CHAPTER 7

PHOTOGRAPHY
(Week 7)

MY JOURNEY

Since its invention photography has affected how the world views and consumes
history, as well as everyday life. A photograph is capable of not only capturing a
brief moment in time, but can represent an entire social movement or be a catalyst for
change. Read on to learn about the creation of photography as a medium, its art historical
narrative, as well its importance in the digital era.

MY EXPECTATIONS

At the end of the Chapter, the students should be able to:

1. recognize the history and importance of photography;

2. appreciate the “role of third” in photography;
3. discuss the types of photography;
4. demonstrate understanding of the essential components and features of a
Camera; and
5. display an ability to do photography.

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6.
7.
8. MY INITIAL TASKS
9.

As a preliminary activity for the topic, please reflect on the following

questions:

1. Why do people take photos?

2. Do you think Nude Photography as an art expression or a
sensual expression? Why or why not?
3. Do you think that a person must possess talent to capture
emotion and expression in a picture? Why or why not?
4. Do you believe in the expression “A photo is worth a
thousand words? Why or why not?

MY READINGS

The Origin of Photography

he word photography is from two Greek words photos or phos, for “light” and

T graphe, for “lines” or “drawing.” Therefore, Photography is described as the art

in creating or drawing durable images by recording light using either
photographic film or image sensor (Spencer, 1973). It was first coined by Sir
John Herschel in a lecture before the Royal Society of London, on March 14, 1839. It has
become a powerful means of communication and a mode of visual expression that
touches human life in many ways (Eder, 1945).

Importance of Photography

We have always wanted to reproduce the world around us, beginning with cave
drawings to painting on canvas and eventually leading to the invention of photography.
Our photographs share so much about who we are as individuals. It tells what we find
beautiful, fascinating, funny, delicious, meaningful, inspiring. It allows us to showcase our
style, interests, relationships, and adventures, to mark the passage of time. Photography
has been used in advertising, books, magazines, newspapers, television, and in research
to convey information and advertise products and services.

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The Digital Era of Photography

Until the present times, photography was quite a problematic type of art to maintain.
One may have cameras with different lenses, manual focus, and complicated settings.
However, with the advent of digital cameras, all this complexity vanished. Digital cameras
have a different way of saving images. Instead of using film, it uses a sensor in to save
images onto a digital memory card or internal storage ((Tolmachev, 2010; Ma, 2017).

Digital photography is the art of manipulating and producing digital pictures. It uses
electronic photodetectors to capture the image focused by the lens. The captured image
is stored as a computer file ready for digital processing, viewing, and publishing.

The technique in photography originated during early-to-mid 1600s. It started from

the camera’s predecessor known as the camera obscura (a Latin word which means “dark
room”). It was a box wherein when the light went through the pinhole it formed an image
on the glass. The famous artists of the Renaissance who use the obscura were Leonardo
da Vinci and Michael Angelo.

In the 1820s, Joseph Niepce, a French scientist improve the lithography, a method
of printing technique which is based initially on the immiscibility of oil and water. Joseph
discovered a way to copy engravings onto glass using a variety of materials (mainly
bitumen, a light-reacting asphalt). When light shined through the paper, it burned an
image into dark bitumen, which created an almost identical image from the original.

In the year 1900, photography became available to everybody. Its fame started with
George Eastman, who was the founder of the Eastman Kodak Company. The first camera
open to the public was the Kodak no 1.

On October 17, 1969, Willard Boyle and George Smith of Bell Laboratories invented
the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD), a type of sensor that is used to capture an image by
taking the light and translating it into digital data.

In December 1975, the first recorded attempt in the building of a prototype digital
camera was made by Steven Sasson, an engineer at Eastman Kodak. This camera
weighed 9 pounds and can record black and white images to a cassette tape. To view
the photos, the Kodak engineers had to develop a unique screen. It was able to capture
a .01 megapixel image (10,000 pixels) and took 23 seconds to record a copy to the tape.

In 1988, the first real digital camera that recorded images as a computerized file was
produced by the Fuji DS-1P. During this year, the first JPEG and MPEG standards were
fixed. These standards set in place a universal format which allowed images (JPEG) and
video (MPEG) to stored in a compressed form which can be recorded to a 16 MB internal
memory card.

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In 1990, Dycam Model became the first commercially available digital camera. It also
sold the Logitech Fotoman. It used a CCD (Charge Couple Device) image sensor, stored
pictures digitally, and connected directly to a computer for download (Said, 1990).

Rule of Thirds Composition

One of the main factors that differentiate a great photograph from an ordinary one is
composition, or how are objects/ subjects placed in the shot. The Rule of Thirds is a great
compositional technique for making photos more dynamic and exciting. It is also a
compositional rule for painting and photography.

The Rule of Thirds is also known as the guideline which applies to the process of
composing visual images like in painting, designs, and photographs (Meech, 1991). The
instruction proposes that the picture is visualized as divided into nine equal parts by two
equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and those essential
compositional elements should place along these lines. Proponents of the method claim
that aligning a subject with these points create more composition, energy, and tension
(Peterson, 2003).

The Rule of Thirds asserts that an image is most pleasing when its subjects poised
along imaginary lines which divide vertically and horizontally the image into thirds. It is
applied by aligning a subject with the guidelines and their intersection points, placing the
horizon on the top or bottom line (Krages, 2005).

Likewise, using the Rule of Thirds helps produce nicely balanced easy on the eye
pictures. Also, as you have to arrange things relative to the edges of the frame, it helps
get rid of small subject surrounded by vast space’ syndrome.

Types of Photography

Photography is one of the best favorite pastimes that many of us craved. A

photograph is definitely worth a thousand words and has the power to convey a whole

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new meaning of a particular condition. Different pictures are made to share its unique
characteristics of selectivity, instantaneity, and Credibility (Barrett, 2007). There are
several types of photography and thus, several kinds of photographers. The different
types of photography require various techniques, and types of photographer use their
talent in their meticulous field of expertise. The following are some standard photography
styles that enjoy a prominent position in the creative world.

Aerial Photography- It refers to the taking of photographs of the ground from an

elevated position. It is acquired through the use of a specialized camera mounted such
as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, drones, balloons, kites, parachutes, etc.

Astrophotography- It focuses entirely on taking images from space. This type could
vary from the planets to the stars or any other exciting configurations.

Commercial Photography- It is a photographic work done for commercial purposes,

such as corporate brochures and leaflets, menus in cafes and restaurants, magazine
advertising, merchandising, and product placement. It has various types such as:

a. Advertising photography- This type of photography is used to highlight a product,

service, brand or an individual, in print advertising (such as magazines,
newspapers, leaflet, etc).

b. Architecture and interior photography- This photography is used in capturing

images of structures and beauty of an interior space in which photographers use
lightning techniques to attract clients.

c. Automotive photography- This photography is utilized by car or automobile

companies and dealerships to promote brand new or existing cars, driving
awareness about a car’s features and benefits to potential clientele.

d. Food photography- This photography is a specialized category of commercial

photography which is used to capture the pictures of various cuisines and menus
in an attractive style.

e. Jewellery photographs- This photography is used in highlighting beautiful images

of bracelets, necklace, ring, and other jewellery items.

f. Journalism photography- This photography is the art of taking photographs which

are considered as attractive and goes along with news topics, to substantiate the
news story or report.

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g. Product photography- This photography is used in capturing excellent images to
attractively represents a product in advertising. It sometimes includes people as
part of the product. It attracts people to see someone they know or a face that is
likable to a product.

h. Sports photography- It is a type of photography which is utilized to write sports

news, using excellent cameras that take sharp pictures of players in action.

Fine Art Photography- It refers to highly creative images that have an abstract
influence. These photographs can be equal to an artist’s expression on painting.

Forensic Photography- It is also known as crime scene photography wherein the

work of the photographer is mainly to capture images for an accurate representation of
the scene of the crime.

Headshot Photography- This type of photography focuses mainly on the person’s

face. This is also known as mug shots.

Macro Photography- This type of photography is about close-up images of a

specific topic. It is commonly applied mainly to capture details of organisms or nature
that may not be visible to the naked eye.

Nature Photography- It encompasses all forms of photography where the main

subject has something to do with nature. It focuses on landscapes, wildlife, underwater,
and plants life as they are in their natural environment.

Nude Photography- It is about the portrayal of the human body in the naked form.

Portrait Photography- It is all about capturing the mood of a person, with an

emphasis on the face and expression of a person.

Still Life Photography- It is all about capturing objects on camera that are
deliberately grouped to create a particular composition. This requires the photographer
to have an excellent lighting technique.

Street Photography- It is all about capturing candid images of public places or even
people in their natural element. It requires the photographer the skill to mingle with people
and achieve the best frames.

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Travel Photography- It involves capturing images of a particular landscape,
traditions, and customs or even people from different places.

Essential Components and Features of a Camera

Cameras are beneficial devices and used for the sole purpose of capturing still
images, may it be for leisure or security. Any and every camera has some fundamental
parts which are very crucial for its functioning (Dachis, 2001). Some essential
components and features of a camera are as follow:

1. Aperture- It is an opening in which light travels through and can be adjusted to

control the amount of light that reached the image sensor.
2. Built-in Flash- It is used to capture a shot of dimly-lit views. It may automatically
fired in some modes.
3. Body. It is the housing for the camera.
4. Focus Point Selection Button- It is used to select the position to set the focus (the
AF point) during AF shooting.
5. Hot Shoe- It is the section of the top of the camera and used to attach a flash unit.
6. Lens- It is the eye of the camera.
7. Lens Mount- It is the section for connecting the exchangeable lens to the camera
body.
8. Lens Mount Index- It is an align mark on the lens and serves as a basis when you
are attaching or detaching a lens.
9. Lens Release Button- It is a button used when you want to disconnect the lens.
10. Live View Shooting (Movie Shooting Switch) - It is used to turn on or turn off the
Live View function.
11. MENU Button- It is used to display the menu for adjusting the different camera
operations.
12. Multi-Controller Key- It is used to move between the menu items or to move the
magnified display to a different point during image playback.
13. Self-Timer- It is used to delay the time between pressing the shutter button and
the camera taking the subject.
14. Shutter Release Button-It is the button found on many cameras used to take
photos.
15. Shutter Speed- It indicates the time interval during which the shutter is open.
16. Viewfinder Eyepiece- It is used to view the image of the subject you want to
capture.

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MY DISCOVERY TASKS

Rule of the Thirds

An image could be divided equally by two vertical and two horizontal lines. In general,
the four interactions of these lines will be the most exciting place for the primary subject/s.
The four lines and their intersections are the points of interest, and this is where you
should place your subject to create more balance in your photos.

Directions: Apply the rule of the Thirds in these pictures below by putting the grid lines
on them with emphasis on the subjects. Put in the box below the photo a

smiley emoji to the photos following the rule of thirds, and put the sad

emoji to the photo/s that does not represent the rule of thirds. (Photo
Credit: the author owns all photos below)

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Picture Analysis: Look at the picture carefully. Make your title of this and explain the
message conveyed by the photo. (Photo Credit: The author owns the
picture below).

Title:__________________________________________________________________

Explaination:
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MY TREASURE

Directions: Reflect on the quote below. Write it on the space provided for you.
“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What
you have caught on film is captured forever…it remembers little
things, long after you have forgotten everything.”
Aaron Siskind

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Directions: Reflect on what you have learned after taking up this lesson by completing
the chart below.

What were your thoughts or ideas I thought that…

about intercultural communication
prior to the discussion of this
lesson?

What new or additional ideas did I learned that…

you learn after taking up this
lesson?

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Flexible Learning Task No. 7
PHOTO ESSAY

Directions: A photo-essay is a set or series of photographs that are made to create

series of emotions in the viewer. A photo essay will often
show pictures in deep emotional stages. Photo essays range from
purely photographic works to photographs with captions or small
comments to full text essays illustrated with photographs. Create a photo
essay that tells a significant steps you have taken to cope with the
challenges brought by this pandemic represented by photographs. The
article must have a minimum of five and a maximum of 10 pictures.
Then, connect the message depicted by each photo by writing captions.

MY SUPPLEMENTS

Gildow, C. (2012). Art Appreciation. Retrieved last August 18, 2020 from
https://learn.canvas.net/courses/24

SBCTC & Lumen Learning. (n.d.) Art Appreciation. Retrieved last August 18, 2020 from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/masteryart1/

Art Class Curator. (2020). Art Appreciation. Retrieved last August 21, 2020 from
https://artclasscurator.com/principles-of-design-
examples/#:~:text=The%20principles%20of%20design%20are,a%20wide%
20range%20of%20effects.

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