Welcome to the September 28, 2012 edition of basic photography.
Photography
Jacques Bouchard presents Introducing Our 2012 Photo Contest! posted at Onward Healthcare Blog, saying, "Onward Healthcare is holding a photography contest for anyone working in travel healthcare -- including nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and others. Prizes include a Kindle Fire, a $250 gift card, and more."
Cuchikoo presents Finding the perfect Camera posted at Squidoo.com. If you do not have any idea on what camera to buy. Here are some tips to help you pick the perfect camera that would work for you
Welcome to the September 11, 2012 edition of basic photography.
Zhu presents 5 Ways To Ruin a Picture posted at Correr Es Mi Destino . Brief words from the author: I take hundreds of pictures each month and maybe only 70% make it
through my very own quality control parameters. I realized that if I
wanted to improve my skills, I had to be hard on myself.
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
basic photography
using our
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Past posts and future hosts can be found on our
blog carnival index page.
Most beginners like me do not have any idea about photo composition. If I
think that the picture would look nice then I would just take a shot
and that's it. Whatever perspective, pattern or placement of the subject
sometimes you just think that this picture would just look nice. Take
for example the photo below. When I took a picture of that photo I just
think that it would be nice if the houses are there with the Taal
Volcano in the background. I do not have any idea about the rules of
composition for any photos because I haven't read anything about
photography composition. I actually did apply the rule of thirds in the
photo without knowing it.
Technically speaking, before a picture is taken, the photographer
usually scans the scene and takes a shot of something interesting. Well,
there are really no rules in photography composition but most
photographers follow certain rules in order to capture the best image
possible for their photos.
The rules of composition can be grouped into two main sets. First set is
to help the photographer in the arrangement of the subjects or objects
to achieve the most pleasant or intriguing way possible in the
photograph. Second set is to provide depth and perspective in the
photograph
Set I. Subject or Objects arrangement
In
this set, the subject in the image is placed on a strategic area to
capture the viewer's attention in the photograph. This is done depending
on how the photographer imagines the scene.
a. RULE OF THIRDS
If you are new to photography then this might be the first time that you
would hear about the rule of thirds. Based on the name of the rule, the
photograph is basically divided in to thirds.
The photograph is divided into equal divisions using 2 imaginary
horizontal and two imaginary vertical lines. The grid intersections
would be the basis for the optimal points to position the main object or
subject to help balance the scene.
For landscape photos, it would be very interesting to apply the rule of
thirds. Take for example the Landscape picture. The scene is divided
into thirds. First part is where the sky is meeting with the mountains,
second part is where the mountain meets the lake and last horizontal
part is the lake. The photo is composed in a very organized way and the
viewer is immediately drawn at the landscape horizon.
b. GOLDEN SECTION RULE
Another rule for this set is what photographer's call the golden section
rule. The same as the rule of thirds an imaginary grid of 2 vertical
and 2 horizontal lines are put in the photograph however, it is
unequally placed. The large start of the lines marks the "golden"
section where the object/subject is placed. This provides a sense of
equilibrium in the image.
Take for example the photograph above, (Courtesy of Japs Rodiguez) the
subject is placed on the intersection of the 2 grid lines and the viewer
is focused on themain subject which lies on one of the four lines or
four intersections (subject's eye for example).
Set II. Perspective and Depth
In
this set of rules, the image depends on the pattern, the lines and the
angle of the shot to create perspective and depth on the image. There
are two different rules that you can follow to give perspective and
depth these are what the photographers call the lead-in lines and
foreground interest.
a. Lead-in Lines
These are lines in an image that would help direct a viewer to a point
in the scene. Photographers can play around with different line patterns
to engage the interest of the viewers. There are a lot of patterns to
played with but I narrowed it down into four types, the vertical lines,
the horizontal lines and the diagonal lines.
Vertical lines in an image would make the viewer scan the scene from top
to bottom. These lines give a sense of energy and suspense in a photo.
The particular subject in this photo is the Philippine flag. The viewer
is able to have a perspective on how the flags are lined up based on the
vertical lines of the poles. The angle of the photograph gives the
viewer an idea that the photographer was looking up at the flags
sideways.
Horizontal lines on the other hand, give the image a sense of serenity
and relaxation. Common examples of images that have horizontal lines are
landscapes
The main subject in the photograph is the boat, the boat is aligned
horizontally with the beach and the mountain giving it a tranquil
appearance.
Diagonal lines
This lines give more energy compared to the horizontal lines. It
provides a dynamic scene by cutting diagonally across the photograph.
The diagonal lines works in such a way that the important elements in
the image is placed along the lines.
Converging Lines
The converging lines produce an emphasized point of perspective in an image. The viewer is drawn the point of convergence
The viewers are drawn to the center of the photograph because of the
converging line. Hence, the subject in the image becomes more
interesting.
b. Foreground interest
Being able to provide an interesting element in your photo is very
important to capture the viewers. By putting a foreground in an image,
this would give balance in the composition to neutralize the strong
element in a particular background. The viewers are given awareness on
how far distant or up-close the size of the object of interest is. In
the picture above the foreground interest is the person looking at
something in the image. The viewer would have to imagine what he is
looking at, hence, making an intriguing photo image.
1st Birthday Tarpoulin (Collage of pictures from the photoshoot
Celebrating first birthdays is
extra special. Parents are usually thankful that their children reached the one
year stage and that is why most people have a very big celebration. A friend of
mine has a new born baby last 2010 and as soon as the child was born, she was thinking
of ways to capture every moment that her child was growing up. During this
time, my friends and I were just starting our photography hobby/career. All of
us decided to create a group meeting every month for a photo shoot session with
the baby.Thus, this resulted in our
combined efforts to make a video slideshow especially for her first birthday.
ASK INPUT FROM THE
PARENTS
When making a slideshow, you must
first consider what the parents would like to see. Since the parents would love
to see how their child is progressing from her first month up to her 11th
month, I had decided to feature each photo session and official photographs
chosen for each month.
CONCEPTUALIZE
Second thing to consider is, you
must have original ideas for each month in order to have spontaneity. If all
you just do is self-portraits without any themes, it wouldn’t look interesting
at all. So as a demo example, I would be featuring the slideshow of Francesca
Larin that we had made.
1st Month Concept– Newborn Concept
PHOTOGRAPHERS - Japs Rodriguez,
Hancel Darroca & Darwin Tenebro
In this concept, we had made the
baby sleep in her parent’s arms. The photographers emphasized the baby’s body
parts showing how small and delicate it is in contrast to her parents’. The
baby is naked and sleeping while the shooting was happening.
2nd Month Concept- Think Pink
PHOTOGRAPHERS - Japs Rodriguez,
Hancel Darroca & Darwin Tenebro
This concept was taken out of the current materials that we had. The
baby had a pink fluffy blanket so we wrapped her there. We used a pink
stuffed teddy pillow as a cushion for the baby while she is sleeping
This was just conceptualized during the shoot. We had this idea of
Madonna and child and we thought it would be nice to show how special
the relationship of mother and child. The photographers direct the
mother and what to do and there are some extra people to support the
baby if she needs adjustment in position with her mother.
It just so happen that the baby has a lady bug costume. We decided to
make use of it. We just showed spring time at its best. A chair was
propped near the wall and the baby would be holding on to the chair. An
assistant would be holding the baby at the back of the chair to make
sure that she doesn't fall.
5th Month Concept - Baby in the clouds and butterfly concept
PHOTOGRAPHERS - Japs Rodriguez,
Darwin Tenebro, Vincent Ama, Hancel Darroca & Leo Larin; VIDEOGRAPHER – Cuchikoo
The butterfly was just thought of in post processing. Since it was
really hard for us to take a photo of the baby looking directly at us,
the photographer (Japs) decided to make something with the existing
photos that he has (this photo can be seen in the slideshow below).
Since she was looking at her fingers it is like she is looking at a
butterfly hence, the theme. Using a lot of white soft styro, we decided
to make it like a cloud enveloping the baby. In the post processing you
would only see the white stuff there but it is not that obvious.
Obviously, this was done in
December. Christmas is a very popular theme for photo shoots. The photograph
was conceptualize during post processing (photographer - Japs ) putting a
sleigh in the background. Same as the chair concept, the baby is also supported
at the back of the chair while being shoot.
7th Month Concept –
Playing around with colours
PHOTOGRAPHERS - Japs Rodriguez,
Darwin Tenebro, Hancel Darroca & Leo Larin;
VIDEOGRAPHER – Cuchikoo
Different coloured cloths were
used to play around with the baby. We just let the baby have fun with the cloth
for it to look natural. Since it is hard to force babies to pose for you, you
have to make do with what poses she is making. In short, the photographers
adjust with the model and not the other way around.
8th Month Concept –
Valentines Day
PHOTOGRAPHERS - Japs Rodriguez,
Vincent Ama, & Leo Larin;
VIDEOGRAPHER - Cuchikoo
This shoot was supposed to be a
concept of the cupid holding her bow and arrow but unfortunately it was really
hard to do because the baby was not in the mood for shooting. (See the video
below showing the baby tantrum) Since the baby was fascinated with the red
balloons, we just put all the balloons in the carpeted floor and let the baby
play there and boy that is when we had our best shots taken from.
9th Month Concept- Autumn
PHOTOGRAPHERS - Japs Rodriguez,
Vincent Ama, & Leo Larin;
VIDEOGRAPHER – Cuchikoo
Here a blanket was put inside to
protect the baby from the rough surface of the basket. Since it is autumn,
perfect concept are falling leaves. We tried to look for dried autumn leaves
for props. Looking for the perfect tree was hard but we saw a bunch of nice
looking leaves in Port Melbourne and decided to get some for our photo-shoot.
10th Month Concept –
Mini Me
PHOTOGRAPHERS - Japs Rodriguez
The parents’ bought a cute teddy
for the baby and this is not all, the teddy has a matching clothes with the
baby which is really cute. This is Mini Me. Since the baby also enjoyed playing
around with the stuffed animal it wasn’t hard to shoot it because the baby was
smiling all the time.
11th Month Concept –
Winter
PHOTOGRAPHERS - Japs Rodriguez,
Vincent Ama, & Leo Larin;VIDEOGRAPHER – Cuchikoo
Winter time is the coldest time
of the month, so what do we need to do in order to show it in the photographs,
winter clothes, of course. We asked the parents for winter costumes and we put
a white backdrop to emphasize the cold (since snow is white having it as a
background would let them think it was snowing there, and having snowy
particles for the video is also nice for this particular concept)
IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO DO THIS EVERY MONTH HERE, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND SOME COSTUMES FOR YOUR SHOOT
PROPS FOR YOUR SHOOT
Once you had created a theme,
Props are important for each photo sessions. We tried to find a prop for each
theme that we have so as to make it livelier. For the newborn concept, most of the
time babies are naked for this session. The photographers emphasize how
delicate and small newborn babies are in the photograph.
Since we did not plan in advance
what concept we would have for each, we ask the parents what the child would be
wearing and from there, we conceptualize. This is to minimize expenditures. As
we all know, costumes can be a little expensive so if they have something nice
for the photo shoot then that is what we would gain ideas from.
PROPS & COSTIMES USED FOR THE
WHOLE SHOOTING
Pillow – essential for a comfy
spot where the baby can rest if she needs to, it could also act as a support
for an uncomfortable pose
Chair & Table – used as a
platform for the baby
Mink Blankets – nice and soft for
the baby to play around it and be comfortable in
Teddy Bear – nice prop to make
the baby happier
Dress (Whatever nice is available
in her wardrobe) – available clothes in the wardrobe are nice to play around
with. But having new costumes are also ok. This would depend on the budget of
the parents with the photo shoot sessions
Winter Jacket – used to convey
winter theme
Basket, dried leaves – used as a
prop for autumn theme
Balloons – nice background for
the picture plus, babies like balloons.
HERE ARE SOME PROPS THAT YOU CAN USE FOR THE SHOOT
WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF TANTRUMS
Now, if you are planning to take
of the shots while the baby is awake, then prepare yourself for the worse. A
kid would have tantrums most of the time. It is better to let the baby do what
she/he wants and let them enjoy the moment. If they don’t then you are in for a
big trouble. During our photo sessions the photographer and assistant
photographers have to be entertaining in order to make the baby smile and
happy. Since we are portraying a happy baby for each shoot then we have to make
her happy. Here are some behind the scene shots during our photo sessions.
MAKE YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD
Be open to new ideas and new
concepts as you shoot. This is very important because as you shoot, new
concepts would buzz in your brain. These ideas have to be turned into reality
in order to make it happen. Let your imagination run wild while shooting.
HAVE FUN
Last thing is, you should have
fun while doing it. Treat it as a new project that would give you an
opportunity to experiment and hang out with your friends.
In the slideshow, it would also
be nice to mix videos and photographs of the baby outside the photo sessions.
This would develop the character of the baby. I took out some pictures and
videos that the parents’ uploaded in their facebook pages.
FINAL PROJECT
Here is the slideshow that I had
made to show all the photo-shoots that we had.
