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Digital Photography Basics
Digital Photography Basics
The important thing is not the camera but the eye. Alfred Eisenstaed
GETTING STARTED
WHAT IS AN SLR?
SLR - Single Lens Reflex - Means the camera has a viewfinder that sees through the lens (TTL) by way of a 45r-angled mirror that flips up when the shutter fires and allows the light to strike the image sensor (or film).
NOW WHAT??
HAS EVERYONE READ YOUR CAMERA MANUAL??
WHICH ONE?
SCENE MODES
PROGRAM
TV-SHUTTER PRIORITY
CHARACTERISTICS OF TV MODE
TV means time value Shutter priority lets you set the shutter speed and calculates the matching aperture Use when photographing moving subjects, such as some sporting action, you might want to choose a faster shutter speed to freeze the motion Capture movement as a blur of the subject, like a waterfall, and choose a slower shutter speed
AV-APERTURE PRIORITY
CHARACTERISTICS OF AV MODE
AV means aperture value Manually control the aperture while the camera sets the matching shutter speed Particularly useful to control a stationary object where you dont need to control the shutter speed Choosing a larger aperture (f/stop) means the lens will get smaller and it will let less light in so a larger depth of field (more of the area in focus), but your camera will choose a faster shutter speed and vice versa
MANUAL
PORTRAIT MODE
LANDSCAPE MODE
MACRO/CLOSE-UP MODE
An automatic mode with emphasis on settings for closeup photography Commonly used to photographing flowers, insects and other small items Somecameras may be able to focus when the lens is less than an inch away from the subject Creates a very shallow depth of field
SPORTS MODE
FLASH
FLASH
Auto- Flash Off Flash On (mandatory flash, useful for filling in shadows when shooting in daylight) Auto + Red-eye reduction Flash On + Red-eye reduction Soft Flash (Diffused flash) Slow-sync flash (Second-curtain flash)
EXPOSURE TRIANGLE
UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE
THE WINDOW EXAMPLE Imagine your camera is like a window with shutters that open and close. Aperture is the size of the window. If its bigger more light gets through and the room is brighter. Shutter Speed is the amount of time that the shutters of the window are open. The longer you leave them open the more that comes in. Now imagine that youre inside the room and are wearing sunglasses (hopefully this isnt too much of a stretch). Your eyes become desensitized to the light that comes in (its like a low ISO) .There are a number of ways of increasing the amount of light in the room (or at least how much it seems that there is. You could increase the time that the shutters are open (decrease shutter speed), you could increase the size of the window (increase aperture) or you could take off your sunglasses (make the ISO larger)
APERTURE
The aperture of a lens is the diameter of the lens opening The larger the diameter of the aperture, the more light reaches the film / image sensor Aperture is expressed as F-stop, e.g. F2.8 or f/2.8 The smaller the F-stop number (or f/value), the larger the lens opening (aperture) (inverse relationship) Controls depth of field
APERTURE
F-STOPS
IS THIS?
SHUTTER SPEED
SHUTTER SPEED
Shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter is open Shutter speed is measured in seconds or in most cases fractions of seconds It is not in isolation from the other two elements of the Exposure Triangle (aperture and ISO) Long shutter causes blur and fast shutter freezes motion
FAST OR SLOW?
ISO SETTINGS
ISO speed A rating of a film's sensitivity to light. Though digital cameras don't use film, they have adopted the same rating system for describing the sensitivity of the camera's imaging sensor. Digital cameras often include a control for adjusting the ISO speed; some will adjust it automatically depending on the lighting conditions, adjusting it upwards as the available light dims. Generally, as ISO speed climbs, image quality drops.
ISO SETTINGS
Characteristics of ISO
Low light conditions use higher ISO Action shots use a higher ISO Keep ISO lower in bright light The higher the ISO number the more noise is generated in your photograph When you enlarge your image you can see the noise
WHITE BALANCE
The process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo Takes into account the "color temperature" of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light Needs to be adjusted under various light sources: tungsten, fluorescent, sunlight, cloudy, etc
VIEWFINDER MENU
FOCUS MODES
SELF TIMER
CAMERA MENUS
CAMERA MENUS
Pixel Picture Element: digital photographs are comprised of thousands or millions of them; they are the building blocks of a digital photo.
RAW
uncompressed (an 8 megapixel camera will produce a 8 MB Raw file) the complete (lossless) data from the cameras sensor higher in dynamic range (ability to display highlights and shadows) lower in contrast (flatter, washed out looking) not as sharp not suitable for printing directly from the camera or without post processing waiting to be processed by your computer
JPEG
compressed fairly small in file size (an 8 megapixel camera will produce JPEG between 1 and 3 MBs in size) lower in dynamic range higher in contrast and sharper immediately suitable for printing, sharing, or posting on the web processed by your camera
JPEG files are smaller in size and take less space to store JPEG files do not need any post production JPEG files loose richness, detail (sharpness), color range JPEG files give you less ability to control the final image Better for snapshots
FIND YOUR EV
EV-EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
CHARACTERISTICS OF EV
EV means exposure value The range over which you can manually over or underexpose to lighten or darken the image Usually, the range of adjustment goes from +2 to -2 EV in 1/3 steps
CHARACTERISTICS OF AEB
The camera automatically takes three or more shots with a different exposure for each frame One image at the camera measured exposure, a second at a negative exposure compensation (usually 1/3 EV, though some cameras allow you to specify the amount), and a third at a positive exposure compensation (usually +1/3 EV, though some cameras allow you to specify the amount) Useful option for taking HDR scenes
VIEWING MENU
IMAGE METADATA
HISTOGRAMS
HISTOGRAM
Simple graph that displays where all of the brightness levels contained in the scene are found, from the darkest to the brightest Displays a photographs dynamic range In camera light meter
HIGH KEY
LOW KEY
RULE OF THIRDS
RULE OF THIRDS
Refers to the placement of the subject within the frame of your photograph Places the main subject off center and away from the center of the frame. As a result, photos can look more dynamic and interesting Place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines
RULE OF THIRDS
PERSPECTIVE
Perspective is the way that an object appears to the eye Dependent on focal length and picture angle Creative way of looking at your photographic subject Example ALEXANDER RODCHENKO, BILL BRANDT, HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON
PERSPECTIVE
PERSPECTIVE
PERSPECTIVE EXERCISE
Find an object/subject Shoot 36 different ways (using rules of perspective and composition) Get creative with angles 30 minutes
A LITTLE ABOUT ME
B.A. & M.F.A. Photography Professor of photography/online lecturer TRAVEL & FREELANCE photographer Worked in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Central America, Canada, Europe (all over) and USA www.inthefray.org www.favelite.com Paris Metro Project with Brazil www.alexandracopley.com www.taquerias.blogspot.com www.youramexica.blogspot.com book called Transmigrants
THANKS!
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