Lesson 7 • FARTing, Composition, Camera Shots & Angles

Lesson 7 • FARTing, Composition, Camera Shots & Angles

1. Today, I will learn…
FARTing
Composition guidelines
Camera shots
Camera angles
Ground plane
Learning Goals

2. What would you do differently?

3. Farting

4. FARTing
The best photos are taken when you FART first
FARTing helps us remember to make a strong,
meaningful photo instead of just snapping
away and winding up with a lot of boring,
thoughtless snapshots.

5. FARTing
Feel
Ask
Refine
Take

6. FARTing
FEEL:
Something has caught your eye and you want to
capture it; freeze this moment, person, or object in
time.
Most amateur photographers will just shoot
anything
Try to associate an emotion/feeling with your
photographs.

7. FARTing
ASK:
Stop and ask yourself exactly what it is that made
you stop in the first place to take a photo
Is it a bold color? Is it a crazy juxtaposition? Is it the
wild light? What is it, exactly, that made you want
to take a picture?
You should try to capture what is that made you
stop in the first place!

8. FARTing
REFINE:
Try to capture just what it is that made you stop; think about how
you will compose your shot in the frame.
If it’s a single colour of a door handle, don’t be a wimp, fill the
entire frame with it!
Making refinements about what goes into your photo will make
for a much better composition; eliminate what doesn’t need to be
included
Ask yourself, “Does this really add to the photograph”? If not, get
closer, or move to the side, do the shuffle, something!!

9. FARTing
TAKE:
This is the easy part;
Take the darn picture!
Make sure you’ve adjusted the exposure
settings and white balance correctly.
If not, refine again, and take another!

10. Composition
Simplicity, SEX, and Balance

11. Composing a Good Photo
Composition can be a difficult thing to grasp
in the photography world.
We’re all tempted to just get shooting and
don’t stop to think about what really needs
to be in the camera frame…

12. Composing a Good Photo
Read the article “Composition: Simplicity, SEX, and Balance”
Assignment posted on Edmodo
In your own words, answer the questions related to the
article in a Word document (or Pages or Google)
Submit your answers via Edmodo
Due: End-of-lesson

13. Practice
Practice your composition skills;
Take photos of objects, buildings, people;
anything that catches your eye
Move around; think about your composition
and how you position your subjects within
your camera frame
Experiment with different aperture settings
(to get different DoFs), and shutter speeds
(to capture motion blur)

14. Camera Techniques

15. Camera Techniques
Deciding what to shoot is just the beginning
of a photographer’s job. How a subject is
shot is just as important.
By using different techniques, shots, and
angles, the photographer can manipulate the
mood and meaning of a photograph.
The following are some techniques used by
photographers to tell stories through images.

16. Camera Shots
The apparent distance between the camera
and the subject can greatly affect the overall
message conveyed by a picture.
How you fill the frame is the shot
For Example….

17. Extreme Long/Wide Shot
Wide shots can create a sense of objectivity; you
hardly see people
There may be more detail to look at and the
objects may be small.
The distance between the subject and the
camera seems large, creating a less-intimate
feeling.
These shots give the viewer a good sense of the
setting of the picture.

18. Long/Wide Shot
Long shot will have the subject filling most
of the frame without cutting-off any part of
the subject.
For example, a person’s entire body
Framed head to toe

19. Medium/Mid Shot
This shot is popular with advertising and sports
photography because you can see all of the main subject
and some background detail;
The audience is little closer to the subject
Framed head to waist

20. Close-Up
Close-ups invite a sense of shared feeling and
intimacy, because the subject is isolated.
When the subject is a person, the viewer is
focussed on the body language and facial
expression;
Typically framed as head to shoulders

21. Extreme Close-Up
A specific facial feature or object fills the
frame to ensure the audience focuses on a
certain facial feature to emphasise
emotion, or an object to demonstrate its
importance

22. Camera Angle
The angle from which a picture is taken
can greatly effect how the viewer feels
about a subject.
When a photographer places a camera at
eye level, the viewers see the shape and
proportions of the subject as they
normally would.
Changing the angle can suggest
different meanings to the audience…
High-angle
Bird’s-eye-view/Aerial
Eye-level
Low-angle
Worm’s-eye-level

23. Worm’s-eye-view
The camera is placed on the
floor/ground, and can give the audience
the perspective of how the world looks
from the lowest possible viewing point

24. Low-Angle
This is when the camera is placed below the
subject so the viewer will feel like they are
looking up at it.
This makes the subject feel “larger than life”.
The subject can look like it is looming over
its surroundings, giving it a sense of power.

25. High-Angle
The photograph is taken from above the
subject, so the viewer feels like they are
looking down on it.
The image seems smaller than its
surroundings
This is used to emphasize space and
distance, can also make the subject
appear to be smaller, weaker

26. Bird’s-eye-view/Aerial
Can really demonstrate and emphasize
distance, size, and space
Entire environments, places, cities, etc.
can be captured from a high vantage
point

27. Glossary Creation
Create your camera shots glossary:
For each camera shot and angle discussed, photograph your own example and add a
description in a Word Document
Camera Techniques
Shots
Shot or Angle Name
Description and why it might be used.