JT Spunk | Photography

what is “contrast” in photography?

can someone please explain the basics of photography..contrast, saturation, composition, ect.

Contrast in the imaging is the difference between the lights and the darks. If you have a picture that has little contrast, its usually very subdued. If you take an picture and turn down the contrast, the light parts of the pic become darker, and the dark parts become lighter. If you turn it up, the opposite happens. If you really turn it up a lot, you end up with only white and black, which works for some photos, but a very small percentage. Generally speaking, turning up the contrast makes the subject stand out a bit from the background. Its not always, but generally.

Contrast in composition is a whole different thing. It can be a remarkably effective way to portray things in environments you would not normally find things. Bikini girls in the snow or cavemen in Times Square, things of that nature. Even more simply like a cell phone and an apple.

Saturation is the amount of a color. Increasing saturation sort of purifies that color and brings it out, makes it stand out potentially. Decreasing it draws that color out of it. Desaturating generally means removing all the color altogether.

Composition is the art part of photography. Its all about framing a picture with the camera so you can push the button and capture it. There’s a lot to know about this, its not a quick answer. I’m not even going to try. There are a lot of guidelines or rules people like to impose. Its about where to put the subject in the frame, which changes depending on what they’re doing. It defines how much of the subject you put in that frame or if you don’t put it in the frame, but imply that its there. Anyway you want to approach it, its the way the photographer makes the photo.

So anyway, there you have it in a nutshell.. a very small nutshell.

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