9

INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY

SELF-LEARNING MODULE
Second Quarter

JULRUS A. LLARENAS, T-III

TLE-ICT Teacher
Name of Learner: __________________________ Grade Level: _________
Section: _________________________________ Date: _______________

SELF-LEARNING MODULE
Information and Communications Technology
Discovering Computers (Fundamentals of Computers)

Background Information for Learners

Disclaimer: Most content of this learning material is taken or adopted from the
Learning Resource that was developed by the National Commission for Culture and the
Arts.

Introduction:
In this module, we will explore Photography. How exciting is that? Photography
is not just about taking snap shots or wacky pictures. It is about telling stories that
enables and empowers you to communicate without using words. So, it is not just about
handling the camera and shooting whatever your heart desires or whatever you thought
could be a good material behind the camera. It is about understanding how things work
and why, so that your knowledge is built upon foundation of more than just “How to
Shoot.” It is about creating stories that you capture, that will make you and the
audience connect to your photo.

Now do not get confused, photography is part of Media Arts the way it is a part of
Visual Arts. How, you ask? Photography is visual, it captures an image that you want to
explore. Remember your Principles and Elements of Art and Design? In this case,
photography is capturing the lines, shapes, color, texture, etc. All of which are part of
the visual. When you put combinations of the principles and elements together, you do
not just form the visual part. You form a story out of it, that contextualizes and
illustrates the message you want to be seen, and that is how it is a part of Media as
well.

Learning Competency:

Demonstrate skills basic photography and photo-editing using Adobe Photoshop.

Objective/s: At the end of this module you will be able to:

1. explain the principles, theoretical, historical, and aesthetic aspects of
photography.
2. Identify the terminologies, techniques, and processes of photography.
3. Distinguish the different types of cameras (film and digital), its evolution, features,
and capabilities.
4. Operate camera, its functions and proper handling.
5. Apply the rules for effective composition and production in taking digital photos
6. Curate a presentation of one’s collection of photographs based on principles
and techniques

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 2
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
For Your Information:

INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY

Defining Photography
Photography, the word was supposedly first coined by the British scientist Sir
John Herschel in 1839 from the Greek words phos, (genitive: phōtós) meaning “light”,
and graphê meaning “drawing or writing.” It literally means literally means “drawing
with light”. Photography essentially relies on light quality to capture an image. Notice
how grainy or low quality your mobile photos are? Compared to natural lighting outside
your home at 10:00 am?

LESSON ONE: HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Something to Think About

Say, you had a 12-roll film, this means you had 12 shots – back then, people would
make it count because an error would mean “sayang” or a waste of shot. Now a days, a
delete and repeat shot can be easily applied to all the shots that you needed or wanted.

Now you have a better understanding of what Photography means and what it does,
time to move on and understand the origins of Photography especially how the West has
influenced the use of cameras in the Philippines.

Photography has come a long way in its relatively short history. In almost 200 years,
the camera developed from a plain box that projected images only to the high-tech
minicomputers found in today’s Mirrorless, DSLRs and smartphones.

The First Cameras

The basic concept of photography has been

around since about the 5th century b.c.. But it
was not until an Iraqi scientist, Abu Ali Al-Hasan
Ibn al-Haytham, born in Basra (965-1039 AD),
known in the West as Alhacen or Alhazen, who
carried out practical experiments on optics in his
Book of Optics. He developed the Camera
Obscura in the 11th century that the art was
born.

Even then, the camera did not actually record

images, it simply projected them onto another
surface. The images were also upside down,
though they could be traced to create accurate
drawings of real objects such as buildings.

The first camera obscura used a pinhole in a

Figure A: Artist Using Camera Obscura by
Unknown Author tent to project an image from outside the tent
into the darkened area. It was in the 17th
century that the camera obscura became small enough to be portable At the same time

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 3
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
and era basic lenses to focus the light were also introduced to improve the quality but it
still had a long way to go.

The First Permanent Images

Photography, as we know it today, began in the

late 1830s in France. Joseph Niépce used a
portable camera obscura to expose a pewter
plate coated with bitumen to light. This is the
first recorded image that did not fade quickly.

Niépce’s success led to several other

experiments and photography progressed
very rapidly. Daguerreotypes, emulsion
plates, and wet plates were developed
almost simultaneously in the mid- to late-
1800s. The development of the emulsion or
“wet plates”. Cheaper than Daguerreotypes
and only needed 2-3 seconds of exposure
vs. the 15 minutes for a Daguerreotype.
1870’s – development of the “dry plate”
using a gelatin chemical on a plate. This
made photography more portable and
cheaper.

Cameras for Everyone

Photography was only for professionals and the very rich until George Eastman
started a company called Kodak in the 1880s. Eastman created a flexible roll film
that did not require constantly changing the solid plates. This allowed him to
develop a self-contained box camera that held 100 film exposures. The camera
had a small single lens with no focusing adjustment. The consumer would take
pictures and send the camera back to the factory for the film to be developed
and prints were developed in seven (7) days, much like modern disposable
cameras. This was the first camera inexpensive enough for the average person
to afford. In 1900 the Kodak “Brownie” camera was the first camera targeted
towards amateurs. It also gave birth to word and “snapshot.”

In the 1950s – Japanese brand Asahi (later Pentax) and Nikon develop the first
SLR Camera with interchangeable lenses. The development of technology
continued to soar faster by this time. The 1960s Polaroid develops a secret
chemical process to develop film in under 1 minute. Late 70’s and 80’s the
development of the “smart” or point-and-shoot compact cameras have already
become popular. You could buy films at 12, 24 and 36-rolls - this means the
number of rolls is the number of shots available.

By 1991 – Kodak developed first digital camera advanced enough for

professionals. This was the Kodak Professional Digital Camera System or DCS,
later unofficially named DCS 100. Officially, it was the first commercially
available digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 4
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
A look at Philippine Photography takes us back to the 1840s with two preserved
daguerreotypes, one of Intramuros, Manila showing a flag and a portrait of the
photographer himself named W. W. Wood.

Although known as the oldest preserved photographs

of the Philippines, their exact date remains unclear.
The first written record of the employ of photography
in the Philippines, however, was mentioned in an
1843 book written by a Spaniard traveler, diplomat
and poet, Sinibaldo de Mas. It is believed that de
Mas used a daguerreotype camera in 1841.

Other pioneers of the photography business in the

Philippines – apart from Sinibaldo de Mas and W. W.
Wood – were a Dutch photographer named Francisco
van Camp. His photo the Indigena de Clase Rica was
one of the first portrait photos that was recorded and
became known.

The history of photography in the Philippines is as

difficult to trace as the history of the country itself. Since the Philippines has
been occupied and colonized multiple times, its history has been rewritten a
copious number of times.

In 1896, the Filipinos began to rebel against the Spaniards, culminating to the
Philippine Revolution. It was in this revolution that photography was utilized in
an entirely different approach. Instead of being a one-sided instrument for the
Spaniards, the Filipinos began to use photography to fuel their own point of view.

The first Filipino photographer though was Félix

Laureano. His pictorial compositions, such as En
el baño (In the Bathroom) and Cuadrilleros
(Laborers), focused on human forms,
cockfights, and bullfights in the Philippines. He
also became the first photographer to publish a
book of photographs about the Philippines
(Recuerdos de Filipinas, or Memories of the
Philippines) in Barcelona in 1895. Laureano was
also regarded as “the first Filipino artist to
consciously use photography as a medium for
art”.

Of course, like all the other arts, the Philippine

Photography has its own Father of Photography.
Eduardo Masferre (April 18, 1909-June 24,
1995) works were highly regarded and used for
Philippine Anthropology studies. He is of
Catalan,

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 5
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
Spanish descent as his father was a Spanish soldier that immigrated to the
Philippines. But he was was born in Sagada, Cordillera. He was a self-taught
photographer. His photographs have been exhibited since the late eighties. His
most prominent international recognition came from the International
Photography Encounters in Arles, France in 1989. His study in the Philippines has
become a museum and art center.

After Eduardo Masferre a lot of other Photographer have followed his footsteps
and have made names in different fields of Photography.

LESSON TWO: THE EXPOSURE PYRAMID

The Three Fundamental Settings You Should Know

Did You Know? What makes the mirrorless camera, mirrorless? It is essentially
an electronic chip that has replaced the traditional mirror that helps draw from
the light, making everything electronic.

Most cameras have numerous buttons and menu options. If you pick the
wrong camera settings, it is possible that your photo won’t turn out the
way you want. How do you make sense of all these options? What do
these settings mean?
The three most important settings are called shutter speed, aperture,
and ISO. All three of them control the brightness of your photo, although
they do so in different ways. In other words, each brings its own “side
effects” to an image. So, part of the art of photography is to know exactly
how to balance all three for a given photo.
Shutter speed: The amount of time your camera sensor is exposed to the
world while taking a picture.
Aperture: Represents a “pupil” in your lens that can open and close to let
in different amounts of light.
ISO: the “sensitivity” of the film or camera system for taking pictures in
different lighting conditions.

Shutter Speed
One of the three most important settings in photography is Shutter Speed.
Shutter speed is responsible for two particular things: changing the
brightness of your photo and creating dramatic effects by either freezing
action or blurring motion.
Shutter speed exists because of camera shutter – which is a curtain in
front of the camera sensor that stays closed until the camera fires. When

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 6
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
the camera fires, the shutter opens and fully exposes the camera sensor to
the light that has passed through your lens. After the sensor is done
collecting the light, the shutter closes immediately, stopping the light from
hitting the sensor.
What is Shutter Speed?
Shutter speed is the length of time camera shutter is open, exposing light
onto the camera sensor. It is how long your camera spends taking a
photo. This has a few important effects in how your images will appear.
When you use a long shutter speed, you end up exposing your sensor for a
longer period of time. The first big effect of it is motion blur. If your
shutter speed is long, moving subjects in your photo will appear blurred
along the direction of motion. Slow shutter speeds are used to create a
sense of motion on rivers and waterfalls, while keeping everything else
completely sharp.
On the other hand, shutter speed can also be used to freeze motion. If you
use a fast shutter speed while taking pictures of a water, each droplet will
hang in the air completely sharp, which might not even be visible to our
own eyes.
Shutter speeds are typically
measured in fractions of a second,
when they are under a second. For
example, 1/4 means a quarter of a
second, while 1/250 means one two-
hundred-and-fiftieth of a second. If
you are photographing birds, you
may need 1/1000th second or faster.
However, for general photography of
slower-moving subjects, you might
be able to take pictures at 1/200th
second, 1/100th second, or even longer
without any motion blur.
For longer or slower shutter speeds such
as 1/25th or 1/4th you will need to use a
tripod to get sharp images. You would
use long shutter speeds for low-light or
night photography, or to capture
movement intentionally. If anything in
your scene is moving when you use long
shutter speeds, it will appear very blurry.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 7
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
Understanding Aperture in Photography
Aperture is one of the three pillars of
photography (the other two being
Shutter Speed and ISO), and certainly
the most important.
What is Aperture?
Aperture can be defined as the opening
in a lens through which light passes to
enter the camera. It is very similar to
how your eyes work. As you move
between bright and dark areas, the iris
in your eyes either opens or closes, controlling the size of your pupil and
controlling the amount of light we see. In photography, the “pupil” of your
lens is called aperture. You can shrink or enlarge the size of the aperture
to allow more or less light to reach your camera sensor. Like shutter
speed, aperture also alters the exposure of your images by making them
brighter or darker.
Aperture can also add dimension to your photos by controlling depth of
field. Either giving you a blurred background with a shallow focus effect, or
it can give you sharp photos from the foreground to the distant horizon.
How Aperture Affects Exposure
Aperture has several effects on your photographs. One of the most
important is the brightness, or exposure, of your images. As aperture
changes in size, it alters the overall amount of light that reaches your
camera sensor – and therefore the brightness of your image.
A large aperture (a wide opening) will pass a lot of light, resulting in a
brighter photograph; a small aperture makes a photo darker. In a darker
environment such as indoors, or at night, you will want to select a large
aperture to capture as much light as possible.

How Aperture Affects Depth of Field

The other critical effect of aperture is depth of field. Depth of field is the
amount of your photograph that appears sharp from front to back. Some
images have a “shallow” depth of field, where the background is
completely out of focus. Other images have a “large” or “great” depth of
field, where both the foreground and background are sharp.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 8
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
 In this image, you can see
that the flower in the
foreground is in focus and
appears sharp, while the
background is completely
out of focus. This helped
bring the attention of the
viewer to the subject,
rather than busy or
cluttered background. If
the photographer had
used a smaller aperture,
the effect would have
been different.

One way to remember this is: large aperture = large blur.

On the other hand, a small aperture results in a small blur, which is the
best for some types of photography such as landscape and architecture. In
the photo of the waterfalls below, a small aperture was used to ensure
that both the foreground and background were as sharp as possible.

This is a quick comparison that shows the difference between using a large
vs a small aperture and what it does to the subject relative to the
foreground and the background. As you can see, the photograph on the
left only has the head of the lizard appearing in focus and sharp, with both
foreground and background blurred. On the right the photo has everything
from front to back appearing sharp.

This is what using large vs small aperture does to photographs.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 9
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
What Are F-Stop and F-Number?

So far, we have only discussed aperture in general terms like large and
small. Aperture, though, is usually expressed as a number known as “f-
number” or “f-stop”, with the letter “f” appearing before the number, like
f/8 or f8.

These numbers confuse beginning photographers a lot! Please remember

that when discussing f-stops: Small numbers represent large, whereas
large numbers represent small apertures.

What you must understand is that aperture is a fraction. So, a fraction-of-

4 (or f/4) is larger than a fraction-of-8 (f/8). This chart might make things
easier to understand.

Choosing the Right Aperture

Now that you’re familiar with some specific examples of f-stops, how do
you know what aperture to use for your photos? These diagrams show how
aperture affects your photograph’s exposure:

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 10
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
Also remember that regarding depth of field, that a large aperture value
like f/2.8 (larger aperture) will result in a larger amount of blur, while
values like f/8 or f/11 (smaller aperture) will help you capture sharp
details in both the foreground and background.

To summarize aperture

Aperture is clearly a crucial

setting in photography, and it
is possibly the single most
important setting of all.
Aperture can be a very
confusing topic for beginners
in photography. As you have
seen from this topic, it controls
so many variables in your
images, which can make it
difficult to master.

Aperture affects several

different parts of your photo,
but you will understand
everything fairly quickly if you
take the time to practice and
experiment with different
settings. A small aperture

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 11
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
makes your photos darker, increases depth of field, increases diffraction,
decreases most lens aberrations, and increases the intensity of starbursts.
A large aperture does the opposite.

ISO
What is ISO?

ISO initially defined only film sensitivity, it was later adopted by digital
camera manufacturers with the purpose of maintaining similar brightness
levels as film.

In very basic terms, ISO is simply a camera setting that will brighten or
darken a photo. As you increase your ISO number, your camera becomes
“more sensitive”, and your photos will grow brighter. For that reason, ISO
can help you capture images in darker environments, or be more flexible
about your aperture and shutter speed settings.

However, raising your ISO has consequences. A photo taken with ISO too
high will show a lot of grain (also known as noise) and the photo might not
be usable. You should only raise your ISO when adjusting shutter speed or
aperture is not possible or does not give you the effect you want.

Common ISO Values

Every camera has a different range of ISO values (sometimes called ISO
speeds) that you can use. A common set is as follows:

ISO 100 (low ISO), ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO 3200 (high
ISO). Some cameras have even lower ISO such as ISO 50, while some
cameras are able to
shoot at very high ISO
6400 or ISO 12800.

Notice the differences

between these two
images, the one on the
left (ISO 100) is
smoother and cleaner
than the one on the
right (ISO 5000) which
shows a lot of grain
and noise.

What Camera ISO Should You Use?

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 12
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
Many starting photographers understand the basics of ISO, but they are
not sure which ISO value to actually choose when in the field. Different
situations call for different ISOs. As with the aperture and shutter speed,
there is no best ISO to set on your camera, since it will completely depend
on the light situation and the motion that you want to capture.

When to Use Low ISO

For most cameras, the lowest ISO settings are the best and give you the
best quality photos. If there is plenty of light, you are free to use a low
ISO and minimize the appearance of noise as much as possible.

Even in low-light or dark environments, you still might be able to use a low
ISO, but you may need have your camera mounted on a tripod or sitting
completely still on a table.

When to Use High ISO

Even though it is ideal to use low ISOs, there will be plenty of times when
a high ISO is necessary. The simple reason is that you are often fighting
against motion blur, and you will need to pick between a sharp photo at a
high ISO, or a blurry photo at a low ISO.

Shooting at very high shutter speeds means that you also decrease the
amount of light hitting the sensor, in this case, you may need to use
higher ISO speeds to compensate for the loss of light.

You should increase the ISO when there is not enough light for the camera
to capture a sharp, bright photo any other way. In general terms, if you

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 13
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
want to limit the amount of noise in a photo, set your maximum ISO to
something like ISO 800, 1600, or 3200.

Summarizing Exposure

We know there is a lot to remember, a lot to process, but with practice and
attention to detail, you will soon gain a mastery of exposure and exposure
settings! Here are some quick tips for you:

• As shutter speed increases, motion blur decreases. If you want to

freeze movement, use a faster shutter speed. Conversely, if you
want to blur movement, use a slower shutter speed.

• As the aperture size increases, the depth of field decreases. If you

want a blurry background for a portrait, use a large aperture like f/2.
If you want a background that’s in focus, like a landscape shot, try a
smaller aperture like f/11.

• As the ISO increases, the presence of digital noise also increases.

Digital noise looks like grain, and can be used artistically, often in
black and white images, to give them a bit of grittiness. If you want
grain, boost the ISO. If you want a clear image, use the lowest ISO
possible.

So what can you do to get good-quality images, here are some tips:

1. Select the aperture setting that will provide your desired depth of
field.
2. Set your ISO to its lowest available value and put your shutter speed
to whatever setting provides a proper exposure.
3. If your subject is blurry, slowly raise your ISO and use a faster
shutter speed until motion blur disappears.
4. If your ISO is getting too high and you still have the ability to use a
wider aperture, open it up until the ISO gets to a more manageable
level, even if it means sacrificing some of your desired depth of field.
5. That’s all it takes! If you follow these steps, you’ll capture the
maximum image quality each time. You’ll find the ideal balance
between noise, motion blur, and depth of field.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 14
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
 LESSON THREE: TYPES OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Now there are at least a hundred methods and techniques to Photography.

There is no satisfying a photographer than mastering a technique or
different techniques and making a signature out of it. All these application
and technique requires practice. Learning new technique can provide new
potential inspirations and open-up new possibilities. In this part of of the
learning resource we will explore different Applied Photography
Techniques that you can experiment safely at home.

I encourage you as the user to explore and think out of the box. Again,
there is no right or wrong in Photography only a creative way of doing
these techniques to perfect your own shots.

In this section, I will name a few different types of Photography, just to

give you an idea that photography has its own specialization and might
help you direct your interests and skill mastery.

• Architecture Photography is all about showing lines, shapes,

structure, and color of buildings, cityscapes, bridges, and as well as
other structures. Both interior and exterior shots are included.
Anything that shows and defines architecture can be photographed
and labeled as Architecture Photography.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 15
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
• Landscape Photography focuses on showing the outdoor space,
showing unending green spaces, hills, mountains, and anything that
is about the environment. It can also be man-made features or
disturbance.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 16
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
• Portraiture is not just taking
selfie! It is an art that can
cover painting, photography,
or other artistic representation
of the face and its expression.
So do take note that the
expression is also a factor in
doing portraits. It is not
necessarily “smile” all the
time. It can show different
emotions, mood or even show
a personality.

• Macro Photography is extreme close-up subjects. Usually of very

small objects or living things, such as flowers, leaf patterns, bugs,
insects, etc. Using this technique makes your subject look bigger
than in real life. Making all the details crisper clear. It usually
requires an additional macro lens to achieve a real good macro shot.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 17
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
 • Black and White Photography is one of the most inspirational and
dramatic technique there is. It uses different tones of grey, going
from black to white. That simple black and white makes an image
powerful because of how minimalist the approach of the
photographer.

There are more types of photography that you can explore beyond this
learning resource. I’m listing down the others below just to give you a
guide what to look for, what to expect and how to differentiate the
techniques and styles. Now, do not get intimidated or overwhelmed, these
types help categorize the kind photography practice and will give you
specialization to master when you found your passion for a particular style
of Photography. When you do have the time to research or search you can
look up others such as:

1. Sports Photography 9. Fine Art Photography

2. Fashion Photography 10. Travel Photography
3. Tilt Photography 11. Advertising or Lifestyle Photography
4. Photojournalism 12. Pet Photography
5. Editorial Photography 13. Aerial Photography
6. Wedding Photography 14. Scientific Photography
7. Event Photography 15. Stock Photography
8. Product Photography

LESSON FOUR: FRAMING AND COMPOSITION

Now that you know your camera, time to learn how to take pictures
properly! Let’s start with Framing! Framing is just knowing your subject-
putting them in the center and cropping the unimportant stuff! When you
frame, you start learning the Rule of Thirds or the Grid! All your cameras
have this setting, yes even your mobile phone has this setting.

Beginner photographers, such as yourself, don’t need to worry. This

module will outline the general meaning of the term “composition” in art.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 18
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
We will also briefly discuss the goal of composition, define what a good
composition is and why it is such an important part of any work of art.

Composition is a way of guiding the viewer’s eye towards the most

important elements of your work, sometimes – in a very specific order. A
good composition can help make a masterpiece even out of the dullest
objects and subjects in the plainest of environments. On the other hand, a
bad composition can ruin a photograph completely.

Cropping can sometimes save an image, but only when tighter framing
and removal of certain portions of the image is the correct solution. That is
why giving your choice of composition plenty of thought before capturing
an image is a step of utmost importance.

Basic Composition Techniques

Rule of Thirds is a basic way of

framing shot. Your mobile phone
has this function called “grid or
grid shot.” Dividing your frame
into an imaginary grid, align the
subject along an intersection of
the vertical and horizontal line.
The four intersections becomes
your “new center.” Because it
creates a more interesting and
dynamic visualization; gives the
illusion of motion by causing the
viewer’s eyes to “move” away from the “true center.”

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 19
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
When you’re using the Rule of Thirds you may leave a large empty space
or neutral space in the frame. Neutral spaces can be used to give
emphasis to the main subject. The composition can also be balanced by
including other objects in the frame.

Following the Rule of Thirds or using Neutral Space leads to an unbalanced

or asymmetrical photo. This is not a bad thing! Unbalanced or
asymmetrical photos can be very dynamic and engage the viewer.

Sometimes, though, you want to shoot a Balanced or Symmetrical

photograph. In a balanced photograph, the left and right side, or the top
and bottom halves of the photograph look or feel like they have the same
amount of content. In a symmetrical photograph, the left and the right
side are similar or mirrored.

In this photo you will see the Fullerton Hotel Stairs shot symmetrically.
What you see on the left, you should be seeing on your right side too.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 20
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
Framing is defining what your viewer will see in the photograph – what is
not in the frame, they will not see! Look at the diagram below to
understand the different sizes of shots (Close Ups, Medium Shots, Long
Shots) with a human figure as the reference. Close Ups are great for
showing lots of emotion and detail, Medium Shots are perfect for
establishing a relationship between subject and viewer, and Long Shots
are your choice for showing size, scale, and space.

When you’re doing framing

especially for portrait
photography, always note of
the headroom space and
proper cutting of frames
without hitting the joints and
being aware of your
background.

The diagram here gives you a

guide as to where to position
your frames so that your
shots do not look awkward or
problematic.

Lastly, remember that your backgrounds are essential to achieve good

composition. Sometimes they work with the right framing and
composition.

And a lot of times, they become waste. Look at the sample photo, it would
have

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 21
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
worked if only there were no other tourists.

Watch out for “growths” as

well. Look at the sample photo.
It just so happened, the one
who took the photo did not
consider the background and
how it will affect the subject.
By practicing details such as
this, you are allowing your
eyes to be alert and in no time,
you’ll be able to capture
photographs rather than just a
snapshot.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 22
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
 Keywords to help you understand
Composition:

• Composition is how picture is

constructed.
• There is a subject.
• We are concerned how the subject
is presented and communicated.
• How it relates to the surroundings.
• How tone, color and contrast are
used in the photograph to add
impact.

Camera handling, techniques and

knowing the fundamentals and the
functions of your camera.
Understanding manual adjustments to
avoid using automatic all the time.

The following topics builds on prior

topics, so if you take it step by step the
information and skills will flow naturally
and in the right order.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 23
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
 LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

Name: ______________________________________ Total Score: _____________

Year and Section: _____________________________ Date: __________________

Activity 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write SCORE
the letter of your answer in the space before the number.
1. What adjustment or technique is used when the subject of a photograph
is in focus while the rest of the foreground or background is blurred?
a. Shallow depth of field b. Great depth of field
c. ISO d. Shutter speed
2. What do you call the amount of light that is captured by your camera?
a. Exposure b. Focus c. Aperture d. Light
3. Which of the different parts of the exposure triangle is an adjustable opening in a
camera that limits amount of light, and is known as f-stop?
a. Shutter speed b. ISO
c. Manual setting d. Aperture
4. Which of the different aperture settings has the largest or widest opening?
a. f 2.8 b.11 c. f 22 d. 5.6
5. Which of the different camera settings is also known as film speed?
a. ISO b. Shutter speed
c. Aperture d. White balance
6. Light is __________ to photography?
a. Everything b. Nothing
c. Not as important as focus d. Not as important as composition
7. Which of the different camera settings controls motion blur?
a. ISO b. Aperture c. Shutter speed d. Exposure
8. Which camera setting controls depth of field?
a. ISO b. Shutter speed c. Aperture d. White balance
9. If you set you ISO high, what is the grainy look to photos called?
a. Sand b. Dirt c. Noise d. Ghosts
10.If you took a picture and the photo turned out to be all white, which of the
following will you do?
a. Lower your ISO.
b. Increase your shutter speed.
c. Close or tighten the aperture.
d. Adjust the settings (ISO, aperture, shutter speed) to its proper exposure and
according to the conditions of the environment (i.e. light).

Activity 2: TRUE OR FALSE. Write True if the statements if true and False if the SCORE

statement is false.
_____________ 1. Landscape photography is also known as scenic or
environmental photography.
_____________ 2. Micro photography is the art of capturing small creatures and objects
such as bugs and flowers.
_____________ 3. Architecture photography focuses on the outside structure and not
on the details or the inside of the building or structure.
_____________ 4. Still life photography sometimes includes living things such as
plants, aside from the arrangement of non-living things or objects.
_____________ 5. Food photographers will sometimes replace the actual foods in an
image with artificial substitutes that looks tastier than the original.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 24
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!
_____________ 6. Taking photos of astronomical objects like stars, planets, and
meteors, celestial events like lunar or solar eclipses and other
phenomena of the night sky all fall under astrophotography.
_____________ 7. When a photo is overly saturated it is considered as Black and white
(B&W) photography.
_____________ 8. Candid photography is street photography.
_____________ 9. The use of drones to capture scenes from high in the sky is known
as aerial photography.
_____________ 10. Street photography is an attempt to show significant and historical
events while producing truthful photography.

Activity 3: IDENTIFICATION. Identify what is described/defined in the SCORE

following sentences. Choose from the word /spool below. Write your answer
before the number.

Framing Negative space Golden Ratio Composition Depth of field

Fill the frame Symmetry Rule of thirds Contrast Leading lines

_____________ 1. This is the planning, positioning, and arranging the different

elements in a photograph.
_____________ 2. This is a compositional guideline or rule that creates a mirror image
of the half of your photo or composition.
_____________ 3. What is a set of imaginary lines used as a composition technique to
make the picture look more interesting?
_____________ 4. Which composition techniques uses the elements in its natural
surroundings to frame the subject?
_____________ 5.What composition technique or guide uses strong lines that lead to
the subject matter or the focus/focal point of the photo?
_____________ 6. What technique of composing an image where positive space takes
up most or all of the frame, it is the opposite of using negative space
in the composition?
_____________ 7. It refers to the space around the main subject in your photo. It
creates the right relationship between the focus point and the
background.
_____________ 8. Which composition technique uses contrasting elements in a
photograph which are usually tonal and color, or in a form of
textures and shapes?
_____________ 9. Which composition technique allows you to blur out everything else
in an image and make your subject the only thing in focus?
_____________ 10. Which of the different types of composition is known as the Phi Grid
or the Fibonacci Spiral?

NOTE: You may write your answers in ½ lengthwise.

Address: SICAT Rd., Calaocan, Santiago City 3311 NOTE: Please Practice Personal 25
Telephone No.: (078) 305-0110 Hygiene protocols at all times. Stay
Email Address: scnhs_02@yahoo.com Safe and Healthy!