Creative Inventions and Robotics

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Digital Photography
Creative Inventions and Robotics www.build-it-you
rself.com
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What youll need

1. Digital camera
2. Windows or Mac computer
3. Adobe Elements or Photoshop or equivalent
4. PowerPoint

What youll learn

1. Qualities of a good photo.
2. File management
3. Digital image theory
4. Digitally reworking images
5. Composing a photo journal
6. Making a photo journal come alive

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The Problem
Wars are everywhere. Many people around the
world dont trust others. Why is it like that?
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Your Mission
Help the next generation of leaders and builders
to understand the history, culture and traditions
of other lands. Compose a photo journal that
describes why your life, country, and community
are good. Collect images that show what could be
improved. Make your photo journal tell a story
and then share your story with other kids around
the world.
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Components of a great picture

• Composition
• Simplicity
• Contrast
• Rule of thirds
• Perspective
• Know your frame
• Foreground Background
• Color
• Shadow
• Focus
• Lighting
• Exposure

Ansel Adams
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Components of a great picture

• Composition
• Simplicity
• Contrast
• Rule of thirds
• Perspective
• Know your frame
• Foreground Background
• Color
• Shadow
• Focus
• Lighting
• Exposure

Annie Liebowitz
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Components of a great picture

• Composition
• Simplicity
• Contrast
• Rule of thirds
• Perspective
• Know your frame
• Foreground Background
• Color
• Shadow
• Focus
• Lighting
• Exposure

Harold Edgerton
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Composition
Which picture is more interesting? Why?
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Foreground vs. Background
Which picture of flowers is more
interesting? Why?
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Fill the Frame
Only a small section of the frame is interesting
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Color
Dramatic color contrasts
Little color contrast
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Shadow
but they dont always work cause sometimes you
cant dig the subject
Shadow that works because the outline is cool. Do
you feel scared?
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Focus
Focus on eyes
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Interest

• Use odd numbers.
• Spontaneous vs. staged.
• Find dramatic or memorable angles.
• Look for contrasts.
• Frame points of interest, often off-center.
• Focus on points of interest, especially eyes.
• What story is the picture telling?

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The Camera Basics

• Turn it on
• Quick View
• Zoom in
• Zoom out
• Focus
• Shutter button

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Subjects

• Texture
• Shapes
• Nature
• Emotion
• Action
• Color

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Rules Before We Shoot

• Wear your Wrist Strap
• Stay with your buddy
• Think about your photos
• Explore your subject thoroughly

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Uploading Your Photos

• Find a computer
• Plug in the Camera
• Import them to the photo library
• Make sure they are saved on the computer
• Check them out

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Five Rules of Composition

• Simplicity
• New perspective
• Rule of Thirds
• Use your foreground
• Know your frame

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Simplicity

• Chose your one subject before you take the shot
• Show your subject as clearly as possible
• Avoid distracting hot spots
• Avoid distracting shapes
• If you take a picture of everything you take a
  picture of nothing.

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New Perspective

• We have knees so use them
• Dont just show us the same perspective that we
  see every day. Get Creative!
• The most interesting photos may be the ones taken
  while lying on the floor or standing on a rock.
• Show us a new cool perspective of your subject
  that makes your photo more interesting

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Rule of Thirds

• Asymmetry makes photos more interesting

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Use your foreground

• The foreground can be a useful tool to draw your
  viewer into the photo
• When used right it can also help to make your
  photo more interesting
• Try putting objects in your foreground that
  compliment and dont distract from your subject

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Know Your Frame

• It is your photo so know everything that goes
  into it
• Get that distracting leaf out of the corner or
  that bright reflection away from your subject
• Before you press the button scan the whole frame
  from top to bottom to make sure you want
  everything you see

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Lighting

• When and how to use your flash
• Backlighting
• Dappled lighting
• Indoor lighting vs. Natural Lighting
• How to use shadows

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The Flash how it works

• The flash button is the lightening button on the
  back
• By pressing it you can chose which mode you want

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The Flash modes

• Auto the camera chooses how bright to make the
  flash based on the amount of light coming into
  the camera
• Eye Ball red eye flash takes away red eye by
  flashing quickly before the shot is taken
• Lightening bolt full flash, the camera puts the
  flash at full power
• Crossed out bolt the flash is turned off.

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Backlighting

• When something is lit from the back by a light
  shining towards your camera
• This means that the camera cannot get very much
  detail out of the front of the subject because
  the back is so bright
• Normally you want to avoid allowing your subject
  to be lit from behind
• If a subject must be lit from behind try turning
  your flash on to light the front
• Can be cool sometimes when trying to make a
  silhouette

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Dappled Lighting

• This happens a lot when you take a picture while
  your subject is in the shade of the tree
• The light coming through the leaves makes a lot
  of distracting hot spots in the frame
• It is best to avoid dappled lighting unless you
  have a good reason to use it

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Indoor and Natural Light

• Indoor and natural light are completely different
  colors natural light from the sun looks blue and
  indoor light looks yellow
• Which light you chose can drastically effect the
  mood of your photo. Pick the light that is right
  for your subject

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Shadows

• Shadows can make a photo very dramatic
• Shadows are an easy way to create contrast that
  can make your photo more interesting
• In order to get good shadows try turning your
  flash off and looking for subjects that are lit
  by only one light source

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Exposure

• What it is and how it works
• Detail
• Contrast
• Color

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What It Is And How It Works

• Choosing your exposure is choosing how light or
  dark to make your picture
• On the camera press the menu button and press
  mode menu go to the camera options and select
  the plus and minus sign in the black and white
  box
• From here you can make your exposure go up or
  down. If you go up you make the picture lighter
  and if you go down you make it darker

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Detail

• Exposure useful when trying to get detail out of
  a very dark or light subject
• If you are taking a picture of a person who looks
  almost white in your frame try to turn your
  exposure down to darken their face and see more
  detail
• if you are taking a photo of a very dark person
  or subject try turning the exposure up

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Contrast

• In your image you always want to have some bright
  areas and some dark areas
• Exposure is a good way to draw attention to your
  subject by making it stand out against a darker
  background or vice versa
• By turning your exposure up or down you can make
  the photo more interesting by creating more
  contrast

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Color

• Color can make an ok photo look amazing
• By lowering your exposure you can make hard to
  see colors stand out more
• Try not to use too many colors or your photo will
  become too complex and distracting