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Level 1 – Photography Basics
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Photography Basics
What is PhotographyWhat is a cameraCamera typesHow photography worksShutter speedApertureISOUsing the cameraExposure
Contents
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What is Photography?
Photography Basics
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Photography Basics What is photography?
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What is a Camera?
Photography Basics
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Photography Basics
• A light-tight box to hold film or digital sensor
• Controls to alter the amount of light recorded
• Lens to focus light
What is a camera?
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Camera Types
Photography Basics
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Photography Basics
• Compact or SLR
• Aimed at different markets
• Compact– Low-end consumer– Point and shoot
• SLR– Users with interest in photography
Camera types
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Photography Basics Compact or SLR?
SLR
• Small• Lower cost• Small sensor• Standard
performance
Compact
• Larger• More expensive• Larger sensor• Higher performance• More versatile• Through-the-lens
viewing• Interchangeable lenses• More user control• Extensive accessories
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How Photography Works
Photography Basics
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Photography Basics
• Painting with light
• 3 settings control exposure– Shutter Speed– Aperture– ISO
• Measured in ‘stops’– Half– Third– Full
How photography works
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Shutter Speed
Photography Basics
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Photography Basics
• Measured in stops
• Most EOS cameras have a range from 30s to 1/8000s
• 1/2000s – 1/8000s = very fast shutter speeds
• 1/250s – 1/1000s = fast shutter speeds
• 1/8s – 1/125s = slow shutter speeds
• 30s –1/4s = very slow shutter speeds
Shutter speed
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Photography Basics Shutter curtains
1st shutter curtain2nd shutter curtain
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Photography Basics Shutter speed effects
1/15s1/30s1/60s1/125s1/250s1/500s1/1000s
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Photography Basics
• Use the Main Dial to set shutter speeds
• Current shutter speed is shown in the LCD display and in the viewfinder
Setting shutter speedsMain Dial
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Photography Basics Sync speed
Press shutter button halfway
Ambient lightreading
Press shutter button fully
Pre-flashfires
Combined ambient and flash reading
Ambient reading subtracted from ambient and flash reading
Flash power calculated Shutter opens Flash fires Shutter
closes
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
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Photography Basics Sync speed
1st shutter curtain2nd shutter curtain
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Photography Basics
• Slow shutter speeds can cause camera shake
• General hand holding rule: use 1 divided by the focal length of the lens, i.e., 1/focal length
• E.g. with a 200mm lens, use 1/250s or faster when hand holding
• If shutter speed is less than hand-holding speed, use a tripod
Camera shake
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Photography Basics
• Some lenses feature Image Stabilizer technology
• Helps avoid camera shake with slower shutter speeds
• Allows you to hand-hold a lens with a shutter speed 3-5 stops slower than the rule on the previous slide
• E.g. 200mm lens should be hand-held at 1/250s but could be hand-held at 1/30s to 1/8s depending on the IS system
Image Stabilizer
Hand holding a 200mm lens
IS 1/2 1/4 1/8 1/15 1/30 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000
1/2000
1/4000
1/8000
Lower speeds possible with IS on
Without IS
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Photography BasicsImage Stabilizer examples
Image Stabilizer off Image Stabilizer on
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Photography Basics
• A special group of lens elements are moved to counteract camera shake
• Two modes on some lenses
– Mode 1 for everyday use
– Mode 2 for panning with a subject
• EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens automatically detects panning
Image Stabilizer function
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Aperture
Photography Basics
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Photography Basics
• Measured in stops called f-stops
• Aperture range determined by lens
• Controls amount of light let in
• Low number e.g. f/2 lets in more light
• High number e.g. f/22 lets in less light
Aperture
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Photography Basics
• EOS 40D, EOS 5D, EOS-1 series– Use Quick Control Dial to adjust
aperture
• EOS 450D– Use AV button and Main Dial to
adjust aperture
ApertureQuick Control
Dial
AV Button
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Photography Basics Aperture effects
f/1.2f/2f/2.8f/4f/5.6f/8f/11f/16
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ISO Speeds
Photography Basics
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Photography Basics
• ISO – the third parameter that controls the amount of light recorded
• Measured in stops
• Affects the sensitivity of the sensor to light
• Range from L (ISO 50) to H (ISO 6400) depending on model
ISO speeds
50 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400
ISO Scale
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Photography Basics ISO range
ISO 100
- Best quality
ISO 200
- Good for generalshooting
ISO 400
- Good for lower light
ISO 800
- Low light shooting
- Possibility of some image
noise
ISO 1600
- Low light shooting
- Image noise likely
ISO 3200
- Very low light
- Image noise
could be marked
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Photography Basics
• Press the ISO button and rotate the Main Dial
Setting ISO speedsISO Button
ISO Button
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Using the Camera
Photography Basics
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Photography Basics
• Support the weight of the camera with the left hand under the lens
• Use a firm grip with the right hand
• Use either left or right eye to look through the viewfinder
How to hold the camera
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Photography Basics
• 2 stages– Half pressure activates the camera,
takes an exposure reading and activates autofocus
– Full pressure releases the shutter to take a picture
Pressing the shutter button
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Exposure
Photography Basics
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Photography Basics
• Exposure is controlled by shutter speed, aperture and ISO
• These settings balance to give correct exposure
• You can use a variety of combinations of these settings and still retain the same exposure
Exposure
f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22
1/1000 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60 1/30 1/15
All of these combinations give the same exposure
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Photography Basics Exposure
Aperture = size of pipe
Shutter speed = time tap is open
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Photography Basics Exposure samples
Correct exposureUnder exposureOver exposure
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Photography Basics
What is PhotographyWhat is a cameraCamera typesHow photography worksShutter speedApertureISOUsing the cameraExposure
What have we covered?