UNIT 11: PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMA 1st ESO Visual Arts Teacher Simone
WHAT IS PHOTOGRAPHY? • Photography is an artistic process that captures images with a camera. • In «film photography», the images are captured on a light-sensitive* material with a camera. (*Light-sensitive materials, or film, change when exposed to light)
THE CAMERA • The photographic camera is contains the light sensitive material, film, to capture an image. • It is similar to the human eye. Light hits an object and reflects into the eye or the camera.
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 1: PARTS OF THE CAMERA • Watch the video: • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-hEsFp20pY • What important parts of the camera can you name in English?
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 1: PARTS OF THE CAMERA
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 2: THE DIAPHRAGM • When our eyes, like cameras, observe an object, the light passes through the pupil, which dilates (opens) or contracts (closes) according to the amount of light.
• The diaphragm, like the pupil, allows the light to pass into the camera, which then hits the film. • To control the amount of light that passes through the lens, we open and close the diaphragm. • This is called the aperture of the lens.
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 2: THE DIAPHRAGM
• The aperture openings are called F-STOPS.
• f / 2,8 is smallest number but the biggest opening. It allows the most light. It can only be used in situations with little light.
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 2: THE DIAPHRAGM • The openings affect the light in the photos.
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 2: THE DIAPHRAGM • The opening of the diaphragm affects THE DEPTH OF FIELD. • Depth of field is the distance in front of and behind an object that appears in focus in a photograph.
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 2: THE DIAPHRAGM
• The aperture allows a certain amount of light to pass through the lens. • The mechanism that controls the time that the lens remains open is called the shutter.
• The shutter is like a small door that opens and closes rapidly inside the camera, allowing the light to touch the film for a specific amount of time. • The longer the shutter is open, the more movement is captured.
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 3: THE SHUTTER
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 3: THE SHUTTER • Shutter speed refers to the velocity of the opening. It is measured in fractions of a second, like 1/500th, 1/125th or 1/15th of a second. • Which is the fastest? Which is the slowest?
• Fast shutter speeds “freeze” movement. • Slow shutter speeds “blur” movement.
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 3: THE SHUTTER
LET’S PRACTICE • Is it a fast or slow shutter speed?
LET’S PRACTICE • Is it a small f-stop (a large aperture) or a large f-stop (a small aperture)?
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY • Watch the video: • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaGUL8B-BrE • Discuss: • What was the first idea for a camera? When? • What were some of the difficulties in early photography, like the «daguerrotype»? • Why didn’t people smile in early photographs? • Who invented the modern camera in the 1880s?
LET’S GET TO WORK • Look for photos in magazines that you think show: • 1) a large aperture • 2) a small aperture • 3) a fast shutter speed • 4) a slow shutter speed
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 4: FOCUS • In manual cameras, we can FOCUS the camera lens on certain objects • Remember: the DEPTH OF FIELD is how much (or how little) the objects in a photograph are in focus as they recede into the distance.
WHAT IS THE FOCUS? We can decide, as photographers, where to FOCUS the camera in our photographs. Compare‌
FOCUS • The whole photograph is in focus.
• The focus is in the center. The BACKGROUND and FOREGROUND are blurry. • The foreground is in focus. The background is blurry.
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 5: FRAMING • The FRAME is the fragment of reality that the photographer wants to capture in his photograph.
• The frame is selected through the VIEWFINDER of the camera.
THE FRAME • When we take a picture, it’s important to decide whether it should be horizontal or vertical.
• Which do you think has better FRAMING?
POINT OF VIEW • It’s also important to consider the POINT OF VIEW, and how it will effect the final photograph. • Consider these three points of view of the Eiffel tower…
PROJECT • Make a viewfinder to find interesting photographic compositions. • Cut two Ls of card using a ruler and staple them together. • Draw what you see through your viewfinder in your sketchbook.
LET’S GET TO WORK • Look for photos in magazines that you think show: • 1) a large aperture • 2) a small aperture • 3) a fast shutter speed • 4) a slow shutter speed
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY • Watch the video: • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaGUL8B-BrE