Jodie Coston: Lesson 1 - Composition

And Impact - It's A Beautiful Photograph,

But Do You Know WHY It's Beautiful?
Welcome to Lesson One!
When I was first looking into writing this course for Michael and Kevin, it sounded interesting to me. I thought
that getting back into the mindset I had when photography was all new, fresh and exciting would be a great
creative opportunity for me. After writing the first few lessons of this course, I can honestly say that I had no
IDEA how much writing this course would enhance my creativity and how enriching it would be for me.

After years of taking photographs, the basics had all become second-hand to me so much that I didn't really think
about them much anymore. Starting to consciously consider composition, lighting, shutter speeds and apertures
and put more thought into all of those details again really brought me back to those early days when I got my first
manual camera and it was all new to me. I remember clicking the shutter and - whammo! - an instant masterpiece!
Well, that might be exaggerating a little, but I was shooting exclusively film at that point in my life and I could
never wait to get my slides developed and back from the lab to see what I'd captured - the potential for a
masterpiece always lingered about in the back of my brain somewhere. I assume that many people taking this
course are at that same point, and I'm looking forward to sharing that enthusiasm and excitement with you.

If you're taking this course, I also assume you've fallen in love (at least a little bit) with the art of photography and
want to move on to the next level. When I look back at the photo courses I took and the volumes of books that I
read when I was so eager to take my photos to that next level, most of them started out with the basics: how the
camera works, from aperture to shutter speed and how it all works together in conjunction with light. We will get
to that in future lessons, but I want to start out a little differently.

Composition And Impact - It's A Beautiful Photograph, But Do You Know WHY It's Beautiful?

Let's talk a little bit about pictures and why we love them.

Pictures can be beautiful. They can decorate a home or and office; be published in books, magazines
and calendars; they can even win ribbons or prizes in contests. A breathtaking landscape can transport
the viewer to another time and place, if only for a moment. A beautiful still life can capture a mood of
serenity, warmth, even magic. A great portrait of a person can look into their soul, and let you share
their smiles or tears. A great picture *communicates*. Think about it. There is a huge market out there
for photographs because publishers know that the people who buy their materials will be drawn to good
photographs that reach out to them. Visual communication is something that we're all born being able to
relate to. The subjects out there to take pictures of are limitless. The only boundaries are within your
mind.

But what makes a photograph successful? The answer is a fairly simple one, and you can improve your
photography *today* by learning a few very basic rules.

One caveat, however. As the old saying goes, rules are meant to be broken. Some of my favorite
photographs very purposely break a lot of the basic "rules" of photography. But to break the rules in a
way that enhances a photograph and effectively turns it into a great photo, you first have to *know* the
rules and have a reason for wanting to break them. So today we're going to talk about simple
photographic rules that will *make your pictures better*.

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Number one: Get in close. No, closer. Nope, still closer. There! You've got it!

The first, and most important, rule: Simplify. The more you simplify a photo, the more attention you draw
to your subject. The more attention you draw to your subject, the more successful you are in
communicating your message to the viewer. There are roughly a million and two ways to do this, so I'll
keep it simple and stick to my favorite technique here, and that's to get in as close as possible, thereby
eliminating anything in the background that may detract from your subject.

Over the years I've belonged to a number of photography websites where people post photos and then
others can critique them. I can't count the times on these sites that I've looked at photographs of
beautiful flowers. Haven't we all taken photographs of flowers? They're inherently beautiful, readily
available and seem to just scream out to have their pictures taken.

Before you snap your next flower photo, though, do this: look up close at the flower. Really close -
literally. Put your eye right down there and examine the petals, all of the delicate little parts in the center
of the flower, any sort of unique characteristics the flower has. Ask yourself what it is about this specific
flower that is crying out to have its picture taken. Is it the plastic Barbie doll laying on the table behind
the vase that's really attracting you to it? Maybe the wooden table, or the placemat that Barbie is
reclining on? The vase itself? How about the green stuff in the vase with the flower? Are any of those
things what you really want to emphasize in this photograph? No! It's the blossom itself that wants to be
the star.

So try this. Set your camera up on a tripod (we'll talk about tripods later - if you don't have one, I'd
strongly advise getting one, but for now you can always sit your camera on a pile of books or something
else sturdy) as close as you can get it to the flower, while still keeping the flower in focus. This distance
will depend on your camera's lens, which we'll also talk about in a future chapter. You may have to
include some of the greenery in the photo, or perhaps even some of the vase or table. If so, for
heaven's sake, get rid of Barbie and that placemat. The people you show the picture to in the end will
be looking at a rectangular-shaped print, and if what you want them to see if the flower, it should take up
as much of that final rectangle - we'll refer to it as "the frame" - as you can possibly get in there.

Getting in close seems like sort of an obvious thing when you think about it, but I can't tell you how
many background "Barbie-doll" type distractions I've seen in photographs, where the flower takes up
maybe 1/10 of the final image and the rest is composed of distracting elements. One way to eliminate
distractions is drag them away, like Barbie, but my favorite way is to just get closer and closer until
there's nothing else in the viewfinder. That way, whammo!, you hit your viewer smack-directly in the
face with your subject. This is referred to as "filling the frame". There's no question about what the
photograph's subject is, and you've communicated with the person who sees the final image!

The bottom line is to focus the attention on your subject by really thinking about what you want to
emphasize. Try it the next time you're taking pictures and see what you think. Here are a couple of
examples from my own portfolio.

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My husband gave me a dozen roses for Valentine's Day one year. Never one to let a photographic
opportunity go by, I took several photos of the entire bouquet, but my favorite picture turned out to be
this one, focusing on just one single rose. The petals were so soft, it seemed that if you touched them,
they'd melt like butter. I think that focusing so closely the rose really communicates that message to the
viewer in this image. I titled the photograph "Butter", which many people didn't understand, but that's
part of the fun of being an artist. You can keep „em guessing and call it your artistic prerogative.

This is (so far) my best-selling stock photograph of all time. It's an image that's very useful for designers
in advertising because it communicates so well. Once again, I got in close. There's no question that this
photograph is about laughter. The smile stands out because of the bright red lipstick that contrasts with
the rest of the image that is mostly white. No distracting elements, not even the rest of a face to give a
personality to the image and make you wonder what the situation is - just a mouth, laughing.

Number two: Photographic Composition

Most really strong photographs position their main elements in certain specific places of the frame.
When you think about where you put your subject in the photograph, you are *composing* your image.

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Think about it. When a painter starts out with a blank canvas, he or she has free reign to decide where
to put that river, those mountains, the trees, clouds and anything else that needs to be included.
Creating a photograph, you should go through the same process.

Remember the flower we talked about photographing in rule one? Nine times out of ten when I've seen
that photo of the flower with Barbie lying in the background, the flower itself has been dead center in the
frame. This is simply natural instinct for us to compose a photograph this way. When we are looking at
the flower, our eyes are focused directly in front of us. We don't put the flower on the table, bring our ear
down to the flower and then try and shift our eyes to see the flower out of the corners of them. Some
part of our brain knows that and wants to place the subject right there in the middle of the frame, where
our eyes would normally look. The trick is to realize that when the picture is taken and all is said and
done, you will have that small rectangle to hold out in front of you and look at, and then you can look at
it by focusing your eyes straight forward. Until then, forget about centering your subjects. This is a
harder concept to master than you might believe at first. Once you try it a few times and see for yourself
with your own images the difference that it makes, it will get much easier.

There are several "classic" ways to compose a photograph. To use these methods, you will need to
train yourself to see your subjects in terms of lines and shapes. Sometimes lines in a photograph are
obvious, like the horizon in a sunset picture. Other times, the main lines in a photograph are not nearly
so obvious. One way to see the main shapes in your photographs is by squinting your eyes until the
image almost becomes a blur, then you'll see any lines and shapes created by the shadows and light.
This is a great way to look at a scene when you're thinking about how to compose a photograph. You
may notice how shadows blend together in a way that might not be immediately obvious otherwise,
creating shapes and forms that the viewer may not consciously notice when looking at a photograph,
but that will definitely impact their perception of the image, nonetheless.

The Rule Of Thirds And The Golden Mean

One of the most commonly talked-about rules in photography is the rule of thirds. The concept is best
explained by taking your canvas and dividing it up into thirds, both vertically and horizontally, so that
you essentially wind up with a tic-tac-toe board.

The rule of thirds should be used as a guideline for when you have vertical or horizontal lines in your
image. You will probably hear more about this photographic "rule" than any other, so I'll explain it fairly
in depth here and try to give you an understanding of why it is so effective. The rule of thirds is derived
from another rule called the "Golden Mean" that says that the main subjects of an image should be

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placed at the intersecting points created (roughly) by the lines mentioned above, thusly:

So if you are composing a photograph of a sunset, try placing that horizon line one-third of the way
from the top or bottom of your image, to include either more foreground or more sky. You'll notice a
stronger landscape this way.

I'll interject a little art history and math lesson here to explain the theory behind the Golden Mean.

The Golden Mean is a number sort of like Pi, from your high school days in math class. Whereas Pi is
equal to 3.14-yadda-yadda-yadda (math was never my best subject) and is handy for all sorts of
geometrical things, the Golden Mean is equal to 1.618-yadda-yadda-yadda. Mathematicians use the
Greek letter Phi when they're talking about the Golden Mean. This is derived from something else you
may or may not remember from your math days called the Fibonacci Series.

Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician born around 1170 A.D. who, for reasons unbeknownst to me
(What really possesses mathematicians to do anything, I wonder? Maybe the same thing that makes
us take pictures?), decided one day to start with the numbers zero and one and add them together.
Okay, that just gave him the number one again. Big deal. Then what? Then he added the last number
he used (one) to his new resulting number (one) and got two. He did it again by adding one and two
and got three. Then next time... Well, let me just lay it out this way, it's easier to visualize:

0+1 = 1
1+1 = 2
1+2 = 3
2+3 = 5
3+5 = 8
5+8 = 13
8+13 = 21
13+21 = 34
21+34 = 55
34+55 = 89
55+89 = 144
89+144 = 233
144+233 = 377
233+377 = 610

And you can keep going like that forever. All right. What does that prove? Nothing, as far as I can tell.

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BUT, if you take the ratios created by these numbers, an interesting pattern appears.

(I promise, this is all going to get back to photography... just keep reading...)

Ratio = 1 to 0 = 0
Ratio = 1 to 1 = 1
Ratio = 2 to 1 = 2
Ratio = 3 to 2 = 1.5
Ratio = 5 to 3 = 1.6666
Ratio = 8 to 5 = 1.6
Ratio = 13 to 8 = 1.625
Ratio = 21 to13 = 1.61538
Ratio = 34 to 21 = 1.61538
Ratio = 55 to 34 = 1.61764
Ratio = 89 to 55 = 1.6181
Ratio = 144 to 89 = 1.6179
Ratio = 233 to 144 = 1.6180
Ratio = 377 to 233 = 1.6180

Okay - whew! - the boring part is mostly over. Now we'll talk about what this actually means in the
world of taking pictures. Let's look at this diagram:

If you look at the gray lines in the image, they make up squares. When all of these squares are put
together in the way they make up this picture, they come together to form a rectangle. The ratio of the
squares in this rectangle is composed of our magic number, 1.618!

Here's where it actually gets interesting. If you've hung on this long, I commend you.

This ratio is found all over in the natural world. Have you ever seen a nautilus seashell that's been
sawed open? Its growth rate follows the curve in this image, 1.618 - exactly. Same with the little
spirals that compose the interior pattern of a sunflower, where the seeds are. Leonardo DaVinci based

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all sorts of his artwork, experiments and theories on the Golden Mean. The vast majority of flowers
have petals that number 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 or even 89. Even symphonies by Mozart and
Beethoven can be broken down into this ratio - whether that was on purpose or coincidental is
anyone's guess. Mozart is rumored to have been a hobbyist mathematician. A study was done a few
years back on top fashion models. Their faces, interestingly enough, have a number of characteristics
with exactly the ratio 1.618. These numbers are everywhere in nature, and on some basic, instinctive
level, the human eye tends to find beauty in things that correspond with this ratio.

So that tells us where the idea behind the rule of thirds came from. Technically, if you draw grid marks
on your frame and break it up into eighths, then draw your dividing lines down at the mark of three
eighths on each side, you've got the spots where the Golden Mean hits.

However, when you're looking through your viewfinder, it's not like you're going to get out your tape
measure and divide everything into eighths, hence we use the rule of thirds, which is very close for all
practical purposes.

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This was one of my earliest landscape photographs, and one of my best received to date. Upon close
inspection, the image is split up into three distinct areas: the orange sand, the blue and white
mountains with a few bright clouds, and finally, the dark purple stormy clouds in the upper third of the
image. The photograph is much more interesting this way than if I had centered the horizon line right
in the middle of the photo.

Back to flower photos for this example. Notice the subject itself, the pink daisy blossom, is placed at
one of the "Golden Mean" points. The background itself is not distracting. The blue of the vase melts
into the blue background, and all of that blue really makes the contrasting pink stand out and grab
your attention.

There are other ways besides the rule of thirds and the Golden Mean to use lines and shapes to
strengthen an image. Here's a quick overview of six additional methods of composition that can
strengthen your images.

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The Triangle
When you take a photograph in a rectangular frame, basing the composition on a triangle that goes
from any one corner to the two opposite sides, like this diagram, is always a good way to create a
strong image. Note the following example:

The eyeglasses and the newspaper chart that they are laying on each create their own implied
diagonal line. Notice the way that the eyeglasses are placed. The eyeglasses and the line work
together here to divide the photograph into triangles. It won't be very often that you're photographing
subjects that are actually triangular, but by placing objects in your composition along strong diagonal
lines that create a triangle, you'll add strength to your image.

Another way to use triangles that fits in with the Golden Mean is in the following manner:

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You can see how the photograph above is loosely broken down into three sections that fit in with this.
Upon first appearance, if someone told you this image was composed of triangles, you'd probably tell
them that they were nuts, but that's where the idea of implied lines comes in.

The Frame Within A Frame

Another way to strengthen a composition, especially landscapes, is to use materials near you in your
foreground and include them in your photograph around two or more of the edges to create a sort of
"frame". This is most often done with trees or branches on two or three sides of the image, as seen
below, and you can be very creative with this. Oftentimes rock formations will have holes through them
- you can use this sort of natural "frame" by including it in an image and taking a landscape view
through the hole. Another interesting thing to try is taking a photo through a window frame of an
outdoor scene. Archways, doorways and all sorts of other architectural features work great for this as
well. I would suggest staying away from doing this with only one edge of the frame, as that tends to
make a photograph feel off-balance.

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Leading Lines
Roads and footpaths are another great way to use leading lines to your advantage. The path in this
image really stands out because of the vivid green foliage that contrasts with the rich brown path. The
line created by the path then leads the viewer into the photo, as if they were standing on the trail,
ready to walk right into the image. Any sort of path or roadway can be very effectively used in this
manner, as seen in the following photo. I have a gazillion of these types of shots in my portfolio. I just
love taking them.

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Notice that the road leads your eye into the image, meeting the horizon line, which is one third of the
way down into the image. Next time you're taking landscape photographs, try playing around with your
placement of the horizon. Our natural instinct is to place it square down the middle, but placing it in the
upper portion of the image to include foreground or in the lower portion of the image to include a
dramatic sky can give a photograph much more impact.

Leading lines can be found in many other ways, not just paths and roads. A wagon wheel's spokes
can work together to lead the viewer's eye into the frame. The edges of the petals of a daisy can be
leading lines moving into the center of the flower. A row of trees or street lights that vanish in the
distance can create very strong leading lines that take the viewer's eye all the way through an image.

The Circle
After my long-winded explanation of why it's best to use the rule of thirds and the Golden Mean, I'm
going to toss in a rule that breaks that rule. The circle can be used very effectively when composing a
photograph, if the subject is right. Going back to the idea of getting in close, let's look again at the
picture of the rose.

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The petals that all overlap each other naturally make the viewer's eye move in a circle in this image.
The effect is similar to a whirlpool, drawing the viewer in. The main circle of the composition also takes
up virtually the entire frame, so none of the image's space is wasted on unnecessary elements. Those
two elements of the photograph work together here, giving the image a strong composition, even while
breaking the traditional rules. "The Circle" is a tricky element to use in a photograph effectively, but
when done well, makes for an outstanding photograph.

Rhythm
Another way to create dynamic impact in your photograph is with the use of "visual rhythm". This is a
way to use repetition of form and shape in an image to create interest.

In this image, the little lines created by the rows

of chickens and the zoom blur work together to really make the viewer's focus shift to the blue
chicken. Rhythm is combined with leading lines here to really bring attention to that little blue guy.

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Another use of rhythm, created by the replication of the lines of each glass snifter.

Negative Space
Negative space is a term used in photography that implies only a tiny fraction of the frame is taken up
by the actual subject. Negative space is usually used either to make the subject seem very small, or to
give the impression of the subject being in a wide-open space.

In this image, technically the subject is the wheat. However, since they are surrounded by so much
vivid blue space, the feeling that you get is that of a wide-open sky - turning the negative space itself
into as much of the subject as the wheat.

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Learning To Use These Methods Through Abstract Photography
One of the best ways to learn to see compositionally is by taking abstract photographs. By abstract, I
mean that your subject matter is unrecognizable for the most part. Get in close, use color and lines in
your composition to create the whole image. When you're done, look closely at it. Does the photo feel
"balanced"? Following are a few of my more popular "abstract" images that have all either won awards
or been published numerous times.

The soft lines and the soft pink color inspired this close up photo of a calla lily. Another instance where
I used the "get in close" technique. Notice the diagonal giving strength to the composition and where
the petals meet each other at the bottom third of the image. The diagonals in this image are implied
diagonals, like we talked about above.

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This photo was taken of a tulip leaf. I noticed the light falling just right on a red object in the
background and captured just a little bit of each in the photograph to make a vivid abstract. Once
again the rule of thirds comes into play in the composition of this image.

This is the side of a trailer that was covered in yellow, cracking paint. I placed the line of rivets by
using the rule of thirds and the texture creates an interesting abstract. It's the vivid colors, texture and
the line of rivets that hold this image together and make it interesting.

Abstract photography is definitely not for everyone, but it can be a marvelous learning tool. It forces

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 you to pay attention to things that might not come naturally, like the rule of thirds

Number Three: Is there a Better Way To Do It?

The last thing we'll talk about in this lesson is point of view. Specifically, your point of view, as the
photographer. How many times have you seen something worth taking a photo of - maybe a barn, a
tree, or your dog - and picked up your camera to snap a picture right then and there? If this is the way
you go about taking photos, you can dramatically improve your technique with one simple process.
Walk around the subject. All the way around it. See how the background changes as you move 360
degrees around your subject. Then lie down on the ground and point the camera up at your subject.
Okay, if it's your dog, you might have to watch out so he doesn't come over and lick the camera lens,
but you get the point. Climb a ladder and look down, trying the same thing. Tilt the camera vertically,
even diagonally. Take a whole roll of film (or fill a whole memory card if you use a digital camera) of
the same subject from drastically different points of view and compare the results. You might surprise
yourself. You'll definitely surprise the viewer by trying something different and that will add impact to
your photo.

This photo was taken of the model by having her lie down, then I put the tripod over her to look down
on her from a rather unusual angle. Again, I used my "get close" style to make sure nothing was in the
image but the model, no distracting backgrounds, and the diagonal line adds visual strength.

When you're walking around your subject finding different points of view, watch out for what is in the
background. Not "Barbie the distracting element" that we already covered, but if you're taking a photo
of your Aunt Sally sitting in the back yard knitting a sweater, watch out for that tree behind her. Many a
photo has been ruined because Aunt Sally's hair is the same color as the tree bark and when you've
taken the pictures and are looking at the final product, you notice that it actually appears as if that tree
branch is growing out of her head! The trick is to look - really look - through that viewfinder before you
snap the shutter. Make sure every single element is something you want in the photograph and that
each element is in the exact spot that you want it.

Assignment 1: Take at least one abstract photo based entirely on some of the compositional rules we
talked about. Subjects should not be recognizable. Post your photo online and send me a link, along with
an explanation of why you think the composition makes a visually interesting image.
Assignment 2: Students will take pictures of a subject from various viewpoints (near, far,
from above, below, behind). Creativity is encouraged. Likewise, post your best two or three
photos of the subject online and send me a link, along with an explanation of which you
think is most visually appealing and why.

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Jodie Coston: Lesson 2 - Aperture And
Shutter Speed - How They Work
Together
Welcome to lesson two!
The next two lessons are going to focus on camera basics. First off, we're going to talk about aperture - also called
f-stop - and shutter speed. Those two things alone put me off for a very long time when I was a beginner and
considering learning more about photography. All the years I spent growing up while I was young, I had a camera
in my hands. I have boxes full of photographs of school events, slumber parties, the poodle I had growing up and
all of my friends acting goofy. I figure some of that will make good blackmail material later on in life, but I
digress… The point is that I was born with a love for taking pictures, but all of the crazy technical sounding stuff
was very scary to me. If that's where you are, I'm here to tell you that you have nothing to be scared of. It takes a
while to get the feel of how to know exactly what you're doing, but the basic concepts are quite easy, and I'll give
you some tools you can use to help you along until it all comes naturally to you.

This class is designed for anyone interested in learning more about photography. To get the best results from your
camera, you should have a camera that you can control manually. By this, I mean you can make the decision on
whether to set your shutter speed to 1/60 second or 1/1000 second, as well as control your camera's aperture
(which is the hole that lets the light in). If you don't have a camera that will let you control those things, these
lessons are a good learning tool anyway to help you know what you might want further down the road to help you
create better photographs. We'll talk specifically about film and how it works, but it's completely fine if you use a
digital camera. If there's much student interest in digital specifics, possibly we'll touch on that toward the end of
the course.

Lesson Two: Aperture And Shutter Speed - How They Work Together

Let's start by studying the following Newtonian lens

diagram:

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Hah! Are you kidding me? I wouldn't do that to you. I told you in lesson one that I was never any good at
math. I took that diagram from a physics book on optics, mostly to emphasize to you that no matter how
difficult operating a camera looks, it could always be worse than what I'm going to show you. If at any
point you start to get confused, go back and look at this diagram. It will make whatever I'm explaining
seem much more simple.

First of all, we'll start out with how a camera works. I assume most of you have the general idea of that
already, but in today's world of high-tech-huge-megapixel-super-cameras that do everything but cook
your breakfast, it's easy to think that the instruments we use for taking pictures are a lot more complicated
than they really are.

Let's look at this:

There are only three things you actually need to make your own camera. Number one is a lightproof box.
Number two is something with which you can poke a pinhole in it. Number three is a piece of film to put
across the back of the box, opposite the pinhole.
I know that you're probably looking at that diagram and thinking, "What are you talking about? A camera
has to have a lens, right? What about a shutter and all that other neat stuff?" Nope. None of that is
necessary. Though if you're really going to go the pinhole camera route, you might also need some tape
and glue and cardboard and other stuff. The pinhole camera is the most basic of cameras, so I'm
basically going to be using it as our model while we talk about apertures. We'll get into the different kinds
of lenses and how they work in the next lesson.
Your camera's aperture is the hole that lets the light in. In this case, it's the pinhole. Whatever camera you
are using has something called an Iris Diaphragm, which makes the aperture bigger or smaller to let more
or less light in. It looks something like this:

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Your camera's aperture does two things. First, since we know that it controls the amount of light let into
the camera, it stands to reason that it also controls how dark or light your picture is going to be. The
second thing it does is control how much of your picture is in focus. This is referred to as "depth of field",
which we'll also discuss in our lens lesson.

F-Stops And Amount Of Light

Your camera's lens will have settings called "f-stops" that look like this:

F/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32.

What do those numbers mean?

Those numbers tell you how large the opening of your aperture is. Each of these f-stops lets in twice the
amount of light as the next f-stop. I know that it seems a little weird that the smaller number lets in more
light than the larger number, but there's a reason for that. It's a ratio, sort of like when we talked about
"golden mean" ratios in lesson one. When you buy a camera lens (assuming its not a zoom lens), it will
have a number on it that says something like 200mm. That number, simply put, is the distance from the
film in the camera to the lens when the camera is focused at infinity. It's called your lens' focal length.
There are exceptions - BUT - I'm doing my best to keep on track and just talk about aperture, so let's skip
all of the crazy lens technicalities until lesson three. The f-number is the ratio of that focal length divided
by the diameter of the aperture (how wide the hole is).
To put all of that gobbledygook that I said above simply, when the aperture of a 200mm lens (focal length)
is 50 mm (aperture opening) wide, your f-stop will be f/4, because the ratio of 200/50 equals four. If you
"stop down" your aperture to half that size - 25 mm wide - your f-stop will be f/8. (Because its 200 divided
by 25.) So the "f-number" gets larger as you let less light in.
If you're feeling confused, go back and look at the Newtonian lens diagram again. Then come back and
read this part again. It'll seem like a piece of cake.
Here's what happens when I take a picture under the same lighting conditions, using the same shutter
speed, just changing the camera's aperture one stop at a time.

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I suggest going out and trying this yourself at the end of the lesson, to really get a feel for it.

Shutter Speed And Amount Of Light

Your camera's shutter is the tool that you use to control the amount of time that you let light reach your
film.

Following are typical shutter speeds on a camera:

1 second
1/2 second
1/4 second
1/8 second
1/15 second
1/30 second
1/60 second
1/125 second
1/500 second
1/1000 second

21
Some cameras will have shutter speeds as long as two, four or eight seconds or as short as 1/2000 or
1/4000 second. Two other options you may have on your camera are "T" or "B", which stand for "Time"
and "Bulb", respectively. They're basically the same thing and they give you the option to leave your
shutter open for as many seconds, minutes or hours as you'd like.

If you set your camera's shutter speed to 1 second, obviously it will let in more light than if you set it for _
second. Basically, light is going to hit your film for twice the amount of time. Each setting is twice as long
as the next. So between opening and closing your aperture and varying your shutter speed, you have a
great amount of control over the exposure of your photograph.

What you want to achieve is a proper exposure - when the whites in your photo are really white, but still
have detail or texture to them, and the dark colors to be really dark, also still showing texture and detail.

In the example above where I was talking about apertures, I used a 1/60 second exposure for each
separate photograph. If I had used a 1/1000 second exposure, the f/2 example would have been very
close to properly exposed, while f/8 through f/32 would all have been very near completely dark.
Conversely, if I had used a 1/8 shutter speed, the f/32 example would have been the closest to properly
exposed, while f/2 through f/8 would have been almost completely white.

In the following chart, each scenario will let the same amount of light into the camera - they will each give
you the same exposure. Let's say that we want to take a photo using the first scenario of aperture f/11
and 1/15 second shutter speed. If you "stop down" your aperture to f/8, this lets in half the amount of light
as f/11, so you'll need to double the amount of time the shutter is open to 1/30.

Aperture (F-Stop)
Versus Shutter Speed in Seconds

Scenario Scenario Scenario Scenario Scenario Scenario

1 2 3 4 5 6

Less Light << More

f/11 f/8 f/5.6 f/4 f/2.8 f/2
>> Light

More Light << Less

1/15 1/30 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500
>> Light

Just remember that every time you open your camera's aperture by one f-stop, you're letting in twice the
amount of light, meaning that you need to cut your shutter speed in half. Conversely, if you stop your
aperture down by one f-stop, you'll be letting in half the amount of light, meaning you need to double your
shutter speed time to let the same amount of light in. The two work hand in hand to control your
exposure.

Note that the chart above is only an example. You won't go out into the real world and expect an aperture
of f/11 to give you the perfect exposure with a shutter speed of 1/15 second every time. In a dark room
you'll need much more light than if you're outside on a sunny day.

It's like learning to drive a car with a manual transmission - you need to let the clutch out as you give the
car gas or things won't work right. I remember driving around the same block in my neighborhood for two
hours when I was 16 years old and killing the car's motor at the same stop sign every single time until I
got it right. Using your aperture and shutter speed is the same sort of thing. You'll find as you experiment

22
with the settings, you'll get the feel for them and one day it will just come naturally.

The Other Factor Of Shutter Speed: Motion

Shutter speed can have a really interesting effect when you want to emphasize motion. Look at the
following two photographs:

This photograph was taken of this truck with a shutter speed of 1/1000 second. I purposely waited until a
vehicle came by with some lettering on it to emphasize how a quick shutter speed stops motion. You
really can't even tell whether the truck is parked on the road or moving. In actuality, the truck was moving
close to 70 miles (112 kilometers) per hour per hour.

This photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/30 second. The vehicle was moving about the same
speed as the vehicle in the above photograph. This photo definitely implies motion. The longer the shutter
speed, the more motion a moving object in your photo will have. Notice that because the camera was not
moving and was on a tripod, everything else in the photo is tack sharp.

23
Finally, this photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/8 second. Even more motion blur.

Two interesting things to note are that an object moving from one side of your frame to the other will show
more motion blur than an object moving toward or away from you. Also, the closer the subject, the more
effect your slow shutter speed will have.

One other interesting way to use a slow shutter speed is to photograph a waterfall, or any kind of moving
water. I'm sure you've all seen beautiful images of tranquil settings where falling water looks like angel
hair moving over rocks. This is accomplished by slowing down your shutter speed. The slower the better
for images like this. One thing to note if you're going to try this kind of shot: water reflects a LOT of light -
much more than you'd imagine. Even with your aperture stopped all the way down to it's smallest position,
it might be too bright for you to get a long enough shutter speed to achieve this effect. Here are two tips.
First, these kinds of pictures work best on very dark, overcast days. So if you want to go out and take
scenic pictures some day and you're discouraged by the weather, don't be! Just head for the nearest
wooded area with moving water. Days like that will really bring out the beautiful saturated colors in
foliage, whether it's the vivid greens of spring or bright autumn reds, yellows and oranges, and you'll
definitely have better luck shooting water, too. Second, we'll do a special lesson that will include camera
filters and what they do, but I think now is an appropriate time to talk about a "neutral-density" filter. This
is a filter that is optically clear, but will darken your image to let you use slower shutter speeds. Different
filter manufacturers call them different things, but they generally are made to reduce the amount of light
getting into your camera by either one, two or three stops. And if that's not enough for you, they can be
stacked on top of one another. If you're interested in getting one for your camera, you can go down to
your local camera store and show them your camera - they'll help you find one that fits your camera
model.

24
This photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/15 second - the longest exposure I could manage that day
without overexposing my photograph. If I would have had my neutral density filter with me, I could have
lengthened that exposure time and gotten an even softer effect with the water, while keeping the rocks
and foliage sharp.

So we've seen the difference between fast and slow shutter speeds and interesting effects you can create
with your slower shutter speeds. What about fast shutter speeds? The stopped-motion truck in the
example above is not every interesting. When would you use a fast shutter speed to your advantage?
Fast shutter speeds work really well capturing things that our eyes are too slow to see clearly.

Quick shutter speeds, meaning 1/500 second or faster, are often used in sports photography, whether to
capture a high jumper mid-air at a track and field event or to capture a motocross competitor flying high
over a jump with bits of mud flying out from under his tires. Whereas the truck in the example above was
sitting on the ground, if you catch something in the air with a fast shutter speed, there's no question of
whether it's moving or not.

Here again, water can also make an interesting subject. Our eyes don't have a chance to focus on water
drops spraying when they hit the shore at the beach, so capturing that kind of event on film can make a
really impressive photograph.

25
This image was taken with a 1/1000 shutter speed to capture the spray of the water off of the apple. It can
take a lot of experimenting to get a shot like this right, but it's fun when you finally do.

Along the same lines, this was done by setting my camera on its tripod, setting the focus to a specific spot
on the bowl of milk, and simultaneously dropping a strawberry while tripping the camera's shutter. I
needed to use my camera's flash - you can see the shadow created by the splashing milk - to get a fast
enough shutter speed.

And there you have shutter speed and how it works with your camera's aperture. In the next lesson on
lenses, we'll explore other effects of your camera's aperture on your photographs.
Okay, on to the assignments for lesson two:

26
Assignment 1: Take a landscape photograph using each available aperture on your camera,
while using a 1/60 second shutter speed for each shot, similar to what I've done in the
example in this lesson. If you don't have a tripod, you can set your camera on a fence post
or any other handy thing to keep it in the same place for each shot.

Assignment 2: Do the same thing again, and this time find the shutter speed where your
camera's mid-range aperture gives you the best exposure, with nothing being too light or
too dark. For example, if you have 9 f-stops available on your camera, your first shot should
be nearly white, the last one should be nearly black, and the fifth (middle) one should be
nearly properly exposed. If your first assignment came out that way with the 1/60 shutter
speed I suggested, try the same thing with a different shutter speed. The idea of this
assignment is that the more you do this and fiddle back and forth with these tools, you'll get
much more familiar with them.

One quick note on these two assignments - if you're shooting digital, you'll do just fine. If
you have a film camera, make sure and use slide (transparency) film. Print (negative) film
is an entirely different animal - we'll cover film extensively in lesson four, but you should
know that when negative film is printed, there is a ton of latitude in how you can expose it.
I once took some night shots of the sky and left the shutter open for hours to get a photo of
the stars moving through the sky, and the came back looking like they were taken in the
middle of the day. The printers tend to compensate for any mistakes you make, and in my
case, their automatic printing machine just "thought" I had underexposed my photograph,
so it compensated for it. If you try these assignments with print film, most likely you'll wind
up with a series of photographs that all come back to you looking the same.

Assignment 3: Go out and take some pictures using shutter speed - either fast or slow - to
create an effect. Be creative and have fun!

27
Jodie Coston: Lesson 3 - The lens -
choosing camera optics
In lesson two we briefly touched on lenses when we talked about aperture, but for the most part, we simply
discussed the basics of how a camera works by looking at the most basic camera of all, a pinhole camera. The
pinhole camera is really an amazing thing when you think about it, but it's not practical at all for most of the
purposes we want a camera for. Without a lens, it's not possible to get a really sharp picture, and the tiny amount
of light that a pinhole lets into the camera means you need a shutter speed of anywhere from 20 minutes to several
hours, depending on how much light is on your subject. That wouldn't be very useful if you wanted to take a
picture of a high jumper in mid-flight.

To eliminate these two issues, we simply put a glass lens in our camera. The lens then gathers waaaaaay
more light than that little pinhole and sharply focuses that light into a picture on our film.

The lens is really the most important part of your camera. If you're using a compact camera that has it's
own non-removable lens, you may want to consider upgrading in the future to a camera that lets you
change lenses. A good, sharp lens will be a huge asset to you in your photography as you become more
and more concerned about the quality of your images. Lens quality is a much more complex issue than
you might think at first. A really good, sharp lens uses special glass - several layers of different kinds of
optical glass that have been precisely ground and then inserted into a mechanism that you can move
around to focus all of those layers on your subject. Good lenses are spendy, but they will be well worth it
if you're interested in producing the best possible photographs.

Choosing a camera lens would be easy if all you had to worry about was getting a good quality lens, but
the many different variables - focal lengths, zoom lenses, lens "speed" - complicate the choice. We'll go
over some of the aspects of camera lenses and how those should influence your decision when you're
trying to find the right lens for what you want to do with your camera.

If you do have an interchangeable lens camera, the camera will most oftentimes come with what's
considered a "normal" lens - a 50 mm lens. That focal length lens is regarded as "normal" because the
image it makes is very close to what the human eye sees. This is a great place to start. I recommend
using that sort of lens until you're very familiar with it and comfortable using it and start to feel the need for
a lens that is suited for some area of photography that you're particularly interested in. Let's do a quick
overview of different focal lengths of lenses and their common uses.

28
Wide-Angle Lenses
Wide-angle lenses have a couple of practical uses. They include much more of the scene in front of the
camera than your normal lens. The following chart should give you a general idea of the amount of area
in front of your camera that each type of lens covers.
This can be useful in several instances, like when you're taking photographs in small, enclosed spaces.
Wide-angle lenses are also very common for landscape photography. A 24 mm lens will pack four times
more of the scene in front of you into your photo than a 50 mm lens, so in landscape photography you'll
wind up with more foreground and vast, dramatic skies. There are three sub-categories of wide-angle
lenses.

24 mm - 35 mm Wide-Angle
17 mm - 21 mm Ultra Wide-Angle
6 mm - 15 mm Fisheye

The wider the angle of your lens, the more linear distortion you'll have
in your image. You can see what I mean by linear distortion in this
image.

Notice in this photo of the aftermath of a forest fire the way that the
ground seems to almost "bubble". The wider lens you use, the more
apparent that will become. Sort of like looking into one of those
convex mirrors you see in the corners of convenience stores and
such - it also will make things seem out of proportion, in that the
closer an object is to the lens, the larger it will seem. A good example
of this is a close up photograph of a person or animal using a wide-
angle lens - their nose will appear very large in proportion to the rest
of their face, creating a comical effect. Those kinds of photos have
been a big hit in the greeting card industry as of late. This can also be
used very effectively in landscapes to draw attention to the
foreground of an image and add depth to the overall image.

29
This image showcases the rocks in the foreground, drawing the viewer in and giving them the feeling that
they are "right there". Wide-angle lenses are a must for landscape photography, so if your interests lie
there, you might want to consider adding one of these lenses to your inventory.

Another unusual effect that wide-angle lenses tend to create is the problem of converging vertical lines.
This effect is most noticeable when taking a photograph of a building from a low angle, looking up. In the
following photograph, notice how the building's lines curve in towards the top.

Notice the curving bottom line, also. A full fisheye lens actually makes a photograph that is circular in
nature. A fun lens to use, but probably not the first on your list of lenses that you need.

30
Long-Focus Lenses
Long-focus lenses are basically the opposite of wide-angle lenses. The term is used for almost all lenses
that are longer than "normal" focal length. They're also oftentimes referred to as "telephoto lenses". When
discussing focal length in the last lesson, I made a general statement that the number of the focal length
is generally how many millimeters it is from the front of the camera to the film plane inside of the camera.
If you happen to have a 400 mm lens lying around and decide to whip out your ruler and measure it,
however, you'll probably notice that it is not 400 mm long. That's because inside of the lens barrel they
use elements that magnify the image. A lens that is actually shorter than its focal length is technically
called a telephoto lens. If your 400 mm lens actually happens to be 400 mm long, you've got a long-focus
lens that is not a telephoto, even though they're all commonly called telephoto lenses. That's just a bit of
trivia for you. I'll use the terms interchangeably in this section, but now you know the difference.

So what are telephoto lenses used for? Let's look at the following example of the same scene taken from
the exact same spot, using both a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens:

Whereas a wide-angle lens will make objects in your foreground larger and objects in the distance

31
smaller, a telephoto will make objects that are far away seem much closer. Telephotos are commonly
used for wildlife photography. It's very difficult to get near many wild animals and birds, and a good
wildlife photographer will take his or her telephoto lens out into the wild and sit, unmoving, for very long
periods of time to get that great shot.

Another thing that telephoto lenses are good for is eliminating those converging vertical lines that I
mentioned when talking about wide-angle lenses.

This shot was taken from quite a distance using a telephoto lens. Notice that the lines of the building don't
seem to curve like the old brick schoolhouse in the previous example. If you can keep your lens and film
plane parallel to the surface you're shooting, you'll have good luck with eliminating those converging
verticals. They also make special lenses called Perspective Control (or PC) lenses that can help you
correct this problem if you can't get far enough away to use your telephoto - unless you are planning on
doing a lot of architectural photography, though, I wouldn't recommend one of these. They're rather
expensive.

There are a few disadvantages to buying telephoto lenses, so unless this is the type of photography
you're really interested in, I wouldn't recommend one. Long-focus lenses can be very expensive - when
you take a picture at a great distance like the telephoto example of the barn above, you tend to get a bit
of haze to your image. Only the purest environment will eliminate this. They're also very bulky, and yes -
expensive. A 200 mm telephoto will probably take care of most of your needs, unless you're planning on
photographing something small, like birds, from a great distance.

You can also enhance your telephoto lens with something called a "tele-extender". It is another lens that
you put on your camera, and then your regular lens attaches to the front of it. A 2x tele-extender will
double the size of your image. They're reasonably inexpensive, not huge and bulky, and give you a lot of
versatility. Their disadvantages: you won't get quite as sharp of an image using a tele-extender, and you'll
have to open up your camera by 2 stops with a 2x tele-extender because they decrease the amount of
light that comes into your camera. But if all you have is a 200 mm lens and that rare African Ruby
Throated Ring Necked Swallowtail shows up, you can throw on a 2x tele-extender and increase your lens
power to 400 mm. They even make them in 3x and a few other variations.

32
Portrait Lenses
Lenses that are between 85 mm and 135 mm are called "portrait lenses". Remember how we talked
about wide angle noses causing the "big nose" effect? This is called perspective distortion, and here's an
example of that, along with a portrait taken using a 110 mm lens, which is what I generally like to shoot
portraits with.

These are both self-portraits. Notice the caricature feeling of the shot taken with the wide-angle lens and
the more in-proportion feeling of the nose in the standard portrait. If this is an area of photography you're
interested in, this might be one of the first lens purchases to put on your list. I find a focal length of right
around 100 mm to 110 mm to be very flattering in portraiture. You'll be able to get close enough to fill your
entire frame with your subject while still standing a reasonable distance from them, too.

Macro Lenses
A macro lens is used to take pictures very close up of objects. A true macro lens will make an image on
the film that is exactly the same size as the subject. They're commonly used to photograph flowers,
insects, coins, etc. I do a lot of macro photography and it's one lens that I couldn't live without. Macro
lenses can come in any focal length - 24 mm, 50 mm, even 200 mm. In addition to being able to function
as standard lenses, they will also focus much closer than regular lenses have the ability to do. The
following images were taken with macro lenses:

33
Zoom Lenses
There are also zoom lenses. These will let you change the focal length that you are using without
changing lenses. They tend to be expensive, and because of all of the mechanical stuff inside the lens
barrel that allows you to zoom in and out, the optics tend to not be quite as sharp as a fixed-focal length
lens. However, some of them aren't too bad and they can be very handy if you're out shooting and want
the versatility of more than one lens without the hassle of carrying various lenses around with you.

Aperture and Depth Of Field

In the last lesson we talked about aperture and shutter speed and how they affect your photograph's
exposure. Aperture also controls something called depth of field.

When you focus your lens on a subject, anything at that same distance will similarly be in focus. Things
that are closer to or further from the camera lens will gradually - or drastically - be less sharp. Your
camera's aperture controls how large of a zone is acceptably in focus. This is called "depth of field", and
the smaller your camera's aperture, the larger that depth of field zone is.

34
In this image, the tip of the red pencil is sharply in focus and the acceptable focus zone fades quickly so
that the other pencils are more and more blurry. This was achieved by using a large camera aperture.
Depth of field also increases with distance. The farther you place the camera from your subject, the more
of the subject you can get in focus. Landscapes tend to have deep depth of field, while macros have a
very shallow depth of field because the subject is so close to the lens.
Shallow depth of field can be used in many interesting ways for impact in your photographs. Here are two
more photographs of the same subject using different depths of field to create different effects:

35
Likewise, this image uses shallow depth of field to achieve effect. This is the setup I used to take that
picture:

Of course, I could have just hired Roger Clemens to stand there and chuck baseballs at me and my
camera all day until I got a properly composed photograph with the ball in focus - and then snapped the
shutter at the exact time it all came together. This way was probably a lot easier, less expensive and
much safer.

Another creative use of depth of field is to use a shallow depth of field when taking a portrait if you're in a
less-than-ideal setting. Tightly focus on the subject's face and open up your aperture to blur that city
street or whatever is in the background and you'll have a portrait that jumps out at you.
Finally, don't take this to mean that stopping down your aperture and throwing your focus on infinity will
give you a completely in-focus landscape photograph. We've talked about shallow depth of field, but
when you want deep depth of field in a landscape image, you should use something called "hyperfocal
distance". If you go back and refer to the lake image used earlier in the lesson where I noted the rocks in
the foreground, that sharp focus throughout the image was achieved using this method. It's the best way
to assure your foreground is tack sharp as well as the rest of the photo.

First, you need a lens with a depth-of-field scale imprinted on it. A lot of lenses don't have this on them, so
if you're selecting a lens to buy, this is a good thing to look for. It's a bunch of numbers written on the lens
that coincide with the apertures on the lens. Each number is printed twice - once on the left of the center
position, once on the right.

36
If your lens has apertures running from f/2.8 through f/32, you will see a "2.8" written in the center and a
"32" printed way to the left and then again way to the right. I know, you're saying, "Man, all those little
numbers look so CONFUSING! What the heck am I supposed to do with those?" It's not as hard as it
looks, and I promise you'll be happy you learned this. This is what you do:
Set your lens to its smallest possible aperture. That's f/32 on the fictional camera I'm talking about, so
we'll stick with that. So now find the "32" markings on the depth-of-field scale on the lens. Got „em? Okay,
now instead of the normal procedure of positioning the infinity distance mark at the center, position the
infinity symbol above the "32" mark on the right. Now you are now focusing most sharply on a distance of
somewhere around ten feet or so, but infinity is just within your depth of field, also sharp. Okay, now look
at the left-hand marking that says "32" and it will tell you at what distance your depth of field starts - from
about three or four feet out all the way to infinity.

Tripods
Okay, if I don't get around to talking about tripods soon it's going to drive me crazy, so I guess this is as
good of a place as any, and it sort of fits in with the lesson on lenses.
Personally, I do my best to never - ever - take a photograph without using a tripod. There are some
circumstances where it's just not practical, but they are few and far between. Using a tripod will make a
big difference in your technical quality of your pictures.
That being said, there's sort of an informal rule that says it's okay to hand-hold a camera if your shutter
speed is at least equal to your focal length.
Huh?
Easier way to say it - if you're using a 100 mm lens, you should not hand-hold your camera at less than
1/100 second. A 500 mm telephoto lens should not be hand held at less than 1/500 second. Even if you
are positive you have the steadiest hands in the world and you really don't need a tripod - trust me - you
do. Why am I so emphatic about this? The absolute worst mistake a beginning photographer can make is
to not use a tripod. I've seen some beautiful shots that have been worthless when viewed up closely
because of camera shake due to not using a tripod. I went through a stage where I thought they weren't
REALLY necessary, too, and had a good portion of my best early images ruined due to this.
So what should you look for in a tripod? Several things.

Anything on the tripod that locks should lock really securely. If there are telescoping legs, extend
1. them, lock them and then try and push them back in before you buy. If they slip, move on to another
model.
Big, easy-to-handle knobs and handles. The last thing you want to worry about when you're shooting
2.
is figuring out which thing to grab and where it is.
3. A head that rotates 360 degrees and lets you tilt the camera straight up and straight down.
Overall sturdiness. Stand it up and press with good pressure on the center of the tripod. It shouldn't
4.
move.

I can't stress enough what a help this will be to improving your image quality. There are also monopods
on the market if you're hiking and a tripod is too much to carry.

Assignment 1: Set your camera up on its tripod or other sturdy object. Take a photograph
using your widest angle lens possible and another using your longest lens possible.
Compose them both so they are as interesting as possible.

Assignment 2: Again, set your camera up and take two photographs - this time they should
be exactly the same, but use your aperture to make your subject the only thing in focus in
one of them and then to make everything in the picture in focus in the other one.
Have fun and be creative!

37
Jodie Coston: Lesson 4 - ISO, Grain,
Transparency vs. Negative, Specialty
Films
Lesson Four: ISO, Grain, Transparency vs. Negative, Specialty Films

In todayís world of digital cameras, a lot of you are probably looking at this lesson and wondering exactly what
the point is. I constantly argue with my husband (who is NOT a photographer) about the future of film. He says it
is going the way of vinyl records, but I insist that film will always be there for us, even though I shoot almost
exclusively digital today. Regardless of which of us is right, to ignore the history of film and an understanding of
how it works together with light would be a mistake. So weíll go into a little lesson on the history of photography
and film in this lesson and then talk a bit about how this affects us in a digital world. One thing to note is that
while many professional printing houses have moved to accept digital files, transparencies are still widely
accepted and preferred by a wide range of professional photographers and printers, not to mention the folks who
shoot black and white and enjoy that time in the darkroom developing their own shots. Thereís nothing quite like
it, and I think that will be here to stay forever.

Film - A History Of Its Beginnings

It's difficult to imagine a world without photography. Photographs changed the world in ways that we can
barely imagine. We can now literally see things that happen all the way across the world without ever

38
leaving our home. We can communicate visually with people who don't even speak our language. That
world without photography existed just 165 years ago. Before that, people relied on paintings and verbal
descriptions, which were entirely dependent on conscious or subconscious alterations interjected by the
people that used these methods to communicate.

Prior to the creation of a successful photographic process, man was fascinated with the idea of creating a
photograph. Leonardo DaVinci made drawings of plans for a basic camera as far back as 1519, but there
was no way to actually capture images that would last permanently using this tool. Over the next several
hundred years, many scientists noticed that forms of silver, when exposed to light, would darken. That
basic camera, called a Camera Obscura, could be used to actually create images using this silver
solution, but there was no way to make the image permanent.

In 1827, a man by the name of NiÈpce (pronounced Nee-ps) found a way to make a light-sensitive silver
solution harden. It required an exposure time of eight hours or more, but this was actually the very first
successful photograph. NiÈpce called these Heliographs. He then went into a partnership with a man
name Daguerre. NiÈpce died shortly thereafter, but Daguerre kept working on the photographic process
and found a way to decrease exposure time to less than a half hour, and also a way to use salt to make
the images permanent. These images formed positive "prints" on metal plates. Daguerre called his
images Daguerreotypes and is largely credited today with discovering photography.

This entire process caused QUITE a stir. (Daguerre's wife was about the only person who was happy with
his results, because she'd spent the last several years thinking her husband was losing his mind working
night and day on this project.) People had never seen such images before with such detail and found it
kind of disturbing. Many called daguerreotypes blasphemy and the work of the devil. Then there were the
painters and artists who were terrified that photography would overtake what they did for a living and
feared that they would have to find new professions. I find that last note of particular interest because
today I hear the same sort of thing from others in my profession who have spent the last thirty or forty
years shooting film and are now daunted by digital photography and it's ease of use contributing to the
number of photographers growing by leaps and bounds.

I have seen daguerreotypes and they are truly beautiful and amazing, though aside from the end process
of capturing an image made of light and making it permanent, the process is very different from any
current photographic technique used today. Further advancements that got us to the point where we are
today were: the ability to transfer these permanent images to paper rather than metal plates; the ability to
copy these images without having to re-take the picture; the invention of celluloid film - then the invention
of COLOR celluloid film; motion picture photography andÖ digital photography - the latest step in the
journey of advancements.

Okay, But How Does Film Work?

So now we sort of have a history of where photography came from, but how does film actually work? Let's
talk about light for a minute.

There's something called the electromagnetic spectrum. It's composed of everything from microwaves to
radio waves and ultraviolet waves to infrared waves. Somewhere in the middle of all of that is a tiny little
section of light waves that the human eye can see and interpret into different colors from red to yellow to
blue.

Light is really weird stuff. According to the physics books it's not REALLY a wave but it's not REALLY a
particle, either. It's made up of photons. People who understand physics might be able to grasp the whole
thing, but I'm going to assume that since I don't understand exactly what photons are, you can understand
the basics of film without really knowing what they are, too. So we're going to just go by faith that it's
these photons that cause the sensitive stuff on the film to make the picture you wind up with.

This "sensitive stuff" is made up of gelatin and something called silver-halide crystals. It's referred to as

39
the "emulsion" of the film. These silver-halide crystals are what detect the photons that are hitting the film
and the gelatin holds it all together. When light hits them, these little crystals cluster together into
bunches, depending upon how much light is hitting them, and when enough of them cluster together, you
get a dark spot on your film in the shape of whatever is in your image. In color images, there are separate
layers for red, green and blue that all have little crystals working together to create a final product.

ISO and Exposure

Now, in lesson two we talked about aperture and shutter speed and how they affect exposure. Since you
have that down, I'll introduce a third element that we can throw in to further complicate the whole
business. Your camera's film has something called a "speed", too. It's usually referred to in units of ISO
(which stands for the International Standards Organization) and typically comes in the following speeds:

ISO 25 - Slowest Film

ISO 50
ISO 100
ISO 200
ISO 400
ISO 800, 1000 and 1600 - Fastest Films

The "faster" the film is, the more quickly it will respond to the light that hits it. Remember when we talked
about NiÈpce needing an eight-hour exposure for his photograph to "set" and Daguerre shortened that to
a half hour? That would sort of be like NiÈpce using ISO 25 film and Daguerre using ISO 400 film. Of
course, celluloid film is much more sensitive than that so you don't need ridiculously long exposures, but
that should give you an idea of the difference in films. If you double the film speed (in ISO units), you can
decrease the aperture size by one f-stop or shutter speed by one click and get an equivalent exposure.

SoÖ You would want to buy the fastest film you can get your hands on, right? Unfortunately, no. The
slowest films are made up of much, much smaller silver-halide crystals. It takes those itty-bitty crystals
quite a while longer to move across the film surface and cluster up where the light is directing it than
faster film, which is made up of larger silver-halide crystals. The different sized crystals cause something
called "grain". As a general rule, the faster the film, the larger the film grain. So the professionals tend to
use the slowest films that they can. Grain tends to get in the way of an image and cause less "perceived"
sharpness. Grain will be especially apparent on enlargements of photographs and give the print the
appearance of having freckles. Of course, grain can also be used for effect. High-contrast, black and
white images can be made even more dramatic with a heavy grain, as can gritty subject matter.

40
 This is an image where I used grain to add to the photo,
artistically:

This shot was intentionally made as a very bright (referred

to as "high-key"), high-contrast image to showcase the
flaming red hair and tattoo.

Below is a close up viewed at 100% magnification

showing the grain in the image. Without the grain, the vast
white areas would just seem overexposed when viewed
as a print, but the grain adds a textural feel to the image
that holds it all together.

Grain is most often used creatively in black and white

photography, because there are many films that lend
themselves nicely to beautiful, fine grain patterns. It's best
to go with a film that will eliminate any grain unless you
have a reason for wanting it there.

Here's a chart of sorts to give you an idea of which

films work best for what lighting conditions:

Film
Characteristics Advantages Disadvantages
Speed
Beautiful, crystal clear prints
As close to flawless as with highly saturated colors -
Difficult to use with moving
possible, almost excellent for use in
ISO 25 - subjects unless you have bright
impossible to see grain, landscape photographs and
50 light, tripod definitely needed for
even in large studio work with controlled
any low light situations
enlargements. lighting. Pros will recommend
nothing else.
Still normally need a tripod unless
Still a fairly low grain - Good for portraiture under
ISO 100 - light is very bright - very few
useful on sunny days or controlled lighting conditions
200 advantages over higher quality
with flash. and outdoor photography.
ISO 25 or 50.

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 Best suited for situations
Most print film
when you donít have any Quality due to grain becomes a
manufacturers market
idea what lighting conditions bit of an issue at this point if you
this as a versatile, all-
ISO 400 will be or will be moving from plan on making any
around film to be used
indoors to outdoors and not enlargements, but still acceptable
under various lighting
have the ability to change for snapshots.
conditions.
film.
Quite grainy, good for
low light situations Very similar to 1000 & 1600 Grain visible even in standard
ISO 800
when flash is not below. sized prints.
possible.
VERY high grain in shots - this is
Used a lot for situations like
the reason you see grain in a lot
Highly grainy, good for basketball games or stage
of indoor sports photography. Itís
ISO 1000 action shots in low light performances. Can still use
come to be acceptable, even
- 1600 situations when flash is reasonable shutter speeds to
expected, in those circumstances
not possible. capture action under very
because itís the only film that will
low light conditions.
capture such situations.

Taking Care Of Film

Film is very delicate and also very easily damaged. Film is sensitive to all kinds of things, including X-
rays (watch those airports!), chemicals (including salt if you're in an ocean environment), heat (don't leave
your loaded camera in a car on a hot day), abrasion from rough handling and of course, light. Film is also
susceptible to fungus if kept in high humidity, which will cause blotches, so be careful of that, too. Film
that has gotten old or been exposed to high temperatures may have an ugly greenish tint or a mottled
appearance. X-rays will cause unsightly lines and impressions in your developed film. And rough handling
will be apparent in spots that show up looking like cracks, flecks or the actual appearance of the film
looking torn or broken. If you buy film and are going to use it within a couple of weeks, you can keep it at
room temperature. If you stock up and plan on keeping your film around for a while, however, you should
store it in your refrigerator. Be good to your film and it will be good to you!

Types Of Film

Now that you have a general idea of how film works, we can talk about all of the different types of film.

42
 Negative Film - Also Called Print Film
If you are looking to wind up with a nice set of prints, this is mostly the type of film you will use. The film
box will usually say something like "film for color prints". You take your roll of photographs, then your
exposed film will have to be processed by a lab to create a "negative". You've all seen these - the colors
are reversed. The negative is then used to produce a print using the "positive" colors. A piece of
equipment called an enlarger is used to project the negative image onto light sensitive printing paper.
Then in the last step, that paper itself is processed to give you your print.

One good thing about negative film is that even if you expose it incorrectly, there is still usually enough
detail in the negative that a print can be made to look just fine. In fact, the machines that printers use
today are "smart" enough that they know if you've exposed your print wrong and will automatically print it
to the exposure it thinks is correct. A handy thing for that picture of grandma blowing out her birthday
candles when the flash didn't go off, but not at all good for learning photography. You might think you're
exposing your photographs correctly, but the "smart" printing machine is actually fixing any mistakes you
might be making. You can be off by two or three f-stops and never even know when you look at your final
prints.

43
Positive Film - Also Called Slide or Transparency Film
Positive film, as you might expect, is the opposite of negative film. After processing the film you will have
a set of positive images - also called slides or transparencies. If you want to make a living with
photography, slide film is the only way to go - agencies, editors and print houses will only accept a print if
it is phenomenal and they have no other choice. Normally they will only take slides (though more and
more they are moving into the world of digital, too - but I'm sticking to just discussing film for the
moment).

We talked about negatives above and how you can vary your exposure and still get a good print. Slide
film is not forgiving in that manner at all - slight over- or underexposure is nowhere near as tolerable as
color negative film. There are a couple of bonuses to that. Number one: You will definitely learn how to
expose your film properly using slide film, and working the manual controls on your camera will become
so second-nature you won't even have to think about it. Number two: Color slide film reproduces faithfully
and immediately exactly what you've seen though your viewfinder. There's only one step - to develop the
film. No running through an enlarger onto light-sensitive paper and then having to develop that paper - no
machines trying to interpret what you might have wanted that image to look like, so there are way fewer
steps in which to screw up your artistic vision.

The other great thing about transparency film is the amazing color saturation you can get. No print film in
the world can match the beautiful colors you can capture on transparency film specially formulated for
landscapes. They also make special transparency film for portraits and other uses. There are too many
different films for me to discuss specifics here, but a trip to your camera store to discuss the various
professional transparency films that they stock can be a real eye-opener. I highly recommend test-driving
some of these films - once you've got proper exposure mastered, you'll be amazed at your results.

44
Black And White Film
Color negative and transparency film are the two most common types of film, but one of the most fun films
is black and white film. Whereas color film requires a considerable expense in the materials needed to
develop and print your own images, black and white does not, meaning it gives you the freedom to do so
relatively inexpensively. Without actually having a hands-on class, I won't go into the details of processing
black and white film, but if you ever get the chance, you should give it a try. Working in a darkroom is
great fun and when you're finished and have that final print in your hands that you created yourself, it's a
very rewarding experience.
Infrared Film

I'll touch on a couple more unusual types of film while we're discussing different kinds. Infrared film has
some really unusual characteristics that can make beautiful effects. While our eyes can't see the infrared
portion of the spectrum, this film can. Human skin and foliage both tend to reflect a LOT of infrared light,
so if you use black and white infrared film to take pictures of either people or landscapes with a lot of
green leaves or grass, you'll get beautiful creamy white tones that almost seem to have a ghostly glow to
them. Skies will turn an inky black while puffy clouds will stand out brightly. I've seen wedding
photographs shot with infrared film that turned out to be masterpieces, and if you use infrared film for
portraits on someone who happens to have an abundance of blemishes on their face, you'll get back
images where the subject has beautiful, glowing skin - because the blemishes don't reflect infrared light
any differently than the person's unblemished skin.

45
 A word of warning, however - shooting infrared is very
different than shooting regular film. Just like our eyes can't see infrared, a camera's light meter can't see it
either, so figuring out the proper exposure can be tricky. Many photographers use a system of setting the
camera's aperture the way they want it and then using varying shutter speeds, making notes as they go.
Then when you develop your film, you can see which shutter speed worked best and use that as a rule of
thumb. This process is called "bracketing" your exposures, and can be handy in any tricky light situation,
not just when using infrared film.

You'll also need a filter for your camera that will filter out all but the infrared light - there are several to
choose from, and I'd suggest a trip to your local camera shop to discuss the pros and cons of what they
might have available. Another important thing to note is that infrared film must be both loaded into your
camera and removed in absolute darkness or you can ruin your images.

Infrared has lots of goofy little quirks like that, but having your first successful prints done with infrared is
an exciting and rewarding experience. It's like seeing a world that you normally wouldn't know existed.
Most of the time the film manufacturer includes specific directions on important facts you need to know
when handling the film, so pay attention to those and you should be fine.
Tungsten-Balanced Film

When we walk outdoors after being inside with artificial light, our eyes don't perceive much of a difference
in the colors of things around us. Film, however, doesn't have the latitude that our eyes do and it will give
your images very unusual color casts if your lighting is not exactly the specific "temperature" that the film
was created for. Most films are balanced for natural lighting - daylight.

The Kelvin scale is what is used to measure the temperature of different types of light. The "warm",
vanilla-colored light that you see at sunrise, sunset, and in indoors measures between 2000K and 3000K.
The "cool", bluish tinted lighting you see outdoors when it's overcast measures around 7500K. During the
day when the light is bright, it's considered "white" and its temperature is about 5000K.

46
So that means that if you use film balanced for daylight when you're indoors under tungsten light the color
will be incorrectly balanced and the image will have a yellow or orange color cast. They make tungsten-
balanced film to correct this problem. Likewise, if you then take your tungsten-balanced film outdoors and
try and shoot a landscape, you'll find the opposite, a bluish color cast.

One of the best uses of tungsten balanced light that I've found is for photographing Christmas lights
during the winter. If you use regular film for this, a lot of times your photos will come back and those
spectacular colors of the Christmas lights will all come back looking white or yellow. With tungsten-
balanced film, all those marvelous colors will show up as big as life and you'll get exceptional
photographs.

If you're shooting indoors under artificial light, you may want to give tungsten-balanced color film a try.
Negative film is normally daylight-balanced, but because the printing process automatically adjusts for
color temperature differences, you generally won't notice any odd color cast when you get your prints
back from the lab if you took your pictures indoors.

What About Digital Cameras?

Since I know this is an online class and that means many of you are probably doing work digitally, how
does any of this apply to you? If your digital camera has manual settings, what do those ISO markings
mean? You're not using film - what's the point of having them on a digital camera?

You're right, digital cameras don't use film. They have image sensors that work in place of film. That ISO
marking means that the camera will set it's little computer to work as if it had that type of film in it, making
that number it's ISO equivalent. Just like film having larger grain with the faster ISOs, using a faster ISO
in your digital camera will give you a "noisier" image. Noise is sort of the digital equivalent of grain. Just
like film, you'll get the best image quality when you use your lowest ISO settings available. This will
require longer exposures, so a tripod might be necessary.

Photo taken at ISO 400 on my digital

Same photo taken at ISO 50 on my
camera, viewed at 100% magnification.
digital camera, viewed at 100%
Notice the severe noise in the dark
magnification. Big difference!
corner of the image.

47
Okay, so what about all that light and color temperature stuff?

If you have a DSLR camera or other professional camera that has the capability of taking photographs in
RAW format, you can always go in and change the white balance or exposure after you've taken your
photographs. When you take a photograph in RAW format, your image sensor records it just like it sees it
and doesn't add ANY sort of white balance to the shot and when you upload it to your computer, you can
then go in and make all sort of incremental adjustments until the shot is just right. I shoot almost
exclusively in RAW format with my digital camera.

If you don't have a camera that will let you take photos in RAW format, your camera probably comes with
settings you can use for daylight, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent and other types of lighting, depending
on the camera. You can also use your camera's auto white balance, but beware - if the camera guesses
wrong and you need to go in and make changes using photo-editing software, image quality degrades as
you make changes to your picture. It's best to always set your white balance manually if you can.

Assignment 1: Assignment 1: Using a film camera, take both a roll of slide film and a roll of
negative film. Use the bracketing system to take a couple of sets of shots that are:

2 stops underexposed
1 stop underexposed
Normal exposure
1 stop overexposed
2 stops overexposed

Assignment 2: Take notes on what your aperture, shutter speed and film speeds are set to
on your camera so that you can compare when you get your developed film back. When you
do get them, you'll be amazed. Most likely you won't be able to tell much difference in the
negative film that has been printed, but the slides will show a dramatic difference. Even if
you don't shoot much film, this is an excellent exercise in helping you understand exposure
more in depth than you do already. Compare the difference in color between the correctly
exposed slides and prints. Since these are not digital, unless you have access to a scanner,
you won't be able to post your results, but please post any relevant comments you might
have.

Assignment 3: Take a white subject and photograph it both inside and outside, in both bright
light and dim light, using your camera's auto white balance. This is a good way to see how
accurate your camera's white balance actually is - are the whites really white? If so, great!
Next, if you have preset white balances on your camera, set the same white object up on a
white or black background and take pictures of it using each setting - sunny, cloudy,
incandescent, fluorescent. This will give you some idea of the differences in color
temperature your camera sees that your eye might not naturally notice.

48
Jodie Coston: Lesson 5 - Fun Effects -
Camera Filters, Soft Focus, Zooming
And Panning

Lesson Five: Fun Effects - Camera Filters, Soft Focus, Zooming And Panning

I promised all of you back in lesson two that it might get a bit boring and technical for a couple of lessons, but that
if you hung in there with me, we would get to the fun stuff. Well, here we are! You should now have a good grasp
on all of the basics of your camera to the point where now you can move into some of the really cool areas of
photography and creative ways to use your camera.

Camera Filters
There are numerous filters you can buy for your camera lens and they all create different and fun effects.
Let's discuss a few of the more common filters:

Polarizing Filters
The most common filter for use in landscape photography is a polarizer. If landscapes are what you want
to use your camera for, I have two words for you: Get One. A polarizer will make your colors super
saturated and eliminate reflections from water, so you can see rocky lake and riverbeds and add
foreground depth to your images. They'll make your skies beautifully dark blue and the clouds will really
stand out. A polarizer will also reduce ugly glares and reflections from windows. The only reflections they
won't change are ones in metallic surfaces.

Natural light - UNpolarized light, that is - moves in waves that vibrate in all different directions. Some
might travel in sort of an up-and-down motion, but there are a million other light rays all traveling from
side to side, in diagonal waves or any other number of directions. Imagine standing with a partner who is
about twenty feet away from you. Each of you is holding one end of a long jump rope. Both of you begin
to shake the rope wildly in all different directions. What happens? People will probably cross the street to
walk around you because of your weird behavior, for one. But what happens to the rope? It will move
around in all kinds of various directions, just like you are.

49
BUT... if you take your rope and run it through a picket fence and stand on either side of the fence and do
the same thing, the holes that run up and down in the picket fence will then only let waves move through
that are vertically oriented, no matter how much you flail around with the rope in all directions.

A polarizer basically does the same thing. By letting in light that is moving in only one direction, it
eliminates a lot of haze in the sky caused by light being reflected off of water vapor and other particles in
the air. The following photos were taken on a hazy day this summer, one with a polarizer and one without.
When I took the picture, I remember thinking how there really weren't any clouds to speak of, but after
putting the polarizing filter on, what a difference! Notice how the clouds stand out. The specular highlights
that were on the barn without the polarizer are also gone, making for much more saturated colors and
overall a more eye-catching photograph.
Polarizers also work well for photographing framed artwork or anything else under glass to cut down on
any distracting reflections.

50
One note - all polarizers are not created equal. I've bought cheap ones in the past thinking that a polarizer
is just a polarizer and any one would do. A good polarizer will be more expensive, but it will be well worth
it. Also, the wider lens you want a polarizer for, the more your polarizer will cost. If you're planning on
buying one, go down to your local camera store and talk to them about their selection of circular
polarizers and what the differences are. There are even polarizers that will change the colors in your
photograph, which can be a fun effect sometimes.

Soft Focus Filters

The use of soft focus is one of my favorite photography techniques. One very important thing to
understand about soft focus photography is that it does not mean "out of focus". Soft focus generally
gives a soft feeling especially to the highlights in the picture, while leaving the details of the image very
sharp. They are very useful if you're interested in portrait photography for adding a peaceful feeling to an
image and helping make skin tones to be more attractive.
Note in the photograph above, the details come out quite clearly, but the highlights of the image have an
almost magical glow. Scenes with moody lighting like this are an ideal use of soft-focus photography.

Most photo filter manufacturers make soft focus filters for your
lenses in varying intensities so you can control how soft you
want the image to be. Some lens manufacturers even make soft
focus lenses that are of fantastic quality, but expect to pay much
more for those. If you go into wedding photography or something
where soft focus is an effect you'll be using a lot, it can be worth
it to invest the money in one of these lenses. You can also
create soft-focus effects yourself without spending a dime, just
by stretching a nylon stocking over your camera lens. This baby
photograph was taken with that technique.

51
I know of other photographers who use optically clear filters and smear a dab of petroleum jelly around
the edges for a soft-focus "framing" effect that can be beautiful.

If you're shooting with a film SLR that has the capability of

making multiple-exposure images, you can also create a
beautiful soft-focus effect by taking two exposures on the
same frame of film. You need a tripod for this. Simply take
one image that is tack sharp, then without advancing the film
in your camera, play with your focus until the entire image is
out of focus and create a second exposure. The following
image was created in this manner, and it's fun because you
have unlimited control of how much soft focus you wind up
with.

Note that when you do this, you'll have to take into account
that you will need to change the exposure on your camera.
Taking two exposures on one frame of film with the correct
exposure settings will actually overexpose your photograph
by letting in twice the required amount of light. Cutting your
shutter speed in half for each exposure for stopping down
your lens to let in half the light will fix this.

If you have a digital camera, Then I layered the two

you can also use this together using the computer
technique by layering two with the sharp version on top,
shots over one another. I don't yet transparent to let the
Then I made a copy of the
want to turn this into a lesson blurred image show through
photograph and blurred it
in digital photo editing, so I for a soft-focus effect. Vivid
extensively.
won't go into specific software green foliage is another
programs or techniques, but subject that also makes a
the following image was taken lovely choice for soft focus
digitally. photography.

52
More Filters To Know About

The Star Filter

Star filters were especially popular in the 1980's in advertising. Their overuse at the time has given them
sort of a "cheesy" feel today, but they can still be used for a nice effect in the right situations. They're
most often used to add sparkle to bright water scenics, candle flames, stadium or stage lighting, jewelry
photography, night scenes, and many other situations where you want to add a dramatic effect to bright
lights. They make them on both optically clear filters and soft focus filters. You can get them to add little
"stars" to the highlights of your image with any different number of points - four, six on up to sixteen.

The Fog Filter

The fog filter is different from a soft focus filter. Rather than creating an even, soft focus, a fog filter
mimics natural fog, creating a soft glow with a bit of flare and producing a warm romantic tone. They have
different grades, some that create a very light effect that can be beautiful on water scenes and other,
heavier grades that create a far more unnatural effect which can be used in fantasy scenes, etc.

Filters For Black And White Photography

We've talked a lot about color photography, but up until this point we haven't discussed black and white
photography much. Some of the real magic of creating black and white photography is the hands-on
process you get when you're working in the darkroom and it's almost impossible to translate that magic to
text. I can tell you that you should give it a try, but without actually being able to drag you into a darkroom
and show you how to develop and print your own photographs, you won't know the incredible feeling you
get when you see those beautiful prints that you've made yourself.

I will, however, talk about filters for use in black and white work, as they're extremely important for good
results in black and white photography. But I'll leave it up to you to go find a camera club or hands-on
photography class where they'll then teach you how to take your pictures further by working in a
darkroom. Black and white photography can be incredibly powerful when care and knowledge are put into
the making of prints - if that weren't true, Ansel Adams would not be (arguably) one of the most famous
household names in photography history.

To make an object appear darker on film than it does to the eye, select a filter that has a color that is
complementary to the color of the object.

This color wheel is a simple way to figure out complementary colors if you are unfamiliar with them. Our
color spectrum is made up from red, yellow and blue. When you mix red and yellow, you get orange.

53
When you mix blue and yellow you get green, etc. If you look at this diagram, the color located across
from red is green. That means that green, yellow and blue have absolutely no red in them.

In black and white photography, everything is rendered in shades of grey, black and white. To assure that
all of the objects in your image don't come out as very similar shades of grey, making a boring image, a
filter can darken tones in your image while lightening other tones. A dark red filter on a bright day with
puffy clouds, really define those clouds while darkening the blue sky, adding drama to your image. An
orange filter will do the same thing - to a lesser degree - and a yellow filter to an even lesser degree.

Let's take a look at the above image, taken without a filter. I'm also including a
color shot of the same scene so you can see how the color tones came out in
shades of grey.

Now let's look at the image taken with a

red filter:
Now let's look at the same image taken
Notice how the clouds stand out with
with a green filter. Notice how all of the
contrast against the sky. Also notice
dark green foliage has lightened up?
how the red flower in the lower right has
The green filter has also taken some of
turned a very light color, as opposed to
the impact out of the sky.
the black and white filter taken without
any filter above. The trees that in life are
green have turned a very dark color.

54
In black and white photography, these filters will not really affect subjects with very little color. One
interesting way to get an idea of how filters will work in black and white photography is to pick up some of
those cheap sunglasses with colored lenses. If you put them on, go outdoors and really pay attention,
you'll get a good feeling for what tones will lighten and darken when you use photographic filters in black
and white photography. You can try this as a mini-assignment if you want, but don't blame me if people
look at you funny because of your glasses.

Panning
Remember in lesson two when we talked about shutter speed and I showed you shots of how by setting
your camera on a tripod and using a long shutter speed, you can get a dramatic motion blur of a moving
object. By "panning" your camera, you can keep the moving object in focus while blurring the entire
background. This is also an impressive effect. It's not at all difficult once you've practiced a little. You
need to have your camera focused on the subject, moving along at the same speed as the subject, and
continue moving along with it as you press the shutter, all through the exposure. It takes practice to keep
the motion smooth and not be jerky, but when you get it right, you'll be please with the result. It's a great
way to get rid of an ugly background when your subject is moving in a way you can predict if the
circumstances don't permit you to use a small depth of field. I've seen great shots using this technique
with a creative variety of subjects, from fashion models on a catwalk to sporting events to wild deer
running through the forest, giving the trees an ethereal effect. When combined with a particularly
interesting camera angle, you can achieve a very visually interesting final image that looks highly
professional.

55
Zooming
Zoom blur is another fun technique that can add a visual punch to your photographs. For this you need a
zoom lens on an SLR camera.
Upon depressing the shutter, you can move your lens barrel either in or out to produce this effect. You
need to have the camera on a tripod in order to keep the center of the image in focus and clear while
creating a streaky-zoom effect. One interesting thing to note is that whether you zoom in or out, the final
effect is the same. This technique can really make a boring, static image a very powerful final photograph.
This can be really fun to try and night with streetlights to add a feeling of motion and business to a city
street scene. I've also seen it used in a crowd of marathon runners to add a jumbled, crazy feeling to the
image.

Assignment 1: I don't expect people to go out and buy a bunch of new equipment. If your
budget allows it or you already have any of the above filters in your inventory, go out and
take some shots with and without the filters to compare the difference. Even if you don't
have access to the filters listed in the assignment, try the nylon stocking stretched over the
lens for a soft-focus effect and let me see what you come up with. Try and find a subject
that will be particularly fitting for soft-focus and see what happens.

Assignment 2: Practice panning to capture a moving object and blur the background. It's
fun! Once you get the hang of it you'll be impressed with yourself. Post your best results for
us all to see.

56
Jodie Coston: Lesson 6 - Landscape,
Nature and Travel
PhotographyLandscape, Nature and
Travel Photography

Lesson Six: Landscape, Nature and Travel Photography

One of the biggest areas of interest for photographers is landscapes, nature and travel. The business market for
these kinds of photographs is extremely competitive, but it doesn't matter if you're interested in outdoor
photography for business or pleasure. We'll talk about how to take the best photos that you can - the kind that
make people stand up and say, "Wow!"

This is one of my favorite areas of photography, simply because each time you head out to make photos,
it's like a mini-adventure. You never know what you'll find or what kind of pictures you'll come home with.
So many items are variables that you can't control, from the weather to road construction. It's a creative
challenge to produce the best images you can, no matter what the circumstances.

Landscape, Nature and Travel - What's The Difference?

The terms "landscape photography", "nature photography" and "travel photography" tend to get lumped
together (sort of like I'm doing in this lesson) but they're all quite different ways of looking at the earth we
live on and our perceptions of it.

Landscapes, as a general rule, tend to feature grand, sweeping views of the land, whole cities or
buildings, bodies of water and sky. They might feature some interesting object in the foreground - fences,
flowers, park benches or just about anything - but the actual subject of the photograph is the landscape
itself. They tend to be generic in the sense that they don't provide a "flavor" of a specific local culture. A
beautiful desert scene could be taken in the United States or Africa, but unless you as the viewer are
familiar with the specific area, the overall feeling of the photograph is simply that of a dry, arid landscape.

Nature photography covers a broad spectrum of categories from animals in the wild to detailed shots of
flora and fauna - there is usually an actual subject to focus in on when taking nature photography.

Travel photography can be a combination of landscapes, nature and several other things. When you go
on a trip, you want to take photographs that really capture the essence of the place you've been. Not just
beautiful landscapes and cityscapes, but perhaps details of architecture that are unique to the place
you're visiting or images that capture the particular culture of the people, whether it be through photos of
food, customs, clothing or any other particular man-made influences on the area. Travel photography is
both important for sentimental reasons when you've been on a wonderful trip and also a big seller in the
travel publishing industry.

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The Lens
Ask most people to name a true master of landscape photography and time and again you will get the
answer "Ansel Adams". If you ever get to see a "real" print made by Adams himself, you will be stunned
beyond your wildest imagination. No reproduction of his work in a book or any print made by mass-
production processes can come close to the magic he could work in a darkroom, making images by using
his famous and complex "zone system" for black and white photography. That being said, he had a
wonderful eye for capturing the landscape - for making his vision come to life through his camera's lens.
But ask him to tell you how he did it and he'd answer, "There are no rules for good photographs, there are
only good photographs."

Back in our lesson on lenses, I recommended a wide-angle lens for landscape photography. The wider,
the better, really. This is because a large part of the horizon can be shown in the photograph and a large
part of the foreground can be included as well. Including the foreground really makes the viewer feel like
they're standing there. The wider the angle of the lens, the more you can exaggerate the effect, because
you can capture the scene in front of you right up to your toes (or the front legs of your tripod, which I've
oftentimes accidentally captured in my landscape photographs.) If you use your lens in this manner, it can
give great depth to a photograph. Likewise, if you place the horizon at the bottom of your photo's frame,
you can add great depth to the sky by including interesting clouds all the way up to those above your
head. The following photo is a successful example of using a wide-angle lens to capture a dramatic
landscape.

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When using a wide-angle lens, it can be fun to get down close to the ground and have some sort of object
near you, like in the following picture I took in a ghost town in Montana. The old wagon wheel adds a
feeling that takes you back in time - much more so than a straight-on shot of the building would have
done.

This technique is particularly popular for travel photography. I've seen pictures that sum up the whole
feeling of being in the wine region of France by showing a glass of wine on a table with a corkscrew,
overlooking a vineyard. The combination of a successful landscape shot with an element specific to the
place being photographed will bring back wonderful memories for you for many years to come. This sort
of shot is also in high demand among publishers of travel material.

The same idea is employed here with the boats on the lakeshore. While being a lovely landscape shot,
the boats being up front that grab your attention and the boat out in the water suggest an adventure
awaits the viewer.

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But what about a telephoto lens? What if that's all you have? Does that mean you can't take a good
landscape photo? No, not at all. (Refer to the quote by Mr. Adams, above.) Just because one thing is
"recommended", that doesn't mean at all that there's no use for another. The picture of the storm in
lesson one was taken with a telephoto lens and includes very little foreground. That photo has been
purchased many times over and even used by Kodak. This is another image I took one winter using a
telephone lens.

The simplicity of this image, the sepia tones and the classic composition make this photo work. There
were so many clouds this day you couldn't see any of the mountains in the background and it was grey
and hazy. I used that to my advantage by using the haze as a backdrop to highlight the silhouettes of the
trees. They were quite far away, and if I had used a wide-angle lens, they would have been nothing but
small dots in the distance.

When The Weather Is Bad

Rain
Okay, so yesterday's weather report forecasted blue skies with bright, fluffy, white clouds. You got your
camera equipment ready, set the alarm for some ridiculous hour and got up bright and early to go take
the most amazing landscape photos ever. But what's that noise? Raindrops hitting your rooftop? You look
out the window and see rain pouring down that doesn't show any sign of stopping. Don't despair! Go back
to bed, sleep in and when you wake up you can STILL go out and get some of the most amazing photos
ever. Head for either a wooded area or somewhere with some sort of a body of water. Rich, saturated
colors will spring to life, no matter whether it's spring, summer or autumn. The darkness of the day will
allow you slower shutter speeds to expose really nicely for flowing water without getting too many
distracting specular highlights. The following images were taken on freezing, rainy days when most
people would never dream of trying landscape or nature photography.

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Some guidelines need to be applied when shooting in the rain, however. Take an umbrella - if you can rig
up some sort of stand for one so it will shelter you while you're taking photographs, all the better. Make
sure you have a way to keep your camera dry at all times. Water dripping off leaves above you can really
be irritating when it comes down on your camera lens, so always have your lens cap on unless you're
actively taking a photograph. Even then, make sure you have a clean, soft, dry cloth in a waterproof
container that you can use to wipe off any water drops you do get on your lens.

Snow and ice can make for some AMAZING photographic opportunities, but they also present a myriad of
challenges to the photographer.

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Snow And Ice
First of all, there are the extreme temperatures you may be dealing with. Cameras (especially digital
cameras with their LCDs) are built to work within specific temperature ranges. You'll find the same thing
with batteries - cold weather will wear them out extremely quickly. I've been known to remove my
camera's batteries and keep them in my pockets to stay warm from body heat so that they're warm while
I take pictures. You may prolong your battery's life by several photographs by doing this. If I'm shooting
digitally - which I do on a regular basis at this point - I sometimes keep the camera on a strap around my
neck and tucked into my coat to keep the whole thing from freezing temperatures. You can also buy
those nylon-covered foam insulated lunch coolers in various sizes. If you cut slits inside in the nylon,
they will hold those little hand warmers you can buy that contain iron filings and stay warm for many
hours. This is another good way to lug your camera and batteries around out in the cold without having
to worry about the elements damaging your hardware. Those hand warmers can get quite hot, so
figuring out a way to keep them inside of the bag and actually away from the camera itself is a must.
Always check your camera manufacturer's recommendations on what temperature ranges are okay for
operating your camera before heading out into the winter weather.

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The second challenge you'll run into photographing outdoors in the winter is the bright whites that will
trick the light meter in your camera. Your camera's metering system looks at your picture and sort of
scrambles up all of the shades of light. Then it tells your camera to expose so that overall you have a
"mid grey". That tends to work really well when you're photographing normal subjects that have a wide
range of colors from black to white, but when you're taking a picture of a snowy scene, your camera will
tell you to expose so that the white turns out grey. Ugh. To compensate for this, you'll want to actually
overexpose by one or two stops to get really "white" snow. You'll have to experiment and make notes
while shooting to find the perfect exposure for your particular camera.

If you can get up early before the sun rises and things start to melt, you can capture all sorts of beautiful
images on a frosty morning. The following image was taken of a barbed wire fence that was completely
covered in hoarfrost. A deep blue filter was used to emphasize the feeling of cold.

You can get amazing pictures of leaves, blades of grass, spider webs and all sorts of other ornate
natural objects if you make it out before the sun melts the frost.

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The Ever-Popular Sunset
Ahh… Sunsets. Who hasn't seen a spectacular sunset and thought to themselves, "I need a picture of
that!" And who hasn't been disappointed upon getting their photos back and seeing an image that is
nowhere near as spectacular as what they remembered? It's the same sort of thing that happens when
you try and take pictures of snow - your camera's meter can be fooled into overexposing because you're
focusing on so much dark area.

I took this shot and metered for two stops underexposure. The sun is still plenty bright, and that kept the
dramatic oranges in the sky from getting washed out and overexposed. No post-processing was done to
the photo - this is an example of what you can really achieve in-camera if you expose your photo
properly. The silhouettes of the trees help make it even more eye-catching and the wide-angle lens to
really highlight the texture in the expanse of clouds makes you feel like the sky goes on forever.

You can even get really creative with sunsets and place an object in the foreground. Then manually set
your camera's aperture and shutter speeds manually for the sunset and use a flash to light up your
foreground object. There are no limits with the fun things you can do with night photography.

If you have a digital camera, are using a tripod, and know how to overlay photos using digital software,
here's another thing to try. Take one picture exposed for the sky and a second picture exposed for your
foreground. Then lay the two correctly exposed parts of the image out together using your imaging
software. I used that technique in the following picture and it really made a dramatic shot of what would
have been a nightmare of an exposure situation, otherwise. It was extremely dark out and the ground and
truck required a full two second exposure that would never have worked on the sky. But the two pictures
worked out very well together after being combined.

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Nature - Don't Forget The Details!
While you're out taking those grand landscape
images, don't forget to look closely at the world
around you, too. There are all sorts of tiny
details out there, just waiting to be captured
with your camera. Look up, down and all
around for interesting patterns of foliage, rocks,
clouds and the way the light plays on them.
Experiment with different camera filters and
shutter speeds. Hold a leaf up to the light to
make its veins seem to glow brightly, creating
an attractive pattern. It's easy to get caught up
in the big picture, but while you're having fun
with that, just don't forget the small pictures that
are hiding in the details!

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The Panorama
Panoramic images are a specialty area of photography that can be a lot of fun. There are cameras that
you can buy that will let you use regular 35-mm and take either regular 35-mm format shots or panoramic
images. These are quite versatile and can be useful if panoramic photography is an area that you are
interested in exploring. If you use a digital camera, there are quite affordable software programs you can
buy that will let you stitch several images together into a panorama. If you choose to go this route, there
are a couple of things you'll need keep in mind. You'll need a tripod with a head that will let you pan the
camera from side to side, while keeping the camera perfectly level. When stitching photos together,
having them line up perfectly is the most important element. Also, you'll need to set your camera's
settings manually, and look at each "frame" that you're going to expose using those settings. If you have
a spot that's darker or lighter than the rest of the series and use automatic settings on your camera, you'll
wind up with a panorama that fades from dark to light and back again, making a visually unsettling
photograph. I highly suggest trying this - it's fun!

Wildlife Photography
Back in our discussion on lenses, I recommended a very good long lens if you plan on doing a lot of
wildlife photography. I also recommend large quantities of patience and a willingness to sit in perhaps
very uncomfortable positions for hours on end without moving.

Following is my most popular wildlife photograph.

Well, it's my only wildlife photograph, unless you count ducks and geese in the city park. Oh, and there

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was the time the moose was running down the road in front of my vehicle and I got a picture of its rear
end. I live in an area renowned for amazing wildlife and I have seen wolves, grizzly and black bears,
mountain lions, bald eagles, elk, mountain goats and bighorn sheep numerous times in the wild. But
photographing them is another story all together. I simply don't have the patience to sit in a stand all day
hoping the elusive animal will come by and pose for me. So when I see a beautiful wild animal, I sit back
and simply appreciate it, rather than grabbing for my photo equipment.

Having said that, I can still offer some tips on wildlife photography, for those of you who are interested.

One of the most important things that makes a good wildlife photo is when you can really fill your frame
with your subject - hence the recommendation for a long lens. Those two polar bears up on the
mountainside don't make that great of a picture if they're just tiny white dots in the upper left hand corner.

Make sure you have your focus set on the animal's eye. No matter if the water buffalo are doing a hula
dance complete with grass skirts and coconut bikini tops, if the eyes are out of focus, it's a distraction that
will keep your photo from being all it can be. Because animals move, I'd recommend no slower than a
1/250 second shutter speed to eliminate blur.

If you're lucky enough to live in an area with a zoo, this is a good place for a beginner to practice wildlife
photography. Some of the serious wildlife photographers I know - those who make their own ghillie suits
and lie motionless in the bushes awaiting that rare shot of the Ring-Necked African Brush Penguin for 27
hours or more at a stretch - will scoff at this idea because it's not "real" wildlife photography. Also, many
wildlife publications refuse to publish photos of animals that are taken in captivity. However, if I lived near
such a wonderful opportunity, you can be sure I'd take advantage of it. If you do have such an
opportunity, make sure and check with the officials at the zoo first and find out any rules and restrictions
they may have about photographing the animals.

One interesting thing to note is that if your subject is behind a wire mesh screen (like birds in many zoos'
aviary areas), you can put your lens right up next to the screen, open up your aperture, zoom in and focus
tightly on the subject and the depth of field will completely eliminate the screen in your final shot.
Similarly, with animals behind glass, rather than using a polarizer, you can put your lens up directly to the
glass and it will eliminate any glare. I'd recommend not using your camera's flash so that you don't disturb
the animals.

If you are ready to venture out into the outdoors to photograph your subjects, the best advice I can offer is
to research your subjects and the location thoroughly. Go to the spot you plan on taking photographs
several times, at different times of day, to see what kind of lighting the area gets and when animals
frequent the area. Getting out early to get the best light on the actual day you plan to shoot will benefit
you and make for great photographs. You can shoot all morning, and when the sun gets to the high point
in the sky where the light has become harsh and is making ugly, dark shadows that don't work well in
photography, use that time to move to a different location for an evening shoot.

Wildlife photography can produce some of the most eye-catching shots you'll ever see. I have enormous
respect for those photographers who come back from safaris to places unknown with rolls and rolls of film
containing dramatic images that took so much hard work to get. If that's what you're interested in and you
have the same resolve, there's no doubt you can be successful making the same sorts of photographs.

Tips On Travel Photography

If you're traveling via air, the first thing to consider is x-ray equipment and film. If you've gone digital, you
don't need to worry about x-ray equipment, but in the case that you're carrying a dozen or a hundred rolls
of film in anticipation of a rewarding photo excursion, here are some thoughts to consider.

X-ray equipment can cause something called "fogging" on your film. I've seen it and it's not pretty. It
generally appears as bands that run across your pictures - dark bands on negative film and light bands on
positive (slide) film. The faster speed film you are using, the more pronounced the effects of x-ray

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equipment will be.

So what do you do? First, the easiest way to travel used to be to put your film in your checked luggage,
as checked luggage was rarely, if ever, x-rayed. Security concerns with increased terrorism threats in the
world have put an end to this process. Now checked baggage is run through a very strong x-ray process
that can permanently damage your unprocessed film. I highly suggest taking any film with you onto the
plane with your carry-on luggage. There's a bit of debate about how strong the x-ray machines are that
your carry-on baggage goes through and whether or not they will damage your film. Chances are if you're
only going through one or two terminals, you won't have any problems. But the effects of x-ray equipment
on film are cumulative, so if you have several layovers, change planes and have to go through numerous
gates on your voyage, you might be exposing your precious images to damage. The airlines offer hand-
inspection rather than x-rays, which might be a good thing to consider if your journey is a complicated one
with lots of stops. Always remember to be polite when asking for such an inspection - the airline
inspectors are doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. Their jobs don't pay particularly well, nor are
their jobs particularly fun, so the last thing you need is to make an enemy of a tired airline baggage
inspector at the end of a grueling 10-hour shift when his or her feet hurt. "I am a photographer, please
hand-inspect my film and camera" will get you a lot further than some of the approaches I've heard of
people taking with these employees. Also, non-US airports may not honor this sort of request, according
to their country's rules. If you do plan to request a hand-inspection of your film, make sure and arrive
early, as this type of inspection takes more time than a quick run-through at the x-ray machine. You can
also get film that comes in clear plastic containers, rather than the dark black ones. This makes it easier
for the inspectors to see what's inside each canister, rather than having to open each one to make sure
it's not packed full of hazardous material.

All right, now you're actually on the plane and on your way to your destination. Don't forget taking photos
out the airplane window! An overhead view of the city or scenic areas you pass as you're on your way
there will bring back enjoyable memories in the future. Just like we discussed with photography at the
zoo, taking pictures through glass can cause disturbing reflections, so get your lens as close to the glass
as possible, and use your hand or anything else you can to create a cover to eliminate the reflections.
Interestingly enough, that thick glass in airplane windows is polarized already, so if you use a polarizing
filter on your camera, the two pieces of polarized glass will work against each other and cause weird
rainbow-like effects. You can use a wide-angle lens to capture the wing of the airplane against puffy blue
clouds, or a telephoto lens to capture an aerial view of the city you're approaching without getting any
portion of the airplane in the shot. If you're stuck with glass that's dirty, there's not much you can do about
it, of course. Enjoy the ride and pay attention to what you can see - maybe on your return trip you'll have
better luck!

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I'd advise against taking photographs of the actual airport and runway as you approach or leave,
however, unless you've discussed it with the flight crew, first. I've heard of people becoming quite
suspicious of photographers taking such pictures in today's world of high security. Unless you have a
need for such a picture, I'd skip it and just settle in for landing and take-off like everyone else.

Okay! Whew! Now that you've arrived at your destination, what more is there to say about travel
photography? One good idea is to get up early to take photos of your destination. You'll find fewer tourists
at popular destinations and you may have a better chance at getting closer to your subjects and not
having people in the actual image. Also, if you're not a professional photographer, this can be a good way
to get the day's shooting done so that you can still enjoy the traveling time with your companions or
family.

Don't forget to take pictures of places you stay and restaurants you eat in, if the décor is particularly
interesting. The picture above was taken at a lodge in Glacier National Park, which is registered as a
historic place in the United States. The interesting light fixtures, log beams and Native American influence

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on the lobby of the lodge made for an interesting shot, full of the cultural feeling of the area.
This next photo was taken at the same hotel, but showcases one of the Park's "Jammer" busses in the
parking lot. These vintage 1930's open-air busses take visitors all through the Park and are quite a site to
see. A shot like this that showcases a highlight of your trip will bring back wonderful memories for many
years to come.

following photos:
Assignment 1: A landscape - rather than "travel" - photograph that doesn't emphasize
anything specific to your area. Try and get beautiful early morning or evening light to
emphasize nature. If you live in a city, a "cityscape" will do as well.

Assignment 2: A nature photograph. Anything focusing on a specific subject, whether it be

an animal, plant or mineral in its natural environment (or zoo, if you live by one).
Remember to get in close and fill your frame with the subject.

Assignment 3: A travel photograph, specific to the area in which you live, which really gives
a feeling of local "flavor", whether it be a barn in the country, a tourist attraction or
fantastic architecture. Remember to pay close attention to the rules of composition and
frame your photograph creatively! Most importantly, have fun!

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Jodie Coston: Lesson 7 - Portraits And
Studio Lighting

Lesson Seven: Portraits And Studio Lighting

Other than taking pictures of beautiful landscapes and flowers, one of the main reasons people get into taking
pictures is to create beautiful portraits. Whether your models are your friends, family or paying customers, portrait
photography can be very rewarding. In this lesson we'll discuss how to create flattering portraits of people even if
you don't have your own photography studio, how you can set up your own portable at-home studio on a
shoestring budget and we'll also talk about different kinds of lighting equipment for those people who are ready to
take the plunge into advanced lighting.

For The Beginner - Light

Photography is all about light. Literally translated, it means "painting with light". Having the right light can
make or break your photos. When people are starting out with photography, I always suggest that they
start out by learning to control the available light (also called ambient light) that they have in the
atmosphere to work with. Using flashes and studio lighting can really only be done effectively when
you've got a good handle on what shadows do and how they affect your final photo. I almost always, to
this day, still prefer available light for my portraiture. However, when you're working inside, and because
people as subjects tend to move, studio lighting is sometimes necessary in order to get the fast shutter
speeds needed for successful portraits. But before we get into that, let's talk about natural light.

Natural (Ambient) Lighting

The portrait above was taken outdoors, using the available light in the atmosphere. We were in the

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shade, so there are no harsh shadows on the model's face, and the overall even lighting makes for a nice
fashion portrait.

It was a sunny day when we did this shoot, so having the model in the shade was a big help. If there
hadn't been any shade to work with, I would have used the photographer's greatest friend, the reflector
card. A reflector card is used to bounce light that's shining down back up onto a subject to add light to the
shadowed areas, making for a much more even overall appearance. A reflector card can be made of any
number of things. You can buy them in photo equipment stores, but I generally use either white poster
board, a white umbrella or aluminum foil (first crinkle it all up, then uncrinkle it, then tape several pieces
together until you've got a large piece of several thicknesses that you can work with easily) to reflect light
back onto my subjects and fill in dark spots. One 16x20-inch sheet of white cardboard (or whatever
material you choose) is perfect. For maximum versatility, use a sheet of cardboard and then tape or glue
the crinkled and uncrinkled piece of aluminum foil to the other side.

As a side note, aluminum foil can be especially fun if you can find it in gold color. It will cast a very nice,
warm light onto your subject. Think of it this way - a reflector is a cheap, easy to obtain piece of
equipment that makes your light work twice as hard and can really make your portraits look professional.

If it's not a sunny day and you have a high, overcast, cloudy sky, congratulations! You've been blessed
with the world's biggest softbox. A softbox is a piece of studio lighting equipment that nobody should be
without. As its name suggests, it spreads a diffuse light out over your subject so as to avoid harsh
shadows. Overcast skies do the same thing. If you get skies like this, grab your subject and head
outdoors to snap as many portraits as you can. I actually have my deck set up outdoors so that I can
hang backgrounds and move my tripod all around so that I can take advantage of this kind of light. It
makes for the absolute best working conditions!

As you can maybe tell from my previous diatribe, for standard portraiture, you don't want shadows across
your subject's face. The more even the lighting, the better.

Rembrandt Lighting
Of course, as with all rules, there are exceptions. Rembrandt lighting will spread shadows onto your
subject, but given the dramatic, beautiful effects you can create like this, you'll see why it's a popular
method of portraiture.

What is Rembrandt lighting?

I'm sure you're all familiar with Rembrandt, the great painter and artist, often referred to as one of the
"Masters" of his time. Rembrandt used a technique of setting his subjects near a large north-facing

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window (so no direct sunlight would hit the subject) and turning them in relation to the window to create
flattering lighting effects that really emphasized the high spots and depths of his subject's face. To
achieve such lighting, light is generally higher than the subject, placed to the side of the subject, and
keeps half of the subject's face lit (the side that's turned away from the camera), while allowing only part
of the other side to be lit. If you have a large window that faces away from the sun you can easily achieve
very professional-looking Rembrandt lighting.

Let's not forget, portraits can be of animals, too!

Flash
Flash - on camera flash, that is - is one thing I NEVER use. There is just about no light less flattering than
a bright light aimed straight at your subject that causes harsh shadows. There are studio strobe units that
you set off to the side of your camera and flash as you press the shutter and those are a completely
different thing. Unless you are going to be in a dark situation where you absolutely have no choice but to
use your camera's flash, I don't recommend using it. If you need to and your camera has a hot shoe
where you can use interchangeable flash units, I suggest buying one that stands as high up and far away
from your camera's lens as possible. This will at least produce a more flattering light and eliminate the
"red eye" effect we've all seen too many times. Several manufacturers make white plastic diffusers that
go on the front of the flash - this can be a real help and I highly recommend them.

A studio flash (also called a strobe) is an extremely bright light that comes on momentarily when you hit
your shutter. Due to the light intensity, these lights can be extremely hot and uncomfortable for a subject,
which is why they are used as a brief strobe instead of left on all the time. We'll talk about placements of
studio lights in a little bit, and if you choose to use strobes, you can place them exactly the same way as
what we'll talk about.

Environmental Portraits
There is also the environmental portrait. This can be really great for capturing the personality of a person
that you're shooting. If you pick up a magazine like "People", you'll see a lot of examples of environmental
portraits. Same with a lot of corporate brochures that like to show a picture of their president, maybe at
his desk, surrounded by whatever product they make or sell, or wearing a hard hat and out with the blue
collar workers if they're an industrial company. The trick is to make the subject of the portrait comfortably
blend into their environment, not just stand there as if they're posing haphazardly wherever you caught
them. A librarian amongst stacks and stacks of books might be a creative environmental portrait. In these
cases, you're going to be using available light - the subjects won't be coming to an environment where
you control what lights are where - so be prepared for a little longer shutter speed or a diffused flash, and
come equipped with your light reflectors to really make good use of what light there is.

Setting Up Your Own Studio At Home

So how do we do this at home without spending enough money to open up our own full-time photography
studio? Besides your key and fill lights, other light sources can be added - background lights, accent
lights, all kinds of things - but for now we'll stick with the basics and an economical way to achieve them.

Step one in setting up your home studio begins by finding a suitable area to take photographs. If you
have a room you don't use or you can con your spouse out of letting you use the garage, you're all set.
You need a good chunk of empty space for adequate room. Ideally, you want about five feet of space
between your subject and the background, so you can use depth of field to make the background blur a
bit while keeping the subject sharply in focus. Then you want at least seven feet between the subject and
your camera lens so that you can make good use out of the portrait lens that we talked about in lesson
three. Add in room for you and the tripod, some lights, and you're talking about a good amount of space.
You'll want at least ten feet of width to the area you choose. Once you've found a spot, you can continue
to the next step.

Step two begins in my husband's favorite place, the hardware store. Buy some of those clip-on work
lights. They're really cheap, like five, ten bucks or so. (That's US dollars I'm referring to.) About 250W
lights will be perfect. How many you buy will be dependent on which lighting setup you want to try. I

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recommend three for good versatility, four if you want to add something called a "hair light" that we'll
discuss later and five if you also want to add a "background light" that we'll also discuss later. Hair lights
and background lights won't be necessary to really flatter your subject's features, but they can push your
photography "over the top" into a really professional level.

Okay, now buy a piece of white foamcore board for each clip-on light. It's sort of like poster board, but the
middle is stuffed full of a Styrofoam-like substance. You can also get it at art supply or office supply
stores.

You want a large piece, 8 feet by 4 feet. (You metric system people are going to have to adapt for this
one.) If you can't find one that large, two pieces that you can cut into 4 foot by 4 foot will work fine. You
can also make these half-size by using 4 feet by 2 feet sheets of foamcore. Very handy for smaller
tabletop photography projects. I use these extensively for a lot of my projects. If you choose to make the
smaller ones, just cut all of the following measurements in half. Smaller ones are also great if you don't
have a huge amount of room to work with.

Make lines down it, dividing it up into four 2-foot sections. Then on these lines, make marks where all the
little circles are indicated in the diagram. They're 18 inches in from the outside of the foamcore. Now play
connect-the-dots by drawing in all of the other lines that are noted on the diagram. Then use a razor
blade or X-acto knife to cut the foamcore along these lines.

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Now, put it together. You'll need duct tape, packing tape or some other kind of wide, heavy-duty tape. If
you match up the squares, triangles, x's and z's in the diagram, you'll get a little pyramid thing.

Take the one I called a "light piece" and a hole in the middle of it large enough that your light's clip/handle
will fit through, as well as the cord and the neck of the lamp. You don't want the hot sides of the lamp to
touch your foamcore, so the hole should be thin. Measure both the clip and the plastic neck of the lamp
and make this hole just big enough that it fits through without the metal part of the lamp touching it. It will
depend on the measurements of your lamp, but mine is about two inches by five inches. This piece will
get taped inside of the small hole, as you can see in the pictures.

Now, you can choose what you'd like to cover the large opening that will diffuse the light. This is referred
to in the lighting side of photography as a "scrim". A piece of white bedsheet will work fine - kids bedding
is best as you can get it in heat-resistant fabric. You can also go to the fabric store and get all different
kinds of fabrics. The thicker it is, the more diffuse your light will be. If you plan on always using the same
cover, you can just cut the fabric to fit and tape it over the large hole. If you think you might want to
change it, you can either sew elastic around the edges so it fits over the hole like a shower cap or use

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clips to hold it on. I go for the shower cap idea, personally. Besides diffusing your light this way, you can
also get sheer colored fabrics that will actually color your light for interesting effects you can experiment
with later. I know I mentioned the idea of heat-resistant fabric, and make SURE that is what you use, and
don't leave your lights on unattended.
Now that we've gone through this process (easier than the directions make it sound, though, right?), let's
have a look at what a difference the diffuser makes.

Diffuser No Diffuser

Notice how much of a harsh shadow there is without the diffuser. You'll find for portrait photography, this
will really make all of the difference. Skin will look softer and you'll still get enough shadow that the
lighting won't appear flat.

Now is the best time for me to mention that if you have no interest in going to all of this trouble, nor do
you want to spend the money on commercial soft boxes, you've got a second-best alternative.

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You're still going to have to buy a white lighting umbrella for each light, but they're reasonably priced.
These may not cut harsh shadows as well as a softbox, but they'll do an admirable job, regardless.

Okay! Now you just need to find stands for your lights to and you're ready to go. One for each light,
depending on how many lights you've decided you want. You can either buy them from a photographic
supply store, OR since we're being super-creative and frugal here, you can opt for other choices.

Since the lights we bought have those fantastic, sturdy clips, they'll clip to darn near anything and stay put
fairly well. If you have ladders, stools or chairs, they'll all make good (if rather makeshift) stands onto
which you can clip your lights. I want to emphasize that you want to make sure whatever you use is very
sturdy for safety reasons.

You can also buy lengths of PVC pipe at the hardware store and all kinds of joints to fashion it into
whatever shape you choose. This can make a nice, sturdy light stand as well. If you look at professional
light stands, you can create the same design with PVC pretty easily. My husband made one for me that is
sort of an upside-down horseshoe, so I can clip my lights above my subject and/or on either side. I also
have separate individual light stands so I can vary the distance between my key lights and fill lights. If you
want to spend the money, the professional light stands are ideal - they telescope into different lengths
and have sturdy tripod bases. They also fold up conveniently so you can put them away in the corner
when you're done with them. So keep any and all of those options in mind when you're wondering how to
set up your lights. Just because you don't want to spend an arm and a leg on equipment doesn't mean
that you can't make your own equipment that will function just as well as the professional stuff!

How do you set your lights up in the most flattering way for your subject?

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This is as easy as it gets!

This will do okay when you're starting out, especially if you use something to bounce the light back onto
the subject to help with any shadows. Give it a whirl if you're just starting out with portrait photography. It
will help you when you try more complicated lighting setups. When I say "more complicated", I truly don't
want to scare anyone off from trying other things. Maybe "complicated" or "advanced" aren't the right
words, because lighting is pretty easy - it's all about trying new things, experimenting and just moving light
stands around. The picture of the girl used the key light a bit off to the side and a diffuser card on the
other side. Dramatic shadows but still a nice effect.

Okay, a little more "complicated" setup follows, but first, let's talk about different ways you can place your
lights and why.

A portrait lighting system usually includes at least two light sources, the main light (called the key light)
and the fill light - which is usually a less intense light, a light of the same intensity placed further away
(equating to a less intense light) or a reflector. There are two main portrait lighting styles - broad lighting
and short lighting. These terms are used to imply where the lights are placed in reference to your subject.

Broad Lighting:
To create a broad light, you'll need to pose your subject so that 2/3 to 3/4 of their face is facing you and
your camera and then direct the key light toward the side of the face that is closest to the camera. This is
a flattering technique if your subject has a long or thin face, as it will add weight and width to the overall
face.

Short Lighting:
For short lighting, you would pose your subject the same way as above, but direct your key light toward

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the side of the face that is furthest away from the camera. This type of light will slim a heavier face.

This is the next most "advanced" lighting setup. You second light (the fill light) should be further away
from the subject than the key light, or a light bulb of lesser intensity. It will be quite flattering to your
subject's features. Notice the lack of shadows compared to the photo made with the first lighting setup.

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Adding a background light to the second lighting setup, you'll really notice a beautiful effect. It will make
your subject stand out from the background and really give the appearance of a professional portrait.

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Finally, the last light you might add is called a "hair light". This works as a backlight and sits behind the
subject, focusing on their hair. It will give the edges of their head a nice, attractive glow.

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Glossary of Lighting Terms
Following are some general lighting terms. We've gone over a few in this lesson, but you may get
creative ideas from others, and we'll use yet others in our next lesson on studio lighting for commercial
and product shots.
Bounce A reflector, usually white, silver or gold, used to bounce light back from the main
light onto the subject.
Diffuser Thin, translucent material used to diffuse light. Can be tracing paper, umbrellas,
translucent plastic or even a bedsheet, as discussed in this lesson.
Effects Light A light that is neither the key light or fill light. These are usually used as back lights
to bright out a vivid "halo" around a subject's hair, or sometimes a "background
light" used to create interesting patterns on the background.
Fill Lights which fill in the shadows on the subject, usually not as high in intensity as
the key light or further away from the subject than the key light.
Flag The opposite of a reflector, these are sometimes used in studio lighting. They are
dark and absorb extra light in order to maximize shadows. Not generally used in
portraiture but very common in studio product shots where dramatic lighting is
needed. Oftentimes a white reflector card will be painted black on the other side
so it can fill this purpose.
Gel Translucent or transparent colored material used to modify the color of light.
Gobo A sheet with cut-outs on it that creates interesting shadows when placed in front of
your light source. Again, not generally used in portraiture (unless used as a
background light), these are common in product and stock photography. Imagine
a metal sheet with squares cut into it resembling those of a Belgian waffle. If you
angle your light at 45 degrees to a background and put this piece of metal in front
of it, you'll get dramatic trapezoidal or rhomboidal effects. You can make your own
and they can be quite fun to play with!
Key Light The main light source, casting the dominant light and shadows in an image.
Reflector A "bounce" as mentioned above or a dish-shaped item that surrounds the back of
a light source, ensuring no light "escapes" and it is all directed at the subject.
Scrim Heat-resistant fabric diffuser for softening lighting.
Snoot A cone-shaped item you can place over the front of your light. It intensifies the
light and gives you the ability to direct your light source in very specific places.
Again, not used in portraiture very much, but you can produce amazing results
with these in still life photography.
Soft Box Large, diffuse light source made by shining light through a diffuser. These offer
the same soft, flattering lighting as a north-facing window in Rembrandt lighting. A
REALLY large soft box is often referred to in the industry as a "swimming pool".
Umbrella One of the photographer's best friends, the umbrella can either be used by shining
light directly at it and then using it to bounce that light onto the subject, or by
shining light directly through it, creating a soft box, of sorts. Photographic
umbrellas are usually made of a white, translucent material, and the larger the
better.

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Assignment I'm going to leave the assignments fairly open on this lesson, because you all
will have different ideas of what you want out of this class. Ideally, to get the most out of
this lesson, you should first try a portrait using available light with a reflector. Then another
using Rembrandt-style lighting using a window. Lastly, I'd recommend setting up four
softboxes or umbrella lighting setups and try a portrait using key light. Then another one
adding fill light, another adding a background light and lastly a portrait using all of those
plus a hair light. If you can start out with the easiest style and work to the most
complicated, all using the same model, you'll really learn a lot by trial and error. Portrait
lighting can be a lot of fun - use your imaginations and be creative! I look forward to seeing
what you come up with!

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Jodie Coston: Lesson 8 - Studio
Lighting - Still Life and Product
Photography
Lesson Eight: Studio Lighting - Still Life and Product Photography

Now that you all have a grasp on basic lighting setups, we'll plunge a little further into more detail, talking about
still life and product photography. This is the area of photography that I personally enjoy the most. It takes up very
little room and the limits of your creativity are the only limits that you have.

Equipment
You've already got your lighting equipment instructions as we set up in lesson seven. In this lesson we'll
go a little further into how to use that lighting effectively, especially for hard-to-light subjects, but first we'll
talk about the one element that can make or break your photo: the background. When you're shooting still
life photography, the background is as important as your subject, believe it or not.

The Black Background

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The first type of background I'd recommend experimenting with is the solid black background. When you
use this approach, you simplify your setup because the black material absorbs all of the light hitting it,
which means that you can set up your lights specifically for your subject matter and you won't get any
distracting reflections or uneven lighting in the background that will compete for the viewer's attention.
Plus, you get that really cool sort of "floating-in-outer-space" effect as a bonus.

The photo of the apples was taken using a light above and to the right of the camera and a piece of gold
foil as a reflector on the left and in front of the subject to bounce a nice warm light back and fill in any
shadows. The photo of the leaf was taken using ambient light. I laid the leaf on the background and tilted
the camera to give the impression that the leaf was falling through space.

So how do you achieve this effect? Many people think that they can just take any old piece of black fabric
and drape it over something to provide a nice black background. Not so! You'll be hard pressed to find
regular black fabric that won't reflect at least some light, showing wrinkles and folds in the fabric and
such. Black velvet material is what you need. In the last lesson I sent you to the hardware store for
equipment. Now it's time to go to the fabric store. You'll find black velvet in varying thicknesses and
densities. The thicker, the better, as thicker material will act as a sponge and really absorb much more
light. I have a large piece that's about two and a half yards long that I use for my tabletop photography
when I need a solid black background. Velvet tends to be fairly expensive by the yard, but fabric stores
tend to have big sales every so often, and if you can get it for a decent price, you'll find it's a worthwhile
investment. I've had mine for years and as long as you take care of it by keeping it clean and not leaving
heavy things setting on it for too long to crush indentations into it, you should never need to replace it.

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In this case, setting up your background is very easy. You simply need a clean table for your subject and
a sturdy board of some sort to set up at a 90 degree angle to act as a backboard. You can then clamp
your black velvet so it hangs down nicely and lay it out over your table, then proceed to light and
photograph your subject.

I have a frame built from 2-inch by 2-inch boards similar to this diagram. It works well for all kinds of
lighting setups. In the case of the black velvet, I can simply clip it on at the top and then down each side
to hold it in place. Many times I want to place my subjects on a translucent material so I can light them
from behind or below (we'll get to that part a little later), so this is ideal. I can take out the bottom
horizontal piece in that case so it doesn't show up in the photo, and then put it back in for sturdiness when
I'm done. It props up on its side in the corner so it doesn't take up any space and is just about the
handiest piece of photo equipment that I have!
The White Background

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Another popular - and more advanced - background used in tabletop photography is the white
background. There are a couple of ways to go about achieving a nice white background.

Normally when you want a white background, the idea is that you want to really show off your subject and
you don't want anything at all to distract the viewer's eye. The best way to do this is by using what's
referred to as a "seamless background". For photographing small objects in still life photography, and
easy and inexpensive way to do this is by using plain old posterboard. It tends to work better than fabric
because there are no textures to worry about dealing with, and one side is shiny while the other is matte,
meaning you can control how much light you want bouncing around off of your background.

Simply prop your posterboard up as in this diagram. Then set up your lighting for your subject and
photograph „til your heart's content. When I use this kind of a setup, I usually put my key light to one side,
slightly above the subject, a fill light to the other side a bit lower and use a reflector to bounce light back
and fill in any shadows. To get a REALLY white background, you'll need to be very careful about your
exposure and your white balance. You can bracket your shots a bit, but you'll want to make sure and set
your camera to meter off of your subject, NOT your background. If the camera takes in its light reading
from the background, it will try and set that white to be an ever-so-undesirable shade of gray and your
subject will wind up underexposed. (Sort of like when we talked about photographing snow a few lessons
back.)

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The posterboard background was used to make this image. One thing you'll notice, however, is the heavy
shadow directly underneath the ducks. This shot was lit with those shadows in mind to give the viewer the
feeling that the ducks are really "sitting" in this huge field of white and to add perspective to the image.
The depth of field adds to the perspective even further. I used the matte side of the white posterboard in
the case, and I could have made another interesting effect by using the shiny side and letting a bit of
reflection of the ducks show up. The following picture of the apples uses this reflection technique to add
depth. There is still a shadow to give you the feeling that the basket is sitting on something, but there's
also an ever-so-slight reflection of the red and white stripes of the basket that adds even more depth. The
viewer might not even notice it, but it's those subtle details that you'll pay more and more attention to as
you advance with your photography.

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Sometimes, however, you want a REALLY white background with no shadows at all, to make your
subject look like it is floating in space, similar to the black background we talked about. These kinds of
images are very popular in commercial photography because a graphic designer can simply select the
subject from the background and paste it into his design. How do you do this?

One way to do so is using this exact same setup and lighting very, very carefully. By playing with your key
and fill lights, it's entirely possible to completely eliminate shadows. Using several big softboxes (like we
made in lesson seven) will be especially helpful, since softboxes tend to produce fewer shadows to begin
with.

There's also another way, and that is to place your subject on a white translucent background that is lit
from behind. Then set up your lights for your subject, expose for your subject, and you've got yourself a
subject floating in midair! These translucent kits are available for commercial photographers for fairly
reasonable prices. Your local glass store may be able to hook you up with piece of white translucent
plexiglass curved at about a 90 degree angle for even a more reasonable rate. There are also
commercial "light tents" made of white fabric that you simply place your subject in, light the whole thing
up, and - whammo! - you've got yourself a seamless white background.

As with all of these lessons, however, I'm trying to show everyone ways to experiment and decide what
type of photography is right for you before you go spending a lot of money on equipment. If tabletop and
product photography are something you know you're interested in, you might want to look into these
commercial options, but I highly recommend trying the do-it-yourself way first, even if its only as a
learning experience. The more you know about lighting, the more successful your photographs will be.

Still Life With Other Backgrounds

Of course, there are a million other kinds of backgrounds you can use in still life photography, as well.
Using fabrics that complement the colors of your subject and draping them so that the light falls gracefully
and creates interesting contours can really add to a photograph.

Also, adding other objects to your background that relate to your subject and enhance the color scheme
of your setting can really enhance an image nicely. This old leaf had fallen off a plant, but when I picked it
up to throw it away, the textures caught my eye. I placed in on some fabric I had recently purchased to
make curtains and used one large soft light to the left of the camera to really emphasize both the textures
in the leaf and the fabric for a beautiful, dramatic still life.

89
In this shot, I used a warming filter on my camera to enhance the gold tones and create a warm feeling.
The wooden box was placed on a reflective gold fabric and the shiny gold ornaments in the background
add a visual sparkle.

For this photo, I wanted a feeling of simplicity and purity. I placed the white rose on a white background
and set up one softbox to the side of the rose to bring out the texture with soft shadows, but I wasn't
satisfied with the results. I had purchased several roses, so I decided to pluck the petals from one of them
and use them as the background. This has been a very successful stock photograph in terms of sales
because the background is just a bit different than a lot of shots you see.

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This shot was a lot easier to do than it might look. I simply used a white piece of posterboard for a
seamless background and one strong light source. I then covered half of that light source with a dark,
graduated piece of plastic (I think it was a tinted plastic clipboard from an office supply store, if I
remember correctly) and the colors that were scattered onto the background simply curved right along
with the posterboard, making this dramatic effect. I'm showing you this to emphasize that you should
never quit being creative. I did this as a bit of a lark just to see what happened and wound up with a
fantastic result!

In the last lesson, one of the photographic lighting terms mentioned was "gobo". I don't know why they
have such a silly name, but they're wonderful for enhancing your photography. A gobo is simply a piece of
metal with holes cut in it that you place in front of a light source to throw "shapes" of light onto your
background. You can purchase them commercially or you can make your own, cutting thin lines and
patterns into anything you have handy. As when we were talking about scrims in the last lesson, I want to
emphasize that anything you place in front of a light source needs to be fire-resistant and never left
unattended.

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This photo of the tulips was taken using a dominant light source from the left, fill light from the right and a
light aimed directly at the background (but not falling on the subject) covered by a gobo with a couple of
diagonal-shaped holes in it. The gobo sheds that angle of light on the background that the viewer might
not even consciously notice, but it's the detail that really makes this composition complete. If the four
tulips were on a plain white background without that bit of light, it would be a much more "flat"
composition and far less appealing to the eye.

This photo of the hourglass is dramatic because the subject itself if lit with a strong orange light from
behind and off to the right of the camera, emphasizing the outline of the glass and the warm gold tones of
the hourglass frame. A faint fill light from the front left kept the hourglass from being a complete
silhouette, adding dimension to the shot.
The client needed some text space in the image, so I kept the subject out of the left half of the frame and
sprinkled some interesting light on the background, which was made of crumpled paper grocery bags,
painted with metallic copper and gold paints. The gobo sent a few straight, thin lines of light onto the
background, but because the background had been crumpled and uncrumpled, it turned the straight lines
into interesting zigzags and swirls.

Any time you photograph a reflective surface such as the metal in this hourglass, if you use very dramatic
lighting, you'll need to be conscious of overexposure where there are specular reflections. Specular
reflections are actually mirror images of the light source, itself. In this case of the hourglass, since the
frame is made of long brass cylinders, the specular reflections turn into long, stretched out bright spots.
The other thing that adding the fill light to the front of the hourglass did was let me expose the shot for a
shorter period of time, so these reflections didn't just become huge, white, blown-out spots.

Most of the time when you see backgrounds lit with a gobo covering a light source, they'll be in the shape
of straight lines, waffle patterns or other geometric designs. As you can see from the examples, you can
create a lot of variety by using textured backgrounds to alter those patterns.

Glass & Liquids

The hardest subjects to photograph well are glass and liquids. For one thing, glass gets dirty really easily
so you have to clean it until it is spotless and then be careful to not leave any fingerprints on it. For
another thing, there are so many reflections you need to deal with. The specular reflections we talked
about with the hourglass work the same with a glass subject. When doing tabletop photography, though,
there are some easy ways to keep your reflections to a minimum and actually use them to enhance your
photograph.

The best ways to light glass and liquids are from above, behind and the sides. If you keep your light

92
sources anywhere but the front of the subject and keep the rest of the room dark, you'll wind up with
successful shots. A lot of photographers also use the "light tents" that I mentioned earlier, also, but there
are several ways you can experiment without incurring the expense of extra equipment. Let's talk about
some of those.

To take this picture, I got a good bottle of wine and headed to my studio. I used the same sort of
seamless background setup that we showed above, but I used black posterboard (double thick so no light
shined through). Then I placed a softbox very close and behind the wine glass on the camera's left. The
vertical reflection on the right side of the glass is actually a reflection of the softbox - keep in mind that
when light shines through liquid in a round glass container, whatever is behind the container will appear
to show up backwards. It's important that it was the only light source in the room - that eliminated any
chance of other reflections showing up. I then used a seamless black background for the subject. What a
fun shot to take! When you're done you can drink the wine! (Hic!)

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This shot was taken with a softbox behind the subject and a small light just above it. Illuminating fluids in
this manner will really seem to make them glow and can create quite a dramatic impact. For variation, you
can try dropping in an cherry or an olive and capturing the splash! Using a softbox as a background
creates a very bright light, perfect for the quick shutter speed needed for such a shot. I'd suggest doing
the martini shots and wine shots on different days if you plan on consuming the products when you're

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finished! (Hic!)

The last thing I want to mention, and this works for other subjects, too - not just glass and liquids - is
using a piece of glass as a base to set your subject on. If you backlight your subject and it is your only
light source, a piece of glass can make a very visually interesting addition to your photograph by making
a mirror image of your subject.

For this product setup, I again used a softbox as a background and simply placed the perfume bottle on a
piece of glass (steal one out of a picture frame if you don't have glass sheets handy). You will see this
technique time and time again in product photography - it really gives a nice, professional finish to your
photo.

ow, is it assignment time already? Okay, here we go:

Assignment 1: Photograph your subject on either a white or black background. Make sure
your subject is properly lit and composed and take care to get those backgrounds really
white or black.

Assignment 2: Photograph a still life scene and use light to convey a definite mood, picking
up textures and using shadows creatively as part of your composition.

Assignment 3: Photograph a liquid in glass, taking care to avoid distracting reflections.

Easy enough? Remember to have fun! Wow me with your creativity!

Jodie Coston: Lesson 9 - Tying It All

Together

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Lesson Nine: Tying It All Together

Well, in the last eight lessons we've pretty much covered the basics. Composition, the nuts and bolts of how your
camera works, lighting, accessories, and everything in between. Now its time to put that all together and see what
you come up with! Following is a list of ten guidelines to tie all of it together, basic "rules" that I would suggest
sticking to in order to make your photography the best it can be. (Remember, rules are meant to be broken, but in
order to break the rules successfully, you must first KNOW the rules.)

So here we go...

1. Take pride in your work. This means many things. It means that you don't "settle" for a shot that
turns out to be any less than what you envisioned. It means that you only put your best pictures out
there for people to see. You learn from your mistakes and use those experiences to create better
photographs. You don't decide that a picture is "good enough" because you've spent all day working
at it and there's still a shadow in the wrong spot. Always strive to get better, and you will.
2. Every shot you take - every SINGLE time you press your shutter release, always ask yourself one
question. "How can I make this picture better?" Stop and think about all of your options. Don't forget
way back in lesson one when you moved all around the subject to get different angles. Perhaps an
aperture change to make the focus more selective on your subject? Try moving the subject around in
the frame. Would a filter make this better? A different lens? Any time you take a photo, make sure
and consider all of these things.
3. Hopefully you're sick of hearing this by now. If you're not, I'll throw it in once more, just for good
measure. USE A TRIPOD! Unless you're in a situation where it is just not possible (and I don't mean
"inconvenient" - I mean completely impossible, as in "there's a law against it in your state and you'll
go to prison for life if you have a tripod with you") to lug a tripod around with you, use it. It will only
take one incident of having an opportunity to take that perfect, once-in-a-lifetime picture and having it
come back with signs of camera shake for you to learn why I say this. Believe me, I've been there.
Be smarter than most people and start using a tripod now before you have to learn the hard way. On
that subject, make sure your tripod has a level built into it and use it! I was involved in a discussion
the other day with a group of fellow professional photographers, and one man who mainly shoots
landscapes and scenics for a living made a comment that he can never seem to get his horizons
straight and is always having to correct them using editing software. I was a bit taken aback that a
professional landscape photographer would make this sort of mistake on a regular basis, but I was
really floored when the other photographers in the group nodded their heads and said that they, too,
wound up with uneven horizons on a regular basis. I believe this all goes back to numbers one and
two above: take pride in your work and know what you're taking a picture of before you snap the
shutter. Do this now and you've already got a leg up on many of the "pros" out there.
4. Never settle for an improperly exposed photograph. If you overexpose areas of white or
underexpose areas of black, you'll lose details that you can never get back, no matter how much of a
whiz you are with photo editing software. When in doubt, bracket your shots by shooting _ stop
underexposed and _ stop overexposed in addition to what you think is right. Overexposed white
spots in a photograph subconsciously give the viewer the impression they are looking at a light that
hurts their eyes. Underexposed black areas with no detail at all are boring and naturally push the
viewer's eye away (unless it's an interesting-shaped silhouette - the only exception). To create that
photo that is perfect on every level, make sure you have detail in both the bright and dark spots of
your images.
5. Rule five is going to freak a lot of people out: Never crop your images. That's right, you heard me.
Never. Why would you need to crop? You checked your image before you hit the shutter, right? You
made sure your picture was perfect in every way? That everything in the frame was essential to the
photograph? Cameras are built with only a couple of standard ratios. Anyone who has done enough
photography is familiar with those normal picture sizes, and a cropped photo jumps out at them,
screaming, "Something was wrong with this picture!" If you crop an image, you're changing that ratio

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 and it will stick out like a sore thumb. If you crop an image on both the vertical and horizontal ends
so that the frame winds up being the same ratio, then you didn't take enough care in the first place
when you composed your picture through your viewfinder, because by zooming in or getting closer,
you could have done the same thing without cropping your final image. Think about the size of a
35mm film frame. Not very big, is it? If you want to make an enlarged print, every single bit of that
space on the emulsion is extremely valuable in terms of your final image quality. The same goes for
digital images - those pixels are precious! If you want a panoramic shot, fine - use photo-stitching
software and create a large final version, or use an actual panoramic camera if you're using film. But
don't crop. One exception to this rule is the square crop. Sometimes, if you compose an image with
that format in mind, a square crop is the best way to present your subject. If you really want to do it
right, invest in a 6x6 camera made specifically for that format of film.
6. Shoot, shoot, shoot. Become familiar with your camera equipment. All of the dials and bells and
whistles on your camera, all of your different lenses and all of your other accessories. Knowing in
your head what each thing does is a lot different than instinctively knowing how to use your
equipment. When that fantastic split-second photo opportunity arises, you can either stop and think
about the best way to get the shot or know instinctively what the best way to get the shot is - and get
it! The only way to really learn how to do this is to use your camera until it feels like an extension of
your body.
7. I've said this time and time again in the photo assignments: BE CREATIVE! Sometimes when I get in
a rut, I take the time to look at some of the best creative photography out there. I buy books and
magazines for reference and sometimes just spend an afternoon pouring over them. After looking at
fantastic, creative work for a while, my batteries become recharged and my own creativity is
increased. I don't know why it works that way, but it does.
8. Number eight is a hard one to learn. Not everyone learns this and some learn it sooner than others.
Ask yourself why you want to take pictures. If you want to take pictures to make yourself happy, as a
sort of hobby that gets your mind away from the daily grind of living - work, bills, etc., - wonderful!
Photography is great for that. Some people simply enjoy clicking the shutter and having captured a
moment in time that they can look back on for years to come. If this is your main interest, go ahead
and skip on to number nine. If your goals with photography are a bit loftier than that and you really
want to improve and you want other people to enjoy your photography, maybe make some money
from it or win photo contests, read on... NEVER disregard a critique. NEVER explain to someone
why their criticism of your photograph is wrong. If you worked for a month setting up a shot, bought
props and hired models and trained animals, booked a location to shoot in and are convinced that it
is the most perfect shot you've ever taken and someone looks at your picture and says, "Wow, that's
cool. Maybe you should have moved that big green rock over to the other side of the elephant,"
here's what you should do: Count to three. Tell the person "thank you for your thoughts." And later,
look at the picture and imagine the green rock over on the other side. It doesn't matter that the green
rock was seven feet tall, imbedded in the ground, weighed seventy tons and was impossible to
move. The viewer doesn't know that. And even if you tell them, it will neither make the picture better
nor change the fact that the next viewer isn't going to know that. What matters is the final image. If
you're happy with it just as it is, great! I once took a picture of a beautiful church door. It was painted
red and full of texture, surrounded by a beautiful cream-colored brick archway that came to a point at
the top. The powers-that-be who are in charge of the everyday doings of this church had seen to it to
place a really big, ugly, brown plastic light at the top of the point of this archway. I set up my tripod
and aligned the bottom of the door just right in my frame, the sides of the frame perfectly along the
lines in the brick that went up the sides of the door, and oh-so-carefully placed that ugly brown light
just one hair's width outside of the frame of the picture. It's a lovely image, and in fact has sold many
times over, even been used on the cover of a book. But shortly after taking the picture, I entered it in
a contest. Time and again, I got the comment from people that the picture would have been just
perfect if I had just gotten just a smidgen more of the tip of that archway. And they were right! It
made no difference that the big, ugly light would have ruined the picture. The picture left them
wanting more. So secretly, I'm as happy as can be with the picture. I know I did the best I could, and
I enjoy looking at it immensely. In fact, I have it hanging in my office. I'm at peace with being

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 somewhere in the middle of taking my pictures to make myself happy and taking them for others to
appreciate, as well as making a living off of them. Sort of like being in a "Photo Zen" zone. At the risk
of sounding like a new-age guru-person, I encourage everyone to find this place. If you can't hear a
critique of your work without feeling like you have to defend yourself, I encourage you to either learn
to do so or keep your photos to yourself for your own personal happiness.
9. Number nine also has to do with critiques. Search out photos you like and really study them for what
you like about them. Look at their compositions and colors. Learn what makes a good photo. Next,
find a place - either online or a local camera club or some such - where you can critique
photographs. You'll never learn as much from any course as you will from discussing with other
people how they can improve their photographs, and reading or hearing critiques that other people
make.
10. Have fun! Never, ever stop having fun with photography! On days when I can't get my studio lighting
just right or I'm so busy with the business end of my photography business that I can't remember the
last time I took a picture, I like to drop everything and just take my camera out and wave it around
until something looks good in the viewfinder. Maybe take my dogs for a walk and drag my camera
along with me, taking pictures as we go. The whole reason I decided to make photography my life's
work was that I enjoyed it. The day I stop enjoying it will either be the day I quit and go back to my
old job working for a crazy boss and doing things I hate or the day I die. (Hopefully the latter...)

I hope that you'll find these general guidelines helpful in your quest for becoming a better
photographer. It's hard to create an assignment based on the above, so here is what I want
you to do for this lesson:

Assignment 1: Consider this a free study. Go out and take the best picture that you possibly
can - any subject, any theme. After you decide what to take your photograph of, think of it
in terms of an assignment from a magazine photo editor. They need a stunning image for
the cover of next month's magazine and they're counting on you to deliver. Show me what
you come up with! Explain why you chose the composition, point of view, focal length and
lighting that you used.

Assignment 2: Spend some time critiquing pictures taken by other photographers.

MorgueFile is a great place to do that.

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Jodie Coston: Lesson 10 - Special
Requests

Lesson Ten: Special Requests

We've now gone over all of the basics that I outlined when I set my course up, but I've been making notes as I've
been going of areas of special interest from students. It may seem like an odd combination of subjects, but I'm sure
you'll find them of use.

Exposure Metering Systems

I've had a few questions from students wanting a better understanding of why their whites aren't white
enough or their blacks aren't black enough when using auto exposure. This is because of "tricks" that
your camera's metering system (smart enough to figure out the proper exposure for you 90% of the time)
plays.

To understand proper exposure, it's important to understand what "white", "gray" and "black" are in a
photograph. (Trust me, I know how stupid that sounds, but hang in there with me.) We already discussed
in our lessons on aperture and shutter speed that if you set your camera on its "auto" settings and go out
and take a picture of a field of snow, you might be surprised that you don't get a white picture back. In
fact, you'll probably be unable to find a spot of white anywhere in the picture. This is because your
camera's metering system is thinking for you.

Just as an example of what I'm talking about, take a look at the following shots. They were both taken
using the same light and same aperture, and I told the camera to calculate the exposure for me by
varying the shutter speed. One was taken of a black piece of posterboard and one was taken of a white
piece of posterboard. I removed all of the color information from the shots, leaving them as simple
grayscale, to make for easier comparison.

See if you can tell me which one is taken of white paper and which one is black paper.

No? You're not alone. The first time I had a teacher show me this in a photography class, I didn't believe
that he had really taken a picture of a white piece of paper and a black piece of paper. So I had to go

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home and try it out. The results looked exactly the same, as above! I encourage everyone reading this to
try this themselves. It's really weird when you know you were just staring at white and black pieces of
paper and your pictures come out looking the same. It will definitely leave an impression on you.

Generally, camera auto metering systems take a spot or two in a photo, jumble them up and expose that
jumble so that it comes out as something called "middle gray" - the color you see in the examples.

There are several types of metering systems, however (and all camera manufacturers make theirs work a
little differently than the other manufacturers out there), and I'll explain them a little better so that you may
know in which situations each works best.

The most common metering system that cameras use is "center weighted" metering.
In this system, your camera automatically picks out just the center of your shot and uses the information
from that area to decide what "middle gray" is and how to expose your photo properly. This works well for
most people who shoot snapshots and tend to plunk their subjects smack-dab in the middle of the frame,
not really caring about the backgrounds or areas of brightness or darkness outside the center of the
frame. This type of metering system is fine if most of your frame is close to the same color tone, with few
blacks or whites.

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The matrix metering system is more advanced. Your camera will divide your viewfinder into a series of
"cells", as in the illustration:

Then the camera takes the exposure of each of those cells and averages them to determine the correct
exposure. Depending on the type of camera you're using, a matrix metering system can take as many as
five to twelve areas and use a very sophisticated mathematical formula to determine what exposure you
should use. A metering system like this can come in particularly handy when photographing a highly
contrasty situation.

The metering system I use most often if I don't have the time or ability to make my own exposure
readings is the spot metering system. The spot metering system lets you pick an area in the grid of your
viewfinder to set your metering against. In the illustration, I don't have any particularly dark areas in the
shot that I need to worry about underexposing, so I would choose the brightest area of the photo for the
camera to meter against. This would be the bottom area of the sky and the top of the roof, and it would
assure that my sky would not be overexposed.

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Spot metering is also handy if you want to take a picture of a silhouette in your foreground, like a cactus
in front of a sunset. You can use spot metering to set the exposure for your sunset (normally one to two
stops underexposed to really bring out the vivid colors) and your foreground object will wind up
completely dark.

Along the same lines, if you are using "autofocus" mode on your camera, you can set your camera's
metering system to spot-meter on whichever area the camera focuses on. This is usually called "auto
spot meter" or something similar. It's useful for situations in which your background is significantly darker
or lighter than your subject.

In this photograph, the focus was set on the wedding rings and I used the camera's spot metering to set
the exposure to keep the rings their natural rich, gold color. The lights were bright and that made the
paper of the marriage certificate almost "blow out", or turn quite bright, but that actually makes the print
and the rings stand out that much more.

Auto spot metering is also very useful in situations where your subject is white and the background is
black or very dark, like if you were photographing a white bird on dark water. If you exposed for the water,
all details of the bird would get lost and it would come out as a bright white blob on some lovely water. But
if you focus on the bird and set your metering system to expose for the bird, you'll wind up with details of
all of the bird's feathers and darker water in the background.

Night Photography
Another area of photography I got many questions on over the course of this lesson was night
photography. Hopefully I answered everybody's specific questions via e-mail, but I thought to myself that
there are so many fun things you can do with night photography that I should spend a bit of time here
talking about the creativity that night can bring to you and your camera!

One quick note first - night photography is, at this point, better served by film photography than digital
photography. Night photography tends to require particularly long shutter speeds, and long shutter
speeds tend to equal noise in the world of digital cameras. Check to see if your digital camera comes
equipped with something called "long exposure noise reduction" or something similar. If it does, your
camera will work fine, but be prepared for a five to twenty second wait in between exposures while your
noise reduction feature works its magic on your picture.

Okay... Another quick note first... when using long exposures and film, you may have to deal with
something called "reciprocity failure". Film is made so that when it is exposed to light, it has certain
characteristics that you can rely upon. For example, its colors will be what you expect for the light you are
using, you will get the exposure you expect for the aperture and shutter speed you've chosen, etc.

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However, when using long, bizarre exposures, sometimes these characteristics of the film will change.
Sometimes very long exposures will create images that appear to be underexposed, even though you sat
down and calculated exactly what your exposure should be. This is due to reciprocity failure - meaning
that even though you are shooting with ISO 400 film, the ISO sort of "changes" on you. And on top of that,
your color balance can get knocked all out of whack. For that reason, I suggest bracketing your
exposures when taking long shutter-speed images, and always looking at night photography as an
adventure. It's hard to predict what you'll come up with. Keep a log of each frame on your film and what
aperture and shutter speed you used. That way, you can go back and refer to this information when you
get your photos back and learn from them. You can purchase the same film again, try the same
experiment and know that you'll need to expose one or two stops more, or perhaps use a filter to
compensate for the color changes. All films are different, so its something that you'll need to play with on
your own to get exactly the results you desire with your preferred film.

Fireworks
One of the most fun areas of night photography is photographing fireworks. The first tip I recommend for
photographing fireworks is to find a good spot ahead of time while it's still light out, where you won't be
surrounded by a crowd of people. Set up your tripod and leave it there until it's time for the action to begin
and you'll have a head start on the other people trying to take photos of fireworks. Make sure you're a
good distance away from where the fireworks will be - a view from the side is much more beautiful of a
view of fireworks looking straight up. Use a zoom lens that will allow you to vary how much of the sky you
have in your viewfinder. If you're around a body of water or other reflective surface, use that to your
advantage and get the reflections of the fireworks in the bottom half of your frame!

When it's time to take the pictures, have a piece of black posterboard or cardboard handy. Put your
camera's shutter speed on "B" for bulb. Since you really can't predict exactly where the fireworks will be in
your frame when they go off, you have to aim your viewfinder in the general direction of them. When
you're satisfied, trip your camera's shutter. If you have a cable release, this will work particularly well, as it
assures you won't move the camera at all while you're opening and closing the shutter. Watch while the
fireworks go off. If there is a lag time in between each firework, you can put your piece of black cardboard

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in front of your camera's shutter, leaving the shutter open - this will assure that you don't get any unusual
elements in your frame. After several fireworks have gone off, close your camera's shutter and try again.
Depending on the rate of the fireworks display, a shutter speed of between five and thirty seconds will
usually be plenty. You'll be amazed at the results you get when you pile multiple fireworks onto one
camera frame!

Quick side note - make sure you have back up batteries! All those long exposures zap your camera's
energy more quickly than what you're used to.

Painting With Light

Painting with light is a term that basically means you open your camera's shutter in darkness and then
proceed to use lights that you control to light areas from whichever directions you like to "bring out"
specific sections of your photo. Commercial photographers use this a lot in the studio with something
called a light pen or light wand. These tools generally let you change the color and intensity of your light
and let you illuminate very specific sections of your subject. Say you had a bottle of beer that you wanted
to photograph. You could place it on a piece of glass in a dark room and proceed to use your light wand
to paint sections of alternating yellow and white light on the edges of the bottle, making it seem to "glow" -
and then use different colors to create interesting shapes and lines on the background.

One of the most interesting uses of painting with light that I ever saw was of a castle. The photographer
set up his camera on a tripod and opened the shutter for several hours at night. While the shutter was
open, he walked around the grounds of the estate and used a spotlight that he covered alternately with
different colored filters and shined these colors all around the foliage as well as the actual architecture.
Because of the incredibly long exposure time, he and his equipment wandering around for a minute or
two in different areas didn't show up on the final transparency - but the result was the most amazing
"fairy-land" effect I've ever seen.

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Star Trails
To photograph star trails, you'll want to again use your camera's "bulb" setting, just like in the fireworks
section. Other essential elements include:

a. A clear night with no clouds

b. No moon visible in the sky - the ambient light will mess with your exposure
c. A shooting location with no ambient light - in Montana this is easy, but if you live in a city you'll want to
venture far from your city's limits.
d. A tripod (of course!)
e. A film camera and a fast film - ISO 400 or faster

Shutter speeds for star trail images are very long, anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours. (I once fell
asleep while shooting star trails and unfortunately woke up after dawn, ruining my image.) The longer the
shutter speed, the longer your star trails will be. Haze and moisture in the atmosphere can catch ambient
light and affect your exposure, so it's difficult to give you a hard and fast "use this aperture setting for this
amount of time" rule. But I would start off by setting my focus on infinity, opening my aperture all the way,
and taking a shot for 15 minutes. Next, try another for a half hour. Finally, make a final shot of an hour or
more.

If you live where you can see the north star, put it in the center of your photograph and your stair trails will
make circles around it.

If you use negative film, make SURE to take it to a professional photo finisher and tell them that you took
night photos of star trails, or you won't get back prints that look anything like what you expect. I always
use the fastest slide film that I can find when photographing star trails.

It can be fun to put a land object in your foreground when making these kinds of photographs. A bridge or
building can make an interesting silhouette against this type of dramatic sky. A tree "painted" by a
flashlight during your exposure can be breathtaking. As always, use your imagination and have fun!

The Moon

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And last: Don't forget the moon! Adding a full moon or beautiful crescent moon to your photography can
really enhance a night city or landscape shot. A telephoto lens will make your moon appear particularly
large and dramatic. Keep in mind that the moon will always look much smaller in your photo than it does
to your naked eye. A good thing to remember is if you take the length of the lens you're using, divide that
number by 100 and it will tell you in millimeters approximately how large the moon will appear on your
film. A "standard" 50 mm lens will give you a moon that is about a half of a millimeter on your film. So
you'll want to use at least a 200 mm lens - a 500 mm lens or telescope will give you fantastic moon shots.
Use your camera's spot metering system that we talked about in the first part of this lesson to make sure
that your camera captures details of the moon, not just a huge, overexposed white disc in the dark sky.
Photographer's Block
My last area of instruction is on what to do when you're experiencing the photographer's version of
writer's block... You know you WANT to go out and take pictures, but you don't know where to start. When
I get in such a rut, I give myself assignments. Maybe you can use some of my past ideas to help yourself
out of a similar situation.

1. A picture a day for a month.

Usually once a season, I try and spend an entire month going out and walking around in different
places, looking for photographs that emphasize the beauty of that season. Some shots may be
details, some may be landscapes, the sky or even weather phenomena. It spurs my creativity to
know that there are photos out there just waiting to be taken, and I can‟t take them if I‟m sitting
around in my office. My goal is to shoot at least twenty photos a day - hopefully fifteen or so of
which are “keepers”. When I‟m done, I go back and look through for the best shot from each day,
and I have a wonderful portfolio.

2. The letters of the alphabet.

It‟s sometimes fun to sit down and write out the letters of the alphabet - then come up with a
subject or concept for each of them, and use those as an assignment. It‟s enough to keep you
busy for a month. Examples:

A - Archways (Go out looking for archways - naturally beautiful examples of architecture.)
B - Beginnings (A new baby, children on the first day of school, a new plant springing to life,
sunrise, etc.)
C - Calendar Photos (Landscapes and Nature)
You get the idea.

3. Color.
Assemble a multitude of objects that are unrelated, other than by color theme. Use dramatic
lighting and twenty or thirty things ranging from dead leaves to potatoes to burlap and old
baseballs can create quite an interesting, fun, moody shot. If nothing else, this exercise will get
you to really look at the things around you in a new way.

4. Find someone to model for you.

A new model you‟ve never photographed before can be inspirational, especially if they‟re willing
to take direction. Capturing a person jumping in midair, peeking over a wall, in a gladiator
costume from the local costume shop or anything a bit offbeat can bring your photography to life
and make your creativity take off!

Well, that brings us to the end of our lessons. I hope you all have had as much fun as I have with these.
I've enjoyed seeing your photographs through these lessons and watching so many of you improve with
leaps and bounds!

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Your homework for this last lesson is similar to that of lesson nine. A free study of sorts, but I'd encourage you all to
try and take at least one photo per day (taking into consideration that I know you all have kids to take to football
practice or school or jobs that constrain your time), rather than just one for the week. If you don't have time this
week, try it at a later time when you have the opportunity to put some effort into it. This exercise will definitely stir
your creativity by really getting you in the mindset of photography and making you focus on it. And as always...
have fun and BE CREATIVE!

Meaning in Composition
by Kevin Ferrara

I. INTRODUCTION
Today digital photography holds out the promise of instant mastery. Auto-focus, auto light-
metering, image stabilization, infinite deletes... the list of benefits we get from today's
technology is practically limitless. And it's easy to get caught up in their promise.

But, while all that digital assistance (plus the seemingly endless ability to manipulate our
images once they get to hard drive) has certainly been a boon to today's shutterbugs,
obviously taking a great photo is about much more than great technology.

How else can we explain all the top-notch lens work done long before the invention of the
microchip -- Without erase, without autofocus, without image stabilization, without any of
the rest of our modern conveniences? Some of the Old Timers of Photography made
masterpieces using equipment that would be indistinguishable from junk today; Just wood
boxes with pinholes in them, and treated metal plates.

So forget technology for a moment. Technology will take care of itself. There's lots to learn
about good picture-making that technology has nothing to do with.

SOFTWARE FOR YOUR MIND

Back when photography was in its infancy, the world of culture was in a very different
place. The primary visual art was, and had been for some time, painting. And vast
educational systems were in place to teach students the art and craft of making pictures.

These teachings didn't just happen at prestigious institutions, such as L'ecole des Beaux
Arts, the famous French art and architecture school influenced by classical aesthetic
principals. Important and fresh art instruction was occurring all over: At schools of popular
illustration, advertising agencies, correspondence courses in poster design, at hothouses
of visual radicalism, like those of the Futurists or the Bauhaus, and in master-apprentice
situations in ateliers worldwide.

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And these teachings didn't just concentrate on the more provincial and academic skills
associated with easel painting, namely draughtsmanship, brush technique, color theory and
the like. The main point of it all was to create professional, exciting, saleable pictures,
posters and advertisements to exhibit at galleries, in magazines, and on walls throughout
the world. Consequently, great volumes of thought, advice, philosophy and diagrams
related to the exciting, beautiful, meaningful and harmonious arrangments of the elements
of a picture, (collectively known as Visual Composition), were produced.

So, to be sure, when popular photography took its earliest breaths (Around the time when
George Eastman first brought to market his portable box camera and durable film stock in
1889) pioneer photographers were well placed to reap the benefits of the aesthetic erudition
surrounding them. And they did.

And now there's no reason why we can't take the same vast aesthetic erudition into the
digital age.

NARROWING OUR FOCUS

Of course past visual masters have so much to offer us in the way of compositional theory
that we have to be very careful not to bite off more than we can chew. Anybody who's spent
any time researching art theory knows you can stock an entire library with just art theory
books alone.

So rather than choke everybody with information, I'm going to narrow my focus to one
aspect of compositional aesthetics that I feel is very important, yet is often neglected by
today's serious visual artists. And that is the Encoding of Meaning into a picture using
Graphic Design.

WHAT I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT

Now, by "Meaning" I'm not talking about political meaning. Social Realism, which is one of
the classic genres of political art, is about subject matter mostly. And subject matter,
especially political-charged subject matter, is a whole other topic.

Nor am I talking about beauty. I agree that the will to capture the beauty of the world is often
a prime imperative for many photographers, but it's also something most photographers
already have a strong instinct for, not to mention some significant training in.

And in fact, Jodie Coston has already given us a great primer on the basics of
composing beautiful photographs on this site. So I'm going to leave pure beauty for
beauty's sake out of the equation for the moment.

WHAT I MEAN BY MEANING

So what do I mean by "meaningful composition".

By "meaningful composition" I mean a composition that is "abstractly informative in a

psychological or symbolic way".

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So what elements of a composition can be "abstractly informative in a psychological or
symbolic way"?

In short, just about anything related to the craft of composing pictures: The Shapes, the
Lines, the Colors, the justaposition of elements, the framing, and on and on. Everything
except the subject matter, which is real or "concrete", not abstract.

Nevertheless, that's quite a list, so again, I'm going to narrow my focus. For this lesson, I'd
like to concentrate solely on the meanings Graphic Shapes bring to visual compositions.

II. THE MEANING OF ABSTRACT SHAPES

THE TRIANGLE

Good pictures tend to have a strong central theme, one clear idea that seems to tie the
whole image together, subject and composition alike. This is the "unity of thought" or
"unity of purpose" that artists have sought in their work at least since the time of Aristotle.

For some pictures, this unity is a simple matter.

For example, it is actually difficult to take a

picture of an Egyptian Pyramid and not have a
triangular shape as the basis for the
composition.

And we all understand that the triangle is a

known abstract symbol which connotes strength
and stability. And since Pyramids are strong and
stable (In fact pyramids are one of the strongest
structures known in engineering) there is an
automatic unity present: Triangle equals
strength. A pyramid is strong and triangular. End
of story.

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 But what about a picture of a straight
road heading off to the horizon?

Same pyramid shape, graphically speaking. But does it have a similar meaning to the Pyramid
picture?

We know a road is not triangular-shaped. It's one long, long line of tar that stretches for
thousands of miles, interconnecting with other long, long lines of tar along the way. So here's
an instance where the dominant two dimensional shape of the composition (triangle) does not
"equal" the subject portrayed (line).

But in the photo, while we see that road as plain as day, that core graphic shape is still resonant.
We still subconsciously "get" the stability and strength of the triangle as we look at the shot of
the road. But the information we are receiving is neither triangle in isolation nor road in
isolation. It is both at once, a fusion.

So how do we "read" this synthesis of Road and Triangle?

Let's re-state the facts:

A Road is a Path on which one Journeys.

A Triangle means Strength and Stability.

Well, what does it mean to be journeying on a path that is strong and stable? That heads
straight for the horizon without wavering? If we were on that road right now, we would know
exactly where our journey was heading for a very long time. Right?

And there it is: The road is certain for the forseeable future: Strong and Stable. Just like a
Pyramid.

Thus the synthesis of Road and Pyramid in the picture is about Certainty. The way is certain.

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Our perception of the road as simultaneously a road and a pyramid has created a new, more
subtle meaning. A meaning, I might add, that our subconsciousness probably figured out long
before we were able to analyze it in words. (And there lies the power of symbolic shapes in
pictures.)
But we aren't done with this picture
yet, because there is also that huge
rectangle of sky hovering over the
horizon. We can't ignore it. It's a
significant part of the composition.
Let's analyze further. If we look at
the sky mass graphically, we see it is
essentially a great block balancing
on the top of the pyramid. What can
the idea of that balance mean to the
overall composition?
Back to the facts: The road leads to
the horizon. The horizon is where
the road "touches" the sky. So the
sky, we can say, is "the future"
(symbolically speaking). It is where
we are going, it is our destination.
And "the future" is "balanced" on the
point of the triangle.

We also can't fail to notice how

bright and blue the sky is, nor how
fluffy and harmless the clouds look.

So, maybe we can read the picture this way: the path is certain, and the future is open and
bright with possibility. That seems reasonable, right?

If instead the sky was dark and foreboding, obviously the meaning would change. And the
picture might then signal dark possibilities in the future, rather than bright ones.

"Reading" a picture is always a melding of the meaning of the graphic design with the actual
content pictured.

Now let's move from the triangle to another primary shape, the circle.

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THE CIRCLE
The circle. Representative generally of
wholeness, completeness, a whole world,
unity.
Here's the second most commonly
experienced circle shape.
We can see the whole magilla. It's a big
circle, a whole world. Nothing is hidden.
Nothing is left out. Moon = circle. The
unity in this case is, again, automatic.

We get almost the same total equality of

subject and composition when we look at
this shot:
The softball is circular like the moon. But
how is it a world?
Of course it could be just a picture of a
softball and have no association with the
idea of a world. But for the sake of the
lesson, let's look at it in terms of all the
associations a circle has on the
subconsciousness, including that of a
celestial body.
What we have here is another synthesis.
The idea of the circle as representing "a
world", is fused with a softball. Possible
meanings: "The world is a softball" or
alternately "The world of softball".
Of course the close cropping helps too.
As if the softball were so large it couldn't
fit in the viewfinder. And the purple
backdrop is reminiscent of a night sky or
a cosmic backdrop. All these things add
up. But the first trigger is the dominant
circle shape in a field of cool color. As in
the road/pyramid example, the abstract
meaning of the underlying shape (circle)
synthesizes with the actual subject
portrayed (softball) to convey a new
compound idea to the viewer (the world
as baseball). A very simple synthesis. But
instructive.

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DOMINANT SHAPES SAY THE MOST

You'll notice in these simple cases that one main shape dominates the composition. In almost
all strong compositions, one shape (or one graphic idea) seems to dominate. Thus, one
psychological theme tends to dominate. And that's a good thing because it's hard to have a
unity of thought when two or more ideas are competing for equal attention in the same picture.

But there's a downside to this dominance too. The primary shapes are so recognizable and
strong and iconic that we are always courting cliche when we use them in our compositions. So
let's be inventive and aware enough to prevent that pitfall.

So, yes, in a strong composition, one main shape will usually dominate. But the shape doesn't
have to be as obvious as in the previous examples. In fact, a master shape can dominate a
picture in a quite subtle way.

Although, the pyramid shape in this picture doesn't seem to mean strength and stability in the
same way as in the previous examples. For one thing, it's the edges of the triangle that are being
emphasized. The triangle itself is just more asphalt. Essentially the triangle is made of
"nothing." And there is no real base to the bottom of the triangle either.

Which leads me to think of the triangle shape in this picture not as a pyramid but as an an
arrow. Instead of looking at an object as being strong and stable, we are being directed.

When interpreted in this way, the picture is almost like a shot from a detective movie. There are

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clues on the ground which seem to be related somewhat. There is a floormat from a car and
what looks to be some wiring that can also be from a car. And there is the loose sneaker. Has
there been an accident?

There are many arrows pointing us forward to investigate further. In fact, the mass of arrows
point us forward and out of the picture via the top right hand corner, as if to say, "there beyond
the picture lies the answer to the mystery".

And because we can't see what's beyond the picture, we are slighly frustrated in our attempts to
understand what is going on. (Director Roman Polanski is famous for using a similar visual
strategy in his classic detective film, Chinatown, in the early 1970s.)

By the way, the fact that the picture seems entirely composed of triangles is very interesting
too. Its a visual situation the Greeks called Analogie, meaning self-similarity. Analogie is an
effective way to unify or harmonize a picture around a single graphic theme, in this case the
directing arrow, by proliferating that theme thoughout the picture in various sizes and
placements and with varying degrees of perceptibility.

Sometimes, on the other hand, there are different recognizeable shapes scattered throughout the
composition. We can look at these shapes in the same way we look at colors in a color scheme.
As Dominant, Subdominant and Accents, with the Dominant theme providing most of the
graphic meaning, as we would expect.

ON INTERPRETATION

I'd like to just take a moment to explain that this process of analyzing shapes although fun, is
not capricious. The meanings of shapes, while open to interpretation to a certain degree, are not

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arbitrarily assigned.

An upright triangle shape can't just be interpreted in any old way. The meaning of a triangle as
symbolizing strength and stability is a very old association. Mostly, I believe, because it comes
out of the facts of our world; For instance, that mountains are triangularly-shaped and are
strong and stable. Or, in the case of the circle shape, that the moon in the sky is clearly a whole,
self-contained world somewhere beyond ours.

So you see, all the meanings associated with the basic shapes are based on human experience of
the world. Not guess work.

Because of this fact, the most common shapes, again like triangles and circles, have a real
common currency among all people of all nations. There is no people on earth that have not
seen the sun or moon or a triangular-shaped mountain. Thus, the symbolic shapes of which we
speak are a sort of universal and primal language.

COMMON SHAPES and their associated meanings

Okay, I think we see the basics of how shapes work in conjunction with the content of pictures.
Now I'd like to go through some more common shapes and their associated meanings. Though
I'll start with a few basic thoughts on line.

VERTICALS AND HORIZONTALS

Verticals tend to have associations of dignity and awe: A tall man, the Washington monument,
Greek columns, a church spire, etc. Verticals travel from the earth to the sky and thus they
seem to reach towards greater things, aspiring to something.

Horizontals tend to be associated with calmness and tranquility: A still lake, a sleeping person,
the unchanging horizon.

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 When combined in a
picture, verticals and
horizontals lend an air of
formality and calm
dignity. As in this very
formal and classic portrait
of a Hollstein cow.

SQUARE

Verticals and Horizontals can also

combine to form Squares. Thus Squares
tend to have similar associations to their
component lines. But they also have an
association of being man made, since
Squares don't readily appear in nature. So
they are associated with Order and
Precision as well as with Measurement
and Demarcation. Here's a picture of a
calf that uses squares as its motif, some
obvious, some less so.

The combined meaning of the Calf

wobbling forward and the order imposed
by the Squares leads to various
speculations about possible meanings.
But let's leave deep interpretation alone
for a moment and just concentrate on
identifying various shapes and their
associations.

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SPIRAL

Spirals are hypnotic. They are associated with Mystery (as in Spiralling Towards the Truth) and
they also have associations with whirlpools and hurricanes, and the idea of evolution or
transformation.

Here's a graphic that shows the iconic version of the Spiral and then a slightly modified version
of it. And then, lastly, a graphic version of how a Spiral might appear in a real-world situation
in a photograph.

This picture would normally be a

simple picture of a tranquil forest
road, but the spirals lend an element
of mystery and a slight feeling that
we are being drawn into the forest.
The effect is almost that of vertigo.

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PINWHEEL

Pinwheels are similar to spirals in that they are somewhat hypnotic. But they are more about
Continuous Action than about Mystery. The eye tends to move around the wheel following the
curve of its arms rather than towards the center as in a spiral.

Here's a graphic that shows three iconic versions of the Pinwheel shape.

In this photograph the pinwheel effect

is very pronounced and the eye
actively swirls around the picture. In
fact, there are several pinwheels
underlying this picture, only one of
which has been isolated in the
overlay. Again the feeling is that of
vertigo as we look down the side of
this mountain.

LIGHTNING BOLT

A Lightning bolt is a great graphic symbol for energy, pure energy. And like real lightning, the lightning
bolt symbol is also very exciting visually. Lightning Bolt shapes, Pinwheels and Spirals provide the
graphic foundation for most action pictures. Lightning bolts can also be visualized as zig-zags.

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Here's a graphic that shows the iconic version of the Lightning Bolt and then a slightly modified version of
it. And then, lastly, a graphic version of how a Lightning Bolt might appear in a real-world situation in a
photograph.

Here's a few photograph showing how the lightning bolt or zig-zag shapes lend graphic excitement to two
very different scenes.

ELLIPSIS

An ellipsis is a three-dot-in-a-row mark (...) used in written language to denote the passage of time and,
therefore to mark the omission of some information. "Once upon a time..." is the most commonly known

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usage of an ellipsis. The ellipsis is indicating that information is forthcoming, but doesn't specify what it is.

The same three dots are used to indicate missing words in the middle of a quoted passage; "Bill went to
the store... and was arrested" and they also can lead into a sentence as in "...and they lived happily ever
after."

The ellipsis has a counterpart in visual art that means essentially the same thing. That time is passing.
Think of it as you would three panels of a comic book that are all the same. Time passes, nothing is
happening. Dot. Dot. Dot.

The picture below has three structures in the classic Ellipsis configuration that are almost identical. Time
is clearly passing in this picture. And not much is changing on the ground.

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THOUGHT BALLOON

A Thought Balloon is sort of a modified ellipsis. It is a graphic representation of puffs of smoke that
expand into a cloud over time. As when a small idea leads to the unfolding of a grand theory. Something
is "taking shape" in the imagination.

I suppose the cloud aspect of it refers to the fact that when we look at clouds in the sky, their amorphous
shapes often suggest recognizable forms to us, and thus fire our imaginations.

The picture below is almost a dead ringer for the icon of the thought balloon.

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Here's the same picture from
before that contains the near
iconic version of the ellipsis. But
now I've emphasized the clouds
overtop. Notice how each cloud is
a thought balloon unto itself.

And also how taken together the

three clouds create a similar,
larger, version of a thought
balloon. Again, this is called
Analogie.

In terms of meaning, we have

thoughts within thoughts floating
above stillness. Its a very
interesting and powerful image.

(By the way, a similar series of

thought-balloon clouds appear in
the sky in the photograph of the
triangular road, presented earlier.
Its worth looking back at, because
those shapes definitely enrich the
picture's meaning.)

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COMPLEXITY

Of course we've stayed fairly "close to shore" in the pictures we've analyzed so far; Basic shapes, nothing
too radical or difficult to parse. Certainly the graphic design of a photo can get a lot more complex than
has been shown here, and thus the symbolics that much more difficult to isolate and examine.

And I'm sure that often the tangle of shapes we capture in a picture is so confused and intermingled that
the "meaning" of the image simply can't be parsed piece by piece. Maybe the shapes of a picture look like
a haphazard patchwork quilt, where every shape you can think of is mixed together and no shapes
dominate.

But that can be a kind of meaning in its own right.

A patchwork quilt of shapes is probably something of a patchwork quilt of a picture. And when we're
talking about the teeming mass of connected humanity and commerce of a busy city, a patchwork quilt is
an apt metaphor: There's a Unity of Thought in that too.

LAST THOUGHTS

Once we become sensitized to the master shapes buried in compositions, they become far more obvious
to us. And we become better able to frame them at will in our work, even unconsciously. In fact, we might
now find ourselves bothered when we see rather slapdash uses of primary shapes in others'
compositions.

For instance, if a primary shape is just too bold or obvious. Or if a shape screams "Symbol!" Remember,
the point of using meaningful graphic undercurrents in a picture is to enhance the subject matter.

And that's why I'd like to impart this bit of artistic wisdom from one of the true graphics masters, Alphonse
Mucha. He told his students the following:

HIDE YOUR ARTISTRY

Great advice no matter what medium you're working in. Especially since getting "caught being clever" is a
prime artistic no no.

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And beyond that, the greatest benefit of hiding your artistry is to ensure that the symbols you encode in
your work won't be visible to a viewer's critical faculties. Thus, they'll zip right past the eyes, directly into
the subconsciousness. That makes for a powerful emotional reaction in the viewer.

A QUICK NOTE ABOUT IRONY

Another issue we might begin to notice is that in some compositions the graphic meaning seems to work
counter to the content of the photo. Unless a ironic statement is intended, this disconnect can ruin a
picture.

III. CONCLUSIONS

I've always found it interesting that there is more than one level of information going on in a
work of visual art. All along, strong shapes have lurked below the surface. And these shapes,
at any given moment, are streaming through the content of a picture and into our
subconscious minds, affecting us at a very primal level. Thus every image we view and every
image we create is probably both more meaningful and more complex than we had previously
thought.

I think we've seen enough examples now to appreciate just how some of these meanings
arise. And hopefully our awareness about this topic has increased. And maybe this lesson
will be a small step towards a more direct usage of the symbols of the primal language of
shapes to enrich our compositions.

But even if we decide to ignore the undergirding graphic designs of our photographs, those
shapes and meanings and associations will still be present. There's no way around it, a
synthesis of form and content happens every time we snap the shutter.

THE END

All materials are copyright Jodie Coston 2009-2010.

Sponsored by Jodie Coston, the MorgueFile.com and its contributors.

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