Photographic Techniques

Photographic techniques

Some ideas and techniques are essential when taking a good photo:

 

•       Shot distance
•       Use of tilt
•       Shot composition
•       Eye line
•       Tone
•       Line
•       Colour, including vivid, primary and monochromatic colour
•       Texture, and hints on creating texture
•       Patterns and hints on capturing patterns

Shot distance types:

 

•       ELS/LS good for showing the insignificance of character of character or for showing characters as powerless within an overpowering environment. Also goo for establishing location.
•       MLS/MS good for showing movement or for a balanced tacking of characters and their environment.
•       MCU/CU good for portraiture or for moving image interviews.
•       BCU/ECU good for showing the significance of character or for showing character as powerful. Also highly useful for drawing attention to character emotions.  

Tilt shots:

 

•       Tilt up shot- used to convey power or dominance.
•       Tilt down shot- Used to convey vulnerability or weakness of a person.

 

Tone:

 

·      Control of tones, including variations of light and dark, emphasizing parts of the image.

·      Tone control can be used to emphasize the shapes of the most important elements in your image.

 

 

Photographic/moving image techniques:

Composition:

 

•     You need to think very carefully about how you compose a photograph.
•       Many photographers place in their subject in the middle of the photograph, which can result in a dull image.

 Foreground/ background :

 

•      You must always think about where the model will be photographed and remember to check the background out to ensure that there is nobody/anything accidentally in the back of the image. This should not be a problem for me as I am making sure my model will be standing in-front of a plain backing.

Framing:

•       Keep the rule of thirds in mind when designing your shot. The views eye is drawn to the cross-sections of a frame, this is where your action should be taking place.

 

Lines:

 

•       Lines are useful for emphasizing and leading the viewer towards a main area or subject.
•      You can easily control the appearance of lines in your pictures by camera viewpoint.

Using colour:

•       Taking control of the way in which colour is used in your photos is a key way of improving your images.
•       Keep your eyes open for vibrant coloured subjects, but also look for delicate coloured subjects and ones with muted tones.
•       Colour sells. Bright, bold colours are used on magazine covers, so choose or plan shots that you will take when producing your magazine cover.

By looking over this it has helped me understand how I should take my photographs and what will look best for my product. I know what kind of lighting the photographs should be taken in and how my model should be positioned. For example I will be taking a mid shot of my model, this will show her face down to her waist. I have chosen to take my images mid shot because I believe it is important that the readers of the magazine can really see her facial expression, as if I were to take a long shot (head to toe) you wouldn't really be able to see her face, it would be focused more on her body language. As for lighting I will taking my images indoors so I will be using artificial lighting, it will be bright, again so you can really see the model.