“It’s All About the Light” Muril Robertson FineLightImages.com Assignment Charts at:

Assignment #1 Exposure Use Automatic Meter Photography Black Wall & White Wall. Compare the two images. Take Grey Card and several different colored pieces of paper. Compare exposures of each color to grey card Photograph each at +/- 1/3 stop, +/- 2/3 stops Learn how much to bias each color for the effect you want Apply this to flower photography, say at the botanical garden. Example. I like my yellows a little brighter, so I open up a bit.

Assignment #2 Lighting Find a convenient place to photograph under different lighting conditions. Pick out a subject and photograph it over a number of days Sunny, Cloudy, Directional, Backlight-Silhouette, Backlit- Translucent, etc What did you learn?

Assignment #3 Flash Use Flash and set to properly expose your subject (a person) indoors Against a White Wall 2’ from wall, flash 7’ from wall 5’ from wall, flash 10’ from wall 2.5’ from wall, flash 10’ from wall Note how the white wall becomes darker. Explain and quantify. Relate to Studio Photographers using a light just for the background. How can you utilize this in the field?

Assignment #4 Flash & Ambient Go outdoors and set a person, stuffed animal, or perhaps a stuffed person in a chair. Photograph with and without flash Then, set flash & camera exposure manually Starting at Nominal Settings Going Over and Under for each of flash & ambient Write down settings and examine results Use your fancy TTL flash to do the same thing Have you mastered your flash, or does it still master you? Don’t give up. Keep studying. Remember: Commit only to 5 minutes per day. You can do it.

Assignment #5 Histograms Use Automatic Metering Find a solid color to fill the frame of your digital camera, preferably a middle tone. Take a sequence of 9 shots using the +/- Exposure Compensation -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4 stops Use this to determine the dynamic range of your camera. Practice ‘Chimping’ your Histogram Look at Red, Blue, and Green Histograms, if you have them Take images into Photoshop and experiment with Levels

Expose-to-the-Right Tutorials on the Web landscape.com/tutorials/understanding- series/understanding-histograms.shtmlhttp:// landscape.com/tutorials/understanding- series/understanding-histograms.shtml landscape.com/tutorials/expose-right.shtmlhttp:// landscape.com/tutorials/expose-right.shtml poseright-1.stmhttp:// poseright-1.stm

Assignment #6 Reinvent Yourself Commit 5 minutes a day to …. Working on your ‘weakest link’ Reading your camera manual Finding your point-of-view Composition Technical Use your camera like a laboratory instrument Experiment with Exposure, White Balance, ISO Exercise your imagination Try something different Make list of ideas. Keep small notepad handy. Make a plan and execute the plan Whether doing a photo trip, self-assignment, etc. Develop Plan A: Detailed, Do Lotsa Research Do Plan B: Dump Plan A This is effective only because you researched developing plan A

Photo Links Google key words! Light, photography, tutorial, histogram

Fun Assignment Reflection-in-the-Shade Find a reflective surface in the shade Put it between you and a well lit subject Take a picture of it