Introduction to Digital

Photography

TGJ 3MI Ashley Dobson

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TABLE OF CONTENTSPart oneExposure Controls

ISO sensitivity ..............................................Pg. 3

White Balance ..............................................Pg. 4

Shutter Speed ..............................................Pg. 5

Aperature ..............................................Pg. 6

Part two Lighting

Portrait Photograpy...........................................Pg. 7

Product Photography...........................................Pg. 8

Part three

Photograpy Rules

Rule of Thirds ............................................Pg. 9

Unique Angles ............................................Pg. 10

Natural Lighting ............................................Pg. 11

Exposure ............................................Pg. 12

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Part OneISO Sensitivity

Photographs taken at a slow shutter speed are prone to blur-ring. If ISO sensitivity is raised above the base setting of ISO 200 equivalent, the same exposures can be achieved at faster shutter speeds, preventing blur.

TaskSelect a subject

Use the camera controls to adjust the camera to the lowest available ISO speed and take a picture of your subject.

Readjust the ISO speed to the highest available and take an-other picture of the subject.

For Example:

ISO is set high, notice lack of blur in background.

ISO is set lower, notice blotting in background

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Part OneWhite Balance

White balance ensures that colours are unaffected by the co-lours of the light source. Auto white balance is recommended for most light sources; if necessary, other values can be se-lected according to the type of source.

TaskSelect the subject.

Take a picture in the lighting setting that matches the cur-rent lighting.

Take another picture, in a different lighting setting then the previous setting.

For Example:

Photo taken in proper light, whites appears white.

Photo taken in improper light-ing, white has red tinge.

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Part OneShutter Speed

High shutter speeds freeze motion for dynamic speed shots in which the main subject stands out clearly. Slow shutter speeds are prone to blurring, and are better for a smooth shot.

TaskSelect a well lit moving subject.

Select a slow shutter speed (approx. 1/8 ) and take a picture.

Adjust the shutter to approx. 1/500 or faster and take a pic-ture.

For Example:

Photo taken with a slow shutter speed, causing blur.

Photo taken with a fast shutter speed, causing stop affect.

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Part OneAperture

Picture taken with a larger aperture, giving it a smaller depth of field.

Picture taken with a smaller aperture, giving it a larger depth of field.

Small apertures (high f/numbers) increase depth of field, bringing both main subject and background, into focus. Larg-er apertures (low f/numbers) on the other hand, soften the background features.

TaskSelect a well lit subject with good range of depth and de-tail.

Set the camera’s aperture to the largest available aperture (lowest F-stop) and take a picture.

Set the camera’s aperture to the smallest available aperture (highest F-stop) and repeat the picture.

For Example:

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Part TwoPortrait PhotographyYou will need to shut off the flash on the camera as you do not want it to interfere with the light set up. You will also need to adjust the camera’s automatic exposure area. You will need to change the cameras exposure area.The key light should be set at roughly a 45 degree angle to your subject. Your subject should be brightly lit with heavy shadow patterns.The fill light will be used to soften the shadows. It should be set at a 45 degree angle on the opposite side from the key light. Aim the fill light away from the subject and use the umbrella reflector. With both key and fill lights on the subject should be well lit with light shadow patterns.The background light should not be aimed at the sub-ject. It will be aimed at the backdrop in order to eliminate any shad-ows caused by the key and fill lights.

TaskLeave the stage lights on and take a picture of the subject.

Turn on the key light, shut off the stage lights and take a picture of your subject.

Turn on the key and fill lights, shut off the stage lights and take a picture of your subject.

Turn on the key, fill light, and background lights, shut off the stage lights and take a picture of your subject.

Just key lit Key light and fill lights Key, fill and background lights on.

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Part TwoProduct Photography

You will need to set the camera to Macro mode, this will allow the camera to operate very close to a subject. Set the camera on a tripod and be-gin taking pictures.

TaskSelect a subject.

Place the subject on a desk and take a photo of it under the room lights.

Shut the room lights off and light the subject with the supplied spotlights take another photo.

Place the light sources so that they shine in equally from the sides slightly ahead of the subject.

Place the camera on the tripod so that the lens is inside the tent.

Compose the picture so that the subject fills the frame.Repeat with other subjects.

Non-reflective product in light product box.

Reflective product in the light product box.

Another non-reflective prod-uct in light product box.

Second reflective product in the light product box.

Part Three

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Rule of Thirds

The theory is that if you place points of interest in the inter-sections or along the lines that your photo becomes more bal-anced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images that people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the shot – using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image rather than working against it.

TaskSelect a subect of interest.

Manipulate angle so the subject is within the broken thirds of screen.

Take image, repeat with new subject.

For Example:

Rule of thirds, stripes on wall lead eye to ambigram of ‘Fire’.

Rule of thirds, bricks lead eye to glass showcases.

Part Three

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Unique Angles

Too many photographers make do with the first view they have of a scene. We see this all the time when photographers pull out their cameras at a popular tourist spot and take their shots. There’s almost always an area where everyone congregates to take their photos. Often, it’s very rare that you see anyone walk away from the crowd and shoot from a different angle.

Task

Select your subject.

Take ‘safe’ shots, to get a feel for your subject

Start going at different angles, going further or closer, to find something nice yet unique.

For Example:

Unique angle of a railing Unique angle of a book display

Part Three

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Natural LightingThere are different types of light, each giving photographs a different feel or quality to the image. Most photographers try to go out during ‘golden hour’ when the sun is up, yet still soft. They do this as, midday sun is much too harsh on images, and create hard shadows. Yet, hard light is good for bringing out colours. Backlighting also is a prime lighting, as the light source is behind the subject and creates a lot of contrast. This is often used in architecture and landscape photographs. There are many other kinds, and many are ideal - learning to use the natural light to the photographers advantage is an art of its own.

TaskGo outside.

Find a subject.

Use the lighting to advance your image’s quality.

For Example:

Taken during ‘golden hour’ Light and airy photograph.

Taken during ‘golden hour’ with backlight.

Part Three

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Low exposure setting Proper exposure setting High exposure setting

Exposure SettingsExposure is the amount of light collected by the sensor in your camera during a single picture. If the shot is exposed too long the photo-graph will be washed out. If the shot is exposed too short the photo-graph will appear too dark.

TaskSelect subject.

Change aperture , and shutter speed to not allow enough light in and create a dark, underexposed image.

Change aperture, and shutter speed to allow a proper amount of light in, creating a properly exposed image.

Change aperture, and shutter speed for a final time, allowing a lot of light in, to create a pale and washed out image.

For Example: