Week 5 : Techniques and Equipment

Week 5 : Identify the techniques/equipment you will need to achieve a cohesive portfolio in keeping with the clients style.

As a photographer it is important to be well prepared. A camera won’t be much use without a charged battery! It is therefore essential to plan ahead. Each shoot will require different equipment from lenses to lighting. To produce the best image possible then the right gear is needed.

Location Equipment
- Light Meter
- Lens eg 10-22/ tilt shift lens
- Tripod - Panorama Tripod Head
- Camera – Canon 40D
- Flash
- Shutter Release
- Grey Card
- Step Ladder
- Portable Lights eg monoblocs
- CF Cards (with capacity)
- Battery (charged)

Tilt Shift Lens


Image: http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2009/02/canon-introduces-widestever-tiltshift-lens.html

Fixing Converging Lines



Image: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/focusing-ts.shtml

Studio Equipment
- Studio Lights
- Backdrops
- Light Meter
- Macro Lens
- Tripod
- Hasselblad
- Gels
- Grey Card
- Props eg, mirror/glass/texture
- Products to photograph
- CF Cards (with capacity)
- Battery’s (charged) Resources
- Buildings
- Products
- Props
- Computers
- Image Preparation eg. Photoshop/lightroom
- Source Printing and Mounting

The practical components learnt this semester will play a strong role in producing technically correct and interesting imagery. The key elements that I will incorporate whilst shooting will be the creation of a panorama, camera movement principles and HDR images.

When photographing particular scenes it is important to get the most out of that location or product. This may require the use of a HDR image. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range imagery this means that in order to get the highest tonal range from an image I may be required to take a series of correctly, under and overexposed images in order to create one image with greater tonal value.

Another technique is image stitching. Creating a panorama allows for a larger image scene which would be particularly useful in the case of the landscape photograph. Camera movements allow manipulation of planes and focus within an image which is required for studio but will also be extremely useful when photographing architectural interiors and exteriors.

Using consistent photographic skills will allow me to create a portfolio that is cohesive and also in keeping with the client’s current style. The current images are not overly edited therefore I will keep the post production to minimal adjustments. Another aspect that is important to keep consistent is correct colour balance. For this reason I will be using a grey card to achieve correct colour balance. This again will create a consistent portfolio.