How to use a camera, and tips on creating great photographs Photography Basics How to use a camera, and tips on creating great photographs

First: What kind of camera do you have? There are two main types of camera that you will be using in this class. Camera phone/Point n’ shoot DSLR

Pros and Cons for the point n’ shoot Portable Easy to carry, as it usually will fit in a pocket or purse. Unobtrusive People tend to be more at ease and are more willing to be spontaneous when there’s not a giant camera point at them. Easy to operate almost everything is automatic. Less control over your settings Occasionally has a bad case of shutter lag Typically requires a great deal of post production to create dramatic images. *There are exceptions to every rule.

DSLR DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex. This is the type of camera used by advanced amateurs and professionals as lenses can be changed and overall, the photographer is allowed to express themselves fully in the image if they know what they are doing.

Pros and Cons for the DSLR Lots and lots of control over the how your photo turns out Ability to change lenses More powerful Let’s be honest, people take you more seriously. Bulky Expensive Fragile (relatively speaking) Can make getting candid photos difficult

Terms ISO F-Stop Shutter Speed Comes from the International Organization of Standardization. Also known as “Film Speed” F-Stop Also known as Aperture Works an awful lot like the human Eye Shutter Speed How fast will the image be recorded?

ISO A.k.a. Film Speed, ISO refers to the film, or image sensor’s, sensitivity to light. The lower the number, the longer the film or sensor needs to be exposed to light; a higher number means less time needed. Photos will become grainy at higher ISOs.

A brief look at ISO speeds An ISO of 300 or less will produce the clearest photos. These are mostly used for portrait photography or landscapes in bright light. ISO 400 is the usual minimum speed for action photography or in low light situations. ISO 800 and higher are for extremely low light situations or extremely fast movement. Expect photos to be grainy.

Photos at different ISOs

F-Stop or Aperture Think of F-Stop as the mechanical equivalent of your eye’s iris. The iris will need to be opened wider to let in more light in darker situations and closed more in brighter situations. Will show up as a number with an f in front of it F-Stop is a little backwards, 5.6 is a large aperture, where as 16 is a small aperture.

What does F-Stop do? Like your iris, the Aperture’s main job is to help focus the right amount of light, and therefore the image coming into the eye (or camera) to get the best quality image possible. If you’ve ever had your eyes dilated, you know that an iris that is wide open is very blurry to see through. Aperture controls the “depth of field”

Low Depth of Field High Depth of Field Notice things are in more focus with the smaller (f-20) aperture

Shutter Speed Determines how long light is allowed to touch the film or sensor. Longer shutter speeds will allow for motion blur Shorter shutter speeds will allow for stopping fast action

Fast vs. Slow

Recap ISO determines how much light the sensor needs to capture an image Shutter speed determines how long the sensor is exposed to light Aperture determines how much light is allowed through the lens when the shutter is released All three work together to create an image.

For quick reference

From good to great… From great to AWESOME! Tips for better photos From good to great… From great to AWESOME!

What Makes a Good Image? Composition Lighting Rule of Thirds Angles Lines Framing Patterns Texture Lighting

Simplicity One strong center of interest Avoid mergers Foreground or background should be simple or complimentary to center of interest Include foreground or background for sense of isolation, distance, depth, etc. Avoid mergers

Avoid Mergers

Avoid Amputations Avoiding cutting out parts or wholes of people or main subjects Avoiding cutting out the path of a moving object

Off with her head! v His too! v Poor guy  ^ No more athlete’s foot

Rule of Thirds Don’t center your subject; it’s boring Place it on one of the circled areas

Rule of thirds at work Bad Good Fair

Working with Angles Low angle High angle Avoid centered horizons Accentuate movement or action Make subject look big, imposing or powerful High angle Eliminate unwanted backdrops Make subject look smaller Avoid centered horizons Head and shoulders above horizon creates a feeling of importance Try the 45 degree method to get rid of reflected flashes Creates INTEREST!

BE CAREFUL WITH ANGLES! Same girl. No Joke.

Fill the Frame Would this picture look better if I was closer? Focus on subject Detail Start far and move closer Fill the frame with objects that “fit” Long range shots provide depth and perspective

Natural Framing Adds depth Should fit theme Helps subject fill the frame Can block unwanted subjects from view Watch focus on foreground Focus on foreground in landscape Focus on subject in portraits Auto-focus should be centered on main topic Overall—DEPENDS ON CAMERA

Lines Lines create Line leads the eye Shape Pattern Depth Perspective Focal point/subject Diagonals S-curves

Line Creates Perspective Lines into the horizon show depth and perspective for the viewer Vanishing point Point at which lines converge and vanish in to the horizon Place off-center Close-ups decrease perspective while wide-angles can exaggerate it

Balance Balance color and weight in a picture Formal and informal

Symmetrical Asymmetrical

Pattern Orderly combination of shape, line, or color Pattern can help echo the character of a photo Catching attention Random patterns Slight variation in a pattern Pattern in common places

Texture Adds realism (sense of touch) to a photo Sharp (hard) light highlights texture Especially important for close-up and b/w shots Side lighting highlights texture Most portraits use front lighting to decrease texture on skin

Using Light for Depth Sometimes hard light is inappropriate for illustrating shape and depth Soft side lighting can give a sense of shape and depth without high contrast Portraits Still life When shape/depth is more important that texture

Giving Perspective Linear—Lines which converge into the distance Diminishing size—objects further away are smaller Aerial perspective—atmosphere creates haze, which lightens objects farther away