Digital Photography 101for Library Applications

Instructor:

Jeanne Mojejmmoje@berkeley.edu

An Infopeople Workshop

Winter 2004

Workshop Agenda

Digital Camera Overview

Hints on Taking Photos

Who Owns That Image?

Photo Design and Repair

Managing Your Digital Photo Collection

Digital Camera Overview

Why Digital Photography?

Advantage over film cameras Immediate feedback / results Don’t need to develop film Ease of image manipulation

Add interest to your web site Publicize and document library events Pictures are worth a thousand words

Provide material for library displays

Overview of Digital CamerasLens typesCase sizesPixel depthZoom powerStorage media types Older memory formats Newer memory formats Alternative memory formats

Lens TypesRegular fixed lens with or without zoom

Digital SLR (single-lens reflex) More control over depth of field Interchangeable lenses

Large format For incredible detail

in a large image Huge file sizes

Digital Camera Case Sizes

Listed in order of price Compact Micro Medium Large

Pixel Depth

Why would you want more pixels? 3 megapixels 4 megapixels 5 megapixels Foveon technology 3.4

• Three layers to each pixel• Equivalent to 10 megapixels

Pixel Print Comparison

To maintain quality, choose higher megapixel settings if you need larger print sizes 1 megapixels 4 x 6≅ 2 megapixels 5 x 7≅ 3 megapixels 8 x 11≅ 4 megapixels 11 x 14≅ 5 megapixels 12 x 16≅

Zoom Power

Optical zoom changes the image by moving the lens

Digital zoom changes the image by cropping (enlarging the pixels)

Interchangeable lenses on SLR digital cameras – expensive! Gives you more shutter speed control Wide-angle, panoramic, specialty lenses

Types of Storage Media

Some can be used in multiple portable devices Digital cameras, notebooks, PDAs, music

players, car stereo

Standardize on a flash memory type Secure Digital (SD) - up and coming Compact Flash (CF) - still a good choice

Older Memory Formats

These formats are being phased out SmartMedia (SM) MultiMediaCard (MMC)

Mini-CDs, floppy disks

Compact Flash (CF) More devices use CF that any other media

type High capacity

Newer Memory Formats

Memory stick (MS) only used by Sony

xD-Picture Card Fujifilm, Olympus Projected highest capacity

Secure Digital (SD) Projected highest use Broadest support

Alternative Memory Formats

CF Mini hard drives IBM microdrive Up to 1 GB in storage

Digital camera off-load units

Now For Our Camera Tour…

Finally, Taking Photos…

Before You Start

Practice with the camera

Double-check your camera settings

Carry extra batteries

Experiment with flash How close to subject? Test red-eye settings

Hints On Taking Photos

Use a tripod or lean against stationery object

Conserve batteries Limit use of

screen viewer Is camera turned off

when not in use?

Automatic & Forced Flash

Automatic Fires automatically as required Useful for ordinary photography

Forced Flash Photograph backlit scenes Use outside in shade Color correct

fluorescent light

Suppressed & Red-Eye Flash

Suppressed Flash Indoors where flash is ineffective Photos taken through glass

Red-Eye Reduction Pre-flashes so subject’s

eyes appear more natural Fires automatically

as required

Slow-Synchro Flash Types

Slow-Synchro Slow shutter speed for taking pictures of

people at night Will show both subject and night time

backdrop Recommend tripod

Red-Eye Reduction plus Slow-Synchro

Example of Flash Icons

Red eyereduction

Forcedflash

Suppressedflash

Red eyereductionplus slowsynchro Slow

synchro

White Balance Control

Will attempt to correct the color for given light sources such as: Daylight fluorescents Warm white fluorescents Cool white fluorescents Incandescent lights Outdoors Shade

Delayed Shutter Response

Anticipate shutter lag Shutter delay varies between cameras

Ask your subject to hold still!

Image-writing delay while the camera stores the photo Some cameras are able

to store images more quickly

Taking Photos of People

Avoid red-eye Use red-eye flash function Ask subject to look away from flash Use natural light

Don’t get too close Distortion You can crop

image later

Flattery Or Kindness?

Avoid harsh shadows

Try different viewpoints

Use natural light instead of flash

Red clothing will overpowerskin tones

Hold Still!

Posing versus natural action

Take numerous photos of same pose Subject may relax Pose will look more natural

Shutter lag makes naturalaction shots difficult

Connect That Camera…

Connecting to a Computer

Install camera software

Check camera battery charge or plug in power adapter

Choice of connections Camera to computer Memory media to computer

Copy or move files from camera to computer

Problems?

Where to go if you have problems with your camera

Camera batteries weak?

What if your computer won’t talk to the camera?

Software updates andother annoyances

Indoor Lighting

Fluorescent light is green

Incandescent light is red

North light bulbs are blue

“Color-corrected” light bulbs are best

Use two light sourcesif possible

Photographing Objects

Avoid parallax effect if object has straight lines Align camera to object Align lines of object with frame of

viewfinder or LCD monitor

Use a tripod or stand

Macro lenses

Lighting Objects

Lighting Two lights are best 45° angle to object Measure distance of lights

Use a “color key” for fine reproductions

Camera Purchase Decision

Before You Choose

What is your budget?

Will it connect to your computer?

Evaluate your photographic needs Pixel depth Power supply requirements Memory needs (16 MB to 1 GB+) Do you have other portable devices? Zoom capability needed?

How To Choose A Camera

Try out cameras for a good fit Does it fit your hands? Controls easy to locate? Display screen large enough? Light enough to carry? Zoom power?

Purchase at a store or buy online?

Keep an eye on sale prices

Bookmarks Topics to Visit

Digital camera glossaries and dictionaries

Digital camera overview

Vendor web sites fordigital cameras andphotography

Taking Photos Outdoors

Outdoor Lighting

Sunlight causes shadows

North light is blue

Overcast days

Indirect lighting best for people

Use fill-in flash or reflector

Taking Photos OutdoorsSunrise, sunsetHigh noonOvercastFill-in flashFew filters availablefor digital cameras Glare and reflections Dust and smog

Legal Issues…

Do The Right Thing!

Get a signature release from your subjects

Copyright considerations

Infopeople course materialsavailable

Signature Releases

Who owns that photograph?

If you put a photo of a person on the web, get a signature release

Legal issues

Sample signature releases

Copyright Considerations

Again, who owns that photograph?

Legal issues

Get permission!

Protect your images

Bookmarks Topics to Visit

Infopeople course Library Laws For The Web Environment -

2002

Signature release samples

Copyright law

The Art Part…

Photo Design and Repair

Design and color hints

Cropping

Resizing

Color correction

Design Hints

View as abstract artwork (turn the photo upside down)

Save as black & white for a fresh view

Look at negative spaces

Avoid clutter

The Rule of Thirds in Design

Hum Beethoven’s Fifth

Imagine a tic-tac-toe grid on your image Line objects on the grid Offset the focal point

within the composition

Check for proportions of two-to-one

Value, Contrast & Luminance

Value Relative lightness or darkness of a color Black & white photography helps you see

value

Contrast Difference between highest

and lowest luminance values

Luminance relates to light

Hue, Saturation & Brightness

Hue Intensity or gradation of color

Saturation Chromatic purity - has color

been diluted with white?

Brightness Brilliance of a color relating

to hue or saturation

Color Impact

Emotional impact of color What kind of message do you wish to

convey?

Reds “bleed” May overpower other parts

of the image

Color Hints

The rule of threes in color

Squint to see the values in the image

Check proportions of color of two-to-one

Cropping and Resizing

Focus on the subject

Get rid of clutter

The web can only show so much!

Reduce image file size

Improve your design

Software Can Correct Color

Balance your color

Correct bad lighting

Punch up the values

Increase the hue

Photo & Graphics Software

Types of Software

Beginner Apple iPhoto, Hypersnap, LviewPro

Intermediate PaintShop Pro, Photoshop Elements

Advanced Fireworks, Photoshop

Camera software

Exporting for Web and Print

Exporting For The Web

Use “save as” - keep original safe

PC vs Macintosh color differences

Reduce image and file size Crop image Resize image Change file format

to jpg or gif Set resolution to 72 dpi

Exporting For PrintUse “save as” - keep original safe

Use largest pixel size setting available for camera You won’t be able to take as many photos at a

time, but the print quality will be greater

Save to highest quality TIFF format setting

Talk with your printer!

Color-correct your monitor

File Extensions

JPEG (*.jpg) web graphics

GIF (*.gif) flat color web graphics

TIFF (*.tif) print graphics

PSD (*.psd) Adobe Photoshop

PNG (*.png) Fireworks

PDF (*.pdf) Adobe Acrobat

Proprietary extensions

Digital Photos Can Be Huge!

Managing disk space

Organizing your photos

Types of file management software

Infopeople course materials availableon digitization projects

Don’t forget metadata!

Bookmarks Topics to VisitGraphics software vendorsDigital collections projectsInfopeople course materials Planning To Digitize Your

Treasures, 2000 Planning Your Digitization

Project, 2001 Creating Web Images

With Fireworks, 2002

Planning A Photo Session

Back To Reality…

What photos do you need (or want) to take for your library? How / where will you use these photos? What camera settings to use? What is the subject matter? Environment? What kind of lighting? Legal issues?

Summary and Evaluation

Overview of digital cameras

Hints on taking photos

Who owns that image?

Design and color hints

Managing your files and disk space