1. M AKING B ETTER P ICTURES A PRESENTATION TO A REA 2 CAT, N OVEMBER 19, 2009 B Y D EREK S OUTHERN, B RANCH 8

2. P HOTOGRAPHY IS “P AINTING WITH L IGHT ”

4. H OW MUCH L IGHT ? We have two ways to control how much light enters the camera: Shutter speed Aperture But we can also control the sensitivity of the sensor inside the camera using ISO settings from 50 – 3200+

5. S HUTTER SPEEDS Fast Slow

6. A PERTURES Wide open Closed down Fast lens $$$ Slow lens

7. E QUIVALENT EXPOSURES

8. H OW MUCH L IGHT IS ENOUGH ?

12. C AMERA DISPLAY MAY INCLUDE HISTOGRAM

13. Histogram

14. H ISTOGRAMS TELL ALL !

15. I S THIS A WELL EXPOSED PICTURE ?

16. C AMERA DISPLAY Histogram Exposure compensation White balance Image size (5.04 MP) File size Image quality

17. AVOID THE 3B’ S OF P OOR P ICTURES Blurry Bad Boring

18. T HE 3B’ S OF P OOR P ICTURES Blurry Bad Boring

19. B ETTER ? Focus on main subject, then recompose, and finish the ‘click’  

20. T HE 3B’ S OF P OOR P ICTURES Blurry Bad Boring 0.6 secs, f/5, ISO 400, auto-exposure

21. A NY IMPROVEMENT ? 1/10 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400, exposure set manually

22. S OME W AYS TO R EDUCE B LUR Use a tripod

23. S OME W AYS TO R EDUCE B LUR Use a faster shutter speed (lens speed becomes an issue!) by selecting ‘action’ or ‘sports’ option

24. S OME W AYS TO R EDUCE B LUR Remember shutter button has a two stage action; pause at mid- point, then press slowly without jerking camera. This allows autofocus to happen in the background. Then recompose picture if needed. Remember this one? Remember this one?

25. S OME W AYS TO R EDUCE B LUR Use ‘Image Stabilization’ (Canon’s term) to be able to hand hold camera at slower speed

26. S OME W AYS TO R EDUCE B LUR Rule of thumb with zoom: minimum shutter speed = 1/focal length of lens e.g., With a 200 mm lens use 1/200 sec shutter speed or faster

27. S OME WAYS TO REDUCE B LUR Use a tripod Use a faster shutter speed (lens speed becomes an issue!) by selecting ‘action’ or ‘sports’ option Remember shutter button has a two stage action; pause at mid-point, then press slowly without jerking camera. This allows autofocus to happen in the background. Then re-compose picture if needed. Use ‘Image Stabilization’ (Canon’s term) to be able to hand hold camera at slower speed Rule of thumb with zoom: minimum speed = 1/focal length of lens

28. C ANON SD450

29. U SE THE C AMERA M ODE F UNCTIONS Use faster shutter speeds to ‘stop’ action or reduce blur caused by camera shake: set ‘Action’ mode Use SMALL aperture (larger number like f/11) to increase area of sharpness : set ‘Landscape’ mode Use ‘Macro’ mode for close-ups (stamps, shells, flowers, ornaments, things to sell on eBay, etc) Use ‘Portrait’ mode and with the LARGE aperture (small number like f/2.8) you have a reduced Depth of Field and get a blurred background

30. S ELECT AN APPROPRIATE MODE selector

31. B ETTER PICTURES OF CHILDREN Get down to their level Use natural light, if possible: (avoid flash!) Zoom in; fill the frame Save highest quality pictures (you will need more memory cards, they are cheap and memories are priceless!) Pre-focus by pressing shutter release half way. This also reduces shutter lag time – if you don’t do this the action has happened by the time the camera takes the picture!

32. P ICTURES OF C HILDREN 1/80, f/2.8, ISO 400

33. P ICTURES OF C HILDREN 1/100, f/2.8, ISO 400

34. N EWBORN : ZOOM AND FLASH 1/60, f/5, ISO 400, 200mm, flash The hospital room was not well lit. I moved away from mother and child, used zoom to fill the frame, and added flash

35. I MPROVING OUR PICTURES : T HE ‘R ULE OF T HIRDS ’ Imagine a “Tic-Tac-Toe” 3x3 matrix superimposed on your picture (some cameras offer this feature) Avoid having the horizon in center of image Avoid having person/subject right in the center Have space in the direction a person is looking BUT - Break the rules when you need to!

36. B ETTER COMPOSITION The ‘Rule of Thirds’

37. U SING GRID

38. M AKE A PICTURE ! U SE PANORAMA WHEN YOU NEED TO

39. A VOID F LASH ! U NLESS YOU CAN ’ T !!

40. N O F LASH !

41. F LASH IS S HORT R ANGE 1/60, f/2.8, ISO 400, with flash

42. N O F LASH, BUT MANUAL CONTROL 1/6, f/2.8, ISO 1600, NO flash

43. O THER WAYS TO IMPROVE P ICTURES Fill the screen - zoom, or get closer Change your view point Use scenery to ‘frame’ your picture Do NOT use digital zoom! Bracket the exposure Change the White Balance Take multiple shots (especially if this is an important picture)

44. FILL THE SCREEN

45. MOVE ? - F IRST VIEWPOINT

46. MOVE? - S ECOND VIEWPOINT

47. N OT A GOOD DAY FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

48. B ETTER D AY – D IFFERENT V IEW

49. F ILL SCREEN AND FRAME

50. A NOTHER WAY TO FRAME A PICTURE

51. F RAMING S EATTLE

52. L OOK FOR D IFFERENCES !

53. O FF CENTER

54. O UTDOOR PICTURE, R ON AT S IRS IN THE K ITCHEN : NO FLASH 1/160, f/4.5, ISO 100, no flash

55. R ON WITH “F ILL F LASH ” 1/80, f/5.6, ISO 100, with flash

56. O LDEST OBJECT ~2 M YRS, IN BM

57. O LDEST OBJECT IN BM – NO FLASH

58. M ACRO MODE – GET CLOSE

59. E VEN CLOSER !