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Photography - Part 1 (Basics N Camera)
Photography - Part 1 (Basics N Camera)
Photography
g p y Demystified
y
Part - 1
Photography Basics
Know your Camera
A thought
g
“A p
photograph
g p is as good
g as the
photographer”
© Saurabh Garg 2
What is Photography?
g p y
● An art?
● A science?
● A creative skill?
● A passion?
● An obsession?
© Saurabh Garg 3
Contents
Photography Basics
Terminology
gy
The Camera
Rules
Tips
© Saurabh Garg 4
Photography Basics
© Saurabh Garg 5
The Principle
p
Light,
Li ht Lens
L and
d Sensor
S
© Saurabh Garg 6
Terminology
© Saurabh Garg 7
Terminology
gy
Focal Length
Optical
O ti l Zoom
Z and
d FOV
Digital Zoom
Exposure
Hi t
Histogram
Shutter Speed
Aperture Size
F-Stop
Depth of Field
Film Speed/Sensitivity
White balance
Resolution
Perspective
© Saurabh Garg 8
Focal Length
g
Usually expressed in mm
© Saurabh Garg 9
Optical
p Zoom and FOV
Typical focal lengths and their 35mm
format designations
In 35mm photography
photography, a 50mm lens is called a normal lens
because it produces roughly the same picture angle as the human
eye (about 46 )
© Saurabh Garg 10
Digital
g Zoom
Di it l Zoom
Digital Z b used
can be d to
t save card
d space but
b t the
th resulting
lti i
image
is of lower quality
© Saurabh Garg 11
Exposure
p
● Exposure - the amount of light received by
the film or sensor
● Determined by -
1. Aperture
2. Shutterspeed
3. Sensitivity of the film or sensor
Underexposed
● The exposure generated by an aperture,
shutterspeed, and sensitivity combination
can be represented by its exposure value
"EV"
Overexposed
© Saurabh Garg 12
Histogram
g
The height of each "stack" or vertical "bar" tells you how many pixels
there are for that partic
particular
lar brightness
brightness. "0" and "255" are the darkest
and brightest values, corresponding to black and white respectively
© Saurabh Garg 13
Components
p of Exposure
p
Exposure
(in EV)
SMALL FAST
LOW HIGH LARGE SLOW
Bright Light Bright Light
Bright Light Low Light Low Light Low Light
Shallow Depth of Fast Action Freeze
Sharp Image Grainy Image Long Depth of Field Capture Motion Blur
Field Frame
© Saurabh Garg 14
Film Speed/Sensitivity
p y
© Saurabh Garg 15
Shutter Speed
p
“No bl
blurring”
rring”
For motionless objects
© Saurabh Garg 16
Aperture
p
The diaphragm reduces the aperture diameter by a factor 1.4 (square root
of 2) so that the aperture surface is halved each successive step.
© Saurabh Garg 17
Aperture
p (contd..)
( )
Maximum
M i A
Aperture
t or L
Lens
Speed
© Saurabh Garg 18
Aperture:
p F-stop
p
© Saurabh Garg 19
F-Number
The aperture is expressed in terms of its f-number (or f-stop) rather
than its actual size
f-number (f ) is the ratio of the focal length (F) of the lens to the
diameter of the aperture (D , where the aperture is assumed to be
circular)
f = F/D = F/√A
It is the area of the aperture (A) that determines the amount of light let
th
through h the
th shutter
h tt
That is, every time we double the area ("open up" the aperture), the f-
number changes by a factor of 1/1.4 (1/√2)
Eg. for a 50 mm lens with a 25 mm aperture, the f-stop was f /2. With
twice the area (i.e. opening up by one full stop), the f-stop changes
from 2 to 1.41421. This would be denoted as f /1.4
© Saurabh Garg 20
Putting
g it all together
g
Speed pairs will cause the film f2.8 1/4 sec ISO1600
f4 1/8 sec ISO800
to be exposed by the same
f5.6 1/15 sec ISO400
amount.
f8 1/30 sec ISO200
f11 1/60 sec ISO100
Exposure reciprocity - For a f16 1/125 sec ISO50
f22 1/250 sec
given scene there are multiple
1/500 sec
combinations of elements that
will yield a correct exposure.
© Saurabh Garg 21
Components
p of Exposure
p
Exposure
(in EV)
SMALL FAST
LOW HIGH LARGE SLOW
Bright Light Bright Light
Bright Light Low Light Low Light Low Light
Shallow Depth of Fast Action Freeze
Sharp Image Grainy Image Long Depth of Field Capture Motion Blur
Field Frame
© Saurabh Garg 22
Depth
p of Field
Refers
R f tto th
the areas off th
the photograph
h t h both
b th in
i front
f t and
d behind
b hi d
the main focus point which remain "sharp" (in focus).
© Saurabh Garg 23
White Balance
A digital
g camera needs to find
a reference point which
represents white. It will then
calculate all the other colours The auto white balance was unable to
based on this white point. find a white reference, resulting in dull
and artificial colors.
Most digital cameras feature
automatic white balance
whereby the camera looks at
the overall colour of the image
and calculates the best
best-fit
fit
white balance.
© Saurabh Garg 24
Resolution
It is recommended to shoot
at a resolution which
corresponds
p with the
camera's effective pixel
count. Shooting at lower
resolutions only makes
sense
se se if you are
a e running
u g
out of card space
Resolution Chart
© Saurabh Garg 25
Perspective
p
Perspective: The A.
perception of Depth Scene taken
with a 33mm
wide angle.
Tele - compresses
perspective
B.
(makes subjects look S
Scene taken
k
with 80mm tele
closer to one another) angle.
Wide - exaggerates
perspective C.
Scene taken
with a 33mm
(makes subjects look more wide angle after
coming closer
separated) to the subjects.
© Saurabh Garg 26
The Camera
© Saurabh Garg 27
Camera Basics
© Saurabh Garg 28
© Saurabh Garg 29
© Saurabh Garg 30
Know y
your Camera : Buttons
© Saurabh Garg 31
Sensor
© Saurabh Garg 32
LCD
© Saurabh Garg 33
Viewfinder
Types:
Optical Viewfinder
Relays an optical image either
through the lens (SLR) of
through a separate window
(consumer)
Electronic Viewfinder
Uses a smaller 0.5" LCD,
simulating the effect of a TTL
optical viewfinder
© Saurabh Garg 34
The Dial
© Saurabh Garg 35
Operation Modes
© Saurabh Garg 36
Buttons
Basic Camera
Operating Modes
Icons Description
O /R
On/Record
d Picture taking
mode - record. After the
camera is in record mode,
you can select a shooting
mode (sometimes a button
labelled "power")
power )
© Saurabh Garg 37
Point and Shoot: Auto Mode
© Saurabh Garg 38
Common Shooting
g Modes
TIP: Know your modes well, even if your camera does not allow
manual controls, most of the settings you would need are
covered by one of the preset scene modes.
© Saurabh Garg 39
Night
g Mode
© Saurabh Garg 40
Macro Mode
© Saurabh Garg 41
Landscape
p
Landscape
p and nature photography
p g p y use saturated colours to produce
p
dramatic effects that seem to leap off the print.
© Saurabh Garg 42
Portrait Mode
© Saurabh Garg 43
Sports
p Mode
Freeze Frame
© Saurabh Garg 44
Self Timer and Burst
Additional modes:
Self – timer
• The photographer can be in
the photo too
• Can prevent camera shake
because of clicking the
shutter release button in low
light photography
• The camera must be set on
a tripod or level surface
Burst
• Lets you take pictures in
quick succession (say 3 fps)
• Ideal for capturing sporting
events or objects in motion
© Saurabh Garg 45
Camera Settings and
Ope at o s
Operations
© Saurabh Garg 46
Colour
Neutral
N t l Color
C l
• Gives a more balanced
and natural look to all
colors in your pictures
Sepia
• For pictures with a
edd s b o , a
reddish-brown, antique
t que
look
© Saurabh Garg 47
Film Speed
p
© Saurabh Garg 48
White Balance
Auto (default)—
(default) automatically
a tomaticall
corrects white balance. Ideal
for general picture taking.
© Saurabh Garg 49
Flash
Disabled Flash
The mood of the photograph can sometimes be
more dramatic when the natural light
g is used.
© Saurabh Garg 50
Digital
g Camera Flash
Automatic mode
© Saurabh Garg 51
Digital
g Camera Metering
g
Automatic exposure
Standard feature on all digital
cameras. The metering system
measures the amount of light in
a frame and determines the
best exposure.
Spot metering
Only centre of the frame is
used to calculated auto- Spot metering: correct exposure
exposure settings.
© Saurabh Garg 52
Controlling
g Exposure
p
Balancing
B l i Shutter
Sh tt and d Aperture:
A t
Exposure is about different combinations of shutter and f-stop settings. These combinations
can drastically affect the finished picture. For example, the above three pictures have been
given an equal amount of light, but the f-stop and shutter combinations make each one
unique.
Why is the background all blurred in the right picture, and sharpest in the left ? Because if the
exposure is made with a wide aperture ( like f2.8 ), then objects farther away from the subject
are thrown farther out of focus.
So.. if the aperture is small (like f22) then objects in the background (and foreground ) will
appear sharper
sharper. However
However, since more light was required to make the exposure on the left (
1/4 Second ) the subjects became blurred from MOTION. At 1/250th of a second, the shutter
is fast enough to freeze motion.
© Saurabh Garg 53
Exposure
p Compensation
p
The camera's
Th ' metering
t i system
t
will sometimes determine the
wrong exposure value needed to
correctly expose the image.
Typically
yp y the EV compensation
p
ranges from -2.0 EV to +2.0 EV
with adjustments in steps of 0.5
or 0.3 EV.
It is
i important
i t t tot understand
d t d that
th t
increasing the EV compensation
by 1 is equivalent to reducing EV
by 1 and will therefore double
the amount of light.
© Saurabh Garg 54
Aperture
p Priority
y & Shutter Priority
y
Aperture Priority
In "Aperture Priority" mode,
mode the camera allows you to select the
aperture over the available range and have the camera calculate the
best shutter speed to expose the image correctly.
© Saurabh Garg 55
AutoFocus Modes
Continuous autofocus
Focuses continually on a subject; useful when
shooting
g slow movingg subjects.
j Continuous
autofocus
t f consumes more b battery
tt power.
Spot focus
Camera focuses on a very narrow, center area of the
screen.
3, 9-area focus
Camera automatically focuses using one or more
focus points. The focus positions change according
to each subject, focusing on a number of objects
within a scene.
Face-Priority AF
In 2005, Nikon introduced a Face-Priority autofocus
mode which is activated when select CoolPix digital
cameras are switched to Portrait mode. According
to Nikon, "A special digital detection program will
scan for facial details and then control autofocus
operation based on the location of the detected face
in the scene.
© Saurabh Garg 56
AutoFocus Bracketing
g
Center AF
Most digital cameras use
contrast detection to auto
focus (AF). Usually, the focus
point is a small rectangle in
the middle of the viewfinder
frame (Center AF), though
many digital cameras now
also offer additional AF points
(Multi-Point AF).
Multi-Point AF
Multi-Point AF automatically
selects between a number of
AF points (the most common
seems to be 5 or 9 AF ppoints -
- i.e.
i 4 or 8 AF points
i t
clustered around a center
focus point) and finds the
most contrasty subject among
those AF points.
© Saurabh Garg 57
Focusing
g
Focus is Essential
If you don
don'tt get the focus set correctly
for the distance of your subject to the
camera, it will appear blurred - out of
focus. Occasionally photographers will
deliberately use an out of focus blur
for artistic effect, but normally it is
simply
p y an error.
Autofocus (AF)
In autofocus mode the camera
automatically focuses on the subject in
the focus area in the center of the
LCD/ i fi d
LCD/viewfinder.
Autofocus is usually based on
detecting contrast and therefore works
best on contrasty subjects and less
well in low light conditions, in which
case the use of an AF assist lamp is
very useful.
f l
© Saurabh Garg 58
Autofocus Assist Lamp
p
© Saurabh Garg 59
Two-step
p Shutter Release Button
© Saurabh Garg 60
Correct way
y to hold the camera
© Saurabh Garg 61
Camera Grip
p
© Saurabh Garg 62
Digital Photoshop
© Saurabh Garg 63
JPEG
Practical Tips
© Saurabh Garg 64
EXIF
These data
data, also known as "metadata"
metadata are
stored in a "header". A common type of
header is the EXIF (Exchangeable Image
File) header. EXIF is a standard for storing
information created by JEIDA (Japan
Electronic Industry Development
Association) to encourage interoperability
between imaging devices.
© Saurabh Garg 65
Photo Editing
g
© Saurabh Garg 66
Digital
g Darkroom
© Saurabh Garg 67
Sneak Peak
© Saurabh Garg 68
Topics
p for Session 2
Composition
Ch i off subject
Choice bj t
Subject Positioning
Creativity
Proper
p Lighting
g g
Framing
Seeing in two dimensions, like a camera does
Rule of 1/3rd
Focus
Flash
Camera Angle
Shutter Speed
A t
Aperture size
i
F-stop
Pre-visualizing depth of field
Exposure
p compensation
p
Holding your camera steady - Use a tripod!, Stay still!
© Saurabh Garg 69
“Learning by Doing”
Thank You!
© Saurabh Garg 70