The following is a direct copy and has been Pasted in for future reference from the Art of Photography coursework PDF Doc. (pasted in Maroon)
4 photographs – prints needed to note results
For this exercise you need something clear in appearance and compact in shape. It must also be accessible, from close to and from a distance, as the idea of this project is to experiment with how much space it takes up in the frame of the viewfinder. One of your continuing activities is to note down possible subjects and settings. Now is the time that you will find it useful. An easy subject would be a car, or a person, or a handbag, but you may think of something more imaginative than these. Plan to take at least four different photographs of the subject you have chosen. For the first get yourself into a position where you can see the entire subject in the viewfinder, and photograph it as you normally would – without taking too much time to consider the composition. You will use this shot as the baseline for the others that follow. Make the way that you hold the camera suit the dimensions of the subject: if it is upright, for instance, make a vertical picture. With this done, take a lot more care over the second picture. Move in and around to make the subject fit the frame as tightly as possible – right up to the edges if you can, but not beyond. Even consider tilting the camera so that the subject fits the frame even more tightly. For the third version, close in so that you can see none of the edges of the subject, and photograph just a part of it.
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Equipment
Nikon D4
24 / 70 f2.8 lens
Method & Approach
In order to achieve my goal I wanted to find a particular spot that would not over power the subject but in return give a balanced harmony, or even to the point of promoting the subjects colour. My chosen subject is my own car and considering its colour (silver) I wanted a background that was more natural opposed to urban. This is purely my own preference as I know some urban backgrounds of varying colours would work very well with the subjects colour and shape.
Please see pictures and captions below.
Note – all pictures have been compressed hence there will be a quality reduction when enlarging.
My first picture was taken with 24/70 mm lens with an aperture setting of f2.8. As the exercise requested, I shot this picture very casually showing the lines of the car against an old dry stone Cotswold wall along a single track road on a grass bank.
This picture was taken with the same lens and an aperture of f2.8, but in this picture I wanted to get the whole subject in the frame hence rotating the camera. I think from my own point of view this picture works well as it possesses character and interest.
In this picture I used the 24/70 again with an aperture setting of f4.5. This time I moved around the subject several times constantly looking through the viewfinder for the best shot without camera rotation and as complying with the exercise I filled the frame.
With this picture I used a little more artistic licence, still complying with the exercise to fill the frame. I shot this picture low and to draw the eye into he picture I left just a little of the grass in the picture. I feel this is an exciting picture as it really emphasises on the distant vanishing point at the front of the car and also the opposite rear.
Like the above picture I used a little artistic imagination to create the shot. Again I have filled the frame but left a little of the grass at the front and along the edge of the picture to give a better visual understanding to the way the ground lies.
What have I learnt from this exercise
I have learnt that you can get more subject into the frame by angling the camera to sometimes radical positions.
My Reflection
From this exercise I have learnt that filling the frame totally can sometimes kill the subject, for me it can produce a picture with little interest as the harmony between the background and subject is not there …… there is no balance to the picture. Its like shooting in the studio with a white backdrop, it works with advertising branded goods or clothing etc but reality for me is little interest or character in the picture and even photos taken in this kind of studio environment have a certain amount of background.
stingray493 