Republic of the Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN PHILIPPINES

University Town, Northern Samar

GE 6: ARTS APPRECIATION

GESELLE R. PAJARES, LPT

CAC, Part Time Lecturer

NAME OF STUDENT: ________________________________________________________

COURSE & YEAR: ___________________________________________________________
PROFESSOR: ________________________________________________________________
MODULE 10: PHOTOGRAPHY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

UNIT 6. PHOTOGRAPHY..................................................................................................... 3
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………….…….. 3
Learning Outcomes………………………………………………………………………….. 3
Module 10: Photography……………………………………………………………………. 4
I. Definition of Photography …………………………………………………………... 4
II. Brief Development Photography as Art ……………………………………………… 4
III. Basic Parts of a Camera………………………………………………………………… 6
IV. Elements of a Good Photograph ……………………………………………………... 8
V. Basic Photography Rules ……………………………………………………………..... 10
VI. 10 Photography Composition Rules …………………………………………………. 11
VII. Kinds of Photography ………………………………………………………………... 15
VIII. Kinds of Angle ……………………………………………………………………….. 19
IX. Kinds of Shots ………………………………………………………………………….. 21
X. Photo Process or Post Process (PP) or Editing ………………………………………. 23
Learning Exercise 10.1 ………………………………………………………………………. 24
Learning Exercise 10.2 ………………………………………………………………………. 27
Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………… 28
References …………………………………………………………………………………….. 29

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10 : PHOTOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

Hi, Welcome to Module 10!

Are you ready for some fun lesson? I know you are!
Okay, let us get started!

In this module, we will discuss all about Photography. Here, we will define
photography and its importance in capturing life and in story-telling. We will also briefly
discuss the history of photography, how it is discovered and how it eventually progressed
and developed through time. To capture a good photograph, of course, it needs a camera
and in this module, we will also identify the basic parts of camera and its usage. We will
also determine the elements of a good photograph according to Jan De Ville. For beginners,
a good photograph is a must and so, we will also discuss the basic rules of photography.
The 10 basic composition rules, kinds of photographs, kinds of angle and shots are also
essential in creating a good and interesting photograph.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 define photography;
 discuss the brief history of photography;
 identify the basic parts of camera;
 explain the elements of a good photograph;
 analyze the basic photography rules and the 10 composition rules; and,
 recognize the kinds of photography, angles and shots.

Now, let us properly begin our discussion on Photography!

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Module 11: PHOTOGRAPHY

I. DEFINITION OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography is the art and science of light.
Photography is derived from the Greek words
photos which means "light" and graphein which
means to “draw" (Pagay 2013). The development of
photography has been seen as freeing painting and
sculptures from practical tasks such as recording
appearances and events. Early subject matters of
photography include portraits and landscapes.
Today, daily life, the life we live now, became
photography's newest and perhaps most profound
subjects.
Photographic images primarily provide us with information. Cameras are powerful
instruments because they record the world. Of course, new technology has given the
photographer the power to take the camera's image and change the reality of life as we see
it to a reality of imagination. A prolific writer, as well as caricaturist, balloon photographer,
and dynamic man about Paris, Felix Nadar wrote (1856, in Wheeler: 1986):
Photography is a marvelous discovery, a science that has attracted the greatest intellects, an
art that excites the most astute minds - and one that cannot be practiced by any imbecile ...
Photographic theory can be thought in an hour, the basic technique in a day. But what cannot be
taught is the feeling for light... It is how light lies on the face that you as artist must capture. Nor
one can be taught how to grasp the personality of the sitter. To produce an intimate likeness rather
than a bonal portrait, the result of mere chance, you must put yourself at once in communion with
the sitter, size
up his thoughts and his very character.

II. BRIEF DEVELOPMENT PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART

The existing art that photography resembled most wa

photography as an art, many early photographers naturally turned to painting as a model.
A wonderful example is Henry Peach Robinson's Fading
Away. The English public of the day reveled in paintings
that told a story, preferably sentimental one. Robinson
created his photograph with this audience in mind. We
see a young woman on her deathbed. For all that she is
about to expire, she looks remarkably beautiful and
remarkably healthy. Her grieving relatives hover at the
bedside (one turns toward the window in despair), as
our heroine prepares to expel her last shuddering
breath. But this scene is not real. It was posed; in fact, it
was made as a composite image from five separate
negatives. The people are actors, and they were
carefully arranged in this stagy episode.
Henry Peach Robinson, Fading
Away
One aspect of photography that some felt stood in the way of making art was its
detailed objectivity, which seemed more suited to science. In a movement called
pictorialism, photographers used a variety of techniques to undercut the objectivity of the
camera, producing gauzy, atmospheric images that seemed more painterly, and thus more
like art. An important American pictorialist was the photographer Alfred Stieglitz,

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however, grew dissatisfied with pictorialism. He came to the conclusion that for
photography to be an art, it must be true to its own nature; it should not try to paint.
The photograph that has become most closely associated with Stieglitz’
revolutionary idea is The Steerage. The story of how The Steerage was made illustrates our
point about photographers moving through the world with an invisible frame behind their
eyes. In 1907, Stieglitz was aboard ship on his way to Europe, traveling first class. One day
as he was walking the deck, he happened to look down into the lowest-class section, called
steerage. Before him he saw a perfectly
composed photograph - the smokestack is
leaning to the left at one end, the iron
stairway is leaning to the right at the other;
the chained drawbridge is cutting across,
even such details as the round straw hat on
the man looking down and the grouping of
women and children below. Stieglitz knew
he had only one unexposed plate left (the
equivalent of one exposure at the end of a
roll of film). He raced to his cabin to get his
camera. When he returned, the scene was
exactly the same; no one had moved. That
one plate became The Steerage.

Alfred
The Stieglitz,
type The Steerage that Stieglitz championed came to be known as “pure”
of photography
or “straight” photography. Practitioners of "pure” photography consider it a point of honor
not to crop or manipulate their photographs in any way. The composition is entirely
visualized in advance, framed with the viewfinder, then photographed and printed. We
might ask what difference there is between this kind of photography and photojournalism.
The answer must lie in the intentions of the artists, and not the photograph itself.

At the same time that early-20th-century painters were

experimenting with abstraction by simplifying forms and
reducing them to their most characteristics aspects,
photographers discovered that a camera, too, could produce
abstract images. In Abstraction, Paul Strand used a close-up
view to obscure the literal subject of his photograph, creating
instead an abstract composition of repeating curves. Used in this
way, photography turned out to be not only a new way of
recording reality but also a new way of seeing it.
Paul Strand, Abstraction

With the development of photomechanical

reproduction, which brought photographs into
newspapers, periodicals, posters, and advertising
everyday life was suddenly flooded with photographic
images. Artists also used these “found” images as a new
kind of raw material for art.

After World War I, another artistic movement

that arose was surrealism. Surrealists artists were
fascinated by the unconscious, and they looked for the
intrusion of strange, dreamlike moments into ordinary,
everyday life. Photography turned out to be an excellent
Lee Miller, Solarized Surrealist medium, for nothing could be of matter-of-fact
than Portrait
a photograph, and yet by taking a moment from the flow of time and freezing it for
of an Unknown
our inspection,
Womanit often revealed something strange. The Surrealist artist Man Ray

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experimented with several unusual photographic techniques in the 1920s and 1930s. One of
them was solarization, a process by which an exposed negative is briefly reexposed to light
during development. This causes chemical changes in the photographic emulsion - the
light-sensitive coating on film. Actually, although Man Ray's name is usually associated
with solarization, it may have been his companion at the time, photographer Lee Miller,
who discovered the effect, albeit accidentally.

Today, over 150 years later, photography is fully integrated into the art world of
museums and galleries, and many artists who are not primarily photographers work with
photographic images. Also, the computer has been welcomed by many artists who work
with photography as a natural extension of the medium. Recently developed digital
cameras use no film at all, but instead store photographs as data on disk. For artists, the
new technology allows them to gather photographic images, feed into a computer, work
with them, and print the end product as
photograph. For example, Mori’s Empty Dream
is a pieced together photograph, but tins time
on a computer. The scene is completely and
deliriously artificial, including Mori s own
multiple appearances as a fetching mermaid
and a sky that seems to be printed on a giant
screen. We aren't expected to believe it for a
moment. We are only expected to enjoy how
photography can make the impossible seem
real in the same way that dreams seem real.

Mariko Mori, Empty Dream

III. BASIC PARTS OF A CAMERA

Taking pictures using a digital camera is popular. However, you need to know its
features so that you can maximize its use. As professional photographers often say, every
camera comes with a license to experiment, test, tweak, and screw up to your heart's
content. The most basic parts of a digital camera include the following:

1.

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1. Body - The body of a camera is made up of high grade plastic or metal. It holds all
the other parts together and provides protection to the delicate internal parts of a
camera.

2. Lens assembly - This consists of several layers of lenses of varying properties

which allows for zoom, the ability of a camera to magnify or demagnify an image to
a certain range. The lenses also permit focusing and correcting distortion. Focusing
is a process at which the camera lenses are moved until the subject becomes clear
and very sharp. The lenses are mechanically interconnected and the camera's body
controls adjustment electronically.

3. Shutter release button - This is the “trigger” of the camera which initiates the
image capturing process.

4. Mode dial - This part contains several symbols which allow you to select a shooting
mode, automatic or manual, or a choice between one of the predefined settings.

5. Viewfinder - This is the small viewing window that shows the image that the
camera's imaging sensor sees. This can either be an optical view finder, which
shows the actual image in front of the camera through a peep hole or through
mirrors, or an electronic view finder which is simply a small LCD display.

6. Aperture ring - This part is found around the old manual lens of SLR camera which
functions as a way to select an aperture opening.

7. Focusing ring - This is also found around the lens of a DSLR camera. This is turned
manually to focus the lens.

8. LCD display - This is the small screen at the back of the camera used for framing or
for reviewing recorded images.

9. Flash - This part is usually built-in on the body of the camera. It provides an
instantaneous burst of bright light to illuminate a poorly lit scene.

10. Control buttons - This comprises a set of directional keys and a few other buttons
to activate certain functions and menus. This is used to let the users interact with
the camera’s computer systems.

11. Power switch - This part turns on or off the camera. This may also contain a
record/play mode selector on some cameras.

12. Zoom control - This is usually marked with W (wide) and T (tele). This part allows
the user to control the camera's lenses to zoom-in or zoom-out. For DSLR cameras,
the zoom is usually controlled by a zoom ring in the lens.

13. Battery compartment - This part holds the batteries. The size and shape of battery
compartment differ in every camera model.

14. Memory card slot - This is where expansion memory cards are inserted. The proper
position of the card is often indicated. A mechanical catch usually holds the card in
place and a spring helps it eject.

15. Flash mount (or hot-shoe) - This is the standard holder with contact plates for

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optional flash accessory.

16. Diopter adjuster - This part is usually available in mid- to high-end sub-compact
cameras and DSLRs. This located beside the viewfinder. This varies the focal length
of the lens in the viewfinder in order for people wearing eyeglasses see clearly
through it even without the eyeglasses.

17. Tripod mount - This part allows the user to attach a tripod or monopod for added
stability.

For beginning photo enthusiasts, the number of pixels in a digital image is referred
to as resolution and refers to the number of pixels per inch (ppi). More megapixels mean
higher resolution. Resolution relates primarily to print size and amount of detail in an
image when viewed on a computer monitor at 100%. High resolution is important if you
crop photos or make large prints. However, a digital camera with a high megapixel count
doesn’t guarantee it will produce better-looking images. Many factors influence image
quality including the quality of the optical lens and camera sensor. Hence, buy a digital
camera primarily because it has the features you want, not just because it has lots of
megapixels.

IV. ELEMENTS OF A GOOD PHOTOGRAPH

Most people know what a bad photograph looks like, yet not many people can
recognize what makes a photograph good. Photographer Jan DeVille gives the following
elements that make up good photographs and, if you understand them, you can use your
knowledge to improve your own photography.

Composition

Clearing your mind and viewing the image as a whole can accomplish composing a
good photograph. Taking a moment before you press the shutter button allows your eye to
focus on the entire scene as opposed to the main subject. Are there branches or poles poking
out of the subject's head? Is there a garbage can intruding from the bottom corner? Taking a
moment to breathe, pause, and evaluate the details in the photograph you're composing can
make a huge difference in your final product.

Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is one of the first things taught in any photography program. It is
more of an art than a science, so don’t spend too much of your time focusing on getting it
exactly right. To employ the rule of thirds in your photography, mentally divide up your
frame into three distinct vertical sections and three distinct horizontal sections. Then, when
composing your photograph, keep the action and important figures confined to where
those sections overlap. A good example of this is a lake landscape -- the sky in the upper
third, the tree line in the middle third and the water in the lower third.

Framing

Framing is used to draw your viewer's eye to the subject of the photograph. It can
also be used to take natural elements to frame your subject. Many photographers use
branches to frame their subject, though it can be just as easy to use elements of the
photograph that occur naturally. Strong diagonal lines that draw focus to the subject are
excellent frames. However, you should be careful not to let the frame overpower the
photograph or detract your subject.

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Lighting

Lighting can make or break a photograph. The sun can be your best friend when
shooting outdoors. You can diffuse harsh sunlight through a variety of diffuser screens, or
reflect it onto your subject using kitchen foil. Indoors, things become a bit trickier. Using
natural light is preferable; but a well-lit subject is vital, and you may have to play a little bit
with what light is available to you in order to get the desired effect, The basic rule in
lighting is that the closer the light source, the softer the light you can get. Hence, there is a
need to move a light closer, to make it bigger – that is, broader – in relation to your subject.
Move it farther away, and you make it relatively smaller, and therefore narrower.

Exposure

Proper exposure is vital for creating a good photograph. Overexposed photos have
their white areas blown out, which washes out the picture, while underexposed
photographs can be very dark. Most modern cameras have a built-in exposure meter, and
even point-and-shoot cameras will usually set your exposure automatically once you have
focused on your subject. If you're attempting to create a special effect such as a silhouette,
you may have to expose for the sunlight behind your subject as opposed to any light on the
subject itself, and then lock in your exposure before setting your focus. This may or may not
be possible depending on the make and model of your camera.

Storytelling

Photography is a great means of storytelling, just as a writer speaks using words, a

photographer speaks through his images. Photographer Andrew Hudson says, "A
photograph is a message. It conveys a statement ("Here we are in..."), an impression ("This
is what ... looks like"), or an emotion. The context gives the subject relevance, presence,
location, or other interest. It is the combination of the two elements—subject and context,
foreground and background—that tells the message." Moreover, Arlene Miles, another
photographer added that good photographs convey a mood or sense of a moment in time.
Look for intensity of emotion in people and situations that tell something about life itself. A
great photograph is a piece of art. It captures the spirit of a subject and evokes emotion. We
need to have a genuine interest in the subjects we photograph. Photographer Bob Krist calls
it "the spirit of place." You are an artist that can use subtle tricks to appeal to your viewer's
senses.

Graphic Interest

People want to be amused, entertained, or learn something from a photograph.

Photographer Stanley Leary expresses that our photos need to be technically correct, that’s
understood, just as a musician is expected to at least play the right notes. But if the photo
doesn't draw the viewer in and move them in some way, it's like listening to a machine
perform Chopin. What we choose to include or exclude makes up the graphical elements
that can catch the viewer's attention.

Taking good photographs has little to do with owning expensive equipment and
knowing technical data. The secret is in seeing. Ask yourself: What do I look at, and how do
I see it? A good photograph has qualities that display the skill, art, interests, and personality
of the photographer.
Strong photographs are simple and clear. Busy, distracting backgrounds pull the
attention away from the central theme of your photo. The subject of your photo is
absolutely the most important element, and anything that detracts from the subject can ruin
your shot. Andrew Hudson says, "Knowing what to exclude is just as important as

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knowing what to include. Anything that isn’t part of the subject or its context is only a
distraction, cluttering up the image and diluting the message. So eliminate extraneous
surroundings—usually by moving closer to the subject—and make a clear, tidy shot. A
painter creates art by addition—adding more paint—whereas a photographer creates art by
subtraction or removing unnecessary elements. The recipe for a good photograph is: "A
foreground, a background, and nothing else." Photograher Liz Masoner explains, “A
photograph is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional scene. This means
that the camera effectively “flattens” the scene. Background is anything behind your
subject. If there is a tree directly behind a person’s head it will appear that the tree is
growing out of their head. Likewise, a fence could seem to grow out of the side of a person.
Foreground is anything in front of your subject. Foreground is just as important. If you are
shooting a beautiful lake sunset but there is an ugly tire in the water’s edge the photograph
can be ruined.”

V. BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY RULES

Photography is really all about light. Light is the primary working tool of the
photographer. The quality of a photograph' is essentially dependent on the amount of light
that is reflected on the subject and received by the camera's imaging sensors. Poor lighting
ends up in underexposed pictures with the subject's details lost in the shadows. On one
hand, too much light will give you overexposed photos and the details of the scene and the
subjects are washed out in the light. Here are the basic rules to consider in taking
photographs

1. Get a steady hand on the camera. Avoid shaking your camera so that pictures may
not come out blurred. If you really can’t avoid these, it would better to use a tripod
or inserting your elbows to your sides so that you get a stable grip.

2. Choose a pleasing backdrop, preferably something that suits the atmosphere you
want to create. For more serious photographs, a subtle backdrop that is not too
distracting is best.

3. Avoid direct sunlight when shooting outdoors. If using the sun as a source of
natural light, make sure it is behind the photographer. In addition, when shooting
outdoors during bright, sunny days, it would be best to use a flash. This will get rid
of the shadows that sometimes appear on the faces of subjects on photographs.

4. Remember that when taking outdoor photographs you have to make sure you pay
attention to what’s happening around you. This will not allow strangers to
mysteriously appear in group shots!

5. For portraits it is important to have a fitting backdrop. Using a tripod helps to keep
the shot from being blurred. It also helps to keep the photograph straight. In
addition, a nervous subject will never give you the smile you need to capture. Pay
attention to his or her mannerisms and find the best way to put each individual at
ease.

6. When taking group photos make sure that everyone gets included in the picture.
Some directing on the photographer’s part might be necessary, picture. Instruct
people to smile, ask them to fix their hair if it’s unruly, etc. Position everyone so that
they fit onto the picture. The tallest person should be in back row, so nobody gets

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accidentally blocked from the shot.

7. When taking outdoors shots photographers should avoid going head to head with
the sun. This makes the people in the picture appear as if they are enshrouded in
shadows!

8. Take candid shots! This is a more exciting alternative to dull, boring, posed shots.
The story becomes more immediate and alive when people are not posing for the
camera. During parties try to take pictures of friends and family while they are at
ease and just having a great time. Spontaneous shots are wonderful! They are a good
break from the stiff, posed, smiles that people brandish at you once you point a
camera at them.

VI. 10 PHOTOGRAPHY COMPOSITION RULES

Rule of Thirds
In the rule of thirds, photos are
divided into thirds with two imaginary
lines vertically and two lines horizontally
making three columns, three rows, and
nine sections in the images. Important
compositional elements and leading lines
are placed on or near the imaginary lines
and where the lines intersect.

Balancing Elements
This is creating equilibrium with th
center subject by including another
object of lesser importance to fill the
space.

Leading Lines
There are many different types of
lines and each can be used to enhance a
photo’s composition. This one is putting
lines into a photo to create a story within
an image leading the viewer to a
“journey” of the subject of your photo.

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Symmetry and Pattern

These are incredible subjects that create perfection within a photo but breaking these
patterns creates more tension and focal point in your photograph.

Viewpoint
The viewpoint must be considered in photography in choosing the perfect
positioning of subjects. It can be front view, side view, rear view, or even aerial view.

Front View Side View Rear/Back View

Depth of Field

You can create depth in a photo by including objects in the foreground, middle
ground and background. The human eye naturally recognizes these layers and mentally
separates them out, creating an image with more depth.
Emphasize your scene’s depth by including interesting subjects at varying distance
from the camera.

Background
The background and the subject must be of contrasting colors. This is important to
distinguish easily the subject in the photo.

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Choose a background that will emphasize your subject.

Framing
By framing these natural or man-made frames around the edge of the composition,
you help to isolate the main subject from the outside world. The result is a more focused
image which draws your eye naturally to the main point of interest.

Cropping
By cropping tight around the subject you eliminate the background ‘noise’, ensuring
the subject gets the viewer’s undivided attention. Cut out all unnecessary details to keep the
viewer’s attention focused on the subject.

Experimentation

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Experimenting with these photography composition rules become a real possibility

through the dawn of digital photography; combining all the rules may be effective in some
other ways.

VII. KINDS
OF

PHOTOGRAPHY

Black and White

The description may be considered something of a
misnomer that the images are not ordinarily starkly
contrasted black and white. But this is a combination of
black and white in a continuum producing a range of
shades of gray.

Minimalism
 Minimalism as less elements, the art of
appreciating the essential.

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 Minimalism as few distinctive colors, color helps to recognize different objects.

 Minimalism as in small objects, the art of seeing a soul in the little things.

 Minimalism as simple geometry,

pictures with few simple
geometrical curves and lines can also be minimalist.

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 Minimalism as parts of a whole, sometimes an object or scene is too big and

complicated.

 Minimalism as in repeating shapes, when a picture is mostly comprised of

repeated objects or patterns, it can be considered minimalist too. Again, because it is
easy to perceive.

 Minimalism as
low detail, less object,
well composed, thought-provoking.

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 Zeroism, minimizes the external expression in a term for photos:

1. That are comprised of an almost unified big surface or space.
2. Where there is not so much detail in the picture to recognize it.

Silhouette
It is an image of a person, an object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single
color, usually black, its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette
is basically featureless, and the whole is typically presented on a light background, usually
white or none at all (against the light).

Linear Perspective
It gives an impression of depth to the viewer by using real world parallel lines and
making them converge in the plane of the photograph. This is also achieved by scaling the
subject in the foreground against the background elements of the picture.

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Night Photography
This refers to photographs taken outdoors between dusk and dawn. Night
photographers generally have a choice between using artificial light and using a long
exposure, exposing the scene for seconds, minutes, and even hours in order to give the film
or digital sensor enough time to capture a usable image.

Macro Photography

It’s an extreme close-up photography, usually of very small subjects, in which the
size of the subject in the photograph is greater than the life size (though macro photography
technically refers to the art of making very large photographs.

Bokeh
It is the blur, or the aesthetic quality
blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image. It has
been defined as “the way the lens renders
out-of-focus points of light.”

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VIII. KINDS OF ANGLE

Bird’s-eye View
This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and strange angle.
Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognizable at first
(umbrellas in a crowd, dancer’s legs).

High Angle
Not as extreme as a bird’s eye view, the camera is above the action using a crane to
give a general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less
significant (or scary).

Eye Level
This is fairly neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually
observing a scene, so that for example actors’ heads are on a level with the focus.

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Low Angle
This kind of angle increases height and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles
help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerfulness within the action of a scene.

Oblique or Canted Angle

Sometimes the camera is tilted (i.e. is not placed horizontal to floor level), to suggest
imbalance, transition and instability (very popular in horror movies).

IX. KINDS OF SHOTS

Extreme Long Shot
This shot can be taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away, and is generally
used as a scene-setting, establishing shot. It normally shows an exterior or a landscape, and
is often used to show scenes of thrilling action.

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Long Shot
This is the most difficult to categorize precisely, but is generally one which shows
the image as approximately “life” size. This category includes the full shot showing the
entire human body, with the head near the top frame and the feet near the bottom.

Medium Shot
This contains a figure from the knees or waist up and is normally used for dialogue
scenes, or to show some detail of action. This is sometimes referred to as half-body shot.

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Close-up
This shows very little background, and concentrates either a face, or a specific detail
of setting. Everything else is just a blur in the background. This shot magnifies the object
and shows the importance of things, be it words written on paper, or the expression on
someone’s face.

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Extreme Close-up
As its name suggests, an extreme version of the close up, generally magnifying
beyond what the human eye would experience in reality, an extreme close-up of a face, for
instance, would show only the mouth or eyes, with no background detail whatsoever.

X. PHOTO PROCESS OR POST PROCESS (PP) OR EDITING

It is manipulating the raw photograph to make some adjustments on the
composition, modifications or effects, and modify unwanted elements captured.
Some adjustments may include:
 Brightness and Contrast
 Levels
 Curves
 Exposure
 Vibrance
 Hue and Saturation
 Color Balance
 Threshold

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MODULE 10: PHOTOGRAPHY

LET’S TAKE A BREAK!

LEARNING EXERCISE 10.1

Examine the artwork below. Analyze what photography composition rules or

kinds of photograph/angles/shot is employed. One photograph can contain two to many
rules, kinds, angles, and shot. Just write what you think is fitted.
1 2

3. 4

5 6

7 8

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MODULE 10: PHOTOGRAPHY

9 10

11 12

13
14

15 16

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MODULE 10: PHOTOGRAPHY

17 18

19 20
0.

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MODULE 10: PHOTOGRAPHY

LET’S TAKE A BREAK!

LEARNING EXERCISE 10.2

Identify the following parts of camera.

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MODULE 10: PHOTOGRAPHY

1. _____________________________
2. _____________________________
3. _____________________________
4. _____________________________
5. _____________________________
6. _____________________________
7. _____________________________
8. _____________________________
9. _____________________________
10. _____________________________
11. _____________________________
12. _____________________________
13. _____________________________
14. _____________________________
15. _____________________________

LET’S TAKE A BREAK!

LEARNING EXERCISE 10.3

Why do you think the rules, composition, kinds, angles, shots are important in
making a good photograph?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________.

GE 6: ARTS APPRECIATION MODULE Page |

MODULE 10: PHOTOGRAPHY

SUMMARY

Photography is the art and science of light. Photography is derived from the Greek
words photos which means "light" and graphein which means to “draw" (Pagay 2013). The
existing art that photography resembled most was painting. A wonderful example is Henry
Peach Robinson's Fading Away. In a movement called pictorialism, photographers used a
variety of techniques to undercut the objectivity of the camera, producing gauzy,
atmospheric images that seemed more painterly, and thus more like art. An important
American pictorialist was the photographer Alfred Stieglitz, however, grew dissatisfied with
pictorialism. The photograph that has become most closely associated with Stieglitz’
revolutionary idea is The Steerage. The Surrealist artist Man Ray experimented with several
unusual photographic techniques in the 1920s and 1930s. One of them was solarization, a
process by which an exposed negative is briefly reexposed to light during development. The
new technology allows them to gather photographic images, feed into a computer, work
with them, and print the end product as photograph. For example, Mori’s Empty Dream is a
pieced together photograph, but tins time on a computer.
The most basic parts of a camera are the body, lens assembly, shutter release button,
mode dial, view finder, aperture ring, focusing ring, LCD display, flash, control buttons,
power switch, zoom control, battery compartment, memory card slot, flash mount (or hot-
shoe), diopter adjuster and tripod mount.
The elements of a good photograph are composition, rule of thirds, framing, lighting,
exposure, storytelling, and graphic interest.
The 10 photography composition rules are rule of thirds, balancing elements, leading
lines, symmetry and pattern, viewpoint, depth of field, background, framing, cropping, and
experimentation.
The kinds of photography are black and white, minimalism: as less elements, as few
distinctive colors, as in small objects, as simple geometry, as parts of a whole, as in repeating
shapes, as low detail, zeroism, silhouette, linear perspective, night photography, macro
photography and bokeh.

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MODULE 10: PHOTOGRAPHY

The kinds of angle are bird’s-eye view, high angle, eye level, low angle, and oblique
or canted angle
The kinds of shots are extreme long shot, long shot, medium shot, close-up and
extreme close-up.
The photo process or post process (pp) or editing is the manipulation of the raw
photograph to make some adjustments on the composition, modifications or effects, and
modify unwanted elements captured.

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MODULE 10: PHOTOGRAPHY

REFERENCES

Books:
 Perez, T., Cayas, R. & Narciso, N. Alampat: An Introduction to Arts Appreciation.
Blue Patriach Publishing House. Davao City. 2013
 Leano, R., Agtani, J.M., Papel, R. O. Art Appreciation for College
Students. Mindshapers Co., Inc. Manila. 2017
 Pagay Jenelyn B. & Gutierrez, Marilyn M. Fundamentals of Art Appreciation. St.
Andrew Publishing House. Plaridel, Bulacan. 2018

Images and Artworks used in this Module:

 https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wikiwand.com
%2Fen%2FHenry_Peach_Robinson
 https://www.ideelart.com/magazine/paul-strand-photography
 https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Steerage&tbm=isch&ved
 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/265133
 https://www.google.com/search?q=rule+of+thirds&sxsrf=ALeKk00PSCnjmIJUi
 https://www.google.com/search?
q=balancing+elements+photography&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjf2
 https://www.google.com/search?
q=balancing+elements+photography&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjf2
 https://www.google.com/search?
q=LEADING+LINES+photography&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi03KD
 https://streetbounty.com/directing-eyes-with-leading-lines/
 https://sites.google.com/site/photographycompositionrules/rule-of-thirds/
symmetry-and-patterns
 https://yikesphotography.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/symmetry-and-patterns/
 https://unsplash.com/photos/763-mBawsfg
 http://www.portrait-photos.org/keywords/sideview
 https://unsplash.com/s/photos/back-view
 https://iceland-photo-tours.com/articles/photography-techniques/depth-of-field-
in-photography
 https://onextrapixel.com/30-examples-of-shallow-depth-of-field-photography/
 https://www.pinterest.ph/com1410sp15/depth-of-field-assignment/
 https://capturetheatlas.com/depth-of-field-photography/
 https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/775393260823207159/
 https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/framing-in-photography
 https://iphonephotographyschool.com/framing-composition/
 https://digital-photography-school.com/good-crop-bad-crop-how-to-crop-
portraits/
 https://www.dessign.net/studiomagtheme/experimental-photography-design/
 https://callumgcsephotography.weebly.com/framing.html
 https://fixthephoto.com/blog/photo-tips/amazing-examples-bw-
photography.html
 https://www.viewbug.com/contests/she-is-beautiful-photo-contest-vol2/77021754
 https://www.myclickmagazine.com/minimalist-photography-composition/

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MODULE 10: PHOTOGRAPHY

 https://www.prakashghai.com/2014/08/
 https://smashinghub.com/30-beautiful-examples-of-minimalist-photography.htm
 https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/401524123032275309/
 https://www.ultimate-photo-tips.com/photo-challenges-feb-2013.html
 https://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/minimalist-photographs-that-pick-
out-the-colour-symmetry-and-patterns-of-cities/
 https://www.myclickmagazine.com/minimalist-photography-composition/
 https://www.prakashghai.com/2016/11/abstract-minimalism-zeroism.html
 https://shotkit.com/silhouette-photography/
 https://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/silhouette-photography-tips/
 https://wordingonawhim.wordpress.com/tag/linear-perspective/
 https://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/night-low-light-photography/
 https://digital-photography-school.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-
macro-photography/
 https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/527695281315410697/
 https://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/40-beautiful-examples-of-
bokeh-photography/
 https://ourpastimes.com/birds-eye-view-definition-12217066.html
 https://fixthephoto.com/birds-eye-view-photography.html
 https://www.pexels.com/photo/high-angle-photo-of-woman-on-ladder-2467396/
 https://www.hdwallpapers.in/emma_watson_in_very_close_hd-wallpapers.html
 https://ar.pinterest.com/pin/712765078513905307/
 https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/dutch-angle-shot-camera-movement/
 https://www.pinterest.ph/neenlynn/the-dutch-angle/
 https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/extreme-long-shot
 https://slideplayer.com/slide/15473222/
 https://wallpapershome.com/movies/action/thor-ragnarok-chris-hemsworth-4k-
14191.html?page=4
 http://joeblogs100.blogspot.com/2016/10/long-shot.html
 https://nofilmschool.com/camera-angles-and-shots-movements
 https://www.nfi.edu/medium-wide-shot/
 http://allanahsblogadress.blogspot.com/2016/09/frames-big-close-up.html
 https://www.theodysseyonline.com/23-times-bella-swan-worst
 https://www.pexels.com/photo/extreme-close-up-of-woman-eye-256380/
 http://tonydoovisuals.com/differences-between-raw-and-jpeg-picture-formats-in-a-
digital-camera

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