Tripod
In photography, a tripod is used to stabilize and elevate a camera, a flash unit, or other photographic equipment. All photographic tripods have three legs and a mounting head to couple with a camera. Tripods are used for both still and motion photography to prevent camera movement. They are necessary when slow-speed exposures are being made, or when lenses of extreme focal length are used, as any camera movement while the shutter is open will produce a blurred image. In the same vein, they reduce camera shake, and thus are instrumental in achieving maximum sharpness. A tripod is also helpful in achieving precise framing of the image, or when more than one image is being made of the same scene, for example when bracketing the exposure. Use of a tripod may also allow for a more thoughtful approach to photography. Tripods are extremely flexible also, they allow the user to pan the camera in several directions until satisfaction. There are several types of tripod. The least expensive types are used primarily for consumer still and video cameras; these generally come with an attached head and rubber. The head is very basic, and often not entirely suitable for smooth panning of a camcorder.
A common feature, mostly designed for still cameras, allows the head to flip sideways 90 degrees to allow the camera to take pictures in portrait format rather than landscape. Often included is a small pin on front of the mounting screw that is used to stabilize camcorders. This is not found on the more expensive photographic tripods. More expensive tripods are sturdier, stronger, and usually come with no integrated head. The separate heads allow a tripod-head combination to be customized to the photographer’s needs. Many tripods, even some relatively inexpensive ones, also include leveling indicators for the legs of the tripod and the head. Many tripods, even some relatively inexpensive ones, also include leveling indicators for the legs of the tripod and the head. Many of the more expensive tripods have additional features, such as a reversible center post so that the camera may be mounted between the legs, allowing for shots from low positions, and legs that can open to several different angles.
The head is the part of the tripod that attaches to the camera and allows it to be aimed. It may be integrated into the tripod, or a separate part. There are generally two different types of heads available. A ball head utilizes a ball joint to allow movement of all axes of rotation from a single point. Some ball heads also have a separate panoramic rotation axis on the base of the head. Ball heads come in varying styles of complexity. Some have only one control for both ball and pan lock. While others have individual controls for the ball, pan, and also ball friction. Ball heads are used when a free-flow movement of the camera is needed. They are also more stable, and can hold heavier loads, than pan-tilt heads. However, ball heads have the disadvantage that only one control is available to allow or prevent movement of all axes of rotation, so if the camera is tilted on one axis, there may be risk of tilting on the other axes as well. When movement of one, or two axes or rotation is needed, a pan-tilt head is used.
The pan-tilt head has separate axes and controls for tilting and panning, so that a certain axis can be controlled without risk of affecting the other axes. These heads come in two types, 2-way and 3-way. 2-way heads have 2 axes and controls, one for panoramic rotation, and one for front tilt. 3-way heads have 3 axes and controls, one for panoramic rotation, front tilt, and lateral tilt. The controls on these heads, are usually handles that can be turned, to loosen or tighten the certain axis. This allows movement in one, a few, or none of the axes. When movement of all axes of rotation is needed, a ball head is used. There are some pan-tilt heads that use gears, for precision control of each axis. This is helpful for some types of photography, such as macro photography. Other head types include the gimbal head, fluid head, gear head, alt-azimuth, and equatorial heads. Fluid heads and gear heads move very smoothly, avoiding the jerkiness caused by the stick-slip effect found in other types of tripod head. Gimbal heads are single-axis heads used in order to allow a balanced movement for camera and lenses. This proves useful in wildlife photography as well as in any other case where very long and heavy telephoto lenses are adopted: a gimbal head rotates a lens around its center of gravity, thus allowing for easy and smooth manipulation while tracking moving subjects.
Lights
Lighting plays a major part in photography, specific lighting can generate more detailed atmosphere’s and also capture specific detail/features more clearly. Light is more than just how bright or dark it is; it’s also the key to the look, mood and atmosphere of your images. The direction of the light will affect how the shape and texture of your subject appears, while the colour and how soft or harsh the light is can totally change a shot’s appearance. There are three basic characteristics of light that determine how your shot will look: how harsh or soft it is, the direction and the color. It’s easiest to tell the quality of the light by looking at the shadows, rather than the areas in the light. Harsh, direct light creates strong, well-defined shadows, while the shadows created by more diffuse lighting are much softer. The location of the shadows tells you where the light is coming from, as they appear on the opposite side to the light. With a few props you can experiment with lighting set-ups. Move a light into different positions and note the effect that this has on your subject, and the shadows. You’ll need a high ISO such as 800 or 1600 to get a fast shutter speed and avoid shake. Halogen lights are very useful as they extract further light, increasing exposure and brightness. Fluorescent lighting is also handy to use, creating more detailed effects.
Types
Front Light – With the light behind the camera, and pointing directly at the subject, you’ll get very flat lighting. This is the same as you’ll get by shooting with the sun behind you or using an on-camera flash.
Side Light – Moving the light to one side of the subject produces a far more interesting light, as it shows the shape of the subject much more than when the light is coming from the camera position.
Back Light – With the light behind the subject you get a completely different effect. This time most of the light is hitting the side of the subject, which creates a more atmospheric and moody image
Softboxes
A soft box is a type of photographic lighting device, one of a number of photographic soft light devices. All the various soft light types create even and diffused light by directing light through some diffusing material, or by “bouncing” light off a second surface to diffuse the light. The best known form of bouncing source is the umbrella light where the light from the bulb is bounced off the inside of a metalized umbrella to create a soft indirect light. A soft box is an enclosure around a bulb comprising reflective side and back walls and a diffusing material at the front of the light. The sides and back of the box are lined with a bright surface – an aluminized fabric surface or an aluminum foil, to act as an efficient reflector. In some commercially available models the diffuser is removable to allow the light to be used alone as a floodlight or with an umbrella reflector. A soft box can be used with either flash or continuous light sources such as fluorescent lamps or “hot lights” such as quartz halogen bulbs or tungsten bulbs. If soft box lights are used with “hot” light sources, the user must be sure the soft box is heat rated for the wattage of the light to which it is attached in order to avoid fire hazard.
Reflector
In photography and cinematography, a reflector is an improvised or specialised reflective surface used to redirect light towards a given subject or scene. Apart from certain highly specialized components found in enlargers, projectors and scanners, photographic reflectors fall into two main groups:
Lamp reflectors
Similar to a domestic lampshade, these reflectors are fixed to an artificial light source (for example, a filament bulb or flash tube) to direct and shape the otherwise scattered light, reflecting it off their concave inner surfaces and directing it towards the scene to be photographed. Although there are a large number of variants, the most common types are:
Spherical – short-sided, giving a relatively broad spread of light;
Parabolic – providing a tighter, parallel beam of light.
Board reflectors
Also known as plane reflectors, “flats” or bounce boards, this kind of reflector is located independent of a light source; the light is reflected off its surface, either to achieve a broader light source, or control shadows and highlights, or both. This kind of reflector generally has a very low reflectivity factor that varies widely according to surface texture and colour. As a result, it is most commonly used to control contrast in both artificial and natural lighting, in place of a fill light or “kick” light. In this case, light “spilling” from the main ambient or key light illuminating a scene is reflected back into the scene with a varying degrees of precision and intensity, according to the chosen reflective surface and its position relative to the scene.
Reflectors may also be used as a means of increasing the size of the main light source, which may (or may not) retain a direct path to the scene. By positioning a board reflector close to a light source, its effective size can be increased by “bouncing” the light off it. A very common example of this technique is the traditional umbrella reflector, typically having a gold, silver or matte white interior onto which a lamp fitted with a circular reflector is projected, providing a broad, soft illumination. The lamp faces away from the scene to be photographed, allowing only reflected light to be thrown forward.
Lenses
There are many lenses which can be adjusted to an SLR camera, these lenses can be used to enhance the scale of zoom and also capture more specific detail. A standard lens, is one that sees in a similar proportion to the human eye. These are typically between 35mm and 50mm and are among the most common prime lenses on the market. They are wonderful for travel and street photography, because the images strike us as something that we would see with our own eye. Telephoto lenses are technically defined as anything exceeding 50mm, though the term is usually used to describe lenses which are beyond 100mm; the ranges between 50-100mm are more commonly referred to as “portrait lenses”, because that is what they excel at and are primarily used for. Just the opposite of wide-angle lenses, telephotos shorten the depth of field, enabling you to isolate your subjects from the background with shallow focus; this is when only a short plane is sharp, and everything in front of or behind that plane falls rapidly into blur.The macro lens has an intense level of magnification, capable of picking out the tiniest details and enhancing them larger than we can see with our own eyes. It’s thanks to these lenses that we’ve been able to see the texture of a fly’s face, or a flower’s pollen spores – such developments which have enhanced the human understanding of the world around us in immeasurable ways.
Health and Safety
Whilst monitoring camera equipment, there is a large amount of potential risks to assure are under control. There are plenty risks to consider, it is extremely important to prevent these risks to avoid damage to equipment or injuries to workers. There is always the risk of the equipment receiving damage, it is important to keep the equipment stored and out of harms way, assuring safety and risk of breaking the equipment. Equipment normally comes with safety pieces such as bags, straps and covers. As a photographer you must always be aware of health and safety in your environment whether this is in a studio or in a natural setting to ensure you are safe at all times. Here are some examples of safety precautions you must be aware of before you begin to photograph to prevent any accidents from happening. Firstly, tripping – camera stands, tripods and props are very easy to trip on. Ensure the fittings are secure on the stands and that there is sufficient space for everyone to move around without tripping. Secondly, electricity – All cables should be wired upwards without any explosion to prevent electrocution. Thirdly, light – flashlights are very strong and can damage the eyes. Unnecessary exposure to flashlight must be avoided.
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