Hello and welcome to

Beginners Photography workshop

Today we are going to go over the basics of photography and try and answer some of those questions that can put you off!

Like when you hear something like this ……

“the composition is critical so the photographer can express the emotion on the subject with use of Symmetry by adjusting the F-stop to enhance the depth of field which emphasis the focal

point of the image”….

What are they talking about!!!!!

NOW, unfortunately most of what you hear professional photographers talking about is

necessary and most times vital to capturing a beautiful image.

So today I will try and explain as much as possible about the basics of photography.

Now remember if you have question

Don’t be afraid to ask

{

What is Photography?

Basically photography is a combination of visual imagination and design, craft skillsand practical organizing ability

Try not to become absorbed in the craft detailtoo soon. Begin by putting it into a perspective with a broad look at what making photographs is all about.

On the one hand there is the Machinery and techniques themselves. And on the other you have the variety of approaches to picture making.

Photography is a Medium- a vehicle for communicating facts or fictions and expressing ideas

It requires craftsmanship and artistic ability Technical knowledge is necessary if you want to to make full use of your tools and so work with confidence.

Knowing how-

Frees you to concentrate on

“What” and “Why”( The photographs content and meaning)

Taking photographs calls for a mixture of.A) Carefully followed routines and craft skillsto control results

B) Creative decisions about subject matter and the intention of your picture

Developing an eye for composition helps to simplify and strengthen the point of your picture. Learn from other photographer’s

pictures.

But do Not let their ways of seeing get in the way of your own.

So we will start with the machinery of

Photography

Oh the Technology!

DSLR, Megapixels, Image Stabilisation, Dust Reduction, Live View, Sensors, facial recognition..........

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

Types of Digital Cameras

3 Main classifications

- Point and Shoot

- Prosumer or Bridge

- Digital SLR

Point and Shoot digital Cameras (P&S)- Commonly referred to as “consumer” digital cameras.

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

- Typically small, compact and lightweight

- Targeted at broad majority

- Typically very User-Friendly

- Image Quality has improved drastically

Prosumer or Bridge Digital Cameras

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.

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

So What is the REAL difference between a digital SLR and a point and shoot

camera?

The short answer is.....Image Quality

But Why?How can a 6 megapixel DSLR take a better picture than a 10

megapixel point and shoot?

Because Size Matters!

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

-

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 at collecting this data

Digital Sensors Compared

Full-Frame versus APS-C Sized Sensors

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

Megapixels vs Print-SizeTechnology "How many megapixels do I really need for my purposes" - a quite common question. The following table provides an overview of megapixels in relation to the max. recommended print size - ROUGHLY. A print resolution of 300dpi corresponds to magazine quality. "Acceptable" prints don't require 300dpi but e.g. 2MP will not scale to something like 20x30cm without a severe loss of quality.Megapixels Resolution common print size (rougly 300dpi)2 MP 1600x1200 10x13cm / 4x6"3 MP 2048x1536 13x18cm / 5x7"4 MP 2400 x 1600 18x23cm / 6x8"6 MP 3000x2000 20x30cm / 7x10"8 MP 3600x2400 30x40cm / 10x14"12 MP - better more 4200x2800 40x60cm / 16x24"

Possibly a little food for thought whether you really require a camera with more than 10 megapixels ...

Lets take a run through the basic shooting modes that most digital cameras have (both point and shoot and DSLRs have most of these).

Automatic ModeI suspect no one will need any introduction to this mode (as it seems most digital camera owners use it). Auto mode tells your camera to use it’s best judgement to select shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, focus and flash to take the best shot that it can. With some cameras auto mode lets you override flash or change it to red eye reduction. This mode will give you nice results in many shooting conditions, however you need to keep in mind that you’re not telling your camera any extra information about the type of shot you’re taking so it will be ‘guessing’ as to what you want. As a result some of the following modes might be more appropriate to select as they give your camera a few more hints (without you needing to do anything more).

Automatic Modes

 

Portrait ModeWhen you switch to portrait mode your camera will automatically select a large aperture (small number) which helps to keep your background out of focus (ie it sets a narrow depth of field – ensuring your subject is the only thing in focus and is therefore the centre of attention in the shot). Portrait mode works best when you’re photographing a single subject so get in close enough to your subject (either by zooming in or walking closer) so that your photographing the head and shoulders of them). Also if you’re shooting into the sun you might want to trigger your flash to add a little light onto their face.

Macro ModeMacro mode lets you move your closer into your subject to take a close up picture. It’s great for shooting flowers, insects or other small objects. Different digital cameras will have macro modes with different capabilities including different focussing distances (usually between 2-10cm for point and shoot cameras). When you use macro mode you’ll notice that focussing is more difficult as at short distances the depth of field is very narrow (just millimetres at times). Keep your camera and the object you’re photographing parallel if possible or you’ll find a lot of it will be out of focus. You’ll probably also find that you won’t want to use your camera’s built in flash when photographing close up objects or they’ll be burnt out. Lastly – a tripod is invaluable in macro shots as the depth of field is so small that even moving towards or away from your subject slightly can make your subject out of focus. (I’ll write a full tutorial on Macro Photography in the coming weeks).

Landscape ModeThis mode is almost the exact opposite of portrait mode in that it sets the camera up with a small aperture (large number) to make sure as much of the scene you’re photographing will be in focus as possible (i.e. it give you a large depth of field). It’s therefore ideal for capturing shots of wide scenes, particularly those with points of interest at different distances from the camera. At times your camera might also select a slower shutter speed in this mode (to compensate for the small aperture) so you might want to consider a tripod or other method of ensuring your camera is still.

Photographing moving objects is what sports mode (also called ‘action mode’ in some cameras) is designed for. It is ideal for photographing any moving objects including people playing sports, pets, cars, wildlife etc. Sports mode attempts to freeze the action by increasing the shutter speed. When photographing fast moving subjects you can also increase your chances of capturing them with panning of your camera along with the subject and/or by attempting to pre focus your camera on a spot where the subject will be when you want to photograph it (this takes practice).

Night ModeThis is a really fun mode to play around with and can create some wonderfully colourful and interesting shots. Night mode (a technique also called ‘slow shutter sync’) is for shooting in low light situations and sets your camera to use a longer shutter speed to help capture details of the background but it also fires off a flash to illuminate the foreground (and subject). If you use this mode for a ‘serious’ or well balanced shot you should use a tripod or your background will be blurred – however it’s also fun to take shots with this handheld to purposely blur your backgrounds – especially when there is a situation with lights behind your subject as it can give a fun and experimental look (great for parties and dance floors with coloured lights).

Movie ModeThis mode extends your digital camera from just capturing still images to capturing moving ones. Most new digital cameras these days come with a movie mode that records both video but also sound. The quality is generally not up to video camera standards but it’s a handy mode to have when you come across that perfect subject that just can’t be captured with a still image. Keep in mind that moving images take up significantly more space on your memory storage than still images.

Other less common modes that I’ve seen on digital cameras over the past year include:

Panoramic/Stitch Mode – for taking shots of a panoramic scene to be joined together later as one image.

Snow Mode – to help with tricky bright lighting at the snow

Fireworks Mode - for shooting firework displays Kids and Pets Mode – fast moving objects can be tricky –

this mode seems to speed up shutter speed and help reduce shutter lag with some pre focussing

Underwater Mode – underwater photography has it’s own unique set of exposure requirements

Beach Mode – another bright scene mode Indoor Mode – helps with setting shutter speed and white

balance Foliage Mode - boosts saturation to give nice bold colours

Semi Automatic Modes

Aperture Priority Mode (A or AV)This mode is really a semi-automatic (or semi-manual) mode where you choose the aperture and where your camera chooses the other settings (shutter speed, white balance, ISO etc) so as to ensure you have a well balanced exposure. Aperture priority mode is useful when you’re a larger number aperture means the aperture (or the opening in your camera when shooting) is smaller and lets less light in. This means you’ll have a larger depth of field (more of the scene will be in focus) but that your camera will choose a slower shutter speed. Small numbers means the opposite (ie your aperture is large, depth of field will be small and your camera will probablychoose a faster shutter speed).

Shutter Priority Mode (S or TV)Shutter priority is very similar to aperture priority mode but is the mode where you select a shutter speed and the camera then chooses all of the other settings. You would use this mode where you want to control over shutter speed (obviously). For example when photographing moving subjects (like sports) you might want to choose a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion. On the flip-side of this you might want to capture the movement as a blur of a subject like a waterfall and choose a slow shutter speed. You might also choose a slow shutter speed in lower light situations.

Program Mode (P)Some digital cameras have this priority mode in addition to auto mode (in a few cameras Program mode IS full Auto mode… confusing isn’t it!). In those cameras that have both, Program mode is similar to Auto but gives you a little more control over some other features including flash, white balance, ISO etc. Check your digital camera’s manual for how the Program mode differs from Automatic in your particular model.

Fully Manual Mode

Manual ModeIn this mode you have full control over your camera and need to think about all settings including shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, flash etc. It gives you the flexibility to set your shots up as you wish. Of course you also need to have some idea of what you’re doing in manual mode so most digital camera owners that I have anything to do with tend to stick to one of the priority modes. 

The Basics of Exposure

Learning about Exposure –

The ExposureTriangle

Each of the three aspects of the triangle relate to light and how it enters and interacts with the camera.

The three elements are:ISO – the measure of a digital camera sensor’s sensitivity to lightAperture – the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is takenShutter Speed – the amount of time that the shutter is openIt is at the intersection of these three elements that an image’s exposure is worked out.

The word photography literally means “writing with light.” So if you learn how to control the light that enters your camera, you’ll be well on your way to taking the kinds of pictures you want.

What is ISO?In traditional (film) photography ISO (or ASA) was the indication of how sensitive a film was to light. It was measured in numbers (you’ve probably seen them on films – 100, 200, 400, 800 etc). The lower the number the lower the sensitivity of the film and the finer the grain in the shots you’re taking.

In Digital Photography ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. The same principles apply as in film photography – the lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds. For example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze the action in lower light. However the higher the ISO you choose the noisier shots you will get. I’ll illustrate this below with two enlargements of shots that I just took – the one on the left is taken at 100 ISO and the one of the right at 3200 ISO (click to enlarge to see the full effect).     

(you can see larger sized images of both shots here for the 100 ISO and here for the 3200 ISO)100 ISO is generally accepted as ‘normal’ and will give you lovely crisp shots (little noise/grain). Most people tend to keep their digital cameras in ‘Auto Mode’ where the camera selects the appropriate ISO setting depending upon the conditions you’re shooting in (it will try to keep it as low as possible) but most cameras also give you the opportunity to select your own ISO also. When you do override your camera and choose a specific ISO you’ll notice that it impacts the aperture and shutter speed needed for a well exposed shot. For example – if you bumped your ISO up from 100 to 400 you’ll notice that you can shoot at higher shutter speeds and/or smaller apertures.

Questions to Ask When Choosing ISOWhen choosing the ISO setting I generally ask myself the following four questions: Light – Is the subject well lit?Grain – Do I want a grainy shot or one without noise?Tripod – Am I using a tripod?Moving Subject – Is my subject moving or stationary?

If there is plenty of light, I want little grain, I’m using a tripod and my subject is stationary I will generally use a pretty low ISO rating. If it’s dark, I purposely want grain, I don’t have a tripod and/or my subject is moving I might consider increasing the ISO as it will enable me to shoot with a faster shutter speed and still expose the shot well. Of course the trade off of this increase in ISO will be noisier shots.

Situations where you might need to push ISO to higher settings include: Indoor Sports Events – where your subject is moving fast yet you may have limited light

available. Concerts – also low in light and often ‘no-flash’ zones Art Galleries, Churches etc- many galleries have rules against using a flash and of course being

indoors are not well lit. Birthday Parties – blowing out the candles in a dark room can give you a nice moody shot which

would be ruined by a bright flash. Increasing the ISO can help capture the scene.  ISO is an important aspect of digital photography to have an understanding of if you want to gain

more control of your digital camera. Experiment with different settings and how they impact your images today

What is Shutter Speed?

Shutter speed is the length of time the shutter is open when you press the

button to take a photograph. It works with aperture to set the amount of light

that reaches the film or sensor.

Shutter speeds are shown in fractions or parts of a second.

The bigger the number the faster the shutter opens and closes.

As the number gets bigger the amount of light that reaches the film or sensor gets smaller

1/1000 s 1/500 s 1/250 s 1/125 s 1/60 s 1/30 s 1/15 s 1/8 s 1/4 s 1/2 s 1 s

Standard shutter speeds

If you’re using a slow shutter speed (anything slower than 1/60) you will need to either use a tripod or some some type of image stabilization (more and more cameras are coming with this built in).

Very Slow Shutter Speeds (5 sec. or slower) can be used in very low light situations to obtain correct

exposure, or achieve dramatic effects.

Faster shutter speeds are often used to freeze movement in a photograph of a moving subject.

When a fast shutter speed is used, a shorter time passes from the moment the shutter opens until the moment it closes.

This means there is less time for movement to be recorded by the camera

Shutter speeds available to you on your camera will usually double (approximately) with each setting.

As a result you’ll usually have the options for the following

shutter speeds – 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8 etc.

This ‘doubling’ is handy to keep in mind as aperture settings also double the amount of light that is let in – as a result increasing shutter speed by one stop and decreasing aperture by one stop

should give you similar exposure levels (but we’ll talk more about this in a future post).

Point & Shoot DSLR

ApertureAperture is the name for the hole in a lens that allows light to reach either the film or image sensor in a camera.

The aperture of a camera lens can be adjusted to control the amount of light reaching the film or image sensor.

The lens aperture sizes are known as f-numbers. A lower f-number, such as f2.8 means a bigger aperture opening which lets more light reach the film or image sensor.

A higher f-number, such as f16 means a smaller aperture opening which reduces the amount of light that reaches the film or image censor

The Aperture also controls the Depth of Field

What is depth of field? I hear you ask

Depth of field (DOF) is the amount of a photograph that appears in focus.

Depth of field can be described as small when only a small amount of the picture is in focus

Depth of field can be described as large when most or all of the image is in focus.

Making the aperture small (larger f-number) increases the depth of field in a photograph.

Making the aperture larger (lower f-number) decreases the depth of field in a photograph.

Which isWhich?

What subjects might look good with a shallow depth of field?

What subjects might look good with a larger depth of field?

Uses s

The Rule of Thirds

Imagine the frame divided into three equal sections both horizontally and vertically

Divided into “thirds”The Concept is:

Placing your subject or elements along any of these lines, and especially on or near the intersecting points, makes a photo more naturally attractive to the viewer.

Composition Techniques

Rule of Thirds Illustrated

Remember all rules are meant to be broken

 Composition -Top 10 tips 1. Background, background, background, BACKG…When framing a shot, pay as much attention to the background as you do to your subject. A complimentary background can enhance a mundane subject; a poor choice of background will make a great subject fall flat. 2. Keep it simpleThe strongest compositions are ones that get their message across quickly. Look for the building blocks of a great photograph in lines and shapes. 3. Make it personalAsk yourself what you’re drawn to in a scene – the height of a building, the patterns in a field, the shape of a flower – and bring that element out. 4. Watch the croppingWhen you’re framing people, avoid chopping them off at the knees or ankles. 5. Think about numbersOdd numbers of things tend to be visually more exciting than even amounts. Triangles are more dynamic than squares or rectangles, which echo the boundaries of the frame. Three’s the magic number… 6. Raise your aspirationsTell yourself that you’re going to take the best photograph you’ve ever taken when you get up in the morning. This can lead to disappointment in the short term, but in the long term you’ll definitely raise your game. 

7. Study the mastersTake time to search out the cream of contemporary and classic photography (keep an eye on Digital Camera Magazine book reviews Masters of Photography), and work out what it is about their composition that makes all the elements click into place.  8. Avoid clichésDon’t be happy with simply imitating other photos that you’ve seen. Think about using different lenses, treatments and viewpoints. Don’t be afraid to lie down in the mud or sand. Be determined to create something more artistic than you are producing now. 9. Shoot plenty of framesReally work a subject – you’re first shot is rarely your best one, and you’re not wasting film any more. Work through early framing options to chisel your vision and weed out the duff ideas. 10. Always carry a camera with youThe more you shoot – family, friends, daily life – the more you’ll begin to refine your eye for composition. Then, when a once-in-a-lifetime shot presents itself, framing it quickly will be second nature.  

Everything we have discussed always ends up back here.

Now we Bring It All Together

Mastering the art of exposure is something that takes a lot of practice.

In many ways it’s a juggling act and even the most experienced photographers experiment and tweak their settings as they go. Keep in mind that changing each element not only impacts the exposure of the image but each one also has an impact upon other aspects of it (ie changing aperture changes depth of field, changing ISO changes the graininess of a shot and changing shutter speed impacts how motion is captured).

Break Time 15 mins

A Quick Reviser

We’ve looked at how the three elements of the exposure triangle impact one another. This is particularly the case when it comes to aperture and shutter speeds. As you increase the size of your aperture (make the hole that you shoot through bigger) you let more light into your image sensor. As a result you will need a shorter shutter speed. In the opposite way if you increase the length of time your shutter is open you decrease the necessary aperture that you’ll need to get a well exposed shot.

Priority ModesAperture and Shutter Priority modes are really semi-manual (or semi-automatic) modes. They give you some control over your settings but also ensure you have a well exposed image by the camera making some of the decisions on settings. Let me explain each separately:

Here’s something that might help you ease in

Aperture Priority Mode

(often it has a symbol of ‘A’ or Av’ to indicate it’s selected)

In this mode you as the photographer sets the aperture that you wish to use and the camera makes a decision about what shutter speed is appropriate in the conditions that you’re shooting in.

When choosing an Aperture keep in mind that the camera will be choosing faster or longer shutter speeds and that there comes a point where shutter speeds get too long to continue to hand hold your camera (usually around 1/60). Once you get much slower than this level you’ll need to consider using a tripod. Also if you’re photographing a moving subject your shutter speed will impact how it’s captured and a slow shutter speed will mean your subject will be blurred).

Now Remember

Shutter Priority Mode

(often has a symbol of Tv or S)

In this mode you as the photographer choose the shutter speed that you wish to shoot at and let the camera make a decision about what aperture to select to give a well exposed shot.

For example if they want to photograph a racing car but want to completely freeze it so there is no motion blur they’d choose a fast shutter speed (say at 1/2000 like in the first shot below) and the camera would take into consideration how much light there was available and set an appropriate aperture. If instead you wanted to photograph the car but have some motion blur to illustrate how fast the car is moving you might like to choose a slower shutter speed (like the second shot below which has a shutter speed of 1/125) and the camera would choose a smaller aperture as a result.

→

Keep in mind That as the camera chooses different apertures it will impact the Depth of Field in your image. This means if you choose a fast shutter speed to freeze your fast moving object that it’ll have a narrower DOF.Practice

As you can see – Shutter and Aperture Priority modes do give you more control over your images but they do take a little practice to get used to.

As you use them you need to not only think about the setting that YOU set but also keep an eye on the setting that the camera selects for you.

The fourth ElementWhite 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 BalanceThe color cast of light is referred to as its Color

Temperature and is rated in degrees KelvinRanges from “Cool” to “Warm”

Most Digital cameras have Automatic White Balance, but also specific options for different

sources of light.

Let’s recap The three elements are:ISO – the measure of a digital camera sensor’s

sensitivity to lightAperture – the size of the opening in the lens

when a picture is takenShutter Speed – the amount of time that the

shutter is open

If you change one it will affect the other ! So watch out

Depth of field (DOF) is the amount of a photograph that appears in focus. What element affects the DOF?

What is Aperture Priority Mode?

What is Shutter Priority Mode?

What is White Balance?

Ok a few tips just to finish off The great thing about digital cameras is that they are the ideal testing bed for learning

about exposure. You can take as many shots as you like at no cost and they not only allow you to shoot in Auto mode and Manual mode – but also generally have semi-automatic modes like aperture priority and shutter priority modes which allow you to make decisions about one or two elements of the triangle and let the camera handle the other elements. SO TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOGRAPHS !!

For those of you heading off on holidays ( or not) Here are 7 Digital Camera Predators and How to Keep them at Bay1. Sunscreen and Insect Repellent Sunscreen is generally oily and insect repellent often contains chemicals that you wouldn’t want to get in touch with the more delicate parts of your camera.

2. Sand Cameras have moving parts and to get something as gritty and abrasive as sand into them can quickly put your camera out of action or at least damage it so that you end up with scratches through it.

3. Dust Like sand, dust is a natural enemy of the digital camera. It’s a more subtle attacker in that it generally won’t scratch your moving parts – but it is just as damaging,

4. Moisture/Water Moisture attacks cameras in numerous ways. At it’s most extreme it attacks as water which has the ability to quickly end the life of your camera So keep your cameras out of water and always be aware of where you put it an how it can be knocked.

5. Salt While the beach presents photographers with wonderful photographic opportunities it also can be a dangerous place with many digital camera predators – not the least of which is salt which has a habit of getting into your camera and lenses and causing all kinds of problems (including corrosion).

6. Thieves Another natural predator of expensive photographic equipment is the thief when you least expect it will swoop in and steal your gear away from you Always be aware of where your gear is and how accessible it is to others. Get yourself a camera bag that doesn’t scream ‘I’ve got a camera in here’

7. Bumps and Drops The downfall of many cameras comes quite literally when they are dropped or bumped into other hard objects. Use a padded camera bag or casing (and use it when your camera is not in use, be aware of where you put your camera, be careful when passing it from one person to another etc.

Use your head! Avoid these at all times

And lastly

Have Fun!

Thanks for listening