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Media Arts Las
Media Arts Las
Media Arts Las
PHOTOGRAPHY AS COMMUNICATION
Considered one of the most powerful means of communication.
Conveying information and ideas, expressing emotions, even championing causes.
TWO DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
A. Immediacy- the quality of bringing one into direct and instant involvement with something, giving rise to a
sense of urgency or excitement.
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
It is fast, fun, and easy. One of the coolest things about digital photography is that you can see your
picture right away. With just a few clicks of the mouse you can download, organize, edit, and share all of your
digital photos. In this activity, students take photos and gather images from various sources, identifying
elements of visual design that reflect good composition. Students also learn about scanned images, Camera
RAW, video stills, and key digital image terminology.
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Balance: Create a sense of weight for the elements within the frame; some objects will have a large
sense of weight and some will have a small sense of weight.
Rule of thirds: Offset your picture to help focus the viewer’s eyes on the subject.
Close-ups: Take close-up pictures to capture details and highlight specific objects.
Tone and sharpness: Use light and shadow to focus attention on or draw attention away from your
subject. Have your subject in focus and blur the extraneous elements to draw viewers to the subject.
Arrangement: Remove objects not essential to the composition, or eliminate them by changing the
camera’s perspective.
High dynamic range (HDR) imaging: Use exposure bracketing and take several pictures at different
exposure settings. These images can be combined later to achieve the artistic HDR effect.
Why photography?
Perhaps you are drawn into photography mainly because it appears to be a quick, convenient
and seemingly truthful way of recording something. All the importance lies in the subject itself, and
you want to show objectively what it is, or what is going on (a child’s first steps or a scratch on a car
for insurance purposes).
Photography is thought of as evidence, identification, a kind of diagram of a happening. The
camera is your visual notebook.
You set up situations (as in advertising) or choose to photograph some aspect of an event but not
others (as in politically biased news reporting). Photography is a powerful medium of persuasion and
propaganda. It has that ring of truth when all the time it can make any statement the photographer
chooses. Consider the family album for a moment: what pictures are represented here – all of family
life or just the good moments?
Another reason for taking up photography is that you want a means of personal self-expression
to explore your own ideas, concerns or issue-based themes. It seems odd that something so apparently
objective as photography can be used to express, say, issues of desire, identity, race or gender, or
metaphor and fantasy.
PHOTOGRAPHY FUNDAMENTALS
“The important thing is not the camera but the eye.” – Alfred Eisenstaed
WHAT IS AN SLR?
● SLR - Single Lens Reflex - The camera has a viewfinder that sees through the lens by way of a 45°-
angled mirror that flips up when the shutter fires and allows the light to strike the image sensor (or
film).
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CREATIVE MODES SCENE MODES
PROGRAM MODE
Characteristics of program mode
● Aperture and shutter speed are set by the camera, but can be shifted
using the control dial, with the exposure staying the same
● Unlocks some other settings in your camera that gives you more
control over the final image : ISO setting, white balance,
exposure compensation
● Great for quickly getting a photograph without having to think too
hard about settings
TV-SHUTTER PRIORITY
Characteristics of TV mode
● TV means time value
● Shutter priority: set the shutter speed and calculates the
matching aperture
● To photograph moving subjects (sporting action). A faster
shutter speed will freeze the motion
● To capture movement as a blur of a waterfall, choose a slower
shutter speed
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AV-APERTURE PRIORITY
Characteristics of AV mode
● AV means aperture value
● Manually control the aperture while the camera sets the
matching shutter speed
● Particularly useful to control a stationary object where you
don’t need to control the shutter speed
● Choosing a larger aperture (f/stop) means the lens will get
smaller and it will let less light in so a larger depth of field
(more of the area in focus), but your camera will choose a faster
shutter speed and vice versa
MANUAL
Characteristics of manual mode
● Full control over camera settings such: shutter speed, aperture, ISO,
white balance and exposure compensation
● Gives you the flexibility to set your shots the way you want them to
be
● Can result in creative and non-traditional exposures
PORTRAIT MODE
Characteristics of portrait mode
● An automatic mode with emphasis on settings for a perfect portrait shot.
● The ability of the camera to detect if there are faces in the image and to ensure they are all in focus
● Sets a wide aperture of the lens so that the background behind your subject is softly focused (shallow
depth of field)
LANDSCAPE MODE
Characteristics of landscape mode
● Narrows the aperture, so both the subject and background stay sharp (deep depth of field)
● Foreground, middle ground, and background are all in focus
● Exposure compensation for entire frame
MACRO/close-up mode
SPORTS MODE
● Represented by an icon of a sprinter, this is perfect for taking pictures of moving objects
● Also good for shooting children or pets in action
● Can give you higher shutter speeds to stop action, along with a smaller aperture so that more
of the action will be in focus
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NIGHT PORTRAIT MODE
● Usually symbolized by a figure against a dark sky with a star
● Fires the flash to illuminate a nearby subject and then holds the shutter open long enough for the
background to be exposed
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DOWN ACROSS
1. It is a thought of evidence
3. Creates a sense of weight within the 2. Helps the viewer eyes on the subject
frame 4. Perfect mode for taking moving objects
5. Automatic mode with emphasize on 8. Characteristic of photography
settings 9. Pictures that highlights specify objects
6. Focal point of the photograph
7. Characteristic of photography
Activity 2. Analyzing image composition. Capture two types of photos: portraits and landscapes.
Take pictures of each other, objects in the house, and landscapes outside the house (within house
compound). Review the tips on good image composition and elements of visual design as your guide
in taking photos. Print your output by following the given format.
Activity 3. Analyzing and critiquing photographs. Find a sample of portrait and landscape photos
( news paper, magazine or books). Scan the photos and print by following the given format.
(NOTE: Softcopy of format/layout for outputs will be given thru email or messenger)
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Closure/Reflection:
Complete this statement:
What I have learned in this activity is/are _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Prepared by:
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Answer Key:
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P 6 7
H E D
O 4 S P O R T S M O D E
T 3 P T
O B 5 H A
G A P A I
2 R U L E O F T H I R D S L
A A R I
P N T S
H C R
Y E A
8 I M M E D I A C Y
T
M
9 C L O S E U P S
D
E
Activity 2 & 3.
Assessment:
3 Does Not Meet 8 Meets Expectations 10 – Exceeds
Expectations expectations
IMAGES Absent or incomplete. Creates original images Creates original images
that employ good image with a point of view,
composition and elements clearly employing good
of visual design. image composition and
elements of visual design.
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