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Photography and Photographic Practice

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Photography and photographic practicePhotography, or photo-imaging, is a major industry of the media sector in its own right with a wide variety of applications, from the production of personal records such as wedding photographs or family portraits to technical applications such as industrial or medical photography.

Digital technology is rapidly changing the way in which images are produced and digital imaging is becoming increasingly prevalent within the industry. Many professional photographers now shoot exclusively in a digital format, and are required to do so by their clients.

You will be able to explore the capabilities of digital imageproduction and how digital cameras and processes can be controlled and manipulated to produce the desired effect. The unit will also allow you to develop their analytical skills and visual literacy, and gain a contextualand cultural awareness of photography.

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Photography and photographic practice

There are many different applications for photography. It is used in a whole range of different industries and each can require a different set of skills.

In this unit, you will look at a range of applications for photography before deciding on which interests the most.

You will then plan, produce and evaluate your own photographic work.

Along the way you will also get to know the cameras and how you can take control of them so you are getting the photos you want and not the photos the camera thinks you should have.

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Photography and photographic practiceBasic terminology:

Wide lens: These create a wide view taking in a lot of the scene. Objects need to be close to the lens to be captured in detail. Used when you want to capture a whole scene.

Long (telephoto) lens: Takes a narrow view of the scene but can capture objects which are far away in great detail. Used when you can’t get close to your subject.

4Creative Media Production 2012Wide lens Long lens

These images were taken from the same spot using different lenses to give two very different photos

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Photography and photographic practiceBasic terminology:

Controlled/manipulated:Scenes , objects and models are posed and adjusted to create the right image.

Observational/candid.These images don’t influence the elements within them, prefer to capture them as they are.

5Creative Media Production 2012Controlled Observational

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Photography and photographic practiceBasic terminology:

Artificial light:Adding light to a scene through the use of lamps. Often used in studios but can be used outdoors too.

Natural/Ambient light:These images are taken using the available light only.

6Creative Media Production 2012Artificial light Ambient light

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Basic terminology:

Post production:This is what happens to images once they have been taken. Sometimes only basic adjustments such as sharpening take place. This is more likely with documentary and photojournalism. Sometimes further adjustments such as levels, saturation and cropping take place.

In advertising and fashion photography a huge amount of post-product can take place to get the right image. Models can be made to look extremely different by skilled photoshop users.

Landscape photographers often use post production techniques to get the most from their images by burning in shadows, dodging highlights and boosting colour saturation.

Post production started a long time before photoshop and masters of the dark room could do incredible things to images.

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Photography and photographic practiceBefore and after

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Photography and photographic practice

Learning outcome 1

Understand different applications of photography

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Advertising and promotional:Advertising photography is perhaps the most ubiquitous form of photography today.

Advertising photography can take many different forms and use many different techniques depending on the product it is advertising.

Advertising photography is all about creating an image which best sells a given product.

Promotional photography is similar to advertising photography although it may be commissioned in order to raise the profile of a product but not for direct advertising purposes.

Often the images are very controlled and then heavily edited to get the best out of them. Artificial lighting is often used. A range of lenses may be used depending on the nature of the shoot.

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This photograph is simple, stylish and clean. This reflects the product.

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This promotional image for a band gives clues as to the genre of music

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Photography and photographic practiceFashion:The purpose of fashion photography is to sell clothes and promote fashion labels.

Fashion photography mostly appears in magazines and newspapers but is also used in catalogues and on the internet.

Fashion photography is about showing off the clothing whilst creating a mood or a moment in the story.

Fashion photography sometimes takes the form of editorial work which involves several pages of image from a shoot in a fashion magazine.

Shoots often happen in studios or on constructed sets but can also take place on location. Lighting is often manipulated and the images heavily staged and then edited. A range of lenses may be needed depending on the shoot.

Styles vary hugely depending on the photographer, designer and end use.14Creative Media Production 2012

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David Bailey’s fashion photography helped define fashion in the 1960’s15Creative Media Production 2012

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Photography and photographic practicePhotojournalism:

Photojournalists create pictures that contribute to the news media and help tell a story. War, sport and paparazzi style photography are just a few of the styles that fall in this category.

Photojournalism works within the same ethical approaches to objectivity that are applied by other journalists.

Photographic manipulation is a big issue in photo journalism. Whist some believe that small adjustments can be made others feel that no post production is acceptable with these kinds of images.

Images are generally observational rather than staged and the use of additional light is often limit to just a flash gun.

If the photographer is close to the action then wider lenses are generally used. Longer, telephoto lenses are used if the photographer if further away. 16Creative Media Production 2012

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Robert Capa took this image of a soldier falling in the Spanish Civil War.

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Portraiture:Portrait Photography is one of most common forms of photography. Portrait photography, which is also called, more often than not, portraiture, is the art of capturing a subject in which the face, facial features as well as facial expressions are made predominant. http://www.headshotlondon.co.uk/what-is-a-portrait-photography/

The constructionist approach is when the photographer constructs an idea around the portrait — happy family, romantic couple, trustworthy executive. It is the approach used in most studio and social photography. This may involve artificial lighting and post-production.

The environmental approach depicts the subject in their environment be that a work, leisure, social or family one. With the environmental approach more is revealed about the subject.

The candid approach is where people are photographed without their knowledge going about their daily business. It captures a moment of everyday life as it happens. These are observational images and rely on the ambient light.

The Creative Approach is where image manipulation is used to produce portraits. It is becoming a popular form of portraiture with high street studios.

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A candid image of a young couple on a train. Henri Cartier-Bresson

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Photography and photographic practiceHigh street studio:

High street studio photograph can involve a few different types of photography such as portraiture and wedding photography.

Large franchises such as Venture concentrate on pieces of wall art and family portraits. They popularised the high key look of modern family portraits.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for independent high street photographers to survive. High rents often mean that home studios are becoming more popular for independent photographers.

Studios use artificial lights to create a range of moods. Images often then go through post-production to edit them and get the right look. Wide lenses are generally used due to the working space in the studio being restricted.

Styles vary wildly but Venture have pioneered the high key look for their image.

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An example of Venture’s high key, family fun photography

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Photography and photographic practiceArchitectural:

Architectural photography is the photographing of buildings and similar structures.

Architectural photographers, are usually skilled in the use of specialised techniques and equipment such as tilt shift lenses.

Images can be used for architects, consulting engineers, surveyors, property developers, construction companies, hoteliers and other building related disciplines for a range of applications such as brochures, adverts, web sites and editorial features.

Depending on the end use of the images they may or may not be edited. There are distinctly different styles used for engineers and surveyors compared to hoteliers.

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An interior view of stair case shows off the craftsmanship involvedCreative Media Production 2012

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Photography and photographic practiceIllustration:

Photographs are often used alongside newspaper articles to give the reader more information.

Illustration can be used to influence how the reader feels about something.

Illustration may take the form of detailed, step by step images designed to convey information in text books or other educational literature.

Styles, techniques and equipment vary hugely depending on the subject. You will have to consider what you think has been used in your chosen images.

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Photographs have been used to illustrate this book on Japanese birds25Creative Media Production 2012

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Medical Photography:

Medical Photographers produce accurate and objective images that truthfully record injuries and diseases, as well as the progress of operations and medical procedures.

Their work can used for measurement and analysis, as well as to accompany medical or scientific reports, articles or research papers.

Most Medical Photographers work in small medical illustration departments in hospitals or medical schools.

They normally use digital cameras and flash to photograph patients on the wards and in the operating theatre during surgery, as well as bodies in the post mortem room.

They employ a variety of specialist photo imaging techniques and equipment for more complex situations, including micro- and macrography, thermal imaging, time-lapse cinematography, endoscopy (to photograph internal organs), and photography outside the visible spectrum.

http://www.creativeskillset.org/photo/careers/photographers/article_3425_1.asp

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Medical photography can involve producing images of medical equipment 27Creative Media Production 2012

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Fine art photography:

Fine art photography can involved so many different styles of photography and use so many photographic techniques that a definition can be hard to come by.

Subjects can be anything but nudes, architecture and wildlife are all popular. Images can be colour or black and white. They may have a large amount of post production done or nothing. They could be portraits, landscapes, seascapes...

Whereas photojournalism provides illustration for news events and commercial photography is used to advertise products or services, fine art is made for no other purpose.

Fine art images are usually produced for sale as prints or in books rather than being used in another context.

"Photography that is done as a fine art -- that is, done to express the artist's perceptions and emotions and to share them with others“ Gloria McDarrah

"A picture that is produced for sale or display rather than one that is produced in response to a commercial commission" Terry Hope

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An extremely wide angle lens has been used for this fine art image

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DocumentaryDocumentary photography often describes working on long term projects with complicated, multi-strand narratives, while photojournalism concerns more breaking news stories.

This is usually done with observational photography rather than staging. Images may be subject to some post production but not to the extend of fashion or advertising photography. A range of lenses can be used depending on the situation.

Documentary photography gives the photographer the opportunity to show the layers of life and the aspects of the daily existence of their subjects. Instead of trying to tell a story with a single image, produced to a tight newspaper deadline, documentary photography uses multiple images to help tell the story.

It’s better suited to reproduction in magazines where their is more space for images and where the reader expects to spend more time with them than in a newspaper.

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Dorothea Lange documented the effects of the depression in 1930’s rural America31Creative Media Production 2012

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Photography and photographic practiceThere are many different places and situations where photography might be seen. When thinking about each application, you should also consider the context in which they might appear.

Contexts:

MagazinesNewspapersHoardingsBooksWeb pagesFor individual clientsGalleries

You may find some applications could appear in lots of contexts whilst others may be more limited.

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Photography and photographic practiceTask 1: (P1, M1, D1)You have been commissioned to produce the opening chapter for a book on photography applications.

For each application you should:Clearly define and explain the photographic applications listed below. You should include the names of past and current photographers working in the field. Outline a range of contexts for each application or use of photography (photojournalism: magazines such as Life, The Economist, National Geographic or Heat.) Include multiple examples for each application. Make sure you annotate at least 1 photo per application. You should focus on visual and technical elements.

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Consider characteristics of the application of this type of photo. For example, are they usually studio photos? Are they natural or heavily edited and manipulated photos? Are they staged or observational photos? Areas to consider and include details on: Whether or not the photos are controlled or manipulated or are observational?  Whether or not artificial or natural light is mainly used?  What kind of lenses might be used? For example a telephoto is often required for sports and nature whilst wide angles are often used for architecture.  To what extent is post production (Photoshop) normally used?  Are there any typical styles that relate to this application of photography?

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Students will:

Critically evaluate different applications of photography with supporting arguments and elucidated examples, consistently using subject terminology correctly


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