JESSOPS

MAKING A START IN PHOTOGRAPHY

This is a one day course aimed at helping you to use your camera to get better pictures, a guide to what to photograph and how.

We will cover basic camera functions, and help you understand your camera better with the aid of the manual that comes with it.

Other areas we hope to help you with are exposure, use of light, composition, use of flash, tripods, filters and lenses.

All that you need to begin with is a film or digital SLR camera and lens, and time to practise. Later an additional lens, a tripod, a flashgun and a few filters will help improve your pictures. Please remember that cameras do not take pictures, people do. You do not need top of the range equipment.

We can show you quite a lot throughout the day, some information may take time to comprehend fully – but practice will soon make you more confident and give you much better pictures. Techniques can be learnt by referring to these basic notes in conjunction with your camera’s handbook, but we also hope to help you to ‘look’ and see where better pictures might be taken.

HOW TO AVOID SIMPLE MISTAKES

Firstly know what you want to achieve Know enough about your subject Don’t Rush Plan ahead Think about a) File size or film type

b) Exposurec) Technique

Use the viewfinder correctly, check edges of frame

Think about a) Composition b) Light Direction c) Time of Day

Simplicity, Don’t Complicate it Practice and take plenty of pictures

TAKING PICTURES THAT MEAN SOMETHING

Don’t just take anything – STOP – THINK Use an idea to put something across - a feeling, a mood, a

memory or a statement. Family. Portraits and Landscapes of favourite people or places. Link to another hobby-Motor Racing Walking Archaeology. Use Awareness, Keep looking, and Use opportunity. Write down your ideas, keep a scrapbook, keep notes on

things you’ve seen and want to go back to later. Visit Galleries, Exhibitions, Read photo books

WHAT MAKES A BAD PICTURE?

1. Boring subject2. Distance between you and subject3. Camera shake4. Poor exposure – Over / Under5. Poor techniques6. Poor arrangement of picture elements7. Lack of self in picture – personal input8. Lack of drive, direction or motivation9. Tilted horizons10. Poor focus, subject too close11. Un-needed elements – clutter & jumble12. Chopping off heads, hands etc when you don’t mean it13. Wrong file size – use large j peg or raw files14. Wrong conditions – time of day, lighting etc15. Lack of involvement

WHAT MAKES A GOOD PICTURE?

1. Interesting subject or mood2. Drama3. Brilliance in colour or lighting4. Action well caught5. Beautiful detail as in natural history6. Character, style and emotion7. Events and human interest8. Gentleness9. Poise, pose and eye contact10. Use of light11. Shape and Design12. Theme13. Historical perspective14. Simplicity, vision and purpose15. Direct approach16. Conditions at time of taking17. Time of day, time of year18. Sense of place

COMPOSING PICTURES

This is to do with picture structure and is as important as technical ability. The idea is to organise the picture elements in the strongest and most striking way for visual impact.Decide on what lens to use i.e. telephoto or wide angle.Decide how to frame the picture – i.e. what you leave in and what you leave out. Avoid confusion; keep the balance and purpose of the picture. Be aware of the edges of the image and any distractions. Move to get the best vantage point so that you include what you want without compromising your original intention.Use leading lines perspective and areas of colour and toneUse height – look up and down at the scene as well as the straight “What the eyes see” shot. E.g. try lying down or crouch or gain height by using something to climb on.

Use symmetry and geometry. Look and look again taking account of shape, shadows, dimensions, angles and complimentary shapes. Keep the eye as you did as a child, e.g. be amazed and wonder what you see, because composing a picture is not only about physical aspects but also crafted from your own concerns and ideas

Emphasise, select, simplify and omit

VISUAL AWARENESS, A GUIDE LIST TO HELP YOU

Pattern, shape and texture. Depth, tonal range or colour. Atmosphere, lighting and drama to give a mood. Symmetry, balance and harmony. Story line and personal input. Proportion. Dominance and significance. Keep it simple, omit what you don’t want and emphasise

what you do

DEPTH OF FIELD

Distance between the nearest and farthest parts of the picture which are in focus or sharp.

Focus relies on 2 things – the photographer’s eye hand co-ordination to manually set the lens to the correct distance and the size of the aperture used on the camera lens.

E.G.F 2.8 Gives a very shallow depth of fieldF 22 Gives a greater depth of field

Also relates to type of Lens - e.g. a wide angle Lens of focal length 28mm gives better depth than a telephoto Lens 300mm, which compresses the image, bringing distance closer but dramatically shortening the perspective and depth of field

As an example most Landscapes need maximum depth of field – sharp focus from foreground to infinity so F16 or F22 and a slow shutter speed, camera on a tripod are needed, coupled with a slow speed film to get maximum quality.

Or a portrait where you need the person critically sharp but don’t need the background to appear sharp, so use F4 or F5.6 and a faster shutter speed, and you can hand hold if there’s enough light.

SHUTTER SPEEDS

This the speed at which the shutter blind travels across the film plane to let light onto the film at a given aperture.

Shutter speeds range from B (time exposure) to 1/4000 of a second, although nobody needs 1/4000 of a second!

B – This the setting for time exposure, for example, when you are taking pictures at night using exposures of one second or more. The camera needs to be used on a tripod.

Fast moving subjects need fast shutter speeds e.g. The Red Arrows are best photographed at 1/1000 of a second.

You cannot hold a camera and lens without some element of shake – the longer the lens used, the more chance of camera shake causing blurred pictures – so the following rule applies

Always use twice the focal length of the lens you are using to dictate the shutter speed you need to set e.g.

If using a 50mm lens use at least - 1/125 of a second If using a 300mm lens use at least - 1/500 of a second If using a 70 – 200 zoom lens use - 1/500 of a second If in any doubt set the camera on a tripod or lean on

something solid.

FOCUSYou need to practise focusing your camera, both automatically and manually. Setting the AF or MF switch on the lens. Auto focus is not always the best option for some subjects as it will focus on the first object in the light path – so for a portrait it could by a person’s nose and it’s the eyes you need sharp. so manual focus is the answer. (Automatic settings on the cameras command dial does not mean the same as Auto Focus)

APERTURES

The aperture is the hole in the lens through which the light travels and is allowed onto the film. By controlling the size of this aperture we can govern the depth of field in the picture, e.g. the area of the picture which is sharply in focus

Apertures are usually called “F” stops. They range from F2.8 to F22 depending on the lens you are using. A typical sequence of apertures on a standard 50mm lens is

F2.8, F4, F5.6, F8, F11, F16, F22

F2.8 being the largest hole and F22 the smallest, so that F1.8 lets in a lot more light than F22. The smaller the hole the more in focus everything in your picture will be, so for maximum depth of field you need to use F22

By using a combination of Apertures and Shutter Speed you can govern the amount of light that gets onto the film or camera sensor, the image depth of focus and the brightness of the final picture

Too much light gives over exposure e.g. a picture which is too light

Too little light gives under exposure e.g. a picture which is too dark

The idea is to get exposure as exact as you can use either the in-camera meter or a hand held meter to tell you what the exposure should be. By using the camera shutter speed and the lens aperture manually – e.g. setting them yourself rather than letting the automatic camera decide, you can control more exactly how light or how dark the picture will be

BLACK & WHITE OR COLOUR

Colour photography is about reality – the world as it appears to be, so what you see is what you get. Working in colour is suited to a wide variety of subject matter, landscapes, people, travel, products and advertising, geology, natural history. It can be used for bright ‘abstract’ impact to gain maximum attention, but it can also be used in a soft, muted and gentle way.

Black and white tends to be used in a more specialised and creative way, but with digital you can alter a colour picture easily to a monochrome one.

150 RATING/FILM SPEED

Film comes in different speeds – these show how quickly the emulsion on the film reacts to light – digital cameras use similar speeds to link exposure

Slow - is usually 25 or 50 ISO Medium - is usually 100 or 200 ISO Fast - is usually 400 + ISO 150 gives an indication as to how ‘grainy’ the final result will

be 100 is fine grain 400 is large in grain size. Digitally the same effect can be achieved by setting light ISO ratings in the menu.

FILM SIZEStandard film sizes are – 35mm, 120 roll / sheet film 5 x 4 sheet film. 35mm is the smallest of these, the bigger the film size the better the quality

FILE SIZESmall J Peg gives poor quality, large J Peg and raw files on digital SLR’s are better particularly if you plan to manipulate your images on your PC as they give a greater degree of control and retain more picture detail.

EXPOSURE MODES

Most 35mm single lens reflex (SLR) cameras have a wide range of aperture and shutter speed settings, but also a number of exposure mode options.

It’s worth outlining what they do and how they work.

PROGRAM MODE This is fully automatic, setting both aperture and shutter speeds, making all the exposure decisions for you, but offering little creative control. The settings the camera chooses are displayed for you, either in the viewfinder or on the top display window. The combination of aperture/shutter speed may not be suitable for the subject you’ve chosen – how can the camera decide at what speed something is moving, or what depth of field you would prefer? most do offer a program shift control so you can change the combination without to much trouble. This mode of operation has the obvious advantage of being quick and simple to use, and is brilliant if you’ve never handled a camera before

SPECIAL PROGRAM MODES/PROGRAM BIAS. Many SLR cameras offer special modes of operation geared to more specific use. Depth of field mode is designed to give you a smallest practicable aperture in the lighting conditions available.

PICTOGRAMS. These modes are specialist in their application-setting the apertures and or shutter speeds with a specific subject in mind e.g. sport mode where it will offer a faster shutter speed, or portrait mode where it will offer a shallow depth of field/focus such as F4, which gives limited sharpness to the face, but throws the background right out of focus.Other options are for landscapes, action, close up, bulb (for long exposures at night etc)

PICTOGRAMS cont. In the main these modes are useful for those beginning in photography, who does not wish to complicate their photography too soon.

APERTURE PRIORITY AE This allows you to set the lens to the suitable aperture for the subject, giving a control over depth of field, while the camera automatically sets the shutter speed ideal for landscape work

SHUTTER PRIORITY This is the opposite to aperture priority in that you set the shutter speed and the camera sorts out the aperture for you

METERED MANUAL This is the most basic exposure mode of all and the one that gives the photographer complete control over choices in aperture & shutter speeds. If you use the cameras integral meter for exposure it allows you to adjust that given reading to suit your idea of exposure you can bracket (take several pictures on slightly different exposures, slightly darker or lighter as well as the correct metered exposure) easily using this mode, you can also over or under expose to suit the film in use (black and white film requires a different exposure technique to colour, this mode allows that option)Digital cameras allow more forgiving way to control exposure as you can alter it on the PC afterwards

EXPOSURE COMPENSATION This feature allows a fine tune control in 1/3 of an F-stop Increments, over or under the Integral metering given in the camera, simply by slightly darkening or lightening the exposure, again the decision is yours, The dial to do this is usually on the thumb wheel for exposure settings or on a separate control on the top of the camera. This is an ideal feature to use when bracketing your exposures.

CAMERA TYPES – AN OVERVIEW

The range of Camera’s now available is enormous, development continually up-grades or up-dates models, discontinues others or brings in new technology, as in the case of Digital cameras.Here is a brief guide to Camera’s, Types and Format. Also an indication of their advantages and disadvantages.

PINHOLE - A simple black box, with a pinhole for the light to travel through. It has no lens. The light is projected onto a sheet of film held in place at the back of the box. They are fun and easy to make, easy to use. Disadvantage is that Image quality is very poor, but has a soft ‘charm’ to it. Some better quality ones are available for those who enjoy this early style of picture making.

BOX CAMERA - Seldom used these days, but in the early 1930’s lots of family snaps were taken using these, in fact even up until the 50’s people recorded aspects of their everyday life, holidays, birthdays etc on these. The advantages were that they’re easy to use in good sunlit conditions, image quality quite good for small pictures. Bigger enlargements show up faults – out of focus corners, poor definition and not much control over the exposure. Viewfinders were very small. Simple box with roll-film carrier and standard 50mm lens. Lots of variations.

35MM - Camera that revolutionised modern-day photography. Early models such as the Retina, of Leica made with fixed focal length lens and some exposure controls. Film size was 35mm wide, and was held in a cassette just as it is today. The advantages were that of size, easy of handling, unobtrusive, could be used in a variety of lighting conditions as exposures could be altered manually and also didn’t always need to be used on a tripod. The down side was rapid design change in early models and eventual superseding by compact and SLR 35mm cameras.

Film 35MM SLR – Single lens reflex cameras, allowing the photographer a huge amount of flexibility in changing lenses, exposure control, creative techniques etc. They have the advantage of being fairly lightweight, fully automatic or with manual overrides, auto focus etc. The reflex system allows you to view the image through the camera lens by means of a mirror and a prism, giving more control over viewpoint and composition. Coupling up a zoom lens means less gear to carry and more variation in ‘framing’ the image. Some come with a high degree of automation – sometimes a real advantage for ‘quick’ grab shots or for those who don’t wish to understand camera techniques. The disadvantage is that the camera makes all the decisions, so ‘personal’ feel is often lost, and average exposures often give weak skies. Price range varies – you get what you pay for. Often there are far more functions on the expensive models, more lenses to choose from and more robust construction. 35mm cameras can deliver good quality for enlarged pictures up to A3 size, but careful choice of film is needed for larger that that. Properly handled they give opportunities to take great pictures in a wide variety of situations.

35MM- COMPACT – These are to be found in many households, great for point and shoot quality is ok for small prints. Some come with more controls, but in the main, these are fully automatic. They eat batteries! Very easy to use- can be expensive to buy and repair.

DIGITAL CAMERAS – available mainly in 35mm format, although one of two roll-film cameras comes with digital backs. Very expensive, and you need to be able to download your pictures, or send the memory cards to a bureau for printing. Learning curve for digital photography and the equipment needed is steep. They are the future and will get cheaper, options to manipulate the image far outreach anything that can be produced in a darkroom, but is a problem if poor techniques and small file-sizes are used. Compact versions available, very light, can be quite complicated to oerate, easy to loose

ROLL FILM CAMERAS – these come in 4 variants with respect to negative size, although they can use 120 roll film.6 x 4.5, 6 x 6, 6 x 7 and 6 x 9- all measured in centimetres. They are top quality cameras for professional use; a larger negative will give much better quality, particularly if a high degree of enlargement is required. They are available as SLR and as Rangefinder. A large range of lenses are available, but they are heavy and very expensive, they need to be used in a far more considered way. Tripods are essential.

FIELD CAMERAS – even bigger in size, even better quality, even more difficult to use! They need a full understanding of X , Y and Z movements to fine tune the angles of the subject in relation to the vertical film plane. Exposure is manually obtained from a separate meter, so again more knowledge is required. They take a lot of time to set up and calibrate to specific film. Only used by dedicated professionals hugely expensive new.

CARING FOR YOUR CAMERA EQUIPMENT

To get the best out of your camera you need to look after it. Here are a few quick tips on how to do just that.

Avoid getting cameras wet – modern electronics cameras can easily malfunction – protect using polythene bags and wipe off any moisture A.S.A.P.A linen tea towel is perfect.

Keep a screw on skylight or U/V filter on all your lenses to stop dust, grease and accidental damage or use the lens cap at all times except when taking the picture. This will help keep all your lenses scratch free.

Regularly clean the front and back lenses with a soft anti-static brush and lens cloth – don’t breathe on the lens.

Keep cameras in a dry, cool environment, as damp can cause fungal growth inside them, and heat can dry out the moving parts in the shutters. A bag of silica gel in your camera bag is ideal

Sand is the cameras worst enemy – so be extra careful when using on beaches or in deserts and sand dunes. Salt spray is bad news as well as it corrodes the multi-coating on your lenses.

In extreme cold be aware that cameras will mist up once back in the warm and condensation can form on lenses, and inside on the mirror and film (more bad news), the answer is in polythene bags and silica gel.

Batteries run down a lot quicker in cold conditions – Keep a warm spare one in your coat or trouser pockets.

Avoid getting cameras wet – modern electronics cameras can easily malfunction – protect using polythene bags and wipe off any moisture A.S.A.P.A linen tea towel is perfect.

Keep a screw on skylight or U/V filter on all your lenses to stop dust, grease and accidental damage or use the lens cap at all times except when taking the picture. This will help keep all your lenses scratch free.

Regularly clean the front and back lenses with a soft anti-static brush and lens cloth – don’t breathe on the lens.

Keep cameras in a dry, cool environment, as damp can cause fungal growth inside them, and heat can dry out the moving parts in the shutters. A bag of silica gel in your camera bag is ideal

Sand is the cameras worst enemy – so be extra careful when using on beaches or in deserts and sand dunes. Salt spray is bad news as well as it corrodes the multi-coating on your lenses.

In extreme cold be aware that cameras will mist up once back in the warm and condensation can form on lenses, and inside on the mirror and film (more bad news), the answer is in polythene bags and silica gel.

Batteries run down a lot quicker in cold conditions – Keep a warm spare one in your coat or trouser pockets.