GETTING CREATIVE – TECHNICAL EFFECTS

This article will recapitulate on some effects obtainable with the technical manipulation of camera and film.   The next article will deal with the artistic side of composing photographs.   We will only mention some of the effects obtainable.   It is up to the individual photographer to incorporate some of these in an expressive language to communicate with his viewers.

We have already mentioned selective focussing and softening of the image by defocusing.   This can also be obtained with diffusion filters but must not be overdone.   The effect can be to concentrate attention on the sharp image while the less sharp part looks soft and dreamy.

The choice of shutter speed can also produce either a sharp or a partly blurred image of a moving object.   This can be done selectively by panning the camera to follow a particular element in the picture, which will then be rendered sharp while the rest will come out blurred.   Such an effect will suggest or depict movement.   An extreme case is to leave the shutter open on “B” for some seconds.

The aperture control can vary depth of focus as mentioned before.   It can also determine which light value on the object will be rendered as mid-grey on the photograph.   A bright airy effect on one hand or a heavy gloomy picture on the other can be achieved in conjunction with suitable lighting.   Over-exposure tends to bring details into the shadows while the highlights are washed out.   Under-exposure puts more emphasis on the highlights and removes detail from the shadows.   One of these effects might be just what is required to make a picture express an idea.   An extreme case is the silhouette of a person or object, which is rendered totally dark without any detail.   Photographing the light source itself can also require manipulation of exposure.   Experiment (bracketing exposures) is recommended here.   Lighting itself will be treated in a separate article.

We now come to the film itself.   In choosing the right type of medium for his work, the photographer has already made his first step towards self-expression.   He has the further choice of film speed and the characteristics of grain size and contrast associated with it.   Pushing the chemical treatment at the development stage can further enhance these.   Here we might mention the use of coloured filters with colour or monochrome materials to produce colour distortion for effect.   Other types of filter can also be used but one must be careful to avoid creating an effect for its own sake rather than to communicate an idea to the viewer.

We will finally mention the choice of perspective.   This can be done by varying the distance of the camera from the subject or choosing a different angle of view.   Perspective shows on a picture as varying sizes with different planes of distance.   Coupled with a choice of angle, perspective suggests height, depth and distance.   Perspective can be rendered naturally as in a formal portrait or greatly exaggerated by using lenses of short or long focal lengths.   Remember that the eye is very sensitive to perspective distortion and so the use of different focal lengths to the standard 45mm is only recommended for special effects only.   Personally I think a fixed-camera lens removes any temptation of going to extremes in this department and encourages more subtle measures to produce our results.   I think that the effect on the viewer of a photograph should the slight stimulation of his curiosity rather than like the blow of a sledgehammer!

RL 25/4/85