Photography Skills

In our photography induction last week we were given a small brief in which we had to photograph a personal item to demonstrate our knowledge of a DSLR. Whilst we explored the settings and how to work them properly in our induction, we weren't given the chance to photograph something using continuous lighting. So to begin with I had to set up my own set and backdrop for my chosen item (a teddy otter/weasel) and then I had to set up my own lighting equipment and so forth. Once I had set everything up, which took its time by the way, I had to set my camera to MANUAL and adjust all the settings accordingly. 

So to start with I decided to tackle demonstrating depth of field as I felt that this was the one that required more effort on my part, as it was something I'd never really had to consider before. If I'm going to be honest I found this really difficult at first because the camera was an older version than the one I learnt the settings on and it took me a while to adjust to the seemingly complicated layout of the camera. Secondly it was extremely difficult to achieve a shallow depth of field as the camera lens didn't particularly focus on anything and the view finder was always blurry despite how much I concentrated on focusing the camera. In the end I manged to get a few shots demonstrating depth of field but with great difficulty but its taught me to get an easier camera to use next time I need one.

Shallow Depth of Field

Deep Depth of Field

So after that I moved on to shutter speeds and again I really struggled with this but by this point I just started to think that maybe I was just really rubbish with digital cameras and excepted the fact that it was going to be hard. In particular I really struggled with slow shutter speed, as I couldn't get the lighting right it was either too bright or too dark. However I do feel that I managed to get some really good examples of motion in action shots.

Slow Shutter Speed

Fast Shutter Speed

Finally, (because I've waffled enough) throughout the whole exercise I continuously experimented with the continuous lighting and creating contrast within my photos, which I feel I did really well. For instance, I experimented with turning one light off in order to create more contrast within the shot and I also experimented with using the large reflective sheets to dampen that contrast withing the image.

Lighting softened with reflective board

Lit from one side

Overall I've learnt a great deal about photography that I'm sure I will find very helpful in the near future.