Introduction to photography Tips and t e c h n i q u e s for be tt er pho t ography T i p s a n d t e c h n

i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography • P h o t o g r a p h y i s a s c i e n c e , b e c a u s e t h e r e a r e b a

s i c p r i n c i p l e s o f physics t h a t govern success • P h o t ography is ar t because i t s beau t y is
subjec t ive Photography J G reek for “pain t ing wi t h ligh t ” J C an be considered bo t h an ar t and
a science T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography F irs t pho t ograph t aken by J
oseph N icéphore N iépce in F r a n c e . in 1826, on a bi t umen coa t ed aluminum pla t e T i p s a n d
t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Exposure T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t
ography Stops J A difference of 1 s t o p i s a doubling or halving of t h e ligh t making t he image J
The amoun t of ligh t t h a t s t r i k e s t he film/chip is measured in s t o p s a n d i s a l s o k n o w n a
s e x p o s u r e value ( E v ) J A s t op is used t o measure t h e differences in E v of aper t u r e s , shu
tt er speeds and film speeds J “ F a s t ” means t h e c a m e r a c a n expose a pho t o quickly T i p s a
n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Film Speed Film T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt
e r pho t ography Film Speed J It i s m e a s u r e d i n v a l u e s u s i n g a n I n t erna t ional O rganiza
t i o n s o f St andards (ISO ) number. U sed t o b e measured in A merican St a n d a r d s A ssocia t
ions ( ASA ) numbers J F ilm speed is a measure of t h e sensi t ivi t y of t h e f i l m o r s e n s o r in a
camera. J ISO numbers are used in bo t h film and digi t al cameras T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for
be tt e r pho t ography Film Speed J ISO numbers are linear in t h e i r rela t ionship J ISO n u m b e r s
c o m e i n a w i d e range, bu t s t a n d a r d n u m b e r s a r e 5 0 , 1 0 0 , 2 0 0 , 4 0 0 , 8 0 0 , 1 6 0 0 ,
and 3200 J The higher t he ISO number, t h e more sensi t ive t h e f i l m / s e n s o r a n d also t h e m
o r e n o i s e o r g r a i n i n t he image T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Film
Speed L ow ISO H igh ISO T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Shutter Speed
Shutter T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Shutter Speed J S h u tt e r s p e e d i s
m e a s u r e d i n frac t ions of seconds J C o n t rols t he amoun t of t i m e t he shu tt er or cur t ain is
open J D epending on t he camera, i t m a y show t he shu tt er speed wi t hou t t he numera t or, i.e.
250 ins t e a d o f 1/250 T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Shutter Speed J A
doubling or halving of t h e t i m e v a l u e (Tv) r e p r e s e n t s o n e s t op of EV J C ommon shu tt e r
s p e e d s a r e 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000 J A fas t shu tt er
speed freezes t h e a c t ion of an image J C onversely, a slow shu tt e r s p e e d blurs t he ac t ion of
an image T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Shutter Speed S low shu tt er speed
F a s t shu tt er speed T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography S low shu tt er speed F a
s t shu tt er speed Shutter Speed T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Aperture
Aperture T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Aperture J The larger t he hole, t h e
m o r e ligh t t h a t en t ers t h e c a m e r a in a given t ime J A per t ure is t he size of t h e h o l e in t
he diaphragm t h a t a l l o w s ligh t in t o t he camera J A per t ure values (Av) a r e measured using f-
s t o p s , shown as f /# (i.e. f /16) T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Aperture J
The image a t lef t shows common f-s t o p v a l u e s a n d how t hey appear J A change of 1 f-s t o p
doubles or halves t he ligh t en t e r i n g t he camera J S m a l l e r f - n u m b e r s represen t w i d e r
aper t u r e s , a n d l a r g e r f - n u m b e r s a r e smaller aper t ures T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for
be tt e r pho t ography Aperture J The wider t he aper t ure, t h e more shallow t he dep t h o f field,
and vice versa J The Av con t rols t he amoun t o f dep t h of field in an image T i p s a n d t e c h n i q
u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Av & Tv together J C onversely, t he slower t h e shu tt er speed, t he
smaller t h e aper t ure needs t o be J The wider t he aper t u r e u s e d , t he less t ime – i.e. t he fas t
e r shu tt er speed – is needed t o properly expose t he image J F or any image, t h e r e a r e a
number of combina t ions t h a t will make a correc t exposure f-stop 1.4 2 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 Shutter
speed 1 1000 1 500 1 250 1 125 1 60 1 30 1 15 1 8 T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t
ography Lighting J O ne of t he skills t h a t separa t es pho t o g r a p h e r s from snap shoo t ers is t h
e abili t y t o solve ligh t i n g problems J L igh t is t he essen t i a l ingredien t of pho t o s J There are 2
primary fac t o r s t o consider for ligh t : direc t ion and colour T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e
r pho t ography Lighting - direction J The direc t ion t he ligh t c o m e s from can make t h e i m a g e
s e e m fla t or 3-dimensional J F ron t ligh t ing is easy t o pho t ograph, bu t i m a g e s a r e generally
fla t J Top ligh t ing, such as from t h e sun overhead, A lso makes t h e image fla t , a n d s h a d o w s
a r e shor t and dark J S ide ligh t i n g w i l l e m p h a s i z e t e x t ure and con t o u r s , a n d crea t e
long shadows T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Lighting - direction F ron t ligh t
ing t op ligh t ing S ide ligh t ing b o tt om ligh t ing T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t
ography Lighting - Colour J The colour of ligh t i s measured by t empera t u r e in K elvin (° K ) J The
colour of na t ural ligh t changes t hrough t he day J H u m a n s r e s p o n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y t
o differen t colours, t h e r e f o r e t he colour of a pho t o w i l l affec t emo t ional responses J L igh t
t h a t is in t h e r e d s , o r a n g e s and yellows is said t o b e “ w a r m ” . C onversely, “cool” ligh t i s
b l u e in t one T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography W arm ligh t ing C ool ligh t ing
Lighting - Colour T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Lighting - Colour J W hen t
aking a pho t o wi t h a digi t al camera, t he W h i t e B alance se tt i n g o f a c a m e r a will affec t t
he colour cas t of t he image, balancing t h e ligh t ing of t he subjec t J Typical whi t e balance se tt i n
g s of a camera include: Tungs t e n , F lorescen t , S hade, S unny, C l o u d y , F lash, A u t o and M
anual J F i l t ers can also be used t o affec t t he colour of ligh t i n t he image T i p s a n d t e c h n i q
u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Lighting - Colour F lash/mid-day F lorescen t Tungs t e n C loudy T i p
s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Camera shooting modes J A ll digi t a l c a m e r a s
h a v e various modes for shoo t ing T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Camera
shooting modes J S cene M odes t ake t h e g u e s s w o r k o u t of se tt ing proper exposure • M
odes include prese t s for t a k i n g pho t os in a varie t y of se tt i n g s such as a t nigh t , on t h e b e
a c h o r snow, or for por t rai t s • a G rea t er unders t a n d i n g o f camera se tt ings is required J M
a n u a l m o d e s a l l o w f o r m o r e crea t ive con t rol T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho
t ography Composition T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Lenses J The leng t h o
f a l e n s i s m e a s u r e d in millime t res (mm), or equivalen t for poin t -and-shoo t cameras J L o w
n u m b e r s a r e c o n s i d e r e d wide lenses, while high numbers are considered long lenses J H
uman eyesigh t is equivalen t t o abou t 50mm • A wide lens, i.e., 18 mm, i s u s e f u l f o r landscape
pho t o s • A long lens, i.e., 300 mm, i s u s e f u l for close-ups of wildlife T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s
for be tt e r pho t ography Depth of Field J D e p t h of field (DoF) i s t h e “ z o n e o f accep t able
sharpness” J D o F is con t rolled by aper t u r e and dis t ance t o subjec t • The closer t he subjec t , t
he smaller t he DoF • The wider t he aper t u r e , t he smaller t he DoF T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s
for be tt e r pho t ography Depth of Field D i s t a n t - deep D o F C lose - S hallow D o F T i p s a n d t
e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Depth of Field S mall A per t ure - deep D o F L arge A per t
ure - S hallow D o F T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography The rule of thirds J The
“rule of t hirds” s t a t es t h a t when composing your pho t o , place t he cen t re of in t eres t a t a
junc t ion of t he lines t h a t t risec t t he image T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t
ography The rule of thirds J A l s o , w h e n composing l a n d s c a p e sho t s, t h e h o r i z o n l i n e s
h o u l d b e o n one of t h e i n t ersec t i n g lines T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t
ography Framing J F r a m i n g i s u s i n g a f o r e g r o u n d objec t t o “frame” t he subjec t o f t he
pho t o J The frame should be appropria t e t o t he subjec t J The frame should have i t s o w n aes t
h e t ic value J R ender t h e f r a m e s h a r p l y , or blur i t away T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt
e r pho t ography Framing T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Fill The Frame If
your p i c t u r e s a r e n ’ t g o o d enough, you’re not close enough. R ober t C apa, W orld W ar II
pho t ojournalis t J I f you can’ t ge t closer t o y o u r subjec t , use a longer lens t o f i l l t he frame J F
illing t he frame refers t o t h e primary subjec t , no t ex t r a n e o u s objec t s T i p s a n d t e c h n i
q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Fill the frame T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t
ography Portrait Techniques J The subjec t should face in t o t he image so t h a t t h e r e i s m o r e
space in fron t t han behind T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Portrait
Techniques J S ubjec t s usually shouldn’ t be square on t o t h e camera T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s
for be tt e r pho t ography Landscapes J Try t o include an objec t t o crea t e s e n s e o f scale T i p s a
n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Landscapes J H orizon L i n e s h o u l d b e p l a c e d t
o emphasize ei t her t h e s k y o r t he land T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography
Landscapes J H orizon L i n e s h o u l d b e p l a c e d t o emphasize ei t her t h e s k y o r t he land T i
p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Landscapes J F ocus on a de t ail wi t hin t h e
scene t o add in t eres t T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography Landscapes J Try t o
use a line t h a t w i l l l e a d t he viewers eye in t o t he pic t ure T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt
e r pho t ography Final tip J T h e r e a r e n o r u l e s i n pho t ography T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s
for be tt e r pho t ography J The subjec t should face in t o t he image so t h a t t h e r e i s m o r e
space in fron t t han behind T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t ography J S ubjec t s
usually shouldn’ t be square on t o t h e camera T i p s a n d t e c h n i q u e s for be tt e r pho t
ography J H orizon L i n e s h o u l d b e p l a c e d t o emphasize ei t her t h e s k y o r t he land The
end Tips and t e c h n i q u e s for be tt er pho t ography