Tone

Tone

"refers to the lightness or darkness of something."

Tones are created by the way light falls on a 3D object. The parts of the object on which the light is strongest are called highlights and the darker areas are called shadows. There will a range of tones in between the highlights and shadows.
Without tone Form does not exist, tone is therefore an important aspect in the visualisation of 3D objects.

The Zone System

Image Bank

Artist Research

Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist. His black and white landscape photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park, have been widely reproduced on calendars, posters, books, and the internet. 

Ansel Adams uses the full tonal range within this photo as it spreads from the 0 on the left to coming up to a 8/7 on the right which shows shows the full tonal spectrum in this one photo. It also gives the conations that Industry is darker and more evil and that nature is more good and beautiful and that the industry is effecting nature.

This photo uses a more contrasting tonal range as the darkest and lightest tones on the photo are next to each other.  Which creates a conation of a hidden darkness. It also makes the viewer focus on the lightest part of the photo. 

Contact Sheet

Selected Images

Needs Improvement 

With the first photo I would like to frame it better so that it would follow the staircase and show a tonal increase on each step. I could then edit it within photo shop to create the highest and lowest tone on the top and bottom of the staircase.

The second photo I would use the shoe's contrasting tones and put it on a more complex background so that it would have more tones to contrast with. 

AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

My intentions with my shoot on Tone was too capture photos that would show the full tonal range. I mainly took a lot of darker photos that included an evident shadow or a photo that contained a bright and dark element. To follow Ansel Adams style I wanted to capture something that had a pattern.

AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

I used my Canon 5D during the shoot and the camera was in Auto Mode as I was focusing on frame and I believed that the camera settings would not effect what I wanted massively. All photos were shot with a low aperture to make sure that everything was in focus also a fast shutter speed was used to freeze any movement and not blur anything as I was not using a tripod. 

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

My  research into Tone allowed me to explore the use of the Tonal range in my shoot. This research was highly useful for my shoot and exploring tone. Researching Ansel Adams allowed me to focus on using shadows and having the whole Tonal range in my photos. 

AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.  

With my series of photos I believe that they show the entire tonal range and link to the work of Ansel Adams with that they show the full tonal range. Too really show the Ansel Adams style I would require a nature style shoot which would allow me to create photos like his.