Blog #3

Silhouette - A silhouette is a stark dark foreground placed in front of a bright background.  In order to take a silhouette image, the subject should be placed in front of a very bright background, and adjusting the camera's exposure to focus on the bright background.  This makes the subject look dark in comparison, and completing the silhouette effect.

High Angle - A high angle is a shot taken from higher than the subject, with the camera physically above the subject.  This kind of shot is used to make the subject seem less significant, or smaller.  The shot shows the viewer a broader view of the area around the subject, possibly allowing for more detail in the shot.

Low Angle - In a low angle shot, the subject is higher than the camera, and the lens is tilted upwards towards the subject.  This gives the subject a larger feel, and may show off more of the background in the photo than a high angle shot or a eye level shot.

Questions for Sturla Gunnarsson

1. What inspired you to become a director?
2. What was the most interesting thing you learned while making your films?
3. How did you become a director (e.g. school, etc)

Elements of Composition

Contrast:  Contrast is the camera effect that emphasizes the drastic difference between colour and tone.  There are two types of contrast, tonal contrast and colour contrast.  Tonal contrast capitalizes on the difference between dark and light tones.  Colour contrast focuses on the difference between starkly different colours.


























Examples of contrast.


Leading Lines:  Leading lines are lines in an image that lead the viewer's eye around the image.  Leading lines contrast the rest of the photograph, as they must to lead the viewer's attention around the image.  The lines could be a skyline, the contours of a coffee mug, or anything that leads the viewer's eye around.





Examples of leading lines.

Texture:  Texture in photographs is the visibility of the texture of the subject matter.  For example, a brick will have a rough look to it, with divots and protruding flecks of brick.  A good example of texture will have the feel of the subject matter clearly visible.





Examples of texture.

Blog #1

1. Exposure is one of the many factors to take into consideration when taking a photo.  Adjusting the level of exposure adjusts the amount of light that will be shown on the photograph.  For example, in lower light settings, a photographer will set the exposure level to accommodate for the low light, allowing more light into the photograph.  The converse of this would be in situations with lots of light, the photographer would set the exposure level to a lower setting, to allow for a clearer photograph.

    Focus is how the camera makes the image blurry or clear, by using varying the angle at which light hits the lens.  This changes what in the image is sharper, and what in the image is blurrier.  The farther away that the subject is from the lens, the more difference between the subject and the foreground there will be.  For example, a person 50m away from the photographer will be sharper than a brick wall 100m behind the person if the photographer focuses the camera on the person.

A comparison between different levels of exposure

The photographer has focused the camera on the bicycle in the foreground, making the background blurry in comparison

2.  Auto - The camera overrides all settings, changing the settings for a generally optimal photograph. If you want to change some settings, but have the camera mode largely the same, use Program mode (P)

     Portrait - The camera automatically blurs the background of the shot, biasing the focus towards the closest subject, rather than striking a balance between the two.

     Landscape - The camera captures a balance between the foreground and the background, resulting in a high-resolution, polished shot.