequences are sometimes needed to convey message. The focus of the subject is made more appealing through creative uses of light, shades, environment, etc. Mastering the techniques of focusing involves external and internal factors. Externally, the subject and its environment play major role. Internally, the camera, its angle, focus, aperture, timing, settings, color temperature, exposure, the photographer’s posture and position, etc. hold the trade secrets. (Steve Parrott). Lighting The best times for photography are before and after midday when the sun rays hit directly overhead. Dawn and dusks have sunrays falling at angular slants enabling lights in different shades depict details in the photograph. The use of lights of different shades on and around objects help a viewer understand clearly what the photographer desires to convey. The lights could be changed to suit the photographer’s needs to create an impression. There are basically two ways of handling light to make an impression. One could wait for the right time of the day at the right place and click when the moment arrives. This could take days. Or one could click away and manipulate the lights using techniques like photoshop. There are three core positions to begin with in the art of handling lights. The first one is total light, the second partial light, and the third, total darkness. For example, in order to create a striking impression, a photographer may choose to use complete black background and focus only on the subject dwelling on every aspect of its detail from small dots to lines and shades. (Free Photography Tutorials). Composition Organizing a photograph may require more than the subject of focus. For instance, a house looks more attractive and imposing with a generous landscape of some trees and open space. The window lights denote splendor. However, one must watch out for imbalances. A very large open space or disproportionately large number of trees might completely overshadow and dwarf the house. The whole purpose of the photograph is lost in such setting. The significance of the principal object, which in the case under discussion is the house, must be central albeit balanced with the rest of the environment to serve the purpose. Organizing the elements in photograph requires creativity, clarity and good judgement. Think of the deep blue ocean with a tiny little boat and you will feel the ocean’s vastness all the more awesome. Photographs in a sequence of two or three almost narrate an incident or tell a story. It is important to maintain proper grip on the subject of focus when using more than one photograph to convey a meaning. The sun shining during daytime and the moon during night does not make proper sense. The sun rays on a sundial at noon and an hour past noon quickly relay the message from the difference in the shadows on the dial. In the given storyboard where the photographer has used three pictures captured at different length and angles, the first two pictures bear close resemblance leaving the third in a position which makes the viewer feel a sense of void and a gap because of the sharp differences in angle, details and even lighting. A gradual flow in the sequence would see the lights fade in slow degrees. (Digital Photography Tips). Photoshop This software is useful in changing lighting and color for effects. It is also used in making corrections and modifications. The treatment of color and shades, organization of different objects and the environment, addition or removal of certain objects or elements are sometimes necessary to convey an impression or message. Light is the basic requirement in photography. Its treatment through artistic touch or software like photoshop produces the end result envisaged by the photographer. (Steve Barnes) Conclusion Photography is an art. After having learnt the basic elements and essential rules, it is left to the individual photographer to carve out her own identity by using techniques and effects that leave her own mark on her creation. Lights, color temperature, reflections, shades, refractions, etc. go into the making of photographs. It is the arrangement of these elements that bring alive the meaning and substance in the photograph. (Gloria Hopkins) Sources: Liz Masoner, Introduction to Photography, http://photography.about.com/od/takingpictures/tp/introtophoto.htm. Steve Parrott, Media and Marketing Director, CAST Lighting LLC, Landscape Lighting Photography, http://www.cast-lighting.com/art-steve-photo1.html. Free Photography Tutorial – Lighting Techniques, http://www.geofflawrence.com/photography_tutorial_lighting.htm. Digital Photography Tips – Lighting, http://digitalphotography.tipcentral.net/lighting.html. Steve Barnes, Lighting for Portrait Photography Tips, http://www.dphotojournal.com/lighting-for-portrait-photography-tips/. Gloria Hopkins, Composition in Nature Photography, The Elements of a Photograph – Part II, http://photo.net/learn/nature/ghopkins/comp2/ Read More