Assignment 1
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The elements of art are the building blocks used by artists to create a work of art.
Value and Tone - The quality of light and dark, both in terms of color and shades of gray in a composition. Light and dark values give you visual clues about the shapes and forms of objects. Black and white photos rely completely on tone because of their lack of color.
Lightness, or value, varies vertically along the axis, from black (value 0) at the bottom, to white (value 10) at the top. At 0% brightness, both hue and saturation are meaningless. Neutral grays lie along the vertical axis between black and white.Value (sometimes called lightness/tone) is a property of a color or size of a color space, which is defined to reflect the subjective perception of brightness of a color for humans along the lightness-darkness axis. The lightness of a color also represents its amplitude. Value is defined as the relative lightness or darkness of a color. This is an important tool for photographers by the way it defines the shape. Contrast of values separates objects in space, while the gradation of the value suggests a mass and contour of an adjacent surface. When the tones in the image have similar brightness, space loses its depth because the contrast is weak.
Value and Tone - The quality of light and dark, both in terms of color and shades of gray in a composition. Light and dark values give you visual clues about the shapes and forms of objects. Black and white photos rely completely on tone because of their lack of color.
Lightness, or value, varies vertically along the axis, from black (value 0) at the bottom, to white (value 10) at the top. At 0% brightness, both hue and saturation are meaningless. Neutral grays lie along the vertical axis between black and white.Value (sometimes called lightness/tone) is a property of a color or size of a color space, which is defined to reflect the subjective perception of brightness of a color for humans along the lightness-darkness axis. The lightness of a color also represents its amplitude. Value is defined as the relative lightness or darkness of a color. This is an important tool for photographers by the way it defines the shape. Contrast of values separates objects in space, while the gradation of the value suggests a mass and contour of an adjacent surface. When the tones in the image have similar brightness, space loses its depth because the contrast is weak.
CAsting imagery
First of all, what are shadows?
A shadow is the contour created when an object or person blocks rays of light from reaching a surface. The shape of a shadow changes based on its relationship with its light source. The distance, angle, and size of the source work together to determine the intensity, form, and scale of the shadow. Cast shaddows The cast shadow is a darker shadow, because the light has been blocked. A cast shadow occurs on a floor or background where an object or form has block the light therefor creating a shadow in the exaggerated shape of the fore mentioned object. It is darkest where the shadow starts next to the object. The farther the shadow is from the object the softer and lighter the shadow becomes. Though conceptually similar and equally effective,cast shadows and silhouettes can be independent subjects apart of the initial object in the field of photography. Artist have been maniputating this physical occurance and creating art from since the birth of people and art. |
Mind-bending Shadow Photos by Alexey Bednij
The Russian artist creates all kinds of intriguing graphic shadow art. His subjects, including groups of pigeons, cats, dogs, and even people, are all perfectly placed with shadows perfectly cast. The sharp contrast of black and white tones along with Bednij’s composition create a visual pattern of shapes in both the negative and positive spaces. Similar to an M.C. Escher drawing, Bednij’s work creates impossible realities that capture his viewers’ attention and keep us lingering in an attempt to better understand the visual whirl of confusion.
The Russian artist creates all kinds of intriguing graphic shadow art. His subjects, including groups of pigeons, cats, dogs, and even people, are all perfectly placed with shadows perfectly cast. The sharp contrast of black and white tones along with Bednij’s composition create a visual pattern of shapes in both the negative and positive spaces. Similar to an M.C. Escher drawing, Bednij’s work creates impossible realities that capture his viewers’ attention and keep us lingering in an attempt to better understand the visual whirl of confusion.
How to photograph shadows.
To master the art of shadow photography, there are a few important steps to take.
- Decide how you aim to use the shadows. Do you want them to subtly accentuate a subject? Or do you wish to highlight their effect on it? Perhaps you want to create a composition entirely focused on them. The choice is yours!
- Consider the positioning and quality of your light source.If it’s far away and faint, the shadow will be softer and less defined than a closer, stronger illumination. Similarly, the direction of the light directly affects the shape of a shadow. If an object is lit from the front (or front-lit), the shadow will be difficult to capture on camera, as it will fall behind the subject. Contrarily, if the object is backlit, it will cast a shadow toward the front of the composition. This technique can also be tricky, however, as the light can cast a lens flare. Fortunately, this can be remedied with certain tools, including a lens hood (see a selection on Amazon). The best approach, then, is to position or capture the light at an angle so that the shadow forms to the object’s left or right. In this case, the object is side lit.
- Pay attention to placement.Be aware of both the object that will create the shadow and the surface it will be cast upon. Like the positioning of the light source, this can drastically alter your composition. The key is to experiment.
- Be creative—especially with color! Black and white photos can emphasize the contrast of shadows, while color images capture the unique tones that comprise a shadow. Believe it or not, they’re not always a monotonous black or grey.
Shadow Practice: Assignment 2
Your Value Assignment : Shadows as the Subject
Objectives:
- Learning to look at light and shadow in a new way
- Shooting digital photos to explore the ways in which light & shadow are important elements.
- Demonstrating that you can find a proper exposure.
- Demonstrating that you can turn a color image into a black & white image in Photoshop.
- Adjusting the LEVELS and CURVES of our images in Photoshop.
Assignments Steps:
- You will need to bring objects from home that you think would create an interesting shadow.
- You will also need to have a light source to create different shadows. This can be a flashlight from home or your flashlight on your phone.I have some flood lights you can use too
- You will need to work in pairs at least so One person will hold the light, the other will hold the camera. Remember, every student needs to turn in their own picture.
Taking the Pictures (15 practice shots) 25pt
1. Think of ways to create an interesting composition with the object and the shadow the object creates. You may need to move around the object.
- Make choices to create visually strong compositions with camera angles and orientation.
2. The photo will need to be in black and white and you need to edit in photo shop to make sure the value in the picture looks good. (There should be a range of grays in the photo plus pure black and pure white).
Editing:100 pt
1. Convert your photo to black and white and adjust the color sliders as needed.
- image> adj> black and white
- -to Image> adj> exposure
- image> adj> curves
See this site for more information: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/levels-adjustment.html
3. Use other editing tools as needed: Crop, clone (on an image layer), sharpen, reduce noise, dodge, burn, etc.
Sharpening: http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-photoshop-cs6/sharpening-an-image-with-unsharp-mask
Noise Reduction: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/reduce-noise/
Sign language SHADOWS: Assignment 3
Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning. Sign languages are primarily expressed through hand gestures and configurations. each gesture conveys a word , letter or meaning.
Groups of deaf people have used sign languages throughout history. One of the earliest written records of a sign language is from the fifth century BC, in Plato's Cratylus, where Socrates says: "If we hadn't a voice or a tongue, and wanted to express things to one another, wouldn't we try to make signs by moving our hands, head, and the rest of our body, just as dumb people do at present?" In linguistic terms, sign languages are as rich and complex as any spoken language, despite the common misconception that they are not "real languages". It is complex and follow much of the same rules of other languages while being visually beautiful and complex. Sign linguists rely on sense of sight to convey their message while they convey their message through a deliberate and complex shaping and gesturing of hands. Using photography we are going to capture this and the beautiful impact. https://www.handspeak.com/ |
Worksheet: |
Your Sign Language Assignment :Spelling with shadows
Objectives:
Assignments Steps:
Taking the Pictures
1. Think of ways to create an interesting composition while still having the sign language visible..
2. The photo will need to be in black and white and you need to edit in photo shop to make sure the value in the picture looks good. (There should be a range of grays in the photo plus pure black and pure white).
Editing:
1. Convert your photo to black and white and adjust the color sliders as needed.
See this site for more information: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/levels-adjustment.html
3. Use other editing tools as needed: Crop, clone (on an image layer), sharpen, reduce noise, dodge, burn, etc.
Sharpening: http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-photoshop-cs6/sharpening-an-image-with-unsharp-mask
Noise Reduction: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/reduce-noise/
4) arrange one photo of each letter and collage them together
Objectives:
- Learning to see shadows as objects and subjects
- Shooting digital photos to explore the ways in which light & shadow can spell a word
- Demonstrating that you can find a proper exposure.
- arranging and organizing multiple pictures that spell out a word in sign language
Assignments Steps:
- You will need to pick a word
- practice each letter in sign language and photograph each signed letter. focus and consider the shadows as part of your composition.
- consider the lighting you want to use and what backdrop
- You will need to work in pairs at least so One person will hold the light, the other will hold the camera. Remember, every student needs to turn in their own picture.
Taking the Pictures
1. Think of ways to create an interesting composition while still having the sign language visible..
- Make choices to create visually strong compositions with camera angles and orientation.
2. The photo will need to be in black and white and you need to edit in photo shop to make sure the value in the picture looks good. (There should be a range of grays in the photo plus pure black and pure white).
Editing:
1. Convert your photo to black and white and adjust the color sliders as needed.
- image> adj> black and white
- -to Image> adj> exposure
- image> adj> curves
See this site for more information: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/levels-adjustment.html
3. Use other editing tools as needed: Crop, clone (on an image layer), sharpen, reduce noise, dodge, burn, etc.
Sharpening: http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-photoshop-cs6/sharpening-an-image-with-unsharp-mask
Noise Reduction: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/reduce-noise/
4) arrange one photo of each letter and collage them together
Group Crit. worksheet
open the presentation above. I will give you a question on the board and you will pick which slide best fits the question. You will need to add a comment on the slide and answer why.