Photography at the National Museum of Scotland A guide for self-directed photography visits
Projects within the museum This guide has been created for teachers and senior secondary school pupils to use to explore photography within the National Museum of Scotland. The National Museum of Scotland has galleries focusing on a wide range of themes from Scottish history to World Cultures and the Natural World. New galleries relating to Science and Technology and Art and Design are open from Summer 2016. Jewellery handling collection This includes 23 pieces of contemporary jewellery, which can be used in our Learning Centre or borrowed to take around the museum during your visit. More information about what this resource contains can be found on our website by following the links at www.nms.ac.uk/schools Please let us know if you would like to book this to use during your visit.
Top tips for taking photos in the museum Pick up a map and explore the museum. There is a huge variety of different galleries, each with a unique style. Find which best suits you. Please only touch objects that have signs inviting you to do so. Touching may damage some of our objects. Please touch Some items are on open display. This means that there is no glass around them so you won t get any reflections. Different galleries have different levels of light. Some are very bright like the Grand Gallery; others are much darker like Earth in Space. You are welcome to use a tripod if you have one, or your own props for a photo-shoot but you will need a photopass. Tell us before you come so we can have your photopass ready. Be mindful of other visitors; they may not want to be in your pictures.
Light The most important ingredient in photography is light and to create a great image you have to use and manipulate your light source successfully. It doesn t matter if you have the best camera in the world, if you get your exposure vastly wrong your image will not work. Light can be soft or hard. This is referred to as the quality of light and is caused by the size of the light source in relation to the subject. Soft Light a more gentle look with less contrast and tends to smooth forms and texture. Larger light sources tend to create soft light. Hard Light a more dramatic look with more contrast between light and dark areas. Smaller light sources tend to create hard light. If an image is overexposed it has too much light, if it is underexposed it does not have enough light. Your camera controls the exposure of your image using a combination of shutter speed, aperture and ISO. You will be able to control these yourself on a DSLR under the manual function (check your handbook to find out how to do this). If you are using a point and shoot camera or a phone, the pre-set functions should compensate accordingly.
Light in the Museum In the museum there is a huge wealth of natural light that you can use to enhance your images, particularly in the Grand Gallery. Other areas such as the Scotland galleries or Restless Earth have a much lower lighting level. As you will need to use a slower shutter speed, you may well require a tripod so as to combat camera blur or movement. Also keep an eye out for interesting effects made by the natural light. An curious shadow or play of light on a surface can make for a really engaging image. Hint The style or aesthetic of what you are shooting may determine the style of lighting you choose to use. Move around the different areas of the museum utilising the different lighting conditions and see how it changes your shot and how it can enhance or detract from the focal point of your image.
Composition A strong composition can make or break a photo. Taking those extra few seconds to compose and frame your subject well will make for a much more successful shot. The museum offers a variety of locations and backgrounds that you can use to enhance your images. The Scotland galleries have lots of geometric lines and shapes and nooks and crannies that you can use to create interesting creative features. The Earth in Space Gallery has geodes and a variety of textured surfaces on which to place your objects. The Grand Gallery has plain walls or patterned floors to create interesting compositions. Once you have chosen your location or backdrop the next things to think about is how you frame your shot.
Background Keep an eye on what is happening in the background and make sure there is nothing unwanted cluttering up your shot. If there is something that is unavoidable, like another exhibit or a harsh shadow then try and incorporate it into your image. Be creative and use it as a way to enhance your image rather than detract from it. Think about what you re photographing and what you want to be the focal point of the image. If you re shooting something small, focus on that rather than including a lot of additional space. If you re shooting something larger, make sure you give yourself enough space. Portrait or Landscape? A longer object or taller structure will suit portrait better, a wider composition may be better in landscape. Centre or off-centre? A centralised focal point isn t always the most effective. Play around with where in the image you place your subject and see what works best. Remember that the purpose of your image is to enhance the subject you are shooting and draw the viewer into your image. An off-centre focal point may be just as effective as a centralised one. Use the lines and shapes of the background to help draw the eye towards your subject. Hint The style or aesthetic of the piece you are shooting may determine the area in which you choose to shoot. Move around the different areas of the museum utilising the different backgrounds and exhibits and see how it changes your shot.
Key Terms Aperture The aperture is the circular hole that is located in your lens, which controls the amount of light that enters your camera. Aperture is used in conjunction with your shutter speed so as to achieve the correct exposure of your shot. It can be made wider or smaller depending on the lighting situation. It also controls the how much of your image is in focus (the depth of field). Aperture is measured in f-stops with a scale that looks like this f2.8 f4 f5.6 f8 f11 f22 The lower the f-stop the wider the aperture and the more light is allowed into the camera. F2.8 wide lots of light; F22 small hardly any light. The wider the aperture the shallower the depth of field (the less your image is in focus) Hint Take the same image, focusing on the same point each time, but only adjust the aperture and see what effect it has on your shot.
Shutter Speed Shutter speed is the time it takes the shutter on your camera to open and close and controls the amount of light that enters your camera. It can be made faster or slower depending on the lighting situation you are faced with. It also controls the amount of movement that is captured in your image. Shutter speed is measured in seconds and increments thereof with a scale that looks like this 1 ½ ¼ 1/8 1/15 1/30 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500 The faster the shutter speed the less light is let in. 1 second lots of light; 1/500 second hardly any light. The slower the shutter speed the more movement and camera blur is captured in your image. Hint Take the same image more than once but adjust the shutter speed and see the effect it has on your shot. ISO In traditional (film) photography ISO was the indication of how sensitive a film was to light. A higher ISO number increases the sensitivity of your camera. In modern digital photography the component within your camera that can change sensitivity is called image sensor or simply sensor. A higher ISO leads to a grainier image.
Editing Digital files by their very nature are a little flat and often need some tweaking in post-production. If you have editing software at home you can play about with certain functions that can enhance and add impact to the overall aesthetic of your images. Tweak little things like the exposure and contrast to correct the image Clean up the image with the spot healing or clone stamp tool Play around with saturation levels to experiment with colour and black and white
Things to be careful of: Cropping: There is the crop tool to tidy up your shot, but try to do as much of this in camera as possible. Cropping into an image reduces the resolution of your image and thus lowers the quality. You can go smaller but can t really go bigger again. If you want to play around with this always save a new copy so that your original file is untouched. Exposure: Both overexposed and underexposed images will be missing digital information that cannot be reproduced once shot. There is a certain amount you can do in post-production but it is good practice to learn to get it correct on camera as you are shooting. Overworking: Be careful of too much post production as it can make your image look overworked and take away from the thought that you put into shooting. If you are shooting on your phone there are various apps that will allow you to do quick edits on your images. Social media apps like Twitter and Instagram allow you the chance to add filters which can add a particular aesthetic to your images. Play around with these and see how it changes the whole style of the image and the message it s communicating to your viewer. Hint Play around with your pictures and see what each tool or filter does. It s the best way to learn! Share your favourite pictures with us on Twitter using @NtlMuseumsScot or on Instagram at nationalmuseumsscotland
We would love to know if you are coming to the museum. Please fill in the booking request form online at www.nms.ac.uk/schoolbooking Doing this will allow us to offer you space in our lunch room, storage tubs for your belongings, and provide any assistance that you need. For more information please contact us at schools@nms.ac.uk or on 0131 247 4041. This project has been made possible with the generous support of the Robertson Trust as part of the Museum2go2 project, and with the help of the pupils from Kirkland High School and Falkirk High School.