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Figure 5-2.Tripods.
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Photography (Basic) - Introduction to photography and other graphic techniques
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Figure 5-3.–Using a foot strap to make a tripod more rigid. Monopods A monopod is a single pole on which a camera is mounted. Monopods are useful for keeping the camera steady for location work when a tripod is too bulky or difficult to use; however, the use of a monopod is not advisable when using large, heavy cameras or when shutter speeds below about 1/15 second are used. Standing or kneeling with a monopod braced against your body or leg provides a camera the extra support and steadiness required for it to be an effective tool (fig. 5-4). Clamps Another practical way to support your camera is to use one of the many clamps available for this purpose. A camera clamp has a mount that screws into the tripod hole or socket on the camera and has jaws that can be clamped  to  a  convenient  object.  Camera  support  clamps can be attached to furniture, doors, posts, fences, and other firm anchor points. There are even clamps with suction cups for mounting cameras on smooth, flat surfaces, such as a window. PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION Photographic   composition   is   the   pleasing arrangement of subject matter elements within the Figure  5-4.–Using  a  monopod. picture area. Creative photography depends foremost on the photographer's ability to see as the camera sees because  a  photograph  does  not  reproduce  a  scene  quite the way we see it. The camera sees and records only a small isolated part of the larger scene, reduces it to only two dimensions, frames it, and freezes it. It does not discriminate as we do. When we look at a scene we selectively  see  only  the  important  elements  and  more  or less ignore the rest. A camera, on the other hand, sees all the details within the field of view. This is the reason some   of   our   pictures   are   often   disappointing. Backgrounds may be cluttered with objects we do not remember, our subjects are smaller in the frame or less striking than we recall, or the entire scene may lack significance  and  life. Good pictures are seldom created by chance. To make  the  most  of  any  subject,  you  must  understand  the basic principles of composition. The way you arrange the elements of a scene within a picture, catch the viewer’s attention, please the eye, or make a clear statement  are  all  qualities  of  good  composition.  By developing  photographic  composition  skills,  you  can produce photographs that suggest movement, life, depth, shape, and form, recreating the impact of the original  scene. How   are   photographic   composition   skills developed? You look, you study, you practice. Every time you take a picture, look all around within the viewfinder.  Consider  the  way  each  element  will  be recorded and how it relates to the overall composition. 5-5







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