DSLR Cameras

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DSLRs Dr Maulik Suthar 1. An Overview of digital camera technology 2. Basic photographic techniques.

Transcript of DSLR Cameras

DSLRs

Dr Maulik Suthar

• 1. An Overview of digital camera technology

• 2. Basic photographic techniques.

Content • Common photography terms with explanations

• Basic gear and explanations of common lenses– Understanding shutter speed

– Understanding aperture and F-stops

– Understanding ISO

• When to use auto mode

• Achieving great focus

• Rules of composition (and when to break them!)

• Metering light and using histograms

• How to use white balance

• How to use reflectors like a pro

Oh the Technology!

• D-SLR (single-lens reflex), • Megapixels, • Image Stabilization (IS & VR), • Dust Reduction, • Live View, • Sensors, • facial recognition..........

What does it all mean? • (and why does it matter to me?)

Introduction to Digital Cameras

Knowing Your Camera

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Digital Cameras can be seem like a complex piece of equipment. Knowing some of the basics of your camera will help you choose the right camera and produce quality photos.

What is a Digital Camera

A camera that takes video or still photographs (or both) digitally by recording images on a light-sensitive sensor.

DSLR Camera

• Top of the line camera; primarily used by professionals.

• Include high quality lenses, and often interchangeable.

• Often accepts other accessories such as filters.

• Produce very high resolution photos.

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Digital Photos Overview

• Digital Photos are made up of pixels (picture

elements).

• DPI vs PPI– DPI - Dots Per Inch (How a printer prints the image)

– PPI – Pixels Per Inch (How a monitor displays an image)

• The resolution of a digital photo is its pixel

dimensions.

• Digital Cameras use megapixels to specify the

pixel dimensions of its photos.

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Types of Digital Cameras

• Ultra Compact Digital Cameras

• Compact Digital Cameras

• Advanced Digital Cameras

• Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) Cameras

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Ultra Compact Digital Camera

• Typically a small and inexpensive camera.

• Can easily be carried in a pocket or purse.

• Usually have fewer features than the higher end cameras.

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Point and Shoot digital Cameras (P&S)

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

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

o - Typically small, compact and lightweight

o - Targeted at broad majority

o - Typically very User-Friendly

o - Image Quality has improved drastically

Compact Digital Cameras

• The typical digital camera used for taking most pictures by consumers.

• Includes most of the features the average person would need.

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Prosumer Digital Cameras• -Not technically its own specification

• - Common term used to describe advanced models of P&S

• (now also used to describe many entry level DSLR's)

• - Similar in shape and appearance to Digital SLR's

• - Typically have extended zoom range (8-12X Optical Equiv)

• - Typically combine user friendly • P&S features with more advanced • manual features.

Advanced Digital Camera

• Designed for the more skilled or hobbyist photographer.

• Usually has higher quality lens and zoom.

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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

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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 24 megapixel point and shoot?

•Because Size Matters!

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How the digital sensor works

• - 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 and collecting this data

Digital Sensors Compared

Full-Frame versus APS-C Sized Sensors

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Digital Camera Features and Technologies

• Megapixels – Determine the total size (Dimensions) of the image recorded by camera

• - More MP does not always mean a better picture

• - Digital Image dimensions do not equal print dimensions

• - For example a full quality image from an 8 megapixel camera • will produce a digital image measuring approximately 9X14

inches but printing standards say that you should not print to “Photo Quality” any larger than 8X10

Megapixels Vs. Print Size

Megapixels

Megapixels Pixel Dimension Max Quality Print Size

2.0 1600 x 1200 4” x 6”

3.0 2100 x 1500 5” x 7”

4.0 2400 x 1800 8” x 10”

5.0 2500 x 1900 9” x 12”

6.0 3000 x 2000 11” x 14”

8.0 4000 x 2000 12” x 16”

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The following guide will help you know what size of high-quality print you can expect from each megapixel rating.

Multiplying the pixel dimension will give you the exact megapixel rating. The rating stated by the manufacturer is usually rounded.

Megapixels

• A higher megapixel rating does not always mean higher quality photos.

• A camera’s megapixel rating will help you determine the largest size of prints you can expect to make without sacrificing the quality of the image.

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Megapixels

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4 megapixel

8 megapixel

2400 x 1800

4000 x 2000

8” x 10” print

The 8 megapixel will not produce a better quality 8” x 10” print than the 4 megapixel.

MegaPixel and Image Size

1,000 megapixels or 1 GigaPixel

Canon 1200d

Rs. 24,560

Nikon D3300

Rs 27,999

Sony alpha 58

Rs. 30,990

Make it cinematic

Anatomy of a Camera

Anatomy of a Camera

Anatomy of a Camera

Anatomy of a Camera

Accessories

Electronic Viewfinder

• An electronic viewfinder, or EVF, is a viewfinder in which the image captured by the lens is projected electronically onto a miniature display. The viewfinder shows exactly what the lens sees.

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Optical Viewfinder

• A window on the back of the camera you look through to position the shot.

• The primary drawback to the optical viewfinder is the parallax, displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight.

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Viewfinder

• Unlike with compact cameras, where you composeyour shots by looking at the back of the camera(LCD screen), on the DSLR, you’ll usually lookthrough the eyepiece of the viewfinder forcomposing, focusing, and viewing certaininformation provided by the camera.

• Some DSLRs will allow you to use their LCD monitorsthe same way you would with a compact camera,but you won’t usually take photos this way.

LCD Monitor

• One of the biggest advantages of your DSLR is itsability to preview an image immediately afteryou take a picture. The LCD monitor is located onthe back of the camera and may have a swivelcapability so that you can orient the screen foreasier view from different camera positions.

• As you take each shot, a preview of the imagewill appear for a short time on the LCD. Thismonitor also gives you access to image data andthe camera’s menu system.

LCD/OSD

An on-screen display (OSD) is information about the camera’s settings displayed on the LCD screen.

Live View• Refers to the ability to use the lcd screen on the camera the same

way you would use the viewfinder• Shots can be composed even while holding the camera away

from your face• Originally only a feature in P&S, DSLR’s now use Live View also

Facial Recognition

• Camera detects faces in your frame based on color,contrast change, etc.

• Focus is automatically adjusted so detail in faces is high

• Color and contrast are automatically adjusted to createpleasing skin tones

Camera Bag

• Purchasing a cool, sophisticated, cutting-edge camera is one thing. Getting a camera bag to support, hold and protect your camera is another. Welcome to Flipkart's mind-boggling array of camera bags that will not only satiate your requirements, but will also effectively give you the benefit of heading out with confidence on your outdoor ventures with the camera of your choice, securely by your side.Camera bags are the perfect accessories for photography enthusiasts and professionals who require one bag that carries all of their camera-based essentials. Before investing in a camera bag, ensure that the bag is able to accommodate your camera model and make sure that the bag is waterproof with plenty of internal pockets to store extra additions safely and securely. Additions such as batteries, backup lenses, charger units, SD cards, pocket tripods and many such accessories should be accommodated without a fuss.Camera bags are divided into multiple types such as holster, the belt pack, shoulder bag with one strap, backpacks, slings and so on. Choose a type or a model that is most convenient to you

Why Batteries?

Batteries are the soul of

photographic equipment

Types of Light

• Sunlight• Moonlight• Good Light• Bad Light• Soft Light• Harsh Light• Storm Light

• Flash Light• Incandescent• U.V. Light• Black Light• Fluorescent• Indirect/Bounce• Highlights

Movement Compensation

• Refers to the cameras ability to correct small movements by the user while taking a picture, in order to reduce the blur caused by camera shake.

• Very Useful in low-light or telephoto situations

Movement Compensation

• Represented differently by different companies:

• Nikon – VR – Vibration Reduction

• Canon – IS – Image Stabilization

• Sony – SSS – Super Steady-Shot

Dust Reduction

• Dust is more of a problem in DSLR's due to changing lenses

• Once dust gets on your sensor, it can be difficult to remove

• Dust reduction is essentially a mechanism which shakesthe cameras sensor to free any clinging dust particles

• Special anti-static coatings or filters may also be used

File Format

• Refers to the way the computer stores

the data

• More common formats include:– JPEG

– EXIF

– TIFF

– RAW

JPEG

• Stands for Joint Photography Experts

Group

• Most widely used format

• Biggest advantage - can compress image

data

• Do not edit JPEG images in photo-editing

programs to minimize data loss

EXIF

• Stands for Exchange Image File Format

• Used by many digicams

• Is a variation of the JPEG format

• Stores extra data as metadata with the

image file

• Metadata stores shutter speed, aperture,

and other capture settings

TIFF

• Stands for Tagged Image File Format

• Is the choice for bringing images into

publishing programs

• Does not compress as much as JPEG

• Choose when picture quality is more

important than file size

RAW

• Simply means raw

• Used by high-resolution digicams

• Does not include any in-camera

processing features

• Provides a truer version of the scene in

front of the camera

• Large file size

Back

DSLR Camera Image File Formats

JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg)• require little, if any, color and exposure correction.• undergo less scrutiny.• need to be delivered, printed, or distributed quickly

(often straight from the camera or memory card).• take up less media storage.

Raw (e.g. RAW, CR2, NEF)

• Provide you with plenty of image detail and data to makereasonable adjustments without compromising image quality.

• Offer the maximum available image data, thus provide thepotential for generating the highest quality images your sensorcan record.

• Take up to several times the media storage than do JPEG files.

• Must go through a Raw file conversion process which adds anextra step before distributing, displaying, or printing images usingthe normal JPEG format.

• Do not have camera color balance, exposure, or other settings“baked-in,” so you are free to apply these adjustments (within theboundaries of the available data) after image capture.

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:

1. Shutter Speed2. Aperture3. ISO

Exposure

Exposure

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CAMERA BASICS

These basics

are common

to ALL

cameras:

• F-Stop

• Shutter Speed

• Film Speed

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CAMERA BASICS

•F-Stop (how much light is seen, how much

the aperture is open)

•Shutter Speed (how long the light is seen

in the aperture)

•FILM SPEED (how fast the film itself

responds to this light)

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F-STOP

HOW MUCH LIGHT IS SEEN

• Sometimes known as ‘aperture’

• 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’.

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F-STOP

HIGHER F-stop (i.e. 32)ADVANTAGES

• Increased depth of field, i.e. image background is not blurry

DISADVANTAGES

• Needs more light, i.e. slower shutter speed.

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F-STOP

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 IMPACTLow F-stop High F-stop

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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

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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

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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.

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Shutter Speed=1/15 of a Second

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Shutter Speed=1/150 of a second

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FILM SPEED

• Traditional cameras use film of different sensitivities. It is measured by its ISO number, i.e. 64, 100 400

• Slower speed (i.e. 64) is good for enlarging but requires bright light and/or slow shutter speed and/or lower F-stop.

• Faster Film (i.e. 400) is poor for enlarging but needs less light and thus good for indoor photography.

• Digital Cameras do not use film per se. They use a technology called CCD (Charge Coupled Device) which senses images.

The only difference between these two pictures is that one was shot with automatic exposure, and the other was shot using creative exposure.

Which photo do you prefer? Probably the picture on the right! By choosing acreatively dark exposure, the rich colors in the sunset were allowed to shinethrough.However, technically, the photo on the left is “correct,” and the photo on the rightis “incorrect.” The camera saw through the lens and tried to expose the bird sothat it wouldn’t become a shadow. To me, the photo was not about exposing thebird properly, but exposing the sunset properly. The bird was just a nice shape toinclude in the foreground. This is exactly why you must learn exposure–becausesometimes the “scientifically correct” exposure is not the best exposure to makethe photo look how you want it to.

Too much light creates an over-bright image with white spots: parts of the image are Over-Exposed

Too little light creates an under-bright image with black spots: parts of the image are Under-Exposed

Getting the ‘best’ exposure can be difficult in scenes with contrasting light

Exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on the film/image sensor

Exposure can be controlled mainly through two camera

settings:

Aperture…

… andShutter Speed

Aperture, Shutter Speed & ISO Triangle

Shutter Speed and Blur

Your camera’s image sensor records any light projected onto it when you take a photo and the result issaved as a single still image. If there is no movement during exposure, the sensor only recordsstillness. However, if there is movement during exposure (either in the scene or from cameramovement) it will may be recorded as overlapping areas of light in the frame. This produces blur,ghosting, light streaks, and other effects. Sometimes these effects are used creatively.

To help prevent blur due to camera movement, a tripod or monopod can be used. Image Stabilization(IS), Vibration Reduction (VR) and similar technologies are lens and camera features that can alsoassist in minimizing this type of blurring. While these will help minimize the effects of cameramovement, they will not reduce blurring caused by movement in your scene -- but faster shutterspeeds will.

The faster the shutter speed, the shorter the duration of exposure; the sensor will have lessopportunity to “see” anything move or change in the scene. Many compact and DSLR cameras arecapable of shutter speeds as fast as 1/8000 of a second. At high speeds, you can capture images withvirtually no motion blur regardless of subject or camera movement.

Slower shutter speeds are useful, too. In low light conditions slower shutter speeds offer the ability tocapture a scene when higher ISO and wider apertures are not practical. In other words, in low light aslower shutter speed can allow enough time for the image sensor to collect enough light for properexposure. Again, the tradeoff is that a slower shutter speed increases the potential for blur due tomovement of the camera and/or the subject.

Aperture

Aperture is the size of the opening in the lens that allows light through the lens – similar to an eye’s pupil

High f-stop =

Low aperture =

Small opening =

Less light =

Lower Exposure

Low f-stop =

High aperture =

Large opening =

More light =

Higher Exposure

• In our everyday lives, our eyes are constantly being drawn to areas of interest; thepeople and objects we look at receive our visual (and mental) focus. Our eyes dartaround -- scanning, stopping, and focusing on the world around us. But our eyesaren’t really capable of focusing on more than one thing at a time, so while someareas of a given scene are in focus, other areas are not. The same can be said ofour camera lenses. When we focus our camera’s lens on a nearby subject, objectsat a good distance from the subject are usually out of focus. The area that is infocus can be thought of as a plane parallel to the camera sensor plane. The depthof this plane of focus (how much of the area around the subject is in focus) iscalled the Depth of Field (DOF) and it is controlled by adjusting your lens’aperture.

Aperture

• An aperture is defined as a hole or opening throughwhich light is admitted.

• Inside the camera lens is a system of blades which openand close to increase or decrease the opening throughwhich light passes into the camera

Aperture

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

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

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

Aperture

Narrow Aperture

Wide Aperture

Apertures

Aperture, measured in f stops, determines the size of the opening inyour lens, which controls how much light strikes your filming during an exposure. The smaller the number, the larger the opening.The larger the number, the smaller the opening. Aperture also determines depth of fieldsmaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field.

O o o o o o o

f2.8 f4 f5.6 f8 f11 f16 f22

Each f stop change lets in either 2 times or ½ the amount of light,depending on whether you are opening up or stopping down.Open up means to make the opening larger (but a smallernumber). Stop down means selecting an aperture that is smaller in size (but bigger in number)

Shutter Speed

• Refers to how long the shutter is open, exposing the image sensor to light (how long the camera “sees” the picture)

• Shutter speeds are read in fractions of a second.

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

• As you’ve already seen, your camera’s image sensor must be exposed to light

in a controlled way in order to properly record a picture. The mechanism that

controls the duration of the exposure is called the shutter. The shutter’s job is to

block the light coming in through your lens until you press the shutter release

button to take a photo. When you press that button, the shutter slides open,

exposing the image sensor to the light coming in through the lens (the projected

image of the scene), then closes to block the sensor again, ending the

exposure. Your DSLR is capable of a wide range of shutter speeds

• Usually, the shutter remains open for only a fraction of a second, but the

duration can be longer. We refer to the length of time the shutter remains open

as the shutter speed. Shutter speed is either controlled by the photographer

directly, or by the camera in some automatic modes.

Shutter Speed PriorityFreeze the Moments vs. Show Movement

Shutter Speed

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

Shutter Speed

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

Fast Shutter Speed

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Slow Shutter Speed

Slow Shutter Speed: Panning

Shutter 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.

The longer a picture is being taken, the more chance there is that movement/unsteady camera will cause it to blur – so a fast shutter speed is desirable for sharp photos (remember you will have to compensate the aperture to keep it in good exposure)

Using flash creates enough light to allow a fast shutter speed – very good for capturing movement, but short range and can lose background

ISO affects the camera’s sensitivity to light:

Low ISO = less sensitive to light, slower shutter speed (likely to blur in low light, but little grain)

High ISO = more sensitive to light, faster shutter speed (less likely to blur, but more grain)

No flash Flash

Low ISOHigh ISO

Shutter Speed

• Beware!

• As your shutter speed decreases, yourchances of getting a blurry image increasebecause you must hold the camera steadyfor a longer period.

Shutter Speed •

Shutter speeds appear as whole numbers, but are really fractions:

• 1/60 sec., 1/125 sec., 1/250 sec., 1/500 sec.

• Therefore 1/60 is a slower shutter speed than 1/125, etc.

• When you change 1 stop in Shutter speed, you are letting in either 2 times or

½ the amount of light-

- Long shutter speeds spend more time letting light in, which can help in dark environments and create artistic blur effects with movement

So Shutter Speed is the length of time the camera’s lens shutter is open – in other words, how long the camera spends taking the picture

- Short shutter speeds spends less time letting light in, which allows for quicker pictures and the ability to ‘freeze time’ in great detail

- To get a good exposure on manual mode, you have tomake sure the aperture and shutter speed balanceeach-other out correctly for the sort of photo you want

- Most SLRs on automatic mode will judge the aperture andshutter speed for you when taking a picture – but you canstill change an exposure compensation setting to alterwhat it thinks is ‘correct’ if it gets it wrong

On most SLRs you can switchon: Aperture Priority (youpick the aperture, the camerapicks the shutter speed), or -Shutter Priority (you pick theshutter speed, the camera picksthe aperture – compacts usuallyhave this too) -depending on which is most convenient for what you want

Remember: Practice makes perfect!

Fast and Slow Shutter Speeds

What is a Reciprocal relationship betweenAperture and Shutter Speed?

• If a correct exposure for a givenlighting condition is 1/60 @ 11, then1/125 @ f8 will let in the same amountof light. If 1/125 @f8 is correct, then1/250 @f5.6 will let in the same amountof light.

Reciprocal relationship betweenAperture and Shutter Speed?

3. 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

• Typically ranges from 100-1600

• Newer Digital cameras have a higher range

• (up to 64000)

• 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 lossof fine detail in images

• It is more visible in dark parts of an imageand is generally more noticeable whendisplayed on screen than in print

• Some cameras claim to have “Digital Image Stabilization”

• This just means that the camera will automatically increase the ISO in order to allow a faster shutter speed

• Faster Shutter Speed will reduce the likelihood of camera shake, but high ISO will most likely result in a grainy image.

ISO and Image Quality

Exposure Compensation

• Despite what your camera meter might determine as being the best aperture and shutter speed settings, you might find that you’d prefer the subject and/or background to appear a little brighter. Without changing the actual lighting in the scene (with reflectors, additional light sources, moving your subject, or adding flash), you’ll have to adjust the exposure overall. You can leave your camera on its current shooting and metering mode and simply override the camera’s exposure settings via the Exposure Compensation (EC) control. Doing this is as easy as dialing the appropriate control wheel to move the exposure level indicator up or down the meter scale. For example, if you’d like the subject to appear a bit lighter in the picture, you might dial-in +1 stop in the exposure indicator.

3 Elements

The fourth Element - 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

White Balance

• The color cast of light is referred to as its Color Temperature and is rated in degrees Kelvin

• Ranges from “Cool” to “Warm”

• Most Digital cameras have Automatic White Balance, but also specific options for different sources of light.

• Auto. With Auto WB, your camera estimates the best WB adjustment for the scene. Auto will not always give you the most accurate results, but it is a good choice if you don’t want to deal with WB settings while shooting.

• Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Flash. These settings help compensate for the bluish (cooler) colors associated with outdoor/daylight and flash lighting.

• Tungsten. This setting helps compensate for the orange (warmer) colors associated with incandescent lighting.

• Fluorescent. This setting helps compensate for the greenish colors associated with traditional fluorescent lighting.

• Kelvin. If you’d like to dial-in a specific color temperature as your WB setting, use this. It can be great for fine-tuning the WB.

• Custom or “White Card” setting. After photographing a known white surface under the lighting conditions you’ll be shooting in, you can use that image to calibrate your WB setting. This is usually accomplished by having the camera prompt you for the image of the white surface. The camera then uses the color cast in the image to determine a good WB adjustment for subsequent photos. A neutral gray card can also be used. See more about this in Gray Cards and Color Reference Charts later in this section.

The Histogram

The Histogram

Underexposed

Correctly exposed

Overexposed

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Introduction to

Digital Photography

White Balance

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White Balance: Cold vs Warm

http://tiny.cc/GAQLd

• It’s easy to get frustrated because you can’t see the preview imageclearly under bright light. Times might also arise where you’resecond-guessing what the preview is showing you because you’renot sure if the brightness setting on the LCD is too high or low. Thehistogram is a quick way to view what your camera is recordingabout an image’s tonal values when other methods are not asprecise. With the knowledge you’ll get from that data, you canmake quick, informed adjustments to your exposure settings.

• Your camera’s histogram displays a bar graph detailing thedistribution of tones in an image from darkest to brightest with thedarker tones to the left and brighter tones to the right. Each tinybar represents one shade or tone in the image with the height ofthat bar representing the number of pixels the image contains ofthat tone. The histogram is somewhat reminiscent of mountainpeaks and valleys. The valleys are tones that appear infrequently (ornot at all) in the image and the peaks are the tones that appearmost often. Note that although the bars in the histogram areclustered, this does not indicate that those tones are clustered inthe actual image. Each bar simply indicates how often a particulartone appears throughout the image.

• With that in mind, it’s easy to understand what the histogram saysabout a particular photo. If most of the image contains very brightareas, the histogram will show most of the higher bars to the rightof the graph. If most of the image contains very dark areas, thehistogram will show most of the higher bars to the left of the graph.A photo with plenty of middle tones will display a cluster of barsaround the middle areas of the graph. Histograms with displayedzones, delimited by visible vertical lines on the graph, give you anidea of how the values fit into the dynamic range of the sensor. Themiddle zone is where the medium tones are, while the zones just tothe left and right of the middle zone are -1 stop, or +1 stop,respectively. The two zones farthest to the left and right of thegraph are -2 and +2 stops, respectively.

• How is the histogram useful for evaluating exposure? Having agraphical view of the distribution of all the tonal values can helpyou know what’s going on with an image in ways that might not beobvious in the regular image preview. One thing to keep in mind isthat the histogram is most useful when you have an idea of what itshould look like based on the type of image you’re capturing. Thereis no single “correct” histogram, because there is no single “correct”type of image.

The fifth element = Depth of Field

• Aperture also controls depth of field (DOF), which refers to how much of your image is in focus.

• A wide aperture (small #) will give a shallow DOF and can be used to isolate a subject.

Depth of Field

Depth of Field

Basic In-Camera Settings

• Exposure Modes

• There are several modes available which offer a combination ofautomatic and manual control over the three elements ofexposure.

• Auto, sometimes represented by an A, or simply a green square,is fully automatic functioning. True “point and shoot” where thecamera decides all the settings for you

Basic In-Camera Settings

• Av or Aperture Priority allows you to choose the aperturevalue while the camera chooses the shutter speed requiredto obtain a correct exposure

• Tv or Shutter Priority allows you to choose the shutterspeed while the camera chooses the aperture which wouldproduce the correct exposure

• M or Manual gives you complete manual control. Youchoose both shutter speed and aperture

Basic In-Camera Settings

• Scene Modes

• Scene Modes are basically fully automatic modes designed specifically for a certain situation. They typically place emphasis on one or more settings based on the typical circumstances of the situation chosen.

• Most digital cameras have very similar scene modes available

Scene Modes

• Backlight - eliminates dark shadows when light is comingfrom behind a subject, or when the subject is in theshade. The built-in flash automatically fires to "fill in" theshadows.

• Beach/Snow - photograph beach, snow and sunlit waterscenes. Exposure and white balance are set to helpprevent the scene from becoming washed out looking.ds.Use of tripod recommended.

Scene Modes• Fireworks - shutter speed and exposure are set for shooting

fireworks; pre-focusing & use of tripod recommended.

• Landscape - take photos of wide scenes. Camera automaticallyfocuses on a distant object.

• Macro - take close-up shots of small objects, flowers and insects.Lens can be moved closer to the subject than in other modes.Hold the camera steady or use a tripod.

Scene Modes

• Night Portrait - take photos of a subject against anight scene. The built-in flash and red-eyereduction are enabled; shutter-speeds are low.Use of tripod recommended.

• Night Scene - photograph nightscapes.Preprogrammed to use slow shutter speeds. Useof tripod recommended.

Scene Modes

• Party - take photos in a dim lit room;exposure and shutter speed areautomatically adjusted for room brightness.Captures indoor background lighting orcandlelight. Hold the camera very steadywhen using this mode.

Scene Modes

• Portrait - main subject is clearlyfocused and the background isout of focus (has less depth offield). Best when taking shotsoutside during the day. Shootusing a mid to long telephotolens, stand close to your subjectwithin the recommendedcamera range and, whenpossible, select anuncomplicated background thatis far from the subject.

Scene Modes• Sports (also called Kids & Pets)- take photos of a fast moving subject;

fast shutter speeds "freeze" the action. Best when shots are taken inbright light; pre-focusing recommended.

• Sunset - take photos of sunsets and sunrises; helps keep the deep huesin the scene.

DSLR Shooting Modes

Fully Automatic Mode

• More than likely, your camera has an all-encompassing automatic mode. On Canonand Nikon cameras this full-auto mode is denoted by a green icon on the modedial. On your camera it might be under a different icon, or simply under the wordAUTO. You can think of full-auto as sort of a point-and-shoot mode. Few camerasettings are set by you, and the actual decisions about exposure are made entirelyby the camera. ISO, aperture, and shutter speed are determined based on what thecamera’s programming thinks is best for the scene. While this might seem like agreat way to shoot, it provides you with very few creative choices and not alwaysthe intended results.

• To use this mode, just set your camera to AUTO or the green icon, and you can startshooting just as if you were using a point-and-shoot. The camera will make all ofthe important exposure decisions for you including whether or not to trigger theinternal or pop-up flash if your camera has one.

• Again, just as with all of the automatic and easy shooting modes, you’ll have limitedcreative control over your exposure settings and the camera will not always makethe best decisions on your behalf. That’s definitely a point you should be aware of.If you want more control, you’ll have to abandon these modes and move on to theones that put more control in YOUR hands. We’ll discuss other modes as weprogress.

Basic/Scene Modes

• Now, besides full-auto, some cameras also have modesdesigned for very specific shooting scenarios like “Portrait” or“Landscape” shots, night shooting, action and othersituations. Depending on the camera manufacturer, thesemight be called BASIC or SCENE shooting modes on yourcamera. These are more than likely found on consumer andsome pro-sumer models than on high-end DSLRs. As youmight expect, if you want the camera to attempt to makegood exposure decisions for you, you’d select the BASIC orSCENE mode that matches up to your shooting scenario. I’llstress this one last time: the camera’s not always going tomake the best choices, and your creative options might bevery limited, but these modes could make shooting a littleeasier for beginners.

Program or Program Shift (P) Mode

• Program mode is another easy-to-use mode that gives the camera initial

control over the aperture and shutter speed settings. The camera controls

the balance between the aperture and shutter speed, but it allows you to

shift the exposure mix in case you’d like to see one of the other settings in

a different place.

• For example, let’s say your camera is showing an aperture at f/5.6 and

shutter speed at 1/60 sec. If you’d like to open up your aperture to f/4, you

can turn a dial until you see that adjustment as your camera automatically

makes the reciprocal adjustment to the shutter speed (in this case, to

1/125 sec.). This is usually done via one of the adjustment “wheels” on the

camera. This type of exposure control shifting is a handy way to exert a

little more control over the exposure settings than you’d have with the full-

auto mode.

• Besides allowing you to shift the exposure settings up or down, P mode

also allows you to set the ISO and dial-in Exposure Compensation, which

we'll cover later.

Shutter Priority (Tv or S) Mode

• Controlling things like the aperture setting and shutter speed willbecome very important to you as seek to gain more control over thelook of your images. When you want to deliberately control shutterspeed, or the duration of your exposure, Shutter Priority mode, oftendenoted with the symbols “Tv” (time value) or “S”, allows you to selectand adjust the shutter speed as you shoot, while the cameraautomatically adjusts the aperture to compensate for any change inexposure. If you’re taking pictures at a sporting event for example, youmight want to capture the images at shutter speeds no slower than1/500 sec in order to freeze the action. As background and other lightingconditions change, your aperture will be adjusted automatically.

• Of course, the camera’s ability to maintain good exposures throughautomatic aperture adjustments is limited by the aperture range of thelens used. In other words, if the camera would otherwise adjust theaperture to f/2.8 to compensate for a change you’ve made to theshutter speed, it can’t if the lens’ maximum built-in aperture is f/4. Inthose cases, a simple manual adjustment to your ISO will put you backinto a good exposure range.

Aperture Priority (Av or A) Mode

• This can be thought of as the flip side to Shutter Prioritymode and can be found on your shooting mode dial under“Av” or “A.” You’ll use Aperture Priority when you want tohave direct control of your aperture setting while allowingyour camera to automatically adjust the shutter speed foryou to maintain proper exposure. Although using thissetting means you’re less concerned about the exactshutter speeds being used, you’ll want to keep an eye onthe shutter speeds your camera is selecting for you.Stopping your aperture down too far can lead to slowershutter speeds and blurry pictures.

Manual (M) Mode

• Manual mode (“M” on the shooting dial) gives you total control over allexposure settings: ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. This means you, and not thecamera, are responsible for getting a proper exposure. The camera’s meteringsystem will still provide you with feedback to help you judge the potential forover/under exposure, but it won’t take over to correct your exposure settings.Where lighting conditions are inconsistent, you’ll have to make frequentadjustments. Since you can freely adjust aperture and shutter speedindependently of each other, you’ll find that you have a great amount of creativefreedom with manual mode. But since you’re doing all the thinking for thecamera (as far as exposure goes), you might be spending more time dealing withthe settings than you’d like.

• Manual mode is very useful in situations where you can take your timecomposing and making creative adjustments to exposure. It’s also great forstudio lighting and portrait setups because in those situations the lightingconditions tend to remain constant throughout a series of shots; few if anyexposure adjustments have to be made unless there are changes made to thelighting setup and/or the ambient lighting conditions.

Metering Modes

• The metering system within a camera measuresthe amount of light in a frame and determinesthe best exposure. Many cameras have morethan one metering mode and each evaluates ascene in a different way.

• Essentially, by changing the metering mode youare telling the camera to evaluate the scene in adifferent way.

Metering Modes• Center-weighted metering

• Currently the most common digital camera metering system. Center-weighted is the metering system of choice on digicams that do not offer other metering modes.

• Exposure metering is averaged over the entire frame with emphasis placed on the central area. Used for general and portrait photography.

Metering Modes

• Matrix (evaluative) metering

• A complex metering system whereby a scene issplit up into a series of zones. Overall exposure isbased on evaluating each zone individually andtaking an average of the total light readings.

Metering Modes

• Spot metering

• Spot metering covers just under 4 percent of theviewfinder area. It takes a precise exposure reading onlyat the very center of the frame and disregards the rest. Aspot meter is used when a subject is backlit or has brightlight upon it and the background is dark -- for example,when there are extremes in brightness in a scene.

Metering Modes

• Partial metering

• Partial metering is similar to spot metering but covers alarger area of the viewfinder, about 13.5 percent. It isuseful for taking portrait photos when the subject is backlit Underexposure is minimized by metering on the face.

• Both spot and partial metering are considered advancedsettings. They give the skilled photographer more controlover exposure than do matrix and center-weightedmetering.

How to change metering mode

Taking Digital Photos

1. The quality of the recording device (camera's optics & sensor).

2. The size (in pixels) of the digital image.

3. The digital format it is stored.

4. The technical proficiency and the "eye" of the photographer.

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There are 4 primary points to consider that impact the quality of a digital photo:

- Vary between landscape and portrait

- Try to keep the horizon/background objects lined up straight (unless you are throwing them off for artistic effect)

- Try zooming/not zooming where it might not be expected

- Rather than capturing the whole of something, try taking a strange angle and shooting just part of it (perhaps close up in macro mode)

Composition

• Learn to see

• Rules of thirds

• Viewfinder awareness

• Simplicity

Back

Composition = The Rule of Thirds

• Imagine the frame divided into three equal sections bothhorizontally and vertically

• Divided into “thirds”

• The Concept is: Placing your subject or elements along anyof these lines, and especially on or near the intersectingpoints, makes a photo more naturally attractive to theviewer.

Framing the Scene

- Digital screens/viewfinders tend to be more accurate in framing the pictures you take

- Don’t always (or never) shoot your subject in the centre of the shot – laying the scene out according to thirds can be more interesting/satisfying

- You can use Photoshop or other digital imagery software to crop unwanted bits out of your photos

Rule of Thirds

• The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in photographyand other visual arts such as painting and design.

• The rule states that an image can be divided into nine equal parts bytwo equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced verticallines. The four points formed by the intersections of these lines canbe used to align features in the photograph. Proponents of thistechnique claim that aligning a photograph with these points createsmore tension, energy and interest in the photo than simplycentering the feature would.

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Rule of Thirds

• Again, the concept is simple: Place subjects along thelines, or near intersecting points

• For portraits, the eyes are often positioned along oneof the horizontal lines preferably near one of thepower points to make the photograph more pleasingto look at, and naturally draw attention to the eyes.

• For landscapes the horizon is aligned to any of thehorizontal lines depending on how muchland/water/sky you want to show.

The Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds Illustrated

Rule of Thirds Illustrated

Focusing on the Subject• Fixed Focus

– found on lower end cameras and phones

– The focus is fixed and can’t be adjusted.

• Auto Focus

– Most consumer cameras are equipped with auto focus cameras.

– The auto focus kicks in as you start to press the shutter button.

• Manual Focus– Found on most professional level cameras

– The photographer focuses the camera on the lens.

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How to use Focus Points

• Don’t just rely on autofocus (AF), specify exactly where you want to focus. There are two main choices here: let the camera take control by searching the scene, or you can select an area manually.

• Single point AFThis mode is best used when shooting a portrait or any subject that stays relatively still. It enables you to select a focus point manually, which doesn’t have to be in the centre of the frame.

• Dynamic area AFThis mode is perfect for shooting fast-moving or erratically moving subjects. Some D-SLRs now have up to 50 AF points, so you choose one, but if the subject briefly leaves that point, the camera will re-focus on a point near to the one you’ve chosen.

• Focus point:

The focus point used for autofocus is shown in the information display.

F-area mode:AF-area mode is displayed as shown below.

Single-point AFDynamic-area AFAuto-area AFcamera information display

Shutter Release Button

• This is the button you press to take a photo. The shutter mustbe released in order to expose the image sensor to light fromthe scene. It is usually located on the top of the camera in aposition accessible to the right-hand index finger. The defaultbehavior of the shutter button on many DSLRs causes it toactivate exposure metering and auto-focus as it’s partially

depressed; releasing the shutter as it’s fully depressed.

Creating a quality image

• Technology is only part of the equation

• a visual language and the eye needs to be educated to communicate

Rule of ThirdsSurprise

Juxtaposition

Mood

Moment

Layering

Graphic

Point of EntryPerspective

Emotion

Quality of light

Impact

Sense of place

Negative Space

http://tiny.cc/GAQLd

Preparation

• Select camera and

accessories

• Check batteries

• Clean the camera

• Adjust controls

• Extra memory cards

• Field storage

Back

Shooting

• Autofocus

• White balance

• Set other controls

• Review images

• Remove unwanted

images

Back

Back

Lens

Lens

• The lens is attached to the camera body via the lens mount on the front of theDSLR. The camera and lens must have compatible interfaces or some form ofadapter in order to make a proper connection. The lens release button must bepressed in order to detach the lens from the camera.

• The lens may have a switch which allows you to choose manual or autofocusfunctionality. Lenses are available in a wide selection of focal lengths (e.g. wideangle, normal, telephoto) that are suitable for different types of photography.Zoom lenses offer the flexibility of changing focal lengths without changing thelens.

• Fixed focal length lenses (often called, “prime” lenses) don’t allow you tozoom, but often have advantages over zoom lenses, including better opticalquality.

• Photographers often regard their camera lenses as more crucial to the qualityof their images than their camera bodies. Well-made and cared-for lenses tendto retain their value over the years.

Zoom

• Optical Zoom– The subject is magnified through the camera's optics, or lens.– Produces a higher quality image.– Image quality is maintained in optical zoom.

• Digital Zoom– Is an artificial zoom. – Digital zoom crops your image and magnifies the result of the

cropping. – Image quality is lost in digital zoom.

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Most digital cameras are capable of some type of zoom. Many will have one or both types of zoom.

Types of Camera Lenses

• Wide Angle: A lens with a range of 14-16mm or 14-24mm is good. There are also specialtylenses known as "fish eye" lenses that will give some very wide angle creative effects. Here is anawesome wide angle zoom: Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM SLR Lens

• MidrangeTelephoto: This would generally be a lens with a focal range of 70-200mm. Canon hasthis one covered with four five lenses, all L-glass. You can see them here.

• Long Telephoto Lens: A 300mm lens is the minimum here. More appropriate is a 400mm or500mm lens. Depending upon the aperture, these lenses can cost as much as a used car, butthey are really valuable in terms of taking wildlife and sports events.

• Macro: No photographer's bag would be complete without a macro lens. These allow you totake those close ups of bugs, flowers, and the like. They are also useful for portraits. Generally amacro lens will be a prime, or single focal length, lens. Canon has its own head of the class in theCanon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro. But there are some very good off brand macro lenses made byTamron and Sigma. Be sure to check them out.

• Extension Tubes: This is an excellent way to get macro...cheap. These little tubes move the lensaway from the sensor without any glass. The effect is to allow you to move your lens muchcloser to the object. You will definitely need a tripod when you use them. They are sold as a setof three different extentions. I use them all the time with my Canon 70-200mm lens becausethat is my sharpest lens. I can get really good results with the birds right outside my window.They come within a couple of feet of my position because of how I set up my feeder. The Canon70-200mm lens does a really good job with the smallest extension. Here is a photo I took withthe 70-200mm lens and a 12mm extension.

• Before you go to camera store don’t forget to consider is the image sensor in your camera. Thereare basically two different sensor sizes; “Full frame” sensors, which are the same size as oneframe of 35mm film, like those in traditional film SLRs; these are generally in higher-end cameras.Another one is the smaller image sensors, like those found in most digital SLR cameras such asNikon D5300 or Canon EOS D700. The full frame cameras such as: Nikon D800E and Canon EOS5D Mark III or Sony Alpha 99 (SLT-A99V).

• If you are serious about choosing lenses, you may need to have a telephoto lens for portraitphotos to make the results more like an amazing 85 millimeters, to take portraits or to get closershots of distant objects without moving the camera. This lens is also good to use when you wantto photograph beautiful birds in the trees, or steal a photo when you see a beautiful girl in thedistance, then you can make close to the face of the girl with a telephoto lens without beingnoticed by the girl.

• If you are interested in photographing small flowers or insects that was perched on a flower, thenyou need a macro lens, but the lens of your camera kit is also quite good for this sort of picture-making. Would you like to vacation and see landscapes like forests or mountains in the distanceand the beach? If you have enough money, then you need to have a wide angle lens. And youshould apprehend that for a very wide, please go with an 18 millimeter lens. However For just alittle wider than the 50 millimeter lens, use a 35 millimeter prime lens.

• You may have very amazed with the photos of stars in the sky or other photos thatyou see on the Internet or at a photo exhibition. The world of photography is an artthat is not limited and highly dependent on your imagination and creativity, and ofcourse also depends on the equipment, the type of camera, lens types, and alsorelated to camera accessories.

• You can also take advantage of the atmosphere of the era of horse to buy lensesbecause until towards the end of February 2014 you can get a discount at the nearestcamera shop or at a trusted online store.

• With the passage of time, then you will know more about the lenses you need, thenstart saving money so you can buy your dream lens or camera. Perhaps you need tothink to sell your stock photos online. Look for information by using a search enginetoday, so you can have an income from photography, you can even sell photographyservices to family or friends who will make the wedding party. If you are successfulyou will get a lot of references. You must also know a professional photographer canbe a very good living from photography.

Final things to remember…These are only guidelines – every rule has an exception!

Always remember your framing and exposure!

There’s a lot more to learn and discover!

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

Practice,…Practice,…Practice,…

Learn from your mistakes

Stop making comparisons with great photographers

• Often, people compare themselves with greatphotographers. Works of people like Ansel Adams, GaryWinogrand, Henri Cartier-Bresson are published inhundreds of magazines the world over. They are a constantsource of inspiration for many. On the flip side, however,they can become a benchmark for all the wrong reasons.People start to compare their own work with the work ofthese greats, thereby creating an unnecessary feeling ofdepression.

• When you compare your work with that of establishedphotographers (not just the greats named above), someonewho has years of experience practicing his skills, youcompare yourself with the essence of that professional’shard work and dedication of many years.

• Behind every great photo there are hours ofpreparation, hard work, failures and heartburns.

• Master photographers will almost never show youhow they failed before making that great shot. Youdon’t get to see the incorrect exposures, poorcompositions, incorrect development (filmphotography) and crappy treatment of themes.

• Understand what they have done and why they havedone that. When you have mastered the process, addyour own touch to it. You will probably fail as manytimes, may be even more, but you will end up alsocreating stunning compositions as well.

Thank You!

Now go out and take some pictures!!!