BASIC

PHOTOGRAPHY
Prepared by:
ABIGAIL MARIE UMALI-HERNANDEZ
Faculty, CITEC
 Disclaimer

• I do not own every content of this

presentation. Ideas, facts, opinions, and
pictures are gathered from several
sources.
• This presentation is intended for
educational purposes only.
WHAT IS PHOTOGRAPHY?
What is Photography?

• Combination of the Greek root words

“photo,” meaning light and “graphia,”
meaning writing or drawing
• The art or process of producing images by
the action of radiant energy and especially
light on a sensitive surface (as film or an
optical sensor)
 Earliest Photographs

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce First Daguerreotype, 1837

"View from the Window at Le Gras" Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre
(circa 1826)
Basic Styles of Photography

• Landscape - shows spaces within the

world, sometimes vast and unending, but
other times microscopic. Landscape
photographs typically capture the
presence of nature but can also focus on
man-made features or disturbances of
landscapes.
Basic Styles of Photography

“The Ruins”, Silay City Photo by Jerome F. Benigno

Basic Styles of Photography

• Portrait -  photography of a person or

group of people that captures the
personality of a subject by using effective
lighting, backdrops, and poses. A portrait
picture might be artistic, or it might be
clinical, as part of a medical
study. Frequently, portraits are
commissioned for special occasions, such
as weddings or school events.
Basic Styles of Photography

Blossom Photo by Jerome F. Benigno

Basic Styles of Photography

• Documentary - photography used to

chronicle events or environments both
significant and relevant to history and
historical events as well as everyday life. It
is typically covered
in professional photojournalism, or real life
reportage, but it may also be an amateur,
artistic, or academic pursuit.
Basic Styles of Photography

“Park Like a Boss” 2012 Jerome F. Benigno

 Focal Point

• Defined in the fine arts as a point of

interest that makes an art work unique, in
the realm of optics the term “focal point”
also refers to the site where parallel rays
of light meet after passing through a
convex lens, or diverging from a concave
mirror.
Focal Point

Photo by
Jerome F. Benigno
Focal Point

Photo by
Jerome F. Benigno
 Rule of Thirds

• The basic principle behind the rule of

thirds is to imagine breaking an image
down into thirds (both horizontally and
vertically) so that you have 9 parts.
 Rule of Thirds

• The theory is that if you place points of

interest in the intersections or along the
lines that your photo becomes more
balanced and will enable a viewer of the
image to interact with it more naturally.
Rule of Thirds
Photo by
Darren Rowse
 Eyes

• By placing a person’s eyes on a two thirds

intersection a viewer’s eyes are
immediately drawn to that area. When the
subject is looking down on something else
like a child or an object your eye will be
naturally drawn to the point where the
subjects eyes are focused.
Eyes
Photo by
Angel James
De Ocampo
 Multiple Focal Points

• There are no rules about an image being

limited to a single focal point, and there
are countless photographs containing two
or more significant points of interest to
prove it. When composing multiple focal
points in a scene, one effective strategy is
to organize the elements by establishing a
primary focal point, and then juxtaposing
this with a secondary or even tertiary
element, and so on.
 Multiple Focal Points
The extended depth
of field of this desert
landscape allows
the desert bloom’s
yellow flowers to
play off the green
desert shrubs in the
middle distance as
primary and
secondary focal
points. With limited
depth of field, this
same image would
have a much
different effect on
the viewer.
Photos from bhphotovideo.com
CAMERA SETTINGS
 Aperture

• Aperture refers to the opening of a lens's

diaphragm through which light passes. It is
calibrated in f/stops and is generally
written as numbers such as 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4,
5.6, 8, 11 and 16. The lower f/stops give
more exposure because they represent
the larger apertures, while the higher
f/stops give less exposure because they
represent smaller apertures.
 Aperture

• The focal length of a fixed lens (not a

zoom lens) is a property of the curves on
the glass and is not adjustable. What can
be adjusted is only the size of the opening
allowing light in. Typical standard lens
might be 50mm.
• At f/2, means the aperture is ½ the focal
length the aperture, f/16 means the
aperture is 1/16 of the focal length, etc.
 Aperture

• A Tiny aperture like f/22 doesn’t let in

much light, but it does give you sharp
focus over a wide range of distances: wide
“Depth of Field”
 Depth of Field

• Depth of field is defined as "the zone of

acceptable sharpness in front of and
behind the subject on which the lens is
focused." Simply put: how sharp or blurry
is the area behind your subject.
 Depth of Field

• The lower the f/stop—the larger the

opening in the lens—the less depth of field
—the blurrier the background.
• The higher the f/stop—the smaller the
opening in the lens—the greater the depth
of field—the sharper the background.
Aperture and Depth of Field
Aperture and Depth of Field

Photos from
NikonUSA.com
 White Balance (WB)

• White balance (WB) is the process of

removing unrealistic color casts, so that
objects which appear white in person are
rendered white in your photo. Proper
camera white balance has to take into
account the "color temperature" of a light
source, which refers to the relative warmth
or coolness of white light.
 White Balance (WB)

Incorrect WB Correct WB

Photos by Nasim Mansurov

White Balance (WB) Presets

• Auto (A) – The camera automatically

guesses the WB depending on ambient
light and use of flash.
• Tungsten (Light Bulb) – Use it strictly
under tungsten light bulbs or the image will
look very blue.
• Fluorescent (Glowing Tube) – Use if
photos look too green or when under
fluorescent lights.
White Balance (WB) Presets

• Direct Sunlight (Sun) – Used when

shooting outdoors with the sun shining on
the subject.
• Flash (Lightning Bolt) – Used when
using on-camera flash.
• Cloudy (Cloud) – Used in cloudy days or
in shades. Will yield warmer images than
sunlight.
White Balance (WB) Presets

• Shade (House with a Shadow) – Warmer

than cloudy, adding orange colors to the
photograph. Good for sunsets and shades.
• Continuously Variable (K) – Lets you
manually change the Kelvin value from
2,500 to 10,000.
• Preset (PRE) – Used for color matching
with a white card.
 White Balance (WB)

Photos by Lindsay Silverman

Auto White Balance (right) warms up the ship's interior, which was lit by
incandescent light, but the Incandescent setting (left) captures all the tones as
they really were, adding a feeling of depth to the scene.
 Exposure Value (EV)
• Exposure is the amount of light that reaches the
camera sensor when shooting a single
photograph. Factors that affect non-flash
exposure are:
• Aperture: how large the opening into the camera
is
• Shutter speed: how much time the light is
allowed to enter
• ISO: the sensor sensitivity of the camera
(For digital photography, ISO refers to the
sensitivity—the signal gain—of the camera's
sensor)
 Exposure Value (EV)
Compensation

Photos by snowfall1127

The snow looks grey because there is too much white in the image (left).
Setting the EV to +1 fixes the gray snow. It's now bright white (right).
Exposure Value (EV)
Compensation
 ISO

• ISO is short for International Standards

Organization – the main governing body
that standardizes sensitivity ratings for
camera sensors. It’s a term that was
carried over from film. When you change
your ISO setting, you’re adjusting your
camera’s sensitivity to light.
 ISO

• The lower the ISO number, the less

sensitive it is to the light, while a higher
ISO number increases the sensitivity of
your camera. The component within your
camera that can change sensitivity is
called “image sensor” or simply “sensor”. It
is the most important (and most
expensive) part of a camera and it is
responsible for gathering light and
transforming it into an image.
ISO
Photo by
Drew Prindle
 ISO

• With increased sensitivity, your camera

sensor can capture images in low-light
environments without having to use a
flash. But higher sensitivity comes at an
expense – it adds grain or “noise” to the
pictures.
 Shutter Speed

• “When shooting sports, set your shutter

speed at least 1/3000 second or faster,
especially when you’re shooting in snow or
on the water. At these shutter speeds,
every snow flake and every water droplet
will be tack sharp.” - Lucas Gilman, Nikon
Ambassador
 Shutter Speed

• Shutter speed, also known as “exposure

time”, stands for the length of time a
camera shutter is open to expose light into
the camera sensor. If the shutter speed is
fast, it can help to freeze action
completely.
 Shutter Speed

• If the shutter speed is slow, it can create

an effect called “motion blur”, where
moving objects appear blurred along the
direction of the motion. This effect is used
quite a bit in advertisements of cars and
motorbikes, where a sense of speed and
motion is communicated to the viewer by
intentionally blurring the moving wheels.
 Shutter Speed

Fast Shutter Speed Slow Shutter Speed

Photos from Imaging.Nikon.com

Camera Blur and Motion Blur

• If the camera or subject moves while the

shutter is open, the picture will be blurred.
Blur caused by subject movement is
referred to as “subject blur” or “motion
blur”; blur caused by camera movement
(“camera shake”) is referred to as “camera
blur.”
Camera Blur and Motion Blur
Camera Blur - The camera moved
while the shutter was open, producing
blur.
Photos from Imaging.Nikon.com
Motion Blur - The main subject moved
in the wind while the shutter was open
and is blurred; the surrounding
flowers and leaves, which were at rest
while the shutter was open, are not.
Camera Blur and Motion Blur

• The results in both cases are similar, but

whereas blur caused by subject movement
is generally regarded as a legitimate way
of expressing motion in photographs, blur
caused by camera shake is frequently
seen as a flaw. While camera blur does
not necessarily render a photograph a
failure, caution should be observed to
avoid unintentional camera blur.
 Focus Blur

• The main subject is in both cases blurred,

but the results are distinct from blur
caused by the subject being out of focus
(focus blur).
 Focus Blur

Out-of-Focus Shot (Focus Blur) - The The central flower is in focus.

camera is focused not on the flower in
the center but on a flower further
back.

Photos from Imaging.Nikon.com

 Focus

• The position at which rays of light from a

lens converge to form a clear and sharply
defined image on a focal plane.
• The action of adjusting the distance
between the lens and subject to make light
rays converge to form a clear and sharply
defined image of the subject.
Focal Length and Angle of View

• The focal length of the lens is the distance

between the lens and the image sensor
when the subject is in focus, usually stated
in millimeters (e.g., 28 mm, 50 mm, or 100
mm). In the case of zoom lenses, both the
minimum and maximum focal lengths are
stated, for example 18–55 mm.
Focal Length and Angle of View

• The angle of view is the visible extent of

the scene captured by the image sensor,
stated as an angle. Wide angle of views
capture greater areas, small angles
smaller areas.
Focal Length and Angle of View

• Changing the focal length changes the

angle of view. The shorter the focal length
(e.g. 18 mm), the wider the angle of view
and the greater the area captured. The
longer the focal length (e.g. 55 mm), the
smaller the angle and the larger the
subject appears to be.
Focal Length and Angle of View

• Lenses with a wide picture angle are

referred to as wide-angle lenses, lenses
with a small picture angle as telephoto
lenses.
Lens Picture angle Focal length Area captured Apparent size

Wide angle Wide Short Large Small

Telephoto Small Long Small Large

Focal Length and Angle of View

• A zoom lens with a focal length of 18–55

mm offers the widest picture angle at 18
mm and the smallest picture angle at 55
mm.
Focal Length and Angle of View

• If the only lens available is an 18–55 mm

zoom lens but you want wider angles—
say, for landscape shots—you should buy
a lens that offers focal lengths shorter than
18 mm, for example, a 10–24 mm lens. If,
on the other hand, you want to photograph
at greater distances, you should choose a
lens that offers focal lengths longer than
55 mm, for example 55–200 mm.
Focal Length and Angle of View

Focal Length: 12mm Focal Length: 24mm

Photos from Imaging.Nikon.com

Focal Length and Angle of View

Focal Length: 50mm Focal Length: 70mm

Photos from Imaging.Nikon.com

Focal Length and Angle of View

Focal Length: 135mm Focal Length: 200mm

Photos from Imaging.Nikon.com

Focal Length and Angle of View

• The shorter the focal length, the greater

the extent of the scene captured by the
lens. On the other hand, the longer the
focal length, the smaller the extent
captured by the lens. If the same subject is
photographed from the same distance, its
apparent size will decrease as the focal
length gets shorter and increase as the
focal length gets longer.
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