the elements of photography

385 Pages·2008·32.44 MB·English

The Elements of Photography
FOR CLAY (… as in dirt, mud, pottery, sand…) WHEREVER YOU ARE.
The Elements of Photography
Understanding and Creating Sophisticated Images
ANGELA FARIS BELT
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON
NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
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Contents
Preface ix
Introduction xv
Acknowledgments xxiv
Chapter  Part : Framing and Borders 
What Is “Th e Photographic Image” Exactly? 4
Framing: Th e First Photographic Element 6
Aff ecting Visual Quality and Photographic Meaning through
Conscious Framing 6
Organizing the Frame: Vantage Point, Juxtaposition, and
Picture Planes 8
Contact Sheets: Key to Choosing the Best Frame 14
Cropping: Framing After the Fact 14
Borders: Th e Exterior Edge of the Frame 15
Traditional Darkroom Border Techniques 16
Th e Digital Realm: Borders Without Film Edges 21
Chapter Exercises 23
Portfolio Pages 25
Part : Using Multiple Frames 
Multi-panel Panoramas 68
Making Contact Sheet Images 71
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Exercises 73
Portfolio Pages 74
Chapter  F ocus: Apertures, Lenses, and Depth of Field 
Focus: Th e Second Photographic Element 108
Apertures: A Brief Technical Background 109
Depth of Field: A Brief Technical Background 110
Cameras without Lenses 112
Aff ecting Visual Quality and Photographic Meaning with
Apertures and Lenses 116
Digital Darkroom Focus Eff ects 126
Chapter Exercises 129
Portfolio Pages 131
Chapter  Shutter Speeds: Time and Motion 
Shutter Speeds: Th e Th ird Photographic Element 158
Shutter Speeds: A Brief Technical Background 159
Aff ecting Visual Quality and Photographic Meaning Using
Shutter Speeds 160
Th e Delineation of Time in a Photograph 164
Traditional Darkroom Techniques for Overlapped
and Blurred Time 180
Chapter Exercises 182
Portfolio Pages 183
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter  M aterials and Processes: The Aggregate Image 
Materials and Processes: Technical Considerations and Visual Outcomes 233
A Case Study in the Eff ects of Materials and Processes 240
In the Gallery: Display Materials and Considerations 240
Chapter Exercises 242
Portfolio Pages 243
Conclusion 
Tutorials 
Works Cited 
Appendix A 
Appendix B 
Index 
vii

Preface
“One fact that is not in dispute is that there is a wid- (whose primary structure prepares students for success as
ening gulf opening up between art and commercial fi ne artists). Although ideal in many respects, the system’s
photography, between professors and professionals.” inherent drawback is that while the marketplace off ers
—Bill Jay in Occam’s Razor vast opportunities for both professionals and fi ne art-
ists, academia’s singular-focus approach limits graduates’
It is no new observation that throughout the history of
chances of success, and inhibits the useful carry-over of
photography its practitioners have been segregated into one
techniques and ideas from one discipline to the other.
of two distinct disciplines, professional or fi ne art practices.
Th at this self-conscious distinction creates limitations for College photography programs situated within Technical
practitioners on both sides is evidenced by the large per- Schools (those off ering degrees in commercial, edito-
centage of fi ne artists who attempt more or less success- rial, consumer portraiture, etc.) tend to organize curricula
fully to support themselves in the professional fi elds and an around the mechanics of the medium, producing gradu-
equal percentage of professionals who vie for acceptance of ates whose images demonstrate skilled craft and technical
their art work in galleries. Th e separation of photographic profi ciency. Adept at using the most complex, state-of-the-
practices is perpetuated through a higher education sys- art equipment and materials, the best graduates of these
tem in which the overwhelming majority of photography programs produce images demonstrating feats of techni-
programs emphasize one of the two disciplines: technical cal perfection with eye-catching style. However, many
education (the goal of which is to train students to become of their best photographs lack any substantive meaning,
successful professional photographers) or fi ne art practices and at worst their images miscommunicate, because these
IMAGE © CAROL GOLEMBOSKI, OBJECT LESSON IN HEADS, 2004.
ix