Using three original photographs, create a brand new image through manipulation.  When submitting your entry, be sure to include your new creation and all three of the original photographs.

Photography can be a really fun art form if you like to experiment with images and find new ways to look at the world. First you’ll need a camera or, even better, a digital camera. Your club may have a camera you can borrow for your project or you may have one from home. Maybe your team could arrange to go on a photography field trip where you can take photos of animals at the zoo or people on the street or famous buildings or you could tell a story using photographs. It’s entirely up to you!

To get good photos, it’s important to remember the following:

  • Frame the image well (try not to cut off people’s heads or tilt the camera at an angle, so that the image appears crooked, unless you want that effect) Before taking the photo, look at the entire scene and try to capture the most interesting angle/view in the viewfinder
  • Focus the image, so that it isn’t fuzzy
  • Make sure your fingers aren’t in front of the lens
  • If you’re using a manual camera, make sure the lighting is good enough (i.e. aperture and shutter speed are set correctly. Many cameras set these automatically) If lighting isn’t sufficient, use a flash
  • Use both hands to steady the camera when you take a photo and place the camera strap around your neck
  • Locate the on/off switch. Keep the camera off when you're not using it, because digital cameras drain batteries very quickly. There is nothing worse than running out of batteries in the middle of a shoot.
  • When taking your photo look for interesting textures, patterns, shapes and lighting to capture on film.
  • Think about whether you want to zoom in on a subject or zoom out and capture a whole scene, or whether you want to view your subject from different angles i.e. from above, below, beside etc.

Tips about traditional film/SLR cameras and digital cameras:

  • Film cameras store photos on film. Then the film is developed using chemicals and photos are printed on photographic paper. Digital cameras use memory cards or disks to store photos. Then you "develop" them on the computer and print them from a printer.
  • You can send digital photos to your friends and family by attaching them to e-mails.
  • You can use digital photos on your Web page, in PowerPoint® presentations or on greeting cards or business cards that you make on the computer.
  • Digital cameras do not use film, so you don't have to worry about getting your photos developed.
  • Most have an LCD (liquid crystal display) that lets you view the photo as soon as you take it. If you don't like it, you can erase it and take another.
  • You can use the computer to change photos that you take with a digital camera. That's called image editing

Image Editing

The next step is to have the film processed and scan the images (at high resolution), using a scanner, into your computer.

If you’re using a digital camera, upload the photos onto your computer. Don’t forget! When taking your photos, the camera should be set to high-resolution mode (300 dpi) in order for the photos to be of the highest quality. Find out from your instructor, or someone who knows digital cameras, how to insert and eject a disk or memory card and how to get the photos from your camera to your computer.

Save your photos to Picture It! consumer photo-editing software or another similar photo editing computer program and start playing. You can do all kinds of things to your photo to make it more interesting such as:

  • Cropping
  • Resizing
  • Layering photos on top of each other to create a collage
  • Adding colour or texture or other special effects/illusions
  • Adjusting the colour
  • Changing the composition or position
  • Create cut-outs from photos and add them to other photos

Find out more by asking the program staff at your Club if you can check out the Photo Tech CD-ROM, which is part of the CANTECH DIGITAL ARTS SUITE: a set of 5 CDs where you can learn all about creating digital Music, Photography, Graphic Design, Web Design and Movie Making.

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