Portraits

READ HOW TO TAKE GREAT PORTRAITS

This week's new assignment : Friends and Family Portraits: You are to take photos of friends and family. These photos could be taken in groups or individuals. Make sure you  take your shots close up and find some interesting locations for your shots. Do a little research on the net on how to take good portraits and read the article below. Little kids are perfect for portrait shots, if you don't know any make a deal, exchange an hour with a kid for copies of your photos. Most of all, get out there and have some fun taking pictures!


Portraits: 10 shots

Criteria: Clear shots which reveal your subject's personality.
A non-distracting, clean background. Experimentation with distances from your subject
(I'd like to see a variety of different shots!)

Glacier Shot

The beautiful winter weather is upon us, so now is your chance to get a great Glacier shot. You only need one, so make it a good one.
Criteria: Your shot should be clear and show off the beauty of the Comox Glacier.
Marks: 10

Macro Photography

Photo by Sadie













Macro photography is the art of photographing small objects like flowers and bugs. Here are some tips for fantastic macro photography.

Start to train your eye to see macro opportunities. You’ll be surprised at the objects you’ll want to capture : Stamps, Paper Clips, Coins, Pins etc. Some of the best subjects are provided by Nature – Flowers, Plants, Bugs and Leaves.

• Try getting in really close to everyday objects such as the wood grain of a table, the veins of leaves, the texture of gravel.

• Use a flash if there isn’t much light – but be careful because at this close range the flash could over expose the subject and image. A ‘Ring Flash’ unit can help. This clips onto the front of the lens and can give a softer effect.

• If your camera has trouble focusing at close range, try moving away a little and use the optical zoom to increase your magnification.

• Use a small white piece of paper to fill any shadows in the image. Shadows can be a problem if you are shooting in bright sunlight, or using an overhead lamp. Any single light source will cause shadows.


• Increase your ISO setting so you can use faster shutter speeds. This will ensure your images will be as sharp and clear as possible. Don’t increase your ISO too far as you’ll get a very ‘noisy’ image.

• Use a tripod as much as possible to eliminate camera shake and to be sure your camera’s focus is right.

New Assignment: Macros

 Macro Shot
Tulip: Hugh Campbell


Macro
Photography: We do not all have macro lenses however the close up feature on your camera is what we will be using for this assignment. For most cameras it is the flower feature.
Macro Shots: Get up close, really close to objects. You are to take 10 photos. Do not take several of the same object from different angles. You must choose several different objects to shoot.

Criteria: Your main object should be in focus, background can be blurred. Try to get an interesting angle or approach to your object. Please avoid 10 flower photos or 10 leaf photos. I really want you to start seeing things from a different perspective. Objects do look differently when you get really close up.
Macro Photo Article to read

Both grade 9's and 10's will complete this assignment. I want to see new work from the grade 10's, no recycled photos!   Closepegs: Jasmine Naswell

TERM #2 Assignments

ALL TERM 1 ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE COMPLETED BY TUES. NOV. 9. ALL ASSIGNMENTS SHOULD BE ORGANIZED IN SETS ON FLICKER. AFTER THIS DATE, ZEROS WILL BE PLACED UNDER EACH ASSIGNMENT NOT COMPLETED.

New Assignments Term #2

1. Motion Blur: ( See assignment criteria and sample photos under Oct 2009) 1 shot
2. Sign of the times: You are to take a shot which reflects the era. A sign of the times of 2010
( think fashion, poliitcs, technology, have to items, or situations) 1 shot
3. YOUR NAME in found letters: Grade 9's you are to find objects that match the letters in your first name. They should be edited into black and white and cropped appropriately. Stay focused on the backgroung of your shots and beware of clutter in the shots, keep it clean. You may need to take several shots before getting the ones you like.
4. Alphabet : Grade 10's you have completed the name assignment last year, this time you get to find the entire alphabet.