Imagery

Image selection is only as strong as the resources available. You will occasionally be required to capture class or group activities for use in the classroom, in yearbooks, for promotional materials, and so on. Therefore, it is necessary for you to be familiar with a few photography basics.

1. Image quality is essentially a combination of resolution (the size of the image) + pixel density (how many dots are packed into the size of the image). As soon as you start editing an image, one or both of these factors are compromised.
2. Anything that comes off your camera labelled ‘thumb’ or that is less than approx. 1500 pixels wide/high is really only good for a small-sized image.
3. Please do not crop, resize, brighten, or otherwise edit your photos. Submit only the original image straight off your camera.
4. Smartphone cameras have improved dramatically over the last few years. If you have a current model (e.g. released in the last two years) of a reputable smartphone (iPhone, Samsung, Google Pixel), the images you can achieve can be quite good. But please check your settings to ensure your device is not automatically resizing or ‘correcting’ the images. Many phones will reduce the image size to save space on your phone by default, but these are usually settings that can be switched off.
5. Lighting:
   1. One of the easiest ways to get decent photos is to make sure you have adequate lighting. Natural, outdoors light is best.
   2. If indoors, consider whether there is a part of the room that is better lit and whether you have something to use as a lighting source.
   3. Avoid backlighting your subject – never put your subject in front of a window, as you will only put them in shadow or wash them out with the light coming in from behind them.
6. Focus:
   1. Make sure your subject is in focus.
   2. Hold the camera steady, elbows tucked into your sides, or use a tripod or benchtop if necessary.
7. Clean the lens:
   1. Check if the lens has any smudges or fingerprints on it and use a lint-free cleaning cloth to gently clean. Be careful not to scratch it as lenses are expensive!
8. Composition:
   1. Shots that are tight on their subject with little wasted space often work the best.
   2. Be sure you are not cutting the top off your subject’s head!
   3. If you want a wider shot (e.g. to show the activity students are working on, or the place where they are), it is still important to consider if there is any wasted, empty space in the frame.
   4. Natural shots that do not look staged are always best, but never be afraid to move tables, chairs, pencil cases, or even students around to get the best shot.
   5. Experiment with techniques like the rule of thirds, leading lines, or other composition techniques.
9. Feature shot:
   1. Think about a possible photo you could take that represents your class, event, or activity. This would make a good key or ‘hero’ image for your document.
   2. You may need to stage it a little to create the right shot (without overdoing it).