Caption Writing

Sing It!
The day of the concert, senior Bobby Joesmith and juniors James Nelson, Abraham Blanco, Sarah Ammon, and Lisa Ellis rehearse in preparation. “ I absolutely love singing , ” Blanco said. “ Everyday I look foward to 6th period choir. It’s my favorite class of the day.” Photo by Karlie Salas.

Last 4 Tips..

7. Move it From the Middle (rule of thirds)

      Yes, a repeat but maybe it's just THAT important! Just remember to give your photo "breathing room". You might need to lock the focus in some cases.

8. Know your flash's range

     No example for this one but be sure you know how far your flash will work. After a certain amount of feet the flash becomes useless if it doesn't hit an object. An easy way to find this is in your camera's manual or just play around with your camera and see what looks good. I know that the flash on my camera is about 10 feet. So, I know that when I'm using flash I shouldn't stand more than 10 feet away from my subject.

9. Watch the light

     Think about where the sun is (or any other light source). Avoid shadowed faces or taking pictures under a shadow. The best time to take pictures of someone is in the morning and at dusk. A favorite among photographers is "magic hour". This is usually 30-45 minutes before the sun sets. Just remember to consider the time of day

10. Be a picture director

       When taking group pictures take an extra minute to fixate your friends so that the picture is not just a boring group picture. Add props, rearrange people, or try a different angle! Let your subject's personality shine! If you're really good, you can get yourself in the photo too!!

Black & White with One Color

In photoj we learned how to make an image black and white and change the saturation and hues. After, we then "erase" the black and white so that the original color shows instead. This picture is my favorite of the three I worked on.

Tips 4, 5, and 6

Continue taking better pictures with these next tips!


4. Move In Close (Fill the Frame)
      Instead of taking a picture of the scene as a whole, try focusing on one aspect of the scene (a single flower instead of a flower bed). An easy way to do this is to just simply move a few steps closer towards your subject. You could also just zoom in until your subject fills the viewfinder. It's also a good idea to use macro on smaller subjects. That way, you'll get sharper close-ups. 

5. Lock the Focus
     Used for creating a sharper image of an off-center subject. Basically, you'll want to
        a) center the subject
        b) press the shutter button half-way down
        c) re-frame the picture (while still holding down the shutter button)

        d) Take the picture!

6. Take Vertical Pictures
     Many subjects look better in a vertical photo rather than a regular ol' horizontal one. This doesn't require a skill. Just make a conscious effort to turn your camera sideways! Simple, I know.

     

Three composition tips

There are ten things to keep in mind when taking photos whether for fun or for publishing. Today I learned the first three in photojournalism.

1. Eye-Level

     When taking photos, especially of pets and children, it's a good idea to KNEEL or BEND down to THEIR eye-level. Instead of just simply looking down at the subject, look at the subject eye to eye. Or eye to lens. This creates a sense of intimacy. 

2. Check Background

    Usually, people don't take the time to notice what is behind their subject. It's not always pretty. Many times, the background may look cluttered and that creates a distraction and takes away the focus from the subject. If you are in a situation where you can't make your subject move, move yourself! Try to position yourself so that when you are taking your picture, the background emphasizes rather than distracts. If you can't change the background you may also try blurring it instead. Also, watch out for trees and poles that appear to "sprout" out of people's head or shoulders. The human eye views things in 3-D. The camera not so much. When looking at a photo, everything is flat. So be sure to not shoot a photo of someone standing in front of a pole or a tree.

3. Fill Flash
   Using flash outdoors may not be so obvious, but it really does help. Honestly, using flash outdoors is more of a situational technique. It's usually most helpful if your subject is in a shadow or is wearing hat that shadows the face. It also depends on what your subect is wearing, where the sun is, the time of day, etc,. Turning your flash on is a great thing to do on a cloudy day. It brightens faces and makes the subject stand out from the background. Three things to consider about using flash outside are:
     - Is your subect in shadow?
     - Is your subject backlit (more light behind the subject rather than to the side or in front)?
     - Does your flash reach far enough? On regular cameras with the internal flash, you are safer standing 10-15 feet from your subject otherwise, the flash won't make a difference at all.

MHS Photowalk (:

After we learned the basics of photojournalism and about a few techniques, we all grabbed our cameras and went for a walk around the school. The assignment: take several pictures using the techniques we learned about.

This first photo is an example of framing.

Framing is the use of a secondary element (the railing) to highlight or emphasize the subject (the white mustang). Instead of just taking a picture from a downwards angle(which is also a good technique) I had to bend down and shoot the photo from in between the rails, emphasizing the white mustang. The words 'Memorial' and 'Mustang' are framing the horse as well.

I took this photo using the "worm's-eye-view" angle. The opposite of a "bird's-eye-view".

One very important thing to remember when taking pictures is to vary your angle! Instead of snapping a photo at eye-level, using a different angle makes the picture a lot more interesting and it catches the viewer's eye. I just sat underneath this basket and looked up. I don't really like the way the lights blind me but I didn't think about that when I was taking this...

This is a tree. Just a regular ol' tree outside in the courtyard. The only thing special about this tree is that it was shot using the rule of thirds.

 The rule of thirds means the main subject of a photo is not directly in the center. Imagine a rectangle with two lines running across horizontally and two lines across vertically. Those lines cross each other at four points. These points are the ideal focal points. Notice the trunk is not exactly in center. It's to the left a bit..yeah, that was done on purpose.

Photojournalism |ˌfōtōˈjərnəˌlizəm|

Today in Photojournalism, we went over the basic composition of what photojournalism is and here are three things I learned.
1. Photojournalists are not out to try to persuade their viewer. They only present the picture as is and let the audience form their own opinion.
2. The three main qualities of photojournalism that it distinguish from other forms of photography are :
    - Timeliness
    - Objectivity
    - Narrative
3. Photographs are a universal language. Just about everyone in the world knows what a camera is and knows how to operate one. It does not matter if there is a language barrier, photos are understood by EVERYONE



I'll just go ahead and add a fourth. Photographers cannot be shy! Ahem, that is the word that most people use to describe me! So this is a great chance to learn to put myself out there :) Can't wait!