Photography Basics

Lesson 1

The Camera

Parts of a Camera-Digital

Parts of a Camera-Digital SLR

Viewing Your Image

Single Lens Reflex

Viewfinder

The Lens

• Is made up of a series of glass pieces• Can be fixed or detachable• Comes in various lengths• Some can change from one length to

another• Some can automatically focus

The Lens

• Lens properties and limitations are printed somewhere on or around the lens

Recording the Image

How a Camera Works• A camera uses several basic components to

create a photo:

• Lens• Shutter• Aperture (opening)• Light source• Sensor/film

How a Camera Works

Camera Components

Settings

Controls on a Camera

• Focus: the adjustment to place the sharpest focus where it is desired on the subject. – Manual (MF)– Automatic (AF)

• Aperture: adjustment of the iris, measured as f-number, which controls the amount of light passing through the lens. Aperture also has an effect on focus and depth of field, namely, the smaller the opening aperture, the less light but the greater the depth of field--that is, the greater the range within which objects appear to be sharply focused. The current focal length divided by the f-number gives the actual aperture size in millimeters.

Aperture

• The larger the opening, the smaller the number, and the less light is needed to expose the image

Depth of field is very narrow.

• The smaller the opening, the larger the number, the more light is needed , and the depth of field is greater.

Note: larger lenses, such as zoom lenses,usually have to have larger amounts of light, therefore their f-stops don’t usually go below f/4 or f/5.6

Example of Depth of Field

ISO: 200Shutter: 1/1600AV: aperture PriorityAperture: f 5.6Lens: 80mmFlash: No

ISO: 200Shutter: 1/320AV: aperture PriorityAperture: f 11Lens: 80mmFlash: No

ISO: 200Shutter: 1/50AV: aperture PriorityAperture: f 32Lens: 80mmFlash: No

Controls on a Camera• Shutter Speed: adjustment of the speed

(often expressed either as fractions of seconds or as an angle, with mechanical shutters) of the shutter to control the amount of time during which the imaging medium is exposed to light for each exposure. Shutter speed may be used to control the amount of light striking the image plane; 'faster' shutter speeds (that is, those of shorter duration) decrease both the amount of light and the amount of image blurring from motion of the subject and/or camera

Example of Shutter Speed

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• White Balance: on digital cameras, electronic compensation for the color temperature associated with a given set of lighting conditions, ensuring that white light is registered as such on the imaging chip and therefore that the colors in the frame will appear natural. On mechanical, film-based cameras, this function is served by the operator's choice of film stock or with color correction filters. In addition to using white balance to register natural coloration of the image, photographers may employ white balance to aesthetic end, for example white balancing to a blue object in order to obtain a warm color temperature.

Examples of White Balance

Sunlight-white light

Incandescent light-yellow/orange

Controls on a Camera– ISO/ASA: traditionally used to "tell the

camera" the film speed of the selected film on film cameras, ISO speeds are employed on modern digital cameras as an indication of the system's gain from light to numerical output and to control the automatic exposure system. A correct combination of ISO speed, aperture, and shutter speed leads to an image that is neither too dark nor too light.

Examples of ISO Settings

Rainy, overcast, outside

Shutter: 1/60Aperture: 5.655 mm lensWhite balance: autoISO: 100

Taking Your Photos

The right settings

Function Settings

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Photo by: http://www.samsungcamera.com/product/pro_view.asp?prol_uid=4300

Photo by: www.cnet.com.au/kodak-easyshare-c340-24005804...

Function Settings

• AUTO • Everything is set by the camera

• P (Program)• Some settings can be changed manually

• TV (Shutter Priority)• Shutter speed is set manually, camera decides

aperture

• AV (Aperture Priority)• Aperture is set manually, camera decides shutter

• M (Manual) • All settings are set manually

• A-DEP (Auto Depth Of Field)• Creates settings for depth of field

– Click shutter three times– First at nearest point of focus– Second at farthest point of focus– Third at subject

Function Settings

• Portrait• To take close-ups or faces• Vertical frame

• Landscape• Great distances• Horizontal frame

• Macro• Very close-up• Shallow depth of field

Function Settings

• Sports/Action• Fast shutter speeds• Multiple photos taken

• Night/Low Light• Not night vision• Low light settings• Sometimes grainy texture to image

• No Flash• Disables the flash

Function Settings

Other Settings

• DISP (Display)• Toggles on/off the screen

• MENU • Advanced settings for camera

– Size of image– Red eye– File type– Date/time settings

• PLAY• Play photos taken

Other Settings

• TRASH• Deletes photos from storage

– You cannot undo delete!!!

• Continuous Shooting• Pictures are taken as long as the shutter

button is held down• For high action

• Timer• Give a set amount of time before shutter is

triggered• Must be on a tripod

• The Flash Symbol is represented by a crooked arrow

• Flash is a good way to stop action• However, you only get one shot at a time• Some cameras have a long recovery time between flashes

and use a lot of battery power

• In auto mode, the flash is automatic• In manual modes, the flash must be turned off or on• Sometimes, there is a button to toggle the flash on

and off, but some cameras require you go into the menu to turn it on/off/auto/redeye

• Red eye• The camera flashes twice, once to cause the pupil to

contract, and second to take the photo.• If you use Red Eye reduction, let you subjects know

that there will be two flashes, or they will move after the first flash

• Intensity of Flash• Some models can be set for a higher or lower intensity

flash. Some cameras will take readings prior to taking photo if you hold down the shutter half way.

Taking Your Photos

Lesson 2

Composition

Composition—Rule of Thirds

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Photo by: photography.about.com/.../Rainbow.htm

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Mistakes in Composition

• Distractions on the Edge

Photo by: secondpicture.com

• Distractions on the Edge

• Background of the Subject

• Kissing Edges in Photographs

Avoiding Mistakes• 1. Change the Angle

– The easiest way to remove the mistakes mentioned above is to change the angle. One can often avoid these mistakes with a slight change in camera angle. The subject can be photographed for example from another direction or from another distance.

• 2. Modify the Scene– Sometimes mistakes can be avoided by modifying the scene. What I

mean is that, for example in the situation of picture 1 the chair could possibly have been replaced before taking the photo. Of course there would have been a risk because the cat might have moved away.

• 3. Use Digital Image Processing– Also digital image processing can be used to remove the mistakes

mentioned above. The photo can be cropped or it can be modified for example by using the Clone Stamp tool.

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