Analysis Of Kant’s Philosophical Views On Reasons For A Person’s Actions

Is taking a professional picture as simple as it appears? Now that cameras are so accessible in everyday life and the technology has improved exponentially, one might think it is as easy as just pressing a button. Modern technology is so advanced that people tend to just rely on the camera’s ability to take the picture without making any adjustments to the camera or position changes. In order to see the complexity of photography, it is important that a person first understands the history of the artistic expression.

Since about the fifth century B. C. E. , the idea of photography has been in existence. In the eleventh century, the Iraqi scientist, Abu Ali Al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytha, invented the camera obscura. This invention revolutionized photography and was the beginning of what is modern day photography. Unlike cameras today, the camera obscura only projected images from a pinhole outside a tent into the unlit space. The picture was not recorded but only transmitted on surfaces such as walls and screens. Permanent pictures were not developed until the late 1830’s when the French inventor, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, took a portable camera obscura and used it to expose a picture of a bitumen coated pewter plate to light. Before Niépce, recorded pictures would fade fast and easily. After this discovery, photography advanced at a rapid rate.

Photographers experimented with varieties of chemicals and procedures to improve photography and what became modern film. By the 1880’s, photography became accessible to not only the people in the profession of photography, but to anyone who wanted to get their hands on a camera as well. This box-camera had one small lens and lacked the ability to focus. The film contained in the camera would have to be returned to a factory in order for it to be developed as a printed picture. Later in the 1960’s, the Polaroid camera was created, allowing people to take a picture that is instantly developed, erasing the need to get film developed by a professionals in factories. Towards the end of the 1980’s and the beginning of the 1990’s, film was no longer necessary for picture development because the cameras stored the pictures electronically. This was a major breakthrough in photography and after digital cameras came into existence, companies continue to create cameras with more and more advanced abilities to take pictures as real as the object of the picture itself.

With all the capabilities of the modern camera, come more steps and techniques while taking a quality photo. In order to discover these skills at a deeper level, I decided to witness it first-hand by being a model in a photoshoot with my friend. What I found surprised me; there is so much more to taking a photo than I originally thought. My friend walked through the steps with me, showing me the buttons to press, angles to take, and placement of the sun as well as the subject of the picture. It was six o’ clock in the evening when we met up by a bush overflowing with blue flowers that reminded me of something from a storybook. I was curious why my friend chose to meet at a bush and at such a specific time. She told me to sit down in the bush, which I did rather reluctantly. She then squatted down and put the camera about two feet from my face. She explained that the flowers in the bush would bring out the color of my eyes and my light blue shirt. “The colors of the subject’s surroundings as well as the clothing the person is wearing is very important, ” she remarked.

I did not know what she meant by this until she put the screen of the camera in front of me to show me the photo she had taken. The coordination of the colors allowed for the enhancement of the photo and made it more aesthetically pleasing. I then asked about the timing of the photoshoot and she replied by saying, “I wanted to take the photos while the sun is just starting to set, because it is the best time to take photos”. “Why?” I asked. “It is what photographers call the ‘golden hour’ because the lighting causes the object of the photo to have a glowing appearance and we are able to capture the sun glare, ” she responded.

The ‘golden hour’ is when the camera is able to capture the sun rays peek around the subject of the photo. It is an artistic technique that makes a major difference in the appearance of the photo. Lighting is one of the most important steps of taking a good photo. As she was capturing the sun glare, she was lightly pressing the button that takes the pictures. It took a few minutes before I heard the click of the shutter, which told me that she took a photo. The reason it took so long to take the picture and that she could not just ‘snap’ the picture is that she had to focus on me. Focusing is when the camera focuses the light on one of the surfaces in the area seen by the camera. She had to make sure that the camera focused on me and not the plants around me or the sun behind me. By focusing on me, she was able to capture the sun rays peeking from behind me, creating a sun glare. This patient process is what made the photo look truly professional. After the sun had finished setting, leaving the sky dark, we concluded our photoshoot. I wanted to know more about her own experience with photography and her personal history with the hobby, so I asked her, “How do you prepare before you go out for your photoshoots?” “I make sure to research the location and that I know where I wanna do it and what color scheme and what type of mood I want, so that when I edit I know exactly what colors to use so it turns out the way I want, ” she replied.

Her answer to my question helped to further explain the importance of color and lighting when taking a photo. It also brought further insight into how much truly goes into photography from choosing the location to the final edits of a picture. There is far more in one picture than first meets the eye. As my friend said at the conclusion of the night, “My favorite part of photography is seeing people’s good sides and watching them learn along with me”.

Aside from how photography technically was more complicated and advanced than I originally thought it was, it also is a way to portray the beauty of life and learn about yourself and others as my friend said in her interview.