PROGRAM MODE  

SWITCHING TO PROGRAM MODE Most cameras have a “P” on their mode control or mode dial, which stands for, you guessed it Program mode. What does Program Mode do? A lot like Auto Mode Automatically calculates aperture and shutter speed, and possibly ISO. (standard for measuring sensitivity in film) Difference between Program & Auto mode is that Program mode allows for a fair amount of manual override. In most Program Modes you’ll be able to control white balance, Flash Mode, and apply changes to aperture and shutter speed. Be able to shoot single shots or bursts of images.

FOCUS / AUTO FOCUS Do you remember how to autofocus when taking a photo? – OK, good. These days, most cameras use a passive autofocus system. Passive systems are dependent on a certain degree of illumination to the subject, while active systems may focus correctly even in total darkness. A “Contrast Detecting Autofocus” works by focusing the lens until the image has as much contrast as possible.

FOCUS / AUTO FOCUS Essentially a low contrast image is blurry, therefore by increasing contrast, the camera increases sharpness. When a picture is of low contrast, the pixels have little change from one pixel to the next. When a picture is of high contrast, you see more of a dramatic change between pixels.

FOCUS / AUTO FOCUS WHAT REALLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU PRESS THE SHUTTER BUTTON HALF WAY When you press the shutter button halfway, a passive autofocus camera takes an initial reading of the contrast in your shot. It then focuses the lens closer and checks the contrast again. The camera will continue to focus inward until the contrast decreases, with this decrease the camera knows it has gone too far, and can return to correct focus.

FOCUS / AUTO FOCUS Many variables affect the auto focus. Such as the capability to detect contrast, the precision at which it can move it’s lens, and the speed at which it can go through the entire procedure. TTL (Through The Lens) – the camera’s sensor looks through the camera’s lens to focus. – Cause more accuracy.

FOCUS / AUTO FOCUS Contrast detection is largely a function of the available light in your scene. To help, many cameras are equipped with an “autofocus –assist lamp” that shines a light on your subject, to help your camera focus.

FOCUS / AUTO FOCUS Advantages of passive autofocus mechanism: Passive autofocus systems work with any filters or lens attachments you might be using, because they look through the camera’s lens to calculate focus. They can work through windows, water, or other transparent materials. They have no distance limitation, although your camera’s autofocus assist lamp will have some type of limiting device. On the downside, passive systems do require light in your scene, and a subject that has enough detail to produce contrast.

FOCUS POINTS Focusing Zone: area in the middle of the frame, marked with a box, that determines which part of the image will be focused on. Most cameras, even I phones, offer multiple focus zones, that way your subject doesn’t have to be in the middle of the frame. Sometimes your camera will light up several focus points at once, when it does this, it is focusing on images that are at the same distance of your subject.

FOCUS POINTS There are several potential subjects for the camera to focus on in the image, be sure to specify which one you want your camera to focus on. Otherwise your camera will take the picture and be in focus on something else, other than the subject you wanted.

CENTER-POINT FOCUSING Center –Spot focusing (spot focus) – forces the camera to focus in the center of the photo. Single –spot focus is the most reliable, fastest way to focus when creating an unusual composition.

CENTER-POINT FOCUSING Say your camera is set for center focus, and you want to focus on something on the right side of the frame. If you frame your shot the way you want it, and half press the shutter button, your camera will likely focus on the background, rather than the subject of the frame. Point the camera’s center focusing target at your subject. Press your shutter button half way to lock focus. While holding down the shutter button, reframe your shot to your desired framing. When you press your button the rest of the way, the camera will take the picture using the focus it initially calculated.

MY AUTOFOCUS WON’T LOCK… Autofocus can get confused if you’re trying to focus on something with low contrast. EX: You are trying to take a picture in a very foggy setting. Frame your shot so that the camera’s focus points sit on something that’s the same distance as your desired focus and then press the shutter button halfway to lock focus. With the button held halfway down, reframe to your desired composition. Take the shot.

AUTOFOCUS IN LOW LIGHT If you do not want the flash during your shot, do the following. Pop up the flash Press the shutter button half way down to focus, the camera will fire the flash to light up the scene, to help the autofocus system. Once focus is locked, will beep as normal. Continue to hold the shutter button down halfway, while you close the flash. Take the shot.

MORE AUTO FOCUS Face Detection Auto Focus: Focus option that detects faces in your scene, and sets focus to them. Continuous Autofocus: Automatically refocuses every time you move or zoom the camera. Servo Focus: special focus mode that automatically tracks a moving object and keeps it in focus, even as you reframe the shot.

procam MANUAL FOCUS When you should use it, Auto Focus is down because the light is too dim / lacks contrast. Speed up your shooting; working with a subject that is not moving (sit down portrait) Shooting moving objects (advanced shooters) procam

REASONS TO USE MANUAL AND AUTO FOCUS When shooting a landscape, have the camera set on a tripod, use auto focus. Once it’s focused, you can switch over to manual focus, so you know your focused at the right distance. Extremely low light, outside in the woods, the camera wont lock focus, use a flash light or lantern to illuminate the scene, once the subject is lit up you can use Manual Focus.

WHITE BALANCE Different types of light shine with different color qualities. Direct sunlight, is very blue, while tungsten light is very orange. Unlike your eyes, a digital image sensor is not as sophisticated. When you shoot under different types of light, the same color might appear very differently from one photo to the next, due to changing lighting conditions.

WHITE BALANCE The idea with white balancing is that if a camera can reproduce white accurately, it can represent any other color accurately. Once your camera knows what in your scene is supposed to be white, it can determine the type of light in your scene, and accurately reproduce any other color.

WHITE BALANCE PROCEDURE Point your camera to a pure white subject, so that most of what you're seeing in the viewfinder is white. Make sure to zoom in to the white subject until it takes up 100% of your viewfinder. Set your exposure and focus. Activate the white balance by pressing the button or throwing the switch. The camera may take a few seconds to complete the operation, after which you should get a message (or icon) in the viewfinder.

AUTO WHITE BALANCE All cameras have an auto white balance feature. It looks for the brightest point in your shot, assume that the point is white, and then use the point as a reference to balance accordingly. Very effective, and easy to use.

WHITE BALANCE BRACKETING Provides you with an additional way to tackle troublesome white balance features. Bracketing is the process of shooting multiple exposures of the same scene with slightly different settings. It is used for varying exposures, but some cameras include an option for bracketing white balance.

WHITE BALANCE BRACKETING When you activate this feature, the first shot you take will be made using your chosen white balance. Next will be shot using a white balance that is more biased to being blue. Finally your last shot will be more biased to being green. This process will aid you in your chances of getting a good white balance when shooting in tricky lighting.

AVOID WHITE BALNCE CONCERNS ALTOGETHER Shoot in RAW format if your camera provides it. This format will allow you to alter the white balance of an image after taking it. If you get white balance right the first time, it means less editing after the picture is taken, but RAW allows you to edit the white balance later, if need be.

WHITE BALANCE AIDS The Expo Disc is a white balance aid that works in conjunction with your camera’s manual white balance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTcItRP9iGA

WHITE BALANCE AIDS When you're ready to white balance, you place the expo disc over the end of your lens and point your camera at your light source. Then take the white balance reference shot. In essence, the expo disc is a substitute for a white piece of paper. – MORE ACCURATE

WHITE BALANCE AIDS White Balance Reference Card or “WhiBal Card” provides a simple way to correct white balance after you’ve taken your shot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cvnyJDicDs

WHITE BALANCE AIDS Place it within you light field, just as you would with a white piece of paper. Then take a picture using auto white balance. Then remove the card, and shoot your shots also using auto white balance.

DRIVE MODE Sometimes referred to as “Burst Mode” – As long as you hold down the button, the camera will keep on shooting. Drive Mode is most useful when you’re shooting action scenes (sporting events, wild animals) You can also use Drive Mode for every day shooting, especially candid shots of people – because people’s expressions change very subtly from one moment to the next.

SHOOTING IN DRIVE MODE First, activate your camera’s Drive Mode, some cameras offer multiple Drive Modes with Multiple speeds. The slower mode (about three frames per second) will let you maintain a burst over a longer period of time. While faster mode shoots more often (about five frames per second)

SHOOTING IN DRIVE MODE Press the Shutter Button halfway to autofocus, then press the rest of the way to take the shot, remember in Drive Mode, as long as your holding the button down, your camera will continue to shoot. Usually when shooting so many pictures, so quickly, your camera will store the images into a memory buffer, so your memory card doesn’t get full on one shoot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWN3lm8ePGY

SELF TIMER SELF TIMER: Press the button, wait the specified interval, and the camera takes a picture. Usually as long as ten seconds. SELF TIMER WITH VARIABLE DELAY: Some cameras let you specify any amount of delay, while others simply include an additional interval, usually a short one (2 seconds) SELF TIMER CONTINUOUS: Some cameras will fire a burst of two or three shots rather than a single shot. Can be used when shooting a group of people.

REMOTE CONTROLS In the old days you could attach a “Cable Release” to the shutter button of your camera. When you pressed the button at the top, the plunger was pushed forward, and a pin came out the other end and pushed the shutter button. “Intervalometer” will automatically take a shot at a given interval. Some will let you specify the number of shots you want taken at each interval. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIDfFM2541c

FLEXIBILE PROGRAM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkzburpAdXg – light meter Your camera’s light meter aims for a shutter speed that is appropriate for handheld shooting and an aperture that’s not so small that you'll suffer sharpness penalties. Some cameras also provide a way to cycle automatically through mutual exposures after the camera has metered. Half press the shutter to meter and then use your camera’s program shift equivalent to cycle through all the other combinations of shutter speed and aperture that yield the same exposure.

FLEXIBILE PROGRAM If I press the shutter halfway to meter, and the camera yields a reading of 1/125th at f7.1, and then move my program shift feature one notch, the meter reading changes to 1/200th at f6.3. Both yield the same overall brightness, and the shutter speed is getting faster (more motion stopping power)

FLEXIBILE PROGRAM Your camera’s Program shift feature probably doesn’t work in auto mode, but should be active in Program mode. In addition to the full benefits of auto mode, you’ve got program shift as a manual override for choosing a faster or slower shutter speed, or bigger/smaller aperture, all while maintaining the correct exposure.

CALCULATING A SAFE SHUTTER SPEED FOR HANDHELD SHOOTING If you pick a shutter speed that is too low, you’ll run the risk of getting blurry images due to camera shake. The general rule for shooting handheld style, is to take one over your current focal length. So, if your shooting with a 50mm lens, you shouldn’t shoot any lower than 1/50th of a second. The idea is that the image is magnified when you zoom in, so too is any motion within the frame. Thus, you have to use a faster shutter speed as you go to a longer focal length because any little motion is magnified.

CALCULATING A SAFE SHUTTER SPEED FOR HANDHELD SHOOTING If you are shooting at dusk with a 100mm lens, and your camera chooses a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second, is this too slow or fast for taking the picture? WHY? If your camera were to choose a shutter speed of 1/150th of a second, be careful to hold the camera steady, other wise this can pick up blur in your photo.

CHANGING ISO ISO setting controls how light sensitive the camera’s sensor is. Higher ISO number = more light sensitive Lower ISO = less light sensitive High ISO allows you to use shorter shutter speeds and smaller apertures. Increasing ISO is a great option when your camera has chosen a shutter speed that’s too slow for steady handheld shooting.

CHANGING ISO When your shutter speed dips down it’s time to raise the ISO. FOR EXAMPLE: say you’re shooting with a 100mm lens at ISO 100, and your camera’s meter has selected a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second. INCREASE your ISO to 200, which gives you one stop of sensitivity, which also raises your shutter speed to 1/120th of a second.