Angie Gerber Mr.

Borrero ENG 1101 24 April 2012

"An Ethnography of Photography: "Through the Lens and Into The Soul"

The first photograph ever taken was in France, by Joseph Niepce in the year 1827. (Greenspun 1) Since then, photography has only grown in popularity around the world; whether it is an image taken by an undercover reporter for a news story, or by your parents to capture the family during a picnic. No matter what the image is for, each one taken tells a story, personal or worldwide. There are no words displayed in these images, which can pose the question: Is photography considered a form of literacy? According to dictionary.com, literacy can be defined in three ways: the quality or state of being literate, especially the ability to read and write, possession of education, and a person's knowledge of a particular subject or field. (Dictionary 1) This being said, photography, in terms of literacy, can be categorized as non-verbal; stories are written for audiences of various ages to read, but an image captures the "untold" story and shows the rare emotion and actions that are happening at an exact moment, a written story can only talk of said actions after the event has passed. The topic of my paper is photography, focusing on professional photography and zoning in strictly on the photography of humans. I purposely chose the

photography of humans in order to capture the raw emotion and feeling ones facial expressions give away to the camera. The purpose of this essay is to examine how professional photographers read the camera and use particular lingo to engage with literacy, which enables them to capture the best picture they possibly can. To achieve this goal, this essay will describe the elements of photography and common phrases used the precise techniques and camera filters added throughout a whole photo shoot, communicating with subjects and setting up the overall frame to capture the "perfect" image. Through discussing the literacy practices of professional photographer, Christine Watley, I hope to intrigue my audience with the beauty and prestige of a quality photograph, but also provide them with the proper knowledge to go out into the world and take their own professional photographs.

The beginning of photography began in ancient times, where camera obscuras were used to form images on walls in darkened rooms. The earliest mention of this type of device was by the Chinese philosopher Mo-Ti. He formally recorded the creation of an inverted image formed by light rays passing through a pinhole into a darkened room. (Wilgus 1) As the centuries went on, multiple changes were made to the camera obscura, such as the improvement of brightness and clarity. Even though the first image was taken by Jospeh Niepce in 1827 with his sliding wooden box, the first official camera was invented by Alexander Wolcott. His camera design was patented on May 8, 1840. His invention made it possible for candid photos to be taken and not fade away with time. (Gerber 1) After this invention, even further advancement of photography began; In 1861, Scottish physicist James Clerk-Maxwell demonstrated a color photography system

involving three black and white photographs, each taken through a red, green, or blue filter. The photos were turned into lantern slides and projected in registration with the same color filters. (Greenspun 1) The availability of photography oriented books increased, such as one by Ducas de Hauron in 1868 about a variety of methods for color photography. (Greenspun 1) The highest point in photography, though, can be considered to be the creation of the first Kodak camera in 1888. The camera contained a 20-foot roll of paper, enough for 100 2.5-inch diameter circular pictures. The following year, in 1889, Kodak improved this camera with a roll of film to replace the paper. (Greenspun 1) It was introduced in 1990 to the world, unknowingly opening the gateway to one of the most successful camera companies to be created. It was also Kodak that created the world's first digital camera, specifically in December 1975 by an engineer at Eastman Kodak named Steve Sasson, he is now regarded as the inventor of the digital camera. (Zang 1)

The site I chose to observe is the Latta Plantation in Huntersville, North Carolina. I accompanied professional photographer, Christine Watley on her five miniature sessions at this location. The area Watley focused upon is in the very back of the plantation and would be considered to be the "public park" of the plantation. The park features an area of tables for picnics, a beach volleyball court complete with net and sand, and an enclosed dog park, areas which all lead down to the clear blue and sparkling Catawba lake. Photography shoots can take place in multiple locations, whether you are switching from one session to another, or if the photographer is still within the same photo shoot. Watley chose this area for her love of nature as the background for her photography. Her specific love for photography began when she was very young, always finding herself looking through the

images of National Geographic. Just looking at the images in the magazine "inspired and awed" Watley, she wanted to be able to capture the raw scenes found in nature just like the magazine images did. In college, Watley took photography classes and fell into a deeper love with camera usage; it wasn't until she had her first daughter when the possibility of taking on the hobby as a profession really hit her. "I wanted to be able to capture my daughter growing up, the first time she crawled, her first steps, her first smile, but I didn't want someone else capturing these memories for me. I'm the mother, these are some of the best moments you witness," stated Watley about choosing her profession. (Watley) In terms of the location, The Latta Place was built in the 1800s, owned by James Latta, an immigrant from Northern Ireland. The plantation was originally used to harvest cotton, but after the passing of Latta and the constant selling of the plantation, the land was eventually donated to Mecklenburg County, due to their large donation to help keep the plantation maintained; now being more formally recognized as The Latta Plantation Nature Preserve. (Latta 1) The plantation as a whole is a breathtaking scene, as there are many aspects of the land to observe, but my focus stayed on Watley and her photography, where I did observe the beauty of capturing memories on film. All of the photo shoots that Watley does are focused on photographing humans. She does professional shots for holidays, seasons, birthdays, school photo replacements, prom and graduation. Photo shoots are broken up into two categories: mini-sessions and full sessions. A mini-session is usually used for images to capture the growth of a family's children, lasting about a half an hour to forty-five minutes, these sessions are usually best when working with younger, impatient children. A full session consists of photography from one to three hours, setting up different settings with various outfits and props; these sessions are usually used for families' with

an older child that wasn't happy with the quality and/or price of school images (such as senior pictures,) but can also be a session used to capture a big event, possibly getting ready for a prom or wedding or engagement photo shoots. My observation of Watley began on an early Saturday morning; all of her sessions on this day were mini-sessions, five in total, and all with families. Although I tried to stay to the side to observe, I did have a lot of parents questioning me about my paper; through discussing my sub-culture with them, I came to learn that all of the five families have worked with Watley before, some knowing her personally from places such as the neighborhood or church, and others having seen her work online and through their other friends. All five of the families use her at least once a year to capture images of their families and none had any complaints of the work she had ever done for them, highly impressed each time they received their finished products. The first session Watley shot consisted of the two youngest siblings (a brother and sister), that she would shoot throughout the day. At first, both siblings were very cooperative when having to pose over by the picnic tables. About ten minutes later, the wind began to pick up, causing the young girl to shiver and whimper, impatience began to settle in the young boy and Watley constantly had to re-position the tired children to capture the perfect images. The brother came to a point near the end of the photo shoot where he refused to sit still, but Watley was firm, yet fun, reasoning with him on a level he could understand. She constantly had to chase the boy, which did help her obtain a few "action" shots, but Watley never once showed her frustration when working with the family. With this photo shoot, Watley moved herself rather she try to get the young siblings to re-position themselves. There was rarely a moment where Watley stood above them to take a shot, she used a low angle, laying down on her stomach on the grass or crouching down to be at eye level with them.

The second session Watley conducted was of another set of two siblings. It took Watley a few minutes to decide where to shoot the scene, as the sun was beginning the come through the trees. It is important to keep natural light (as opposed to sunlight,) as the means to light your picture. Using an area flooded with sun can cause sunspots on your image; these can be hard to edit out and might not be able to be fully removed from the picture. These clients were ones who had worked multiple times with Watley, so she gave them minimal but clear directions. In similarity to photo shoot one, most shots were at the same eye level as the children, but she was able to talk to them while shooting, for they were older and more patient. Rather than zooming in on her focus, Watley simply moved closer, for more of a raw image. Watley also took the same image at multiple angles, but instead of having the client move, she moved around the area. She split the session into shooting images of the children, and then included images of the whole family. All of Watley's photoshoots with families are more happy than serious. Watley stated that her goal is to snap the image that "any family can hang up in their home for others to see". (Watley) The third session was the most difficult (image wise) for Watley to shoot. It was one middle school girl. She was considered "girly and prissy" by her mother and did not enjoy having to pose "in nature" for her pictures. Watley tried to use the least amount of natural props that she could, and focused her model in the picnic table area and by the man-made fences. The girl seemed uncertain of how she should pose, so Watley showed her examples, using her own body to show how the girl should stand/sit/angle herself. This was the only photo shoot that I saw where Watley stood up higher than her model for certain angle shots. By the fourth session, Watley had used most of the park area to shoot her previous clients,

and used the same setting and area of the park from photo shoot two. This shoot contained the largest family of all of the groups. The mother, father, two sons and daughter all were captured in their own individual shot as well a multiple arrangements of group shots. The daughter, being the youngest, was fairly difficult at first, but Watley was very persistent and good-natured, staying patient and reasoning with the girl on her own level, just as she had done with the first photo shoot. Halfway through the session, she became more cooperative and was more than willing to be included in every picture that needed to feature her; she even wanted to be in the ones where she wasn't specifically needed.

The fifth and final session was shorter than any of the others. It contained two sisters and their mother. Both girls were very unwilling to pose and cooperate for longer than a few minutes at a time. Watley tried to incorporate the props they had brought with them (two bouncy balls to play within the grass,) but found it only distracted the girls even more. She shot more action shots than posed shots and ended the session earlier than the others. Photographers are very patient people, for sometimes it can take hours to set up for a professional shoot, but every photographer has a patience limit as well. After the photo shoots, I was able to interview Watley about the work that she does and the concepts of photography. She has been a professional photographer for five years and has never considered switching her profession. Watley uses minimal editing for her images: "I only enhance, color, brightness, and contrast". (Watley) Watley's favorite brand of camera is Nikon, but any professional photographer knows to "pick what is comfortable in your hands, that will give you your best work." (Watley) Since Watley works with many clients, she makes sure that she chooses her locations based on what the clients want: "Two important things about any photo shoot

is to know your camera and to make sure your model is comfortable. If they aren't comfortable, images won't look natural." (Watley) Watley is a fan of candid images rather than a staged shot. She feels that they have a photo journalism aspect, and can classified in lifestyle photography; "It's very free and natural, as if you are taking pictures with your friends or family." (Watley) As noted in the observations during Watley's mini-sessions, there are times when a photo shoot goes well and other times where it's less than successful. Watley enjoys maternity shoots, where she captures a photographical timeline for pregnant mothers, meeting with them every so often in order to create a progression of images. "It's just something about the way they look," stated Watley. "The way they have that pregnancy glow is an amazing addition to the photographs." (Watley) The hardest shoot Watley ever had to do was of a newborn baby. "The level of difficulty isn't something I can explain, but everything has to be very quick and precise, you can't give a baby direction on how to pose and when to smile. When you do capture those moments though, you get the most natural picture you could hope for, and those are the best." (Watley)

After all this is said, anybody can learn to be a photographer once they learn the proper literacy terms used within and outside of a session. First would be the breakdown of the camera. Sure, you just click a button which captures the images for you, but with a professional camera, you have settings such as the shutter speed, which controls how fast the actual 'click' of the camera goes off, your ISO, which is the speed the camera registers the image, the higher it is, the noisier your camera can be, but your images will be more precise and clean cut. Then, there is what is called the F-stop, which is how wide or narrow your lens is. The F-stop is adjusted depending on your focus on the picture and if you want an open background available for the eyes to roam over the picture, or if you are trying to zoom in on a specific point. Once you understand how the

camera works and how it captures and processes your images, then you can begin to understand the actual make-up of the image.

While there are hundreds of terms that have to do with photography, the most important are: brightness, contrast, exposure, and color. As stated by Watley herself, "If you don't understand the basics, then you have nothing. It's like trying to solve a math problem without having the numbers, you can't compute anything." (Watley) Your brightness is determined by your use of light in your photo, whether it be natural light (while avoiding sunspots,) or staged lighting (by using any form and size of light bulbs.) Contrast is similar to brightness, but deals with more of the density of the lighting. Your exposure is the quantity of light allowed to act on a photographic material, "a product of the intensity (controlled by the lens opening) and the duration (controlled by the shutter speed or enlarging time) of light striking the film or paper." (Kodak 5) Lastly, coloring for your image; whether you choose to shoot with natural colors or use a color filter (sepia, black and white, etcetera,) the coloring for your image mixed with your lighting can depict the overall mood of your picture. The main thing to remember about photography is that it should be used to create memories, the quote "a picture's worth a thousand words" is derived from an old Chinese proverb, simply meaning that the image you capture is the composition and that actual written words aren't needed to tell a story. Any person that enjoys photography and would like to take it professionally would need to be able to understand all of the language and components in separate and in whole to create their perfect images, but in the end, according to Christine, there are only three important things to taking a perfect photo: "be comfortable, don't be afraid to second guess yourself and have fun with it." (Watley)

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Gerber, Charlotte. "First Camera Invented." LoveToKnow. LoveToKnow, 2006. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://photography.lovetoknow.com/First_Camera_Invented>. Greenspun, Phillip. "History of Photography Timeline." Photography Community, including Forums, Reviews, and Galleries from Photo.net. NameMedia, June 1999. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://photo.net/history/timeline>. Kodak. "Glossary of Photographic and Camera Terms." Kodak Store. Kodak. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/html/pbPage.termsA/ThemeID.16765600>. Latta Plantation. "Latta Plantation." Latta Plantation. Latta Plantation. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://www.lattaplantation.org/latta/index.php?page=home>. Watley, Christine. "Photography Interview with Professional Photographer Christine Watley." Personal interview. 14 Apr. 2012. Wilgus, Jack, and Beverly Wilgus. "What Is a Camera Obscura?" Bright Bytes Studio Home Page. Bright Bytes, Aug. 2004. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://brightbytes.com/cosite/what.html>.

Zang, Michael. "The World's First Digital Camera by Kodak and Steve Sasson." PetaPixel. PetaPixel, 05 Aug. 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://www.petapixel.com/2010/08/05/the-worlds-

first-digital-camera-by-kodak-and-steve-sasson/>.