Autumnal Pictures

This week we have been to the park to take some Autumnal themed photos, and then we have been using Picnik software to edit them into greetings cards. Here are some before and after photos I produced as examples:

Practical Photography

Over the last few lessons, students have been learning about photography techniques and have been putting them into practice.

Firstly they learned about artificial lighting and shutter speeds in the studio. They used red head lights to add shadows and highlights and put coloured gels over them to create different effects. We then tried slow shutter speed photos to blur movement. We did action shots where the subject were jumping, then used fairy lights to create effects with moving light. Here are some examples of the pictures:

Then they learned about using natural light and experimenting with framing techniques such as the rule of thirds and frame within a frame. Here are some of my favourites that demonstrate that.

Rule of thirds:

Frame within a frame:

Photography Research Tasks

Click on this title to see the instuction brief.

Photography Research

We started the Media element of the Diploma by looking at a photo taken in 1936 by Dorothea Lange. She was one of the first photographers to take pictures of ordinary people going about their ordinary lives, as opposed to photographs of the upper classes who could afford to pay to have their photos taken. We also found out that they managed to edit the photo and take out a thumb that was in the bottom corner and a little distracting.

Next, we began to research the history of photography. Students were asked to find out about key events such as when cameras were first invented, up to more recent developments such as the invention of the polaroid camera and Adobe Photoshop. This is so that students are aware of how the technology has evolved and how that might impact on the nature of photography and the way audience perceive images.