A1. Color Temperature and White Balance:
There are distinctive kinds of lights from various sources like the sun, a bulb or a fluorescent tube. All these sources give light in their particular colors which are measured using the Kelvin (K) Scale. The Kelvin scale measurement is also referred to as the color temperature. The white balance is a feature in the cameras that permits us to adjust our camera in such a way that in changing light zones, our images can all look natural, despite of the source of light they have. The logic here is that white is the color that gets influenced by the color temperatures the most perilously. Because it is what we base all our settings on, hence we term it as ‘white balance’.
The Kelvin scale is widely used in the fields of physics and astronomy. The ‘0’ on the Kelvin scale demarks the truancy of the heat energy. This concept is based on “black body radiator”, which theoretically when gets heated, starts to glow in a specific color as per the temperature. The concept is very similar to an iron rod which when gets hotter, changes from red to yellow and finally white. The concepts of the Kelvin scale and color temperatures are different from the physically established ones where red is the highest temperature and blue, the lowest.
White Balance settings:
Now that we know about the Kelvin scale, it is easier for us to explore the white balance settings in our cameras for a better understanding of the concept. The most crucial role of the white balance is to ensure that the images have a very natural look. It is important to deal with the various light sources correctly as they can spoil our images and their natural spark. For example, an image that is clicked in the light of a standard bulb might look yellowish and blurred. It is hence important, for us to introduce a bluish tone. We can very well adjust the settings to meet the light conditions as per the requirement. As an example, tungsten bulbs have 3200 K as their color temperature, outdoor daylight- 5600 K and outdoor overcast skies have about 6500 K.
Q2. What is the importance of ‘Shape’ while taking a photograph? Explain.
A.2 Shape:
To photographers, the ‘shape’ of an object is of utmost importance more than a layman, for whom the shape is still a crucial characteristic of anything to describe more than smell, vision or touch. To a photographer, the shape of an object answers the questions about how heavy, light, small, big, or beautiful an object is. It also conveys to them the ways in which the objects react in their surroundings.
So, shape mainly has three functions in the photographic world, namely, mass, production and relation. Mass deals with how heavy the object is, and how much space it undertakes. Proportion deals with the comparison of different masses of different objects. Whereas, relation deals with the interaction of objects, which is the most crucial and complicated function of shape. A certain degree of judgment is required in creating a relation between objects. This is mostly done by the photographer who decides the angle and the message of his photograph by his understanding of the relation between two objects. As an example, he might photograph two objects, which in reality are distanced apart, in a way that they appear closer or he may find object A more interesting than object B and so on. But many times, it is the viewer who builds the relation with his own perspective. The spatial relation between the two shapes tells us much more about the aspects than their being together, just similar to the relations between humans. The photograph compels us to know the reason behind this distance. The best photographs are interactive and compel us to learn something new about the world every time we look at them.
A photograph in a simple frame has two kinds of shapes. One is the physical shape it has and the other is the negative space. The physical shape by the name is the outer shape of the object whereas the negative shape is the effect that the outer shape has on the surrounding space, which also includes the rectangular frame. Every aspect of the shapes of that photograph is of utmost importance to the photographer. Developing that sense of proportion and relation is a key to emerging successfully in this field.
Q3. Discuss group photographs.
A3. Group photographs:
Taking group photographs is an art in itself. They have their own perks. Every person in that group is likely to be less conscious about their individual snaps. There emerges a sense of safety and the touch of collective purpose in a large number of people. This differs the group photographs from the individual clicks where people look bored and wooden-looking. Hence, it is always advisable to not take a long time to set up the camera and start the shoot. Most of the time, the groups have a sense of formality in the shoots. This can lead us to prepare before the shoot via some desks, chairs or a like structure, in rows and columns. Our camera, in this case, can also be adjusted beforehand, and save us the struggle in between the shoot. However, in smaller groups, the photograph can happen to be more informal and represent the naturally erupting relations between the people in there, who can jostle around freely under the photographer’s direction. Most of the group photos happen to be on special occasions and hence it is important to set the location right before the shoot. It should always be the center of common interest, like a football winning cup, or the new product line up in some factory. The avoidance of distractive elements in the background is unavoidable and this requires distancing all the people equally from yourself and keeping the background details out of focus, far away. However, this isn’t the case always.
Harsh direct lights should always be avoided as they can cast shadows from one individual in the photograph to another. The loud sunlight can also screw up the poser’s eyes if the light comes directly from behind your camera. Hence, it is advisable t always use soft and even lights, from a hazy or overcast sky. White color plays effectively here, which can be set up in the background as a white wall or something that would reflect the diffused light back into the shadows by softening and diluting them. Fill-in flash is another option for small groups. It is important to always locate the camera at an appropriate distance using a normal focal length lens. This allows us to include everyone in the photograph and not distort the faces of the group members at the edge, as in the case of a wide-angle lens. Hence, every group shot requires your direction in different degrees. Gaps need to be filled by asking the people to come closer. In large groups, the photographers tend to use a certain pattern, by commanding particular clothing or posing. In smaller groups, the people are generally told to form a ‘triangular’ shape that focuses on the main subjects. It is an obvious requirement to take several shots in a group composition along with ensuring everybody’s unobstructed sight of the camera lens. An informal picture that shows relativity between the subjects is fuller of life than a strictly guided one.
