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Photography

Overview

Get ready to discover how a camera turns light into pictures! This honor combines photography science with hands-on practice, teaching how to control the camera, compose great shots, and develop their own photographs or film. It takes photography beyond simply pointing a camera and taking a picture. You’ll learn the science behind photography, master camera settings and composition, experiment with lighting and movement, and actually produce your own photographic work. By the end, you’ll understand how to turn light, timing, and creativity into great images!

Requirements

1. Explain the principles of camera construction, what the camera lens does, the effect of light on light-sensitive film, and the action of developers.

2. What is meant by the “speed” of the film? What does ASA/ISO mean?

3. How are shutter speed, lens aperture, and film speed related?

4. Give the principal uses of photography.

5. Take print or slide pictures illustrating at least eight of the following techniques. Use comparison pictures for illustration:

  • a. Framing
  • b. Camera steadiness
  • c. Direction of lighting - front, backlighting, side
  • d. Panning - background blurred with subject in focus
  • e. Rule of thirds
  • f. Angle - eye level, high and low angle
  • g. Level horizon
  • h. Distance from subject - fill the frame
  • i. Use of leading lines
  • j. Quality of light - shade, sunlight, and time of day
  • k. Correct exposure - underexposed, overexposed, and correctly exposed
  • l. Use of flash - distance and reflective objects

6. Do one of the following:

  • a. Tell how black and white film is developed into negatives and print eight of your own pictures.
  • b. Tell how slides are made and develop one roll of film.

Answer key & resources

Master awards

This honor counts toward:

Investiture Achievement

This honor is required, suggested or listed as an option in:

Patch history

Earlier designs of this patch. See all outdated insignia.

Old Photography patchOld Photography patch

Photography

Changed in an unknown year

Photography technology has progressed a long way, and the image of a dry-plate camera became antique. It was replaced with a film camera (although some might already consider this image too an antique).

Adapted from AY Honors/Photography on the Pathfinder Wiki, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. See the original page's history for its authors.
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