Tour of the basic elements of Photography

Basic Photography &INTRODUCTION TO DSLRs

Abhishek sugamBirla Institute of Technology

Types of Digital Cameras• 3 Main classifications

• - Compacts

• - Digital SLR

• - Mobile devices

Compact Cameras or Point and Shoot digital Cameras (P&S)

• - Commonly referred to as “consumer” digital cameras.

• - Represent probably 90% of all digital cameras on the market

• - Typically small, compact and lightweight

• - Targeted at broad majority

• - Typically very User-Friendly

• - Image Quality has improved drastically

Digital SLR (DSLR)

• SLR Stands for Single Lens Reflex

• - Have larger sensors, resulting in greater image quality

• - Tend to favor manual control, lacking many automatic settings found on P&S

• - Much larger and heavier

• - Ability to interchange system lenses

Mobile Devices

• Always with you !!

• - Good Image quality in mobiles like pureview 808 or lumia 920

• - Newer devices have various scene modes

• - always in your pocket

• - gives to opportunity to make photographs anytime

Can u guess the camera from which these pics are taken ?

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!!• So What is the REAL difference between a

digital SLR and a point and shoot camera?

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!! The short answer is.....Image Quality

• But Why?• How can a 6 megapixel DSLR take a better picture than a 10

megapixel point and shoot?

• Because Size Matters!

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!!How the digital sensor work ??

• - Each digital image is made from millions of tiny squares, known as pixels.

• - Essentially, an image is recorded by tiny microlenses (pixels) which make up the cameras sensor

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!!• All Pixels are not created equal!

• -A digital sensor is essentially made up of millions of tiny micro-lenses (pixels)

• - Pixels are analog devices which record light and color data

• - Larger Sensors contain larger pixels, which are much better in collecting this data

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!! The sensor size of different cameras !!

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!!Cameras Compared

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!!Full-Frame versus APS-C Sized Sensors

Getting a “Good” shot

• While there are hundreds of factors which can make a photo “good”, it is still a relative term, and good to one person may not be good to someone else.

• For our purposes we will refer to good in the sense of a correct exposure.

Exposure

• A “correct” or “good” exposure occurs when you maintain as much detail as possible in both the very bright parts (highlights) as well as the very dark parts (shadows) of an image. How much of a range in which you can capture detail from light to dark is referred to as the Dynamic Range. As you are about to see, there can be many “correct” or “good” exposures

• There are three factors which influence the exposure of your image:• -Shutter Speed• -Aperture• -ISO

• Refers to how long the shutter is open, exposing the image sensor to light.

• (how long the camera “sees” the picture)

• Measured in Seconds, from 30 down to 1/8000

Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed

MEASURES HOW LONG LIGHT IS LET INTO THE FILM/CAMERA

• Common values include ½ sec, 1/8 second, 1/1000 second etc

• Shorter time means less time for light to get into the camera

• Shorter time reduces blurriness

Shutter Speed

FASTER SPEEDADVANTAGES• Reduces blurriness as image is

‘seen’ only briefly – great for sports events.

DISADVANTAGES• Less time for light to enter camera• Requires bright conditions

Shutter Speed

SLOWER SPEEDADVANTAGES• Great for darker conditions (more time for

light to enter the camera)DISADVANTAGES• Increased chance of blurriness• Often requires a tripod be used for steadiness.

Fast Shutter Speeds (1/600 and up) are used to stop motion and will freeze the subject.

Slow Shutter Speeds (1/60 or slower) can be used to portray movement or speed

Very Slow Shutter Speeds (5 sec. or slower) can be used in very low light situations to obtain correct exposure, or achieve dramatic effects.

Very Very Slow Shutter Speeds (30 sec. or slower) can be used in very low light situations to create light paintings.

Beware! As your shutter speed decreases, your chances of getting a blurry image increase because you must hold the camera steady for a longer period.

Aperture• An aperture is defined as a hole or opening

through which light is admitted.• Inside the camera lens is a system of blades

which open and close to increase or decrease the opening through which light passes into the camera

Aperture

• Often referred to as an f-stop, aperture is usually represented by: f/1.8, or f/5.6

• A Smaller # means a wider opening and is referred to as a larger value (e.g. A large aperture of 2.0, a small aperture of 22)

• The wider the lens is open(larger aperture value), the more light gets in (you can use faster shutter speeds)

Aperture

HOW MUCH LIGHT IS SEEN

• Ranges from about 1.8 to 32

• A higher number (i.e. 32) means less light is ‘seen’.

• A lower number (i.e. 1.8) means more light is ‘seen’.

Aperture

HIGHER F-stop (i.e. 32)

ADVANTAGES• Increased depth of field, i.e. image

background is not blurryDISADVANTAGES• Needs more light, i.e. slower shutter speed.

Aperture

LOWER F-STOP (i.e. F1.8)

ADVANTAGES• Lets plenty of light in! Better to use in darker

settings.• Less blurry since faster shutter speed may be

needed to compensate for more light.

DISADVANTAGES• No depth of field, i.e. background of image likely out

of focus.

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F-STOP IMPACT

Low F-stop High F-stop

Depth of Field

ISO

• Refers to the light sensitivity of the sensor

• HIGH ISO value means the sensor will be MORE sensitive to light, meaning it will take LESS LIGHT to get the right exposure

• Similar to Film Speeds in 35mm format

ISO

• Typically ranges from 100-1600• Newer Digital cameras have a higher range (up to 64000) and also lower values.• Using High ISO values causes the sensor to

produce much more heat, which creates digital “noise” in images.

• Noise is similar to film grain and causes loss of fine detail in images

• It is more visible in dark parts of an image and is generally more noticeable when displayed on screen than in print

ISO

ISO

ISO

White Balance

• White balance doesn't really affect your exposure, just the appearance of colors in the image

• Different light sources cast their own colors, which cannot usually be noticed with the naked eye.

• White Balance is essentially the camera compensating for the color cast of the light in order to reproduce the “correct” colors

Correct Exposure

Aperture – f/5Shutter speed -1/60Iso – 2000

Wrongly exposed !!

Correct Exposure

• A perfect balance between iso , f-stop and shutter speed

• Auto white balance does a good job !!• But for potraits cloudy white balance gives

warmer picture • Flash compensation and exposure bias adjusted

correctly !!

Tips for Taking Good Photos

• Photography in Classrooms and Schools

– Be aware of the background• Can clutter be cleared up?• Cables and other distracting “stuff” laying around?

– Kids love to make hand signals• We can’t use these photos.

– Remember sky/ground ceiling/floor and framing41

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Too much ceiling !!

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Photos of Groups

Try to line up in even rows without some people too far in the foreground and others too far back.

If the back of the group is too close to a wall you might get unwanted shadows.

Can everyone see the camera. If not, their face will not be in the photo.

People wave, but remind them not to cover someone else’s face.

If outside, try to have your back to the sun, watch out for your shadow. If the sun is too bright people will have to squint.

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•The guys way in the front of the rest make it too difficult to see the others far in the back.

•Waving hands expressions and signs often hide others face !!

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Action Shots

– People speakingIt can be really difficult to take a photo of someone while they are talking. Try to time the photo when they are in between words to avoid funny faces.

– Hand MovementTry to time the photo in between hand motions to avoid blurriness.

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Images Could use to express making a point.

Light background is better contrast.

Questions ??Thank you !!