Higher Photography SQA

This subject is broken down into 16 topics in 1 modules:

  1. Photography Core 16 topics
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This page was last modified on 28 September 2024.

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Photography

Photography Core

Planning

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Planning

Understanding the Importance of Effective Planning

  • Planning is an integral stage in the process of photography, ensuring that you are prepared to capture the best possible photos.
  • It allows you to account for elements such as timing, lighting, location, and subject matter before you even pick up the camera.
  • Effective preparation can make the difference between a good photo and an exceptional one.

Key Components of Planning in Photography

  • Research: Investigate the subject matter, location and similar photographic styles or works of other photographers. This can help to stimulate ideas and understand what works in various contexts.
  • Storyboarding: Developing a rough visual representation of how you want your photography project or photoshoot to unfold can help fine-tune the concept and execution.
  • Location sights: A pre-visit to the location of shooting enables you to identify the best spots, understand lighting conditions and plan your frames.
  • Schedule: Good planning includes creating a realistic timeline. Consider all elements such as travel, setting up, shooting, and post-production processing.
  • Technical considerations: Plan for the type of gear needed, considering factors like lighting, nature of the scene (outdoor/indoor), and the theme of the shoot.
  • Backup planning: Always plan for contingencies. Have alternate locations, spare equipment and backup storage options.

Insights into Planning around Natural Lighting

  • Understand the significance of the Golden Hour (the first and last hour of sunlight in the day) to capture soft, diffused light in your photos.
  • The Blue Hour (period before sunrise and after sunset) presents unique lighting conditions for dramatic images.
  • Be aware of the direction of light and the shadows it creates at different times of day, especially when shooting outdoor portraits.

The Impact of Planning on Post-production

  • Conscious planning can drastically reduce the time and resources spent in post-production.
  • By planning shots well, photographers can minimise the need for cropping, correcting exposure and colour grading during editing.
  • It also enables creative aspects like the use of filters and specific post-production techniques to enhance the planned narrative.

Applying your Planning Skills Practically

  • Consider planning as a continuous cycle rather than a one-off task. Reflect on what worked well and what could be improved for future photoshoots.
  • Regularly practicing and refining your planning process can greatly enhance your efficiency and the quality of your photography.
  • Remember, the objective of planning is not to limit creativity but rather to give it a focused direction.

Course material for Photography, module Photography Core, topic Planning

Photography

Photography Core

White Balance

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White Balance

Understanding White Balance

  • White Balance is a setting on your camera that adjusts for colour temperature to make the colours in your photographs appear natural.
  • It refers to changing the colour balance in your images to compensate for the type of light you're shooting in, maintaining neutral whites and accurate colours.
  • The light in a scene could come from a variety of sources like sunlight, artificial light, or a combination thereof. Each type of light has a specific colour temperature, measured in kelvins (K).

The Impacts of Incorrect White Balance

  • Incorrect white balance can create colour casts in your photos, making them appear too blue, too orange, or generally unnatural.
  • Auto White Balance (AWB) is a function in cameras that attempts to neutralize colour cast by making a best guess about the type of light in which the photo is being taken.
  • While Auto White Balance is fairly reliable, it can be tricked by complicated lighting situations and result in colour casts.

Controlling your White Balance

  • Understanding how to manually adjust white balance can give you more creative control over how your photographs look.
  • In addition to auto white balance, cameras generally offer presets for different types of lighting situations (incandescent, fluorescent, flash, cloudy, shade, sunlight).
  • Some advanced cameras allow you to manually set the colour temperature, providing greater precision and tailor-made results according to your needs.

Practical Applications

  • Use the daylight white balance setting when out under the sun for naturally vivid colours.
  • Use the cloudy white balance preset to warm your images up on an overcast day or at dawn and dusk.
  • Indoor lighting conditions can cause a yellowy colour cast. Adjust the white balance setting to tungsten or fluorescent as required to solve this problem.
  • Learning to manually adjust white balance allows you to experiment with creating different moods and effects in your photos. For instance, a cooler white balance can suggest a bleak, wintery scene, while a warmer white balance might suggest a cosy, intimate ambiance.

Course material for Photography, module Photography Core, topic White Balance

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