"Fotografía" (English: "Photograph") is derived from the Greek words photos ("light") and graphein ("to draw") The word was first used by the scientist Sir John F.W. Herschel in 1839. It is a method of recording images by the action of light, or related radiation, on a sensitive material.
The History
The early cave paintings attest to the fact that man has always wanted to record himself, his activities and the environment around him. This art, until very recently, has been reserved for the talented individuals, not the everyday, ordinary person. Painters of great renown abound throughout the centuries and have left remarkable pictorial histories of our journey through time. While the camera was not invented until the 19th century, the two basic elements of a camera had been well known for hundreds of years.
The first element of a working camera known by the ancients is the effect of a lighted area separated from a dark area with only a pin hole opening between them. An inverted (upside down) image of the lighted area will be produced on a flat surface in the dark area. As early as the 1400's it was documented that inserting a lens in the hole would produce a crisper, clearer image. This technology, called "camera obscura" was often used by artists to sketch objects more quickly and ease the difficulties of depth perception. The image was allowed to be projected on a piece of paper inside a dark box and the artist would trace outlines of the projected image.
The second known element of a working camera was the existence of materials capable of permanent change when exposed to light. These light sensitive chemicals were experimented with for centuries but were not used to coat a flat surface until very recently.
Putting these two pieces of knowledge together proved difficult. Early in the 1800's, the first experiments took place attempting to make images on paper surfaces that had been coated with light sensitive material. The process worked, but a lot of logistical problems needed to be solved. The first major problem was making the captured image on the chemical coated surface permanent. This problem was finally solved with the Daguerrotype image and made a huge impact on the world when it was announced in 1839. However other difficulties remained to be solved.
The Daguerrotype image would appear and the exposure process arrested, but the image was easily lost as the surface chemicals could be damaged. Additionally, the exposure time was longer than practical for common portraiture, which was much in demand. As with all new ideas promising great fortunes, minds work furiously on the glitches preventing practical use.
Photography took many twists and turns as people experimented with chemicals to make the image capturing more practical. As the rage for Daguerrotype reigned, the discovery was being made that latent images in reverse color were revealed to be present after only short exposures. These paper negatives could then be washed, chemically treated and used to make positive paper prints.
This was a major turning point in the development of the photography processes. No longer did people have to make do with the results of a one time process which took up to a minute of sitting absolutely still. Now, the implications were plain to those excited few who realized the possibilities. Exposure time was cut down dramatically and multiple copies of any image could be produced as easily as the first. If multiple copies of a Daguerrotype were desired, then multiple sittings were required.
When this process was perfected enough for common use, for the first time ever, portrait studios popped up all over the place. For a very small cost, people could get their portrait made. Finally we begin to see photographs of poor and working class people who could now afford a family portrait once in a while.
The well known stereotype of the photographer buried in his portable dark tent had its start around the time of the Civil War, or mid-1800's. This tent not only consisted of the camera equipment, but a portable dark room as well. The photographers had to process their photos right on the spot. The portable dark rooms, with the chemicals and equipment, were easily collapsed into moderately large suitcases. While this allowed the propagation of professional photography, the amateur still had to wait for further improvements.
By the 1870's, the wet developing process gave way to a new innovation called the gelatin dry plate. No longer needed were the chemicals on site in the now famous photographers tent. Treated plates could be taken out to the field, exposed, and brought back to a dark room for later processing.
The camera mechanisms themselves were also going through a revolution. It was becoming possible to have the exposures take less time. The shutter releases were mechanically rigged instead of manually opened.
It was during this time of dry processing that Muybridge perfected processing of action images and mechanically rigged cameras to take his pictures. He could not have put his rows of cameras into action if each had to individually be processed on the spot.
The final revolution of the 1800's took place when a man named George Eastman developed the idea of converting the preprocessed plate into rolls of sheets that were mounted on a roll holder inside of the camera. After each exposure, the roll would be forwarded by a special key, and after the roll was fully exposed, the whole camera was mailed or brought back to his plants for development. This camera was called the "Kodak Camera." Now every man, woman and child could become an amateur photographer!
The innovations which have evolved from this point on have made picture taking easier, improved the ability of professionals to specialize, and of course, include the introduction of color photography. Every man, woman and child can now take pictures with confidence, knowing that good quality cameras do as much of the work as we want them to, and developing labs can do the processing for us. We all have the option, however, to do the processing ourselves. Many dark room kits are available for beginners at moderate cost, and make great gifts for those intrigued enough to follow in the footsteps of the men and women who labored to make photography what it is today.
The technical name for black-and-white photography is "monochrome" since it is all different shades of one color. Black-and-white photography is popular with journalists and artists. It presents stark contrasts and a purer image. Black and white is often used in portraits and wedding pictures to provide a classic or historic look. Photographers choosing to shoot in black and white need to understand how it is different than color photography.
Color Photographs- In the early 1940s, commercially viable color films (except Kodachrome, introduced in 1935) were brought to the market. These films used the modern technology of dye-coupled colors in which a chemical process connects the three dye layers together to create an apparent color image.
JPEG/JPG- This is the most widely used format for photographs. After all, JPEG originates with the Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPEG is designed to compress images in a very clever way by calculating what information u won't miss. JPEG compression varies by percentage, although most cameras don't specify a percentage. In the figure, notice the 2 option: JPEG Fine (which uses little or no compression) and JPEG Basic (which uses greater compression but probably still results in adequate quality except for the highest grade and largest prints) In between the two in size and quality is JPEG Normal.
Raw-This is the newest format and can vary among cameras. The goal of raw is to capture more information everything the image sensor sees. A raw might include additional copies of the image with different exposures or formats such as RAW- JPEG
Why do people use Photo-shop?
Photo shop is the most popular and widely used photo editing software. for most professional photographers it is the most reliable tool for simple and complicated photo enhancement by the number of functions the program has those who like the steep learning curve may jump into the wagon and learn basic to advance photo editing skills but those who limit their photo enhancement to exposure correction and color enhancement may look at simpler photo editor.
The advancement of photo shop are far too numerous to be discussed in a single article. The main purpose photographers edit pictures on photoshop is to improve their appearance. The improvement is mainly for enhancement purposes advance editing is for artistic purposes. Professional photographers can change the way their photos look by making fine adjustment on color and exposure. Photoshop can also salvage flawed photography (curing overblown highlights) there are two major goals. One is to make the photo more presentable. Another is to make the photo appeal aesthetically to the viewers.
People who are having photography as a hobby should invest in good photo editing software, like photo shop. However with adobe Photoshop free download sites many can avail of the advantages of professional photo enhancement. But since photoshop is overwhelming for beginners online instruction materials are avaiable. etc.
what are the 5 types of Portrait photography?
1. candid
2. creative
3. gritty
4. nude
5. fashion
- Candid - The subject is photographed w/o his or her knowledge this way what shows in the picture is the natural side of the person clicking the camera while people are moving results in interesting facial reactions and amusing poses you can never get from models projecting before the lenses this however involves a certain responsibility as an artist you simply can't release or publish your candid photos unless your subject signs a model release form as permission.
- Creative - Creative photography aims to take pictures that are more uniquely artistic this type of portrait photography can be done with the application of different focus techniques, angles, lighting, lens types, and other elements photographers experiment with their cameras, other elements and sometimes their subjects to come up with artistic shots creative portrait often make the subjects more interesting.
- Gritty - Most gritty portraits come in black and white models show diffrent emotions to add drama to the entire photo most picture appear fairly grainy thus the term gritty portraits light is one crucial element in creating such photo it helps emphasize the features of the face and other element in the picture.
- Nude - Many people often see nude photography as a form of pornography most photographers practicing in this area believe the human body is one the most interesting subjects nude photography is all about art and not a means to express any sensual meaning pose and lighting go hand in hand to make great nude pictures when you want to have a nude portrait of yourself or with your partner ensure the photographer is professional enough to make it look classy and not against your preference.
- Fashion - As the name implies this type of photography focuses more on the clothes worn by the subject most fashion portrait come in full body shots to show the overall appeal of the dress or any piece of clothing some fashion portraits come in close up shots to show more details of the garnets backgrounds and location are also important in this types of photography these elements must match the clothes to express glamour or display a brand of clothing.
Posted by: Terry Sy Photographer
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