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Strood AcademyGCSE Photography

PASSPORT

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1. Introduction to Photography at GCSE

2. Exam Board: Assessment Objectives - AO’s 1 - 4

3. Camera Functions: Canon & Nikon DSLR - Modes

4. Genre In Photography - Too many to mention…5. Key word Bank

6. Exposure Triangle

7. Key Elements in Photography

8. Workflow and Presentation of work - Mind Maps/Mood Page etc

9. Editing Techniques/Processes/Transfers

10. Tips…………..

Introduction to your Photography PassportThis Guide/Passport to support your Photography at GCSE will inform your learning of

the practical details relating to D.S.L.R. Cameras and will support your understanding of

different processes and techniques which will take you through your skills based

Foundation Course and will provide you with lifelong information as you follow your

pathway in Photography at GCSE.

It is essential to have some knowledge of the camera/s you will use in Digital

Photography

So that you may explore the different modes and functions of your camera.

You will also learn how to plan your shoots, edit your images & present your work, with

a guide to workflow and developing outcomes for your projects.

You will develop your skills in camera use, with further skills in creating & presenting

outcomes & encouraging you to explore different ways of working such as Hand

Rendering, with workshops to demonstrate transfer techniques in the presentation of

your work.

You must be focused and organised in your work and must follow the Project outline

presented by your tutor, and should gain confidence and inspiration from the knowledge

and exploration of different ways of working.

Asking a question or few is never wrong, always feel free to ask…..

Contents:

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Examination Board Assessment Objectives

Component details

Component 1: Portfolio: The content of the portfolio will be determined by the particular

requirements and nature of the course of study undertaken. There is no restriction on the

scale of work, media or materials used. Each student must select and present a portfolio

representative of their course of study. The portfolio must include both: 1 A sustained project

developed in response to a subject, theme, task or brief evidencing the journey from initial

engagement with an idea(s) to the realisation of intentions. This will give students the

opportunity to demonstrate, through an extended creative response, their ability to draw

together different areas of knowledge, skills and/or understanding from across their course of

study. 2 A selection of further work resulting from activities such as trials and experiments;

skills-based workshops; mini and/or foundation projects; responses to gallery, museum or site

visits; work placements; independent study and evidence of the student’s specific role in any

group work undertaken. The work submitted for this component will be marked as a whole.

Students should carefully select, organise and present their portfolio and must ensure that it

provides evidence of meeting all four assessment objectives. They must identify and

acknowledge sources which are not their own and provide evidence of drawing activity and

written annotation. Work selected for the portfolio should be presented in an appropriate

format and could include: mounted studies, sketchbooks, visual diaries, journals, design

sheets, design proposals, models, maquettes, prototypes, storyboards, video, photographic or

digital presentations, records of transient and site-specific installations. 3

Component 2: Externally set assignment: AQA will provide a separate externally set

assignment for each title, each with seven different starting points. Students must select

and respond to one starting point from their chosen title. The externally set assignment

provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate, through an extended creative

response, their ability to draw together different areas of knowledge, skills and/or

understanding in response to their selected starting point. The extended creative response

must explicitly evidence students’ ability to draw together different areas of knowledge,

skill and/or understanding from initial engagement with their selected starting point

through to their realisation of intentions in the 10 hours of supervised time. Students must

ensure that the total submission for Component 2 evidences coverage of all four

assessment objectives and evidence of drawing activity and written annotation. Students

must identify and acknowledge sources which are not their own. Externally set

assignments will be available to students and teachers from 2 January. They must be given

to students in their entirety and must not be edited, changed or abridged in any way. A

preparation period which can begin on or after 2 January is followed by 10 hours of

supervised unaided work in which students are required to realise their intentions.

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Canon 1300D

Nikon D300

Camera Functions

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Genre In PhotographyThere are so many Genres in Photography - different subjects/styles etc that it is hard to name them all…. You may find more than these and each area can be broken down to find more within each main area.Such as the Urban Photography associated with derelict and run down buildings and structures, decay and nature’s growth in such areas.

Macro photography/ Black and white photography/ Interior photography/ Dance photography

Landscape photography/ Documentary photograph / Composite photography/Infrared photography

Food photography/ Film photography/ Portrait photography/ Fashion photography

Commercial photography/ Wedding photography/ Underwater photography/ Water drop photography

Astrophotography/ Sports photography/ Still life photography/ Architecture photography

Drone photography/ Social and environmental photography/ Candid photography/ Animal photographyOutdoor photography/ Product photography/ Urban Photography/ Edited Photography

When you start a new project a mind map of your area of photography is a good way to consider different genre and sub genre….

To do it, follow these steps:

1 Grab a big notepad 2.You start with a basic term, for example “Portraiture”, as a first-generation word, writing it at the centre of a blank sheet of paper 3.Then you write words that you freely associate with the basic terms (like studio, identity, candid, light etc) as second-generation words around it, connecting them with a line 4.Now treat every word of the second generation like the first, which means you freely associate third-generation terms around each of the second-generation words.5. After the 4th or 5th generation you have dozens of interesting and creative ideas to give you a variation on the original theme “Portraiture”

This gives you a personal insight into what you like and your vision.

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Key Words/Phrases - Digital PhotographyExposure - Long/short/ Aperture/ Composition/ Depth of Field/ Focus,/ Manual, /Mode/

Shutter Speed/ White Balance/ Lens/ Functions/ Macro/ Bokeh/ Angle /Exposure/ Focal Point/

F.Stop/ Editing/ Angle/Studio/ Lighting/ model/Props/ Daylight/ Pose/ Camera

D.S.L.R/ Projection/ISO/ Auto Focus/ Manual Focus.

PHOTOGRAPHYEach of the three aspects of the triangle relate to light and how it enters and interacts with the

camera.

The three elements in photography are:

1. ISO: The measure of a digital camera sensor’s sensitivity to light

2. Aperture: The size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken

3. Shutter Speed: The amount of time that the shutter is open.

It is at the intersection of these three elements that an image’s exposure is worked out. Any change in one of the elements will impact the others. This means that you can never really isolate just one of the elements alone but always need to consider the others In traditional (film) photography ISO (or ASA) was the indication of how sensitive a film was to light. It was measured in numbers (100, 200, 400, 800 etc). The lower the number the lower the sensitivity of the film and the finer the grain in the shots you’re taking. In Digital Photography ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. The same principles apply as in film photography – the lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds. For example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze the action in lower light. However the higher the ISO you choose the noisier* shots you will get. *By noisier, I mean the amount of grain on an image.

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Key ElementsAperture is the opening in the lens, which when you hit the shutter release button of your camera a hole opens up that allows your camera’s image sensor to catch a glimpse of the scene you’re wanting to capture.The aperture that you set impacts the size of that hole. The larger the hole the more light that gets in and the smaller the hole the less light.

Aperture is measured in ‘f-stops’. They are often referred to as f/number - for example f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6,f/8,f/22 etc. Moving from one f-stop to the next doubles or halves the size of the amount of opening in the lens (and the amount of light getting through).

* Keep in mind that a change in shutter speed from one stop to the next doubles or halves the amount of light that gets in. This also means if you increase the shutter speed and decrease the Aperture ie- f.stop you let the same amount of light in. They essentially cancel each other out.

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Depth of Field (DOF) is the amount of your shot that will be in focus. Large depth of field means that most of your image will be in focus whether it’s close to the camera or far away. Small/shallow depth of field means that only part of the image will be in focus and the rest will be fuzzy. Aperture has a big impact upon depth of field. Large aperture will decrease depth of field while small aperture will give you larger depth of field. Basically, small numbers mean small DOF and large numbers mean large DOF*. (*to make it

easier to remember*

Shutter speed is “the amount of time that the shutter is open”. In film photography it was the length of time that the film was exposed to the scene you are photographing and similarly in digital photography shutter speed is the length of time that your image sensor ‘sees’ the scene you’re attempting to capture. Shutter speed is measured in seconds, The bigger the denominator the faster the speed, for example: 1/1000 is much faster than 1/30. However, anything slower than 1/60 is very difficult to use without getting camera shake. Camera shake is when your camera is moving while the shutter is open and results in blur in your photos.

SHUTTER SPEED ...CONTINUED If you’re using a slow shutter speed (anything slower than 1/40) you WILL need to use a tripod.

Takes photo right away,Freezes Motion…You would use a fast shutter speed for this type of shot, such as 1/250 of a second

Takes time to capture. Slows Motion….For this shot you would make the shutter speed longer such as ¼ of a second or more...

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DIGITAL LONG EXPOSURE Some cameras also give you the option for very slow shutter speeds that are not fractions of seconds but are measured in seconds: For example, 1 second, 10 seconds, 30 seconds etc. These are used in very low light situations, when going after special effect and/or when trying to capture a lot of movement in a shot. For Example, when taking a photo of a waterfall or seascape and want to show how fast the water is flowing, or when taking a shot of star trails and want to show how the stars move over a long period of time, or other moving objects/people. However in all these cases you NEED to use a tripod when shooting long exposure or you run the risk of ruining the shots by adding camera movement. (we don’t want camera movement). Some cameras give you the option to shoot in ‘B’ (bulb) mode*.

*Bulb mode lets you keep the shutter open for as long as you hold it down.

Another thing to consider when choosing shutter speed is the focal length of the lens you are using. Longer focal lengths will accentuate the amount of camera shake you have and so you’ll need to choose a faster shutter speed. The ‘rule’ of thumb to use with focal length is to choose a shutter speed with a denominator that is larger than the focal length of the lens. For example if you have a lens that is 50mm 1/60th is probably ok but if you have a 200mm lens you’ll probably want to shoot at around 1/250. Rule of thirds - Imagine that your image is divided into 9 equal segments by 2 vertical and 2

horizontal lines. The rule of thirds says that you should position the most important

elements in your scene along these lines, or at the points where they intersect. Doing so

will add balance and interest to your photo. Many Digital cameras even offer an option to

superimpose a rule of thirds grid over the LCD screen, making it even easier to use.

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Fibonacci discovered that this “golden spiral” appears in several places throughout nature, from

DNA molecules to flower petals, from hurricanes to the Milky Way. More importantly, the

Fibonacci spiral is pleasing to the human eye. Adrian Bejan, professor of mechanical

engineering at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, says the golden ratio is aesthetically pleasing

because of the evolution of human vision. Long story short, our brain has to

process everything our eyes see. The quicker it can process something, the more pleasing it is.

Any image with the golden ratio is processed faster by the brain, so it sends a signal that such an image is aesthetically pleasing.

Leading Lines - When we look at a photo our eye is naturally

drawn along lines.By thinking about how you place lines in your composition, you can

affect the way we view the image, pulling us into the picture, towards the subject, or on a

journey “through” the scene. There are many different types of line - straight, diagonal,

curvy, zigzag, radial etc - and each can be used to enhance our photo’s composition

COMPOSITION If you’ve read The Da Vinci Code, you know the Fibonacci sequence: you start with the

number 1, add the previous whole number, and make an endless series of numbers with that pattern. So the series looks like this:

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89...

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HOW TO USE THE SPIRAL

In terms of actual photography, you don’t need to worry about the technical explanation.

Fibonacci Spirals are useful for nearly every kind of photography, but they’re especially good

for landscapes and wide shots. As you can see, the spiral basically has a way of leading your eye

naturally from the focal point outwards.

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Photography - Cheats sheet..

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Title page…..Can Include the Project Title, your Name, Course Title, and Images to reflect the

subject you are studying…this may be combined with a mood page…..

Mood PageA mood board or mood page - shows in images and possibly some text the mood you

want to create in your work it can reflect the subject in images/ colours/ style etc...

Producing: Title Pages/ Mind Maps/ Brainstorming/ Mood Page

When starting a project in Photography, you will be required to make one or more of the following… A Title Page / A Mood Board or Page / A mind Map or Brainstorm

Mind Map/BrainstormsThese are both similar in that they - allow you to think about ideas and record

pathways for your development in your projects, so exploring a theme or title and expanding possible ideas ….

These are all methods of introducing your project, some are information and others enable you to explore the subject in more depth, whilst they provide the opportunity to make you think about ideas and options for development in your project, ideas you may come back to…….

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How to layout your sketchbook pages - artist research

One of the most overlooked aspects of completing a Photography GCSE is the laying out of your work in your sketchbook. Composition is key here, just like when you layout your images.

Firstly, we are going to look at how to arrange your artist research pages. It is vital that you have a title and a copy of the artist’s work that you are analysing. This will not only help you, but it will help the examiner to see that you actually understand what you are talking about!

When deciding how to layout your artist research it is best to make sure that the example of the artists work is close to where you are writing about that particular image. For example: if you look at the diagram below you will be able to see an example of an artist

1 2

imageTITLE

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research page in a sketchbook. If, for example you were talking about the artwork in paragraph one, then the image of the artwork would be too far away. However, if you were talking about the artwork in paragraph 3 this would be the perfect layout for the artist research. You must think about what you are going to talk about and where on the page it all needs to be laid out.

When you are writing titles in your sketchbook try to think about how to make them look as presentable as possible in the smallest amount of time. In this sketchbook they have used different coloured paper for the background and then simply drawn the font on and filled it in. It would not have taken long. Another option is to print your titles. Or, simply use neat handwriting. The point is that your titles will not gain you extra marks. Similarly, if the examiner

cannot make sense of your sketchbook then you may also lose marks. Keep your titles neat and presentable, but you do not need to spend 30 minutes making them, you only need to spend 30 seconds on them!

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How to write an artist research

Banned words and phrases:‘I like’‘Nice’‘Good’

Writing a successful artist research can seem like a daunting task, however, with planning and practice you will become an expert in no time!

First things first, you must know what you’re talking about! Do your research. Do not try and make it up, it will be very obvious if you do not understand the topic that you are talking about. You are also very lucky taking a subject like Photography. As photographers and artists will need to promote their work you will be able to find various articles and interviews with the artists themselves. These will be vital sources of information!

When starting your artist research it’s a good idea to start with an introduction, including a brief overview of the artist. We are not interested in what year they are born, how many brothers, sisters, dogs or cats that they had. Key pieces of information to include may be the era that they were making Art in, what Art they make and what they are influenced by. Here’s an example:

Martin Parr is a British photographer. He takes photographs depicting British culture, looking at stereotypes of locations and people that visit those locations.

After you have wrote a brief introduction (it does not need to be hundreds of lines long), you should begin to discuss what you are looking at. It is best to focus on one or a few pieces of the artists work, as this will make your artist research a lot clearer. You could even compare the artists work, looking at pieces from different eras or different collections. You must always include an image of the Artwork that you are analysing, this will make your life a lot easier! Try and use facts as well as giving our own opinion. For example:

Here, Martin Parr has taken a photograph of a woman on a beach carrying a sunlounger. I think that this image is successful because the woman is unaware of the fact that Parr is taking the image. He is captured her at moment that would not be seen again.

Finally, if you want to achieve the top grades, you should write about you wish to respond to the artist. Are you going to take a few ideas from the artist and add them to your own ideas? Are you going to recreate the artists ideas to understand them better? Or are you going to do something completely different as you didn’t like the artist? 16

Making a Selection

When presenting your contact sheets they can very easily and very quickly end up looking like wallpaper. You could end up with pages and pages of contact sheets. There are a few ways in which you can present your contact sheets to make them easier to access.

One idea of how to lay out your contact sheet is to staple them together to create a little booklet. This is probably the simplest idea. You can then attach it to your sketchbook with your best images highlighted to show your photo selection. Similarly, you can do the same by punching holes in your contact sheet and attaching them together with string. Both very similar effects, but using different materials.

After you have completed a photoshoot you will need to print out a contact sheet. Out of these images you will need to make a selection of your best images. If you follow this guide you will easily be able to your best images.

Firstly, you need to consider a range of factors as to ‘what makes a good photograph.Think about:Lighting: Is the image well lit?Is there a range of tone?Focus: What is in focus within the photo, is it too blurry? (out of focus)Is the focal point accurate?Composition: If I crop it will it make a good photo?What’s included in the photo, am I missing a vital part of the photograph?Where is the main subject of the photo? What do I want the viewer to focus on?What angle has the photo been taken from?Content: Does the photo tell a story?Range of photos: Are my photos different, or are they all the same?Are there a range of compositions/focus points/angles?

If you’re confused about how to select your best images, look at the images to the right. Use the ideas above and see if you can select at least two images using the criteria. Circle or mark the good photos for editing or outcomes. Once you have done this, have a go at making a selection of your own photos.

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Using Photoshop

The background image. This is the first image or layer that you will open in Photoshop. All other edits and layers will appear above this image.

Here is the adjustments toolbox. Here you will be able to make basic edits and add basic filters to your images.

If you click on this button it will show you each and every step that you have taken when editing your image.

Here is the options toolbar. This is where you will find more in depth editing options.

Here is the tool panel. Here you will find a range of options for editing and manipulating your images.

Different options for the editing tool you are using will appear along the top of the screen. It will be below the toolbar but above the editing window.

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How to layout your sketchbook pages - edits

When editing your images it is vital that you screenshot each and every stage as this is evidence and will gain you more marks.

When presenting your screenshots try to take as much pride as possible in your sketchbooks. Make sure that all of the edges are cut straight. Instead of using scissors, try and use a guillotine. This will make your images look more presentable.

When presenting your screenshots you must present them in chronological order (in the order that it happened. It’s also a great idea to annotate them too! This will help the examiner see exactly how you created your outcome and it will show them that you understand exactly what you are doing. Here is an example:

First, I opened up the image that I wanted to be the background of the image. As I opened it first, Photoshop has automatically called it ‘Background’.

Then, I clicked and dragged the second image on top of the first image. This created a new layer.

Finally, I altered the opacity of the top image. I did this by making sure that the top layer was highlighted. Then I altered the opacity of the image until I could see enough of the background image to create a double exposed image.

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Basic Editing - Using File Explorer …..You can also use the file explorer to edit your images, although it is fairly basic and thee are some funny additions to the edits you can make... and find Information on each photograph…..follow the screenshots below to see how...

1. Open File Explorer and open the folder your images are in.

2. Double click on the image you want to open, this will open it in a new screen.

3. This is where you can edit each photograph. Click on the two pencils crossed at the top of the screen, and choose edit.

4, You may choose from this drop down menu, you can crop images, or apply filters, but they are basic.5. Or go to the Adjust menu for - further editing tools, such as lighting, colour, clarity.6. Save as, it will save in your image folder with a number 2 on the name.

There are many editing suites available, such as Lightroom, which is an Adobe programme and means you may edit multiple images at once, with lots of other features…Also you can purchase Adobe Elements - this is a similar suite to Adobe Photoshop, but with less high detailed features much easier to use, limited and cheaper than Photoshop.There is of course the best option, to get the best image you can from the camera.

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How to layout your sketchbook pages - outcomes

The key aspect to presenting your outcomes is in fact your presentation. You need to think about, firstly, have you put thought into the presentation of images? Have you cut them out carefully? How will you lay them out in your sketchbook? How can you layout your images so that they compliment each other? Have a look at some of the formations below to get some ideas on how you could layout your images. Make sure that your images are central and evenly placed.

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Presentation Workshop, Transfer MethodsTask: To watch the demonstrations given for the

following processes and to consider when they

might be useful for you to use to present your

work.

● Sellotape Transfer - 2-3 images/ 1 x portrait

1x landscape or cityscape

● Emulsion Transfer - 1 x image

You should produce a sample of each from the

your portrait images, printing off postcard sized

images to work with,

You must then produce a page - to include a title, a

description in your own words and the transfer

image on white or black card…. For each process.

How to….Sellotape TransferPrint the image you want to use, use clear sellotape and cover the area you want to work with, pressing/burnishing with a rulers edge… , run under water or soak in water for a minute or so, gently rubbing the paper from the back of your image.Consider the surface you apply this to as you will see through the image, ie- gold.

How To ….Emulsion TransferChoose the image, (good for presenting research) and print off...Place face up on newspaper, paint over evenly with emulsion paint (matt emulsion), consider colours as these will show through,..... Place down on the surface of the paper/card you are presenting this work on, press down firmly, When completely dry, slowly and very gently rub paper from the surface, continue this a few times , slow process.

Photo transfers are also called "acrylic transfers" or "gel medium transfers". No matter what you call them, the outcome is the same. The process is easy and the resulting effect is quite nice. Transfers can be made with lots of different medium, explore these ideas….

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Transfer Techniques

Acetone TransfersAcetone is something that might sound familiar, but chances are some of you may use it weekly! It’s nail polish remover and you can create image transfers using it. It’s very simple. All you need is a printed out image (it must be freshly printed), nail polish remover, a paint brush, a pencil and a piece of paper. Firstly, place the printed image face down on your plain piece of paper. Then, get the paint brush and apply the acetone (nail polish remover) to a small section of the back of the image.It’s very important that you only do a small section at a time, if you do not the image will stick to the paper and tear. Then, get the pencil and draw on the back of the image making sure that you use pressure. Carry on this process until you have cover the whole of the image and you will end up with an image transfer.

Below are examples of Acetone Transfers. These can be used to make creative present your images in different ways. They are a good method of experimenting with your images.

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