Applied Photography and Video

Art Direction
What is art direction?

Art direction is about evoking the right

emotion, it’s about creating that
connection to what you’re seeing and
experiencing.

Art direction brings clarity and definition

to the work; it helps the work convey a
specific message to a particular
group of people.

Art direction combines art and design to

evoke a cultural and emotional reaction.

It influences movies, music, websites,

magazines—just about anything we
interact with.

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Who is an art director?

The art director executes the details of

the project. Art directors are responsible
for heading up their teams and creating
the aesthetic of the piece.

Art director sees the project through the

phases of production, edits and final
execution.

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What does an art
director do?

Leading a team of artists, art directors

determines which artistic elements
to use.

They articulate the vision to their team;

review and approve copy, designs
or photography.

Art directors also often develop budgets

and timelines and determine how to
best represent the creative
director’s concept.

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An art director will typically do the following:

• Determine how best to represent a concept visually

• Determine which photographs, art, or other design elements to use

• Develop the overall look or style of an advertising campaign

• Develop the overall look or style of a theatre, television, or film set

• Supervise design staff
• Review and approve designs, artwork, photography, and graphics

• Talk to clients to develop an artistic approach and style

• Coordinate activities with other artistic or creative departments

• Develop detailed budgets and timelines

• Present designs to clients for approval

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History of photography
and the camera

Photography has come a long way in its

relatively short history.

In almost 200 years, the camera

developed from a plain box that took
blurry photos to the high-tech mini
computers found in today's DSLRs and
smartphones.

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The First Cameras

• 5th century B.C.E. - the basic concept of photography has been discovered

• 11th century - Iraqi scientist developed camera obscura

• 17th century - camera obscura became small enough to be portable.

• late 1830s - Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in France recorded the first image that did not fade quickly. He used a portable camera
obscura

• 1880s. - George Eastman started a company called Kodak. Eastman created a flexible roll film that did not require constantly
changing the solid plates.

• late 1940s - 35mm film became cheap enough for the majority of consumers to use. Small 35mm cameras become popular to
capture images of life as it occurred rather than staged portraits.

• 1948 - Polaroid introduced the Model 95. Model 95 used a secret chemical process to develop film inside the
camera in less than a minute.

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Advanced Image Control

• 1950s - Asahi (which later became Pentax) introduced the Asahiflex and Nikon introduced its Nikon F camera.
These were both SLR-type cameras and the Nikon F allowed for interchangeable lenses and other accessories.

• the late 1970s and early 1980s - compact cameras that were capable of making image control decisions on their
own were introduced. These "point and shoot" cameras calculated shutter speed, aperture, and focus,

• 1991 - Kodak had produced the first digital camera that was advanced enough to be used successfully by
professionals. Other manufacturers quickly followed and today Canon, Nikon, Pentax, and other manufacturers
offer advanced digital SLR (DSLR) cameras.

• May 1999 - The first commercial camera phone was the Kyocera Visual Phone VP-210, released in Japan. It was
called a "mobile videophone" at the time, and had a 110,000-pixel front-facing camera.

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Photography and its
importance in graphic
design

In graphic design, artists work for

clients/ organizations who want to
convey specific messages.

The client/ organizations might be

selling products or services or trying to
raise awareness about an issue, and
the artist has to create a design that
meets their needs.

In graphic design, images are often the

best way to get ideas across. People
respond to images and process them
regardless of what language they speak.

Photographs are very effective images

that can convey stories very quickly.
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What makes a
good photo?

“A good photograph is one that

communicates a fact, touches the heart
and leaves the viewer a changed person
for having seen it. It is, in a word,
effective.” – Irving Penn

The qualities of a good photograph

include:
• Mood - Light, Exposure, Colour and/
or Tone range.
• Composition
• Timing and Action
• Subject

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 Mood

A photograph can express varying

moods. Either a feeling of intense action,
solitude, serenity, or danger.

There are certain elements that help to

create certain moods in photos:
• Light
• Exposure
• Colour
• Tone
• Composition

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 Light

1) Dark light
The emotions of dark light:
• Powerful
• Ominous
• Refined
• Intense
• Somber

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 2) Bright light
The emotions of bright light:
• Optimistic
• Airy
• Light (the adjective)
• Gentle
• Etherial

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 3) High Contrast
The emotions of high contrast:
• Dramatic
• Loud
• Vibrant
• Punchy
• Sharp

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 4) Low Contrast
The emotions of low contrast:
• Subdued
• Gentle
• Soft
• Quiet
• Muted

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 5) Direction of light
There are five primary directions of light:
1. Backlighting
2. Front lighting
3. Side lighting (left or right)
4. Overhead lighting
5. Under-lighting

More about direction of light in the video: Link to the video.

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 Exposure

Exposure changes allow the user to create the mood of the shot. The low sunlight
brings out the shadows and colours more.

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 In portrait photography, using the light source but a very small aperture or fast
shutter, will create an underexposure. This gives shadows a depth and bringing out
the facial features.

In landscape photography using creatively long exposures can add mood and a
feeling of motion to your shots.

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Colour

Different colours invoke different emotions.

Some can be positive and some can be negative.

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 RED PURPLE
Positive: sense of power, strength, action, passion, Positive: royalty, sophistication, religious
sexuality Negative: bruised, beaten, foreboding
Negative: anger, impatience, violence,
forcefulness, revenge GREEN
Positive: money, health, nature, growth, soothing
YELLOW Negative: envy, greed, guilt, jealousy
Positive: caution, brightness, intelligence, joy
Negative: criticism, laziness, cynicism BLACK
Positive: dramatic, classy, committed, serious
BLUE Negative: evil, darkness, death, coldness
Positive: tranquility, peace, love, comfort, harmony
Negative: fear, coldness, depression WHITE
Positive: pure, fresh, goodness, heavenly
Negative: blind, cold, bitter, distant
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 Tone

Warm tones in photographs evoke feelings of warmth, happiness, and nostalgia. The
favourite way to capture orange, brown, and yellow tones is by shooting during the
golden hours.

Using cool tones in photographs means incorporating a slight blue or violet hue to
the image. It conveys different emotions.

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Composition
Composition refers to the way the various
elements in a scene are arranged within
the frame. Well balanced photos will be
more engaging.

Some of the most well-known

composition techniques:
• Rule of Thirds
• Centred Composition and Symmetry
• Frame Within the Frame
• Leading Lines
• Golden Triangles
• Golden Ratio

Frame within the frame

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Rule of thirds

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Centred Composition and Symmetry

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Leading lines

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Golden triangle

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Golden ratio

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 Timing and action
It’s the moment the photographer
chooses to open the camera’s
shutter.

In sports photography, photographers

study the sport, to know the players
and their style. This is so they can
anticipate how the action will be
played out during the game or event.

Whatever situations a photographer is

in, it’s important to observe what’s
happening around and to anticipate
when the most interesting action to
photograph will take place.

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 Subject
In photography, the subject is simply
the object that is shown in the image.

A subject can be a person or people,

animal, or non-living things such as a
car or a landscape. Even a drop of
water can be a subject. It is, both
figuratively and literally, the focus of the
image.

The subject plays an essential role in

shaping the entire image.

Tips for emphasizing the subject in

photography:

• Placement
• Perspective
• Light
• Surroundings

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Portrait Photography

People pictures fall into two categories:

portraits and candid.
Either can be made with or without your
subject's awareness and cooperation.

Portrait photography is the art of

capturing the inherent character of the
subject within a photograph.

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The Casual Portrait or Profile
Every person has a story, and every picture should tell part of that story.

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 Environmental Portraits

Environmental portraits are about people and what they do with their lives, and the
things they surround themselves with.

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 Group Portraits

Group portraits capture a group of people, family, sport team, etc.

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 Details

The details of the human body make great photographic subjects, either as
expressions of ideas or emotions, as graphic shots, or as a way to say something
about an individual.
Photographers also capture other details, that describe their subjects the most
( clothing, hobby, part of the body, etc. )
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 Thank you!
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