An introductory textbook, covering the varied skills that liebehind photographic practice. It is intended for students of all ages and, beginning at square one, and assumes that you have no theoretical knowledge of photography,or any scientific background. The book explains equipment and techniques, provides information on both analogue and digital photography: materials and processes, shootingand image manipulation. At the same time, the importance of visual content and meaning in photographs is also discussed with reference to many significant contemporary and historical photographers.
Langford’s Basic Photography Dedicated to Michael and P Langford Langford’s Basic Photography The guide for serious photographers Ninth edition Michael Langford FBIPP, HonFRPS Formerly Photography Course Director Royal College of Art, London Anna Fox Professor of Photography University for the Creative Arts, Farnham Richard Sawdon Smith Reader in Photography Associate Dean Postgraduate University for the Creative Arts, Epsom & Farnham Contributors Peter Renn Senior Lecturer University for the Creative Arts, Farnham Christian Nolle Freelance Photographer and Designer AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEW YORK • OXFORD PARIS • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, UK 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA First edition 1965 Second edition 1971; Third edition 1973 Fourth edition 1977; Fifth edition 1986; Sixth edition 1997 [Reprinted 1998 (twice), 1999]; Seventh edition 2000 Eighth edition 2007 Ninth edition 2010 Copyright © 2000 Michael Langford Copyright © 2010, 2008, Anna Fox and Richard Sawdon Smith Published by Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved The rights of Michael Langford, Anna Fox and Richard Sawdon Smith to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher Details on how to seek permission, farther information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangement with organisations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein) Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Control Number: 2010924052 ISBN: 978-0-240-52168-8 For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at focalpress.com Printed and bound in China 10 11 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Contents Picture credits Foreword Introduction xii xiii xv 1 What is photography? Why photography? How photography works Picture structuring The roles photographs play 11 Changing attitudes towards photography 15 Personal styles and approaches 22 Measuring success 25 Summary 29 Projects 30 2 Light: how images are formed 31 Light itself 31 Wavelengths and colours 32 Shadows 33 When light reaches a surface 35 Light intensity and distance 39 Making light form images 40 Summary 45 Projects 46 3 Lenses: controlling the image 47 Photographic lenses 47 Aperture and f-numbers 50 Depth of field 52 How depth of field works 55 Depth of focus 58 Image stabilization 59 Lenses for digital cameras 59 Lens care 61 Summary 62 Projects 63 v CONTENTS 4 Cameras using film The essential components 64 Camera types – which is best? 73 How view cameras work 76 How direct viewfinder cameras work 78 How reflex cameras work 83 Summary 90 Projects 91 5 Using different focal length lenses, camera kits Why change focal length? vi 64 92 92 Lens kits 100 Close-up equipment 106 Essentials and extras 109 Right for the job 111 Summary 112 Projects 113 6 Digital cameras 114 How are digital images captured? 114 File formats 122 Digital cameras 126 Summary 130 Projects 130 Langford’s Basic Photography CONTENTS 7 Lighting: principles and equipment 131 Basic characteristics of lighting 131 Lighting equipment 140 Practical lighting problems 149 Special subjects 153 Summary 157 Projects 158 8 Organising the picture 159 Noticing subject features 159 Structuring pictures through the camera 175 Where photographs go 184 Summary 194 Projects 195 9 Films, filters 196 Silver halide emulsions 196 Features common to all films 199 Choosing films for black and white 206 Films for colour photography 209 Storing film – before and after exposure 214 So which film is ‘best’? 215 Filters – how they work 217 Filter kits 228 Summary 230 Projects 231 vii CONTENTS 10 Exposure measurement 232 Factors that determine what exposure to give 232 Exposing different film types 235 Measuring exposure (continuous light) 239 Practical exposure tips 250 Measuring exposure for flash 252 Practical flash exposure tips 258 Summary 262 Projects 263 11 Film processing 264 Equipment and general preparations 264 Processing black and white (silver image) negatives 273 Processing chromogenic (colour and black and white) negatives 278 Processing colour slides and transparencies 281 Processing other film materials 283 Processing by machine 284 Permanence of processed results 285 Summary 287 Projects 288 12 Black and white printing: facilities and equipment 289 viii Darkroom organisation 289 Equipment: the enlarger 292 Printing papers 299 Safelighting and printing paper sensitivity 305 Processing procedure 306 Summary 312 Projects 313 ... USA First edition 1965 Second edition 1971; Third edition 1973 Fourth edition 1977; Fifth edition 1986; Sixth edition 1997 [Reprinted 1998 (twice), 1999]; Seventh edition 2000 Eighth edition 2007...Langford’s Basic Photography Dedicated to Michael and P Langford Langford’s Basic Photography The guide for serious photographers Ninth edition Michael Langford FBIPP, HonFRPS Formerly Photography. .. Advanced Photography; the history of technical and stylistic movements in photography is described in Story of Photography, also published by Focal Press.) xv INTRODUCTION This ninth edition of Basic