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November 3 : Using the Elements of Art to Find Beautiful Patterns!

PLEASE KEEP CELL PHONES AWAY!

Either in your backpack or the lock box!

HOOVER CELL PHONE POLICY!

No cell phones at ALL during class time, even from a mom. Parents need to call the office directly if they need their student or to speak with them during transitions, before school, or after school.

Expectations:

C: Voice Level 2 (only the people next to you can hear you and no shouting across the room)

H: Ask your team, elbow partner or raise hand

A: Work on the assignment

M: Stay in your assigned seat

P: Work till assignment is completed

S: Finishing your work

Using the Elements of Art to Find Beautiful Patterns

The key to shooting texture...

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING: Texture in Photography

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT: Capturing texture in a photograph can add visual interest, highlight unique patterns, or even evoke emotions. Texture photography overlaps with many kinds of photography, including everything from fine art to classic portraiture. Texture also plays an important role in macro photography.

HOW WILL MY TEACHER KNOW WHAT I LEARNED: You will practice different techniques and gradually show your success!

But first...we need to discuss composition....

The Golden Spiral

The GOLDEN SPIRAL in Photography.mp4

4:49

Composition...

Photography Composition - Beginner Photography Tutorial.mp4

9:42

In a good composition, you will know precisely what the subject of the image is, while a bad composition leaves you thinking, “I'm not sure what the point of that photo is, what am I supposed to look at”? Sometimes the right composition is obvious.

3x3 grid

“Everything has its own texture, and there’s something about the way things feel that you can just see.”

Image by Cole Keister

Without touching it, you can recognize the soft and fluffy fur of a kitten or the rough and weathered bark on a tree. Capturing texture in a photograph can add visual interest, highlight unique patterns, or even evoke emotions.

Image by Meg Madden

Texture photography overlaps with many kinds of photography, including everything from fine art to classic portraiture. Texture also plays an important role in macro photography. By zooming in on the details of an image with a macro lens, you can experience it in a new way.

Whether you zoom in to experience minute details or you view something from a distance to experience it in the abstract, texture is an important compositional element that adds interest to your images and draws the viewer’s attention.

Keep your eyes open!

Texture is everywhere. And the more you pay attention, the more you’ll see!

From peeling paint on an abandoned building to waterdrops on a window, texture comes in all shapes and sizes. To find interesting textures, stay aware of your surroundings and you just may find something unique.

Textures are...

Texture are one of the elements of design.

Textures are the surface qualities of subjects

Experiment with your camera settings...

With texture photography, the right aperture, ISO, and shutter speed make all the difference. If you want a shallow depth of field that creates a bokeh effect in the photo, a low aperture is what you need.

If you want to capture layered textures in a wide depth of field, you’ll need a narrow aperture and a long shutter speed. If you’re on a hike, bring a portable tripod. This enables you to take long exposures without worrying about camera shake.

Consider your light source...

While natural light can create beautiful, gentle gradients, harsh, direct light can wipe out the details of the texture.

“When you’re photographing texture, you need to consider what kind of light there is. And because I’m mostly out in nature, I’m not in a position to control that light,” says Madden.

“Bright, intense sun kills texture, for example. So I’m always looking for an overcast, rainy day. When everything is wet, the texture is that much more intense.”

Play with composition...

Image by Cole Keister

Texture photography is all about composition and trying to find a way to make the texture the main character of the photo.

A simple way to experiment with composition is by changing your camera angles.

Fill the frame (a Compositional technique!)

Closely crops the subject to occupy most of the frame, emphasizing its presence.

For this technique, move in closer to your subject to strengthen your composition. Doing so allows the focus to fall on your subject, such as a person’s facial expression, and on details that may not be readily noticeable by the naked eye. As a bonus, it will help you get rid of distracting elements in the background and may even give you interesting abstract patterns.

Cropping during post-processing also works to make your photo look like a close-up shot, but keep in mind that you run the risk of significantly lowering the resolution of your image. Also, if you decide to exclude limbs (such as an outstretched arm) from the frame, do not crop at the joints.

With the "fill the frame" compositional technique for textures, get very close to your subject by moving physically closer or zooming in, so that the texture occupies most or all of the image. This approach eliminates distractions and emphasizes the details of the texture, making it the dominant element and creating a more intimate or impactful image. For example, focus closely on a single subject like a weathered wooden door or a flower's petals to reveal their intricate details without the interference of a distracting background.

OPEN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY FOLDER!

Double click to open the folder on your desktop.

If you do NOT have a Photography folder, MAKE ONE (right click...New Folder)

Create a NEW FOLDER INSIDE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY FOLDER

(right click...New Folder)

Name the folder:

TEXTURE

The Assignment...

For this assignment, you will photograph TEXTURE in three different ways.

You will photograph TEXTURE subjects in 3 different ways!

YOU choose what you are shooting! Do NOT just copy these ideas! Be creative!

You MUST compare and contrast TWO DIFFERENT textural qualities... SMOOTH vs. ROUGH

SMOOTH

One of the photos to exhibit a dominance of SMOOTH texture!

Look to your lighting to help convey smoothness in texture.

The viewer should be able to describe the photo as FEELING SMOOTH.

ROUGH

One of the photos to exhibit a dominance of ROUGH texture!

Lighting and color will help convey roughness.

The viewer should be able to describe the photo as FEELING ROUGH.

Dominance and Subordination are both Principles of Design are ways of creating an emphasis or focal point to an artwork!

SMOOTH & ROUGH TOGETHER!

Find a 3rd subject with both SMOOTH & ROUGH to shoot!

FOR THIS SUBJECT, find something that you believe will look great as a BLACK & WHITE image

(Hint: make it Black & White in Photoshop using an adjustment layer!)

Lighting and contrast will help convey smoothness AND roughness.

The viewer should be able to describe the photo as FEELING ROUGH & SMOOTH.

Reminder...How to turn image black & White:

Depth of Field...

There may be instances when a lot of depth of field is warranted. In other pictures, shallow depth of field may help to accentuate the texture that you're trying to highlight.

DEPTH OF FIELD (DOF)

The amount of space focused on at one time controlled by the APERTURE (f stop).

f22 (SMALL Aperture opening) = Deep/Great DOF

vs f1.4 (LARGE Aperture Opening = Shallow/Less DOF

The LARGER the opening of the lens (small f Stop number) the LESS/SHALLOW the Depth of Field.

Only the dog is sharp when using F 1.4 and the background appears blurred/out of focus.

The smallest opening (large F stop number) the GREATER the Depth of Field. The dog and the background are sharp when using F 22.

Remember! Texture Does NOT mean PATTERN! Make sure your photos convey the feeling of the texture!

Downloading your photos...

To Split the screens (to see them better):

Each day you take photos you will make sure to download images BEFORE leaving class!

Editing your photos!

Open Photoshop

Click OPEN (on the left)

Navigate to Desktop> PHOTOGRAPHY folder>Textures

Select ONE of the subjects/images you would like to work with.

You should have multiple of each texture subject to choose from!

Always select the best image based upon three criteria:

Does it work for your assignment?

Is it a good exposure?

Is it in focus?

Click OPEN

CHOOSE YOUR BEST IMAGES! If they don't meet the criteria, check out a camera and go shoot some more!

SAVE (as) YOUR DOCUMENT!

Shortcut: Shift + Ctrl + S

(or File: SAVE AS)

Save as Type: PHOTOSHOP!

Then click Save to Cloud Documents

Save to CREATIVE CLOUD!

Click the Save to CREATIVE CLOUD button

Name the document:

"First Initial Last Initial TEXTURE1"

Click SAVE

Name the second document:

"First Initial Last Initial TEXTURE2"

Name the third document:

"First Initial Last Initial TEXTURE3"

If it will NOT save to Creative Cloud, please let me know immediately!

If you have selected your best TEXTURE photo you can do the same process for other TEXTURE photos of a different subjects!

(Open through Photoshop, Save as, Save to Creative Cloud)

Editing your photos!

Adjusting using layers

Remember to use an ADJUSTMENT LAYER (in the layers panel: click the adjustment icon) so it is non-destructive

Adjust such things as:

Brightness/Contrast
Exposure
Vibrance
Hue/Saturation
Color Balance
Black & White (no Tints)

Make Adjustments as needed! (And they are needed!)

The Smooth and Rough you will make BLACK & WHITE!

Reminder...How to turn image black & White:

Edits are subjective! They are what YOU feel needs to be adjusted. But YOU MUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS!

Spot healing/patch

If there is anything you want to remove:

Create a new layer and use the Spot Healing or patch tools to clean it up!

Remember to make sure Content-Aware is selected AND Sample All Layers is checked!

Using the masks

Remember on the mask of an adjustment layer (make sure it is selected), we can add black to conseal what we are adjusting!

White=Reveals

Black=Conseals

Make sure your adjustment layers are ON the TOP in the layers panel so that any other alterations (spot healing etc) are adjusted also!

ADD A VIGNETTE!

(all images MUST have this!)

Remember! PULL to the left to use the Dark Vignette!!!

ADD A SIGNATURE!

(all images MUST have this!)

Remember! If your image area is dark, make your signature WHITE. If the image area is light, make your signature BLACK!

Make sure you have added the vignette AND your signature!

Each image MUST have YOUR signature on the bottom right!

EXPORTING Your FILES

Please make sure it is a JPG file!

You will export 3 images:

First Initial Last Initial TEXTURE1.jpg

First Initial Last Initial TEXTURE2.jpg

First Initial Last Initial TEXTURE3.jpg

CRITERIA:

3 Images of YOUR choice of DIFFERENT subjects in different places utilizing TEXTURES!
One of the photos MUST exhibit a dominance of SMOOTH texture
One of the photos MUST exhibit a dominance of ROUGH texture
Third photo MUST exhibit BOTH SMOOTH & ROUGH Textures AND must be made Black & White (no Tint please)!
Each image but be edited appropriately in Photoshop
Each image MUST have a signature and a Vignette
Each image MUST be named correctly (first initial last initial TEXTURE1.jpg)
File format turned in MUST be correct (jpg)