BASIC ELEMENTS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Light and Shadows

Basic Elements of Photography
7 Elements School
composition, light, depth, line, texture,
pattern and shape, and the vantage
point of the photograph (Thomas James)

5 Elements School
Composition, exposure, the story, the
emotion, the life connection (Nancy Hill)
Basic Elements of Photography
My 3+1 Elements Concept
Subject, Composition, and Illumination
plus ATTITUTE
Subject
• Must be relevant
• Appeal to audience
• Tell a story
• Be unique
Composition
• Rule of thirds
• Framing
• Leading Lines
• Negative Space
• Texture
• Triangle
Rule of thirds
One of the most commonly talked-about rules in photography is
the Rule of Thirds. The concept is best explained by taking your
photo and dividing it up into thirds, vertically and horizontally.

The rule of thirds is derived from another rule called the "Golden
Mean" that says that the main subjects of an image should be
placed at the intersecting points created (roughly) by the lines
mentioned above, thusly:
Which photo do you think makes a better shot from the
compositional point of view?

Can you see how the Rule of Thirds can help to quickly
compose a picture without needing too much
unnecessary fuss thinking about where to put your
focus…Try it and be thrilled
For a sunset photo, try placing the horizon one-
third the way from top or bottom of your photo, to
include more foreground or more sky.

You'll notice a stronger landscape this way

Look at the photo on the
left…notice the pink
daisy blossom is placed at one
of the intersection 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.

That’s what composition is

about…Balance
Framing
One of the first compositional decisions we make is often an
overlooked one. You know that we begin the shooting process by
deciding where to put the frame, but are you deliberate about
what kind of frame you select?

For years, a standard frame format was the horizontal 3:2. Makes
sense. The horizontal format is the easiest way to hold most
cameras. Also, it keeps the same
format of the 35 mm negative, which
is 36mm x 24 mm. The size and
format most viewers expect is
4x6 horizontal. It's a safe choice but
not always the most creative.
As you develop your eye and choose the frame more
deliberately, you’ll consider different options as you shoot.
Since digital images make it so easy to crop after the fact,
we can consider the 5x7, 4x5 (the 8x10) or even the 16x9
(HD video format). Many of these decisions we can make
as we edit, but while we are shooting, we can still decide on
horizontal vs. portrait.
With some of the new cameras and even your smart phone
you also have the option of framing for panoramic.
Composition
• Leading Lines
• This are elements in
the composition that
lead the viewer’s
attention to the subject
Composition
• Negative Space
• Isolates the subject and adds impact
Composition
• Texture
• Adds tactile interest and visual appeal.
Composition
• Triangle
• This is used as a structural approach and adds
strength, impact, and dynamics.
Illumination
• Light & Shadows
• Types of Lighting
& Light Quality
• Exposure
• Aperture
• Shutter Speed
• ISO
Illumination
• Light basics

• The key element of photographer is

light, without light imagery is an
impossibility. For this reason it's
important to know about different types
of lighting and its effects on the subject.
Understanding the relationship between
light, subject and shadows is the basis
to successful photography.
Illumination
• Light basics
• Light is all around us.
• Some light is controllable (flash)–
some is not (ambient).
• What can you control with flash?
• Contrast , brightness, volume, ambient,
shadows, exposure.

To master the flash, we must know how

the camera sees light.
Illumination
• Light basics

• Eyes are incredible. They have high

dynamic range.
• can see details in broad range of light and
dark simultaneously.
• can see about a 16 stop range.
• Typical camera sensors see about 7
stops
Illumination
• Types and Quality of Light

• Two basic types

• Natural
• Artificial
• Two basic light qualities
• Hard
• Soft
• Two types of modulation
• Ambient (uncontrolled)
• Deliberate (controlled)
Illumination
• Types of Light

• NATURAL
• Sun
• Direct sunlight
• Filtered *
• Reflected
• Early / Late day (Golden hour)
• Moon
• Reflected sun light
Best, most controllable sun light is during mid morning
and mid afternoon in light overcast conditions
Illumination
• Types of Light

• Artificial
• Tungsten (incandescent)
• Fluorescent
• Warm white
• Soft White
• Cool white
• Day white
• Daylight
Illumination
• Types of Light

• Artificial
• Flash
• LED
• HID

• Combinations of all the above

Illumination
• Light Quality
• Soft or Hard Lighting

• This is relative to how directly light illuminates the

subject. Soft lighting is modified or diffused to
even the spread of illumination and minimize
shadows.
• Direct lighting is considered hard lighting and
produces strong highlights and shadows. A sunny
day or a speed-light with no modifier are samples
of this type of lighting.
Illumination
• Light Color
Illumination
• Adjusting for Light Color

Auto White Balance

Custom Allow for a range of color temps

Kelvin
Illumination
• Adjusting for Light Color
Tungsten

Fluorescent

Daylight
Order of increasing color temps.
(Remember – warm to cold)
Flash

Cloudy

Shade
Illumination
• Exposure

Exposure is a Balancing Act

Illumination
• Exposure Triangle
Illumination
• Appling Exposure Triangle
“Sunny 16 Rule”
• On a sunny day –
• Set your aperture to f16.
• Set your shutter speed to the reciprocal of
ISO.

Assuming your iso is set to 100, since its

sunny. Shutter speed would be 1/125sec.
Illumination
• Adjusting the Sunny 16 Rule
• f16 @1/125 According to Sunny 16 rule – perfect
exposure.
• f11 @ 1/250
• f8 @ 1/500
• f5.6 @ 1/1000
• f4 @ 1/2000
• f2.8 @ 1/4000 Different settings but same exposure.
Shallow DOF.
• f2 @ 1/8000
Illumination
• Achieving correct exposure with
different settings
Correct exposure depends on what “look” you want.

• ISO – More or less sensitivity, more or less grain.

• Shutter Speed– freezing or blurring action. Time of
exposure
• Aperture – controls depth of field, sharp or blurry
background. Amount of light
Illumination
Using Flash
Guide Numbers – Useful in determining distance and aperture
settings for good exposure.

(Gn = Distance * f-stop) therefore (f-stop = Gn/distance)

Example flash has Gn = 80’ @ iso 100

Therefore if my flash is 20’ away from subject then: 80/20 = f4.

Or if I wanted to use f8 instead we can do diff calc:

Gn = ?D * f8 or Gn/f8 = distance needed 80/8 = 10’.

Shutter speed has NOTHING to do with correct flash exposure

in flash photography
Illumination
Using Flash
Illumination
Using Flash
ATTITUTE
• Do you have what it takes?
• Are you willing to do what ever it
takes to get the shot?