Photography Merit Badge

Matthew Longnecker

Requirement #1

• Explain how the following elements and terms affect the quality of a picture:

a) Light-natural light/ambient, flash b) Exposure-aperture (f-stops), shutter speed, depth of field c) Composition-rule of thirds, leading lines, framing, depth d) Angle of view e) Stopping action

1A Lighting

• “Natural” Light – light from the Sun (inside or outside)• “Ambient” Light – overall

illumination of an environment without the addition of lighting for photography. • “Flash” Light – artificial light

from a flash bulb

1A Lighting – Natural Light

1A Lighting – Ambient Light

1A Lighting - Flash

1B – Exposure (F-Stop, Shutter Speed, Depth of field)• Lens F-stops are measured “low” or “high”• f/2 is “low” stop—lets is more light• f/22 is “high” stop—lets in less light

1B – Exposure (F-Stop, Shutter Speed, Depth of field)

1B – Exposure (F-Stop, Shutter Speed, Depth of field)• f/2 – less depth-of-field• f/22 – more depth-of-field

1B – Exposure (F-Stop, Shutter Speed, Depth of field)

Depth of Field

Low F-stop(large opening)

High F-stop(small opening)

1B – Exposure (F-Stop, Shutter Speed, Depth of field)• Shutter speeds are measure as “fast” or “slow”• A fast speed is 1/1000 of a second• A slow speed is 1/2 of a second

1B – Exposure (F-Stop, Shutter Speed, Depth of field)

Fast Shutter Speed

1B – Exposure (F-Stop, Shutter Speed, Depth of field)

1C – Composition – Rule of Thirds

• Keep the subject of interest out of the center of the picture• Likely the most important rule of composition

1C – Composition – Rule of Thirds

1C – Composition – Leading Lines• A leading line can be almost anything: a road, path,

sidewalk, fence, river, hedge, tree line or shadow.

1C – Composition – Leading Lines

1C – Composition – Leading Lines

1C – Composition – Framing• .• Using trees or objects

to provide a natural“frame”

1C – Composition – Framing

1C – Composition – Depth• Using foreground objects to simulate depth.

1C – Composition – Depth

1D – Angle of View• Altering your angle can

provide more interestingphotographs.

1D – Angle of View

1D – Angle of View

1E – Stopping Action• Stopping action: The use of shutter speeds fast

enough to freeze motion and eliminate any motion blur • Use a “fast” shutter speed, like f/500 or f/1000• Need lots of light due to fast shutter speed

1E – Stopping Action

2 – How a Camera Works

3 – Difference Between Film and Digital

Digital Vs

Film

Film Camera ProsFamiliarity of UseQuality EnlargementsLess ExpensiveConvenient 1 hour photosNo computer needed

Film Camera ConsNo immediate resultsAll shots printedRequires more physical StorageDifficult to organizeCost of printsLimited # pictures per roll of film

These are from Merit Badge book and no longer true.

3 – Difference Between Film and Digital

Digital Vs

Film

Digital Camera ProsResults available immediatelyPhotos views and edited at homeLong term savingsControl what you deletePrint what you wantMemory cards hold more

Digital Camera ConsNeed Computer to printCamera cost moreMore Computer Storage neededTime ConsumingHigh resolution not readily available

These are from Merit Badge book and no longer true.

3 – Computer Software

• You can Crop Pictures• You can Label Picture• Can Lighten or Darken Pictures• You can make them black and white• You can change a care from red to blue• You can sharpen or blur images• You can just about do anything with computer software

4 – Topic of Interest

• Photographic Styles of different photographers

Style 1 – William Eggleston

• I chose William Eggleston for my first picture. His style is doing close ups on objects. I did a close up of a football sitting on a tee. I tried to get the main object in the shot but also a bit of the puddles of water behind it.

Style 2 – Stephen Shore

• For the second picture I chose Stephen Shore as the photographer because he always has pictures of long trail and roads. Almost something like you would see on a family road trip. I took a picture of a long trail in my neighborhood. I tried to focus on the main trail on the ground and I zoomed out all the way to make the trail look longer than it actually is.

Style 3 – Imogen Cunningham

• Imogen Cunningham has many photos of flowers and faces close up. I tried to mimic that with my dog. Imogen’s photos have emotion to them. He wants the viewer to feel what the photograph feels like. My dog at the time was really happy so I took a close up of his face to make the viewer happy.

Style 1 – Eugene Atget

• Eugene Atget does a lot of architectural photos. He took photos of big buildings, small shops and houses. I took a photo of my house from afar. I tried to capture the lines of the house as well as the surroundings just like Eugene.

5 – Career Opportunities

• Photojournalist (newspaper/magazine/web)• Sports photographer• Portrait/events photographer• Advertising photographer• “Location” photographer• Fashion photographer• Corporate photographer• Wildlife Photographer