• SHADOWS
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Shadows create fascinating pictures on their own, and they also are beautiful when paired with their parent object. The contrast between the image and its shadow makes an amazing photograph.
 

 

  • Objective:

        

  • To create five different photographs that utilize shadows to create interesting results.

 

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  • Grading:  

       

  • You will be graded on: 

  • ·        Submitted required # of photos (5pts)

  •        Creativity (5 pts)

  • ·        Quality of images that you produce and photoshop. (5 pts)

  •                               Total Possible:        15 Points

 

  • Assignment

        

  • Shoot four images for this assignment that emphasize shadows. One may be of a person, the others may be anything else, but no more than one may be of people.

 

  • Be creative and do your best work. Each image needs to be inserted into PowerPoint, one photo per slide with (total of six slides INCLUDING title slide with your name and class period).

 

  • Project Notes:

        

"Beware the dark side", that famous sci-fi movie “master” more than once cautioned his young protégé about “The Force.” But the dark side—a.k.a. shadows—is well worth the photographer’s attention. While the eye is drawn to bright areas in a photograph, the interplay between bright and dark—between highlight and shadow—can make for a terrific photo. And shadows themselves can be good photo subjects. (They can also be very effective distractions—another good reason to pay attention to them when shooting!)

Outdoors, the best shadows occur early and late on clear days, when the low-angle sun creates long ones. You can have the shadows loom toward the camera by shooting toward the sun, or extend from the camera by shooting with the sun behind you. Generally, shooting at an angle to the sun produces the most effective shadows, as they’ll then run across the frame. Go out with your camera first thing in the morning or an hour or so before sunset, and watch the shadows as you face in different directions. When you find something that looks neat, shoot.

 

  

  • Shadow patterns on the ground make good photo material, but so do shadow patterns on subjects such as rocks, buildings and even people. For example, position a person under a latticework, and watch the light and shadows on his or her face (this isn’t great “formal” portrait lighting, but it’s a neat special effect).

    You can also deliberately cast a shadow (or in scenic photography, wait for the sun to move to the right position to do it) to add interest to an otherwise too-evenly lit scene. For example, if you’re photographing a rock formation, the whole formation lit evenly makes for a dull photo, but if a large foreground rock is in shadow, the whole image takes on more “snap.”

    Actually, light—and the way it interacts with its complement, dark—is a key element in every photograph. So watch those shadows and put them to good photographic use.