MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY

DEFINITION OF TERMS
● Photography - A science or art of obtaining images on
sensitized material by the action of electromagnetic
radiation or rays through the use of a camera and its
accessories and the chemical process involved therein.

As an Art: skill of reproducing images of beautiful things.

As a Science: Involves capturing images by letting light react

on the sensitized surface of film with the aid of camera and
the chemical process involved therein.

● Police Photography - deals with the study of the

principles of photography and the preparation of
photographic evidence and its application to police work.
● Forensic Photography - process of photographing crime
scene or any other objects for court presentation.

ELEMENTS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
1. Images
2. Sensitized materials
3. Light
4. Camera
5. Chemical

USES OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN POLICE WORK

● Identification - very first use of photography in police
work. Photographs are used to identify criminals,
missing persons, lost or stolen property, licenses,
anonymous letters, bank checks, laundry marks, and the
civilian or personnel fingerprint identification files.
● Communication and micro film files - includes report
files, accident files, transmission of photos,
 photographic supplements to reports with modern day
electro-photography machines.
● Evidence - Photographs serve as evidence of the crime
scene, traffic accidents, homicides, suicide, fires,
objects of evidence, latent fingerprints, evidential
traces can frequently be improved by contrast control
● Offender Detection - Photographs are used in
surveillance, burglar traps, confessions, re-enactments
of crime.
● Court exhibits - through demonstration enlargements,
individual photos, projections slides, or motion
pictures.
● Reproduction - copying of questionable checks and
documents, evidential papers, photographs, official
records and notices.
● Personnel Training - Photographs and film relating to
police tactics, investigation techniques, mob control and
catastrophe situation.
● Crime and fire prevention hazards - through lectures,
security clearance detection devices, photos of hazardous
fire conditions made when prevention inspections are
made.
● Public relations - film pertaining to safety programs,
juvenile delinquency, traffic education, public
cooperation and civil defense.

PRIMARY WAYS OF USING PHOTOGRAPHY IN POLICE WORK

1. As a means of identification
2. As a method of discovering, recording, and preserving
evidence
3. As a way to present, in the courtroom, an impression of
the pertinent element of a crime
4. As a training and public relations medium for police
programs

Forensic Photography
 - The process of photographing crime scene or any other
objects for court presentation.

IMPORTANCE OF FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY

1. Small objects but of great importance in a crime
committed may escape in the first phase of examination by
the investigator but maybe seen and recorded on the
photograph.
2. A good photograph of the scene is a permanent record
which is always available especially in court
presentation or in court proceeding.
3. Used as an aid by the investigator to describe in court
some of the details of the crime scene they have
investigated several months ago, the small details and
exact locations of objects.
4. To assist the investigators in using photographic
equipment and techniques in their effort to solve crimes.

TYPES OF PHOTOGRAPHY
● Macrophotography - Photographing objects directly
enlarged on the negative and magnified from one to nine
times.
● Photomicrography - The art of photographing minute
objects when magnified by means of a microscope and
enlarge from 10 times and up.
● Infra-red Photography - The art or process of
photographing or recording unseen objects by means of
infra-red light.
● Ultraviolet Photography - the art or process of
photographing or recording unseen objects by means of
ultra-violet lights or filters. It involves two methods:
ultra-violet lamp and ultra-violet filter.
● Microphotography - A very small photograph as encountered
in microfilming or with the use of microfilm.
 ● X-ray Photography - the process of photographing or
recording the internal structure of the body.
● Astrophotography - is a specialized type of
photographyLinks to an external site. that entails
recording images of astronomical objects and large areas
of the night sky.
● Flash Photography - applied to the technique whereby
exposures are made with illumination from one or more
photographs.
● Mugshot Photography - is usually used for personal
identification which is the first use of photography in
police work. (invented by Alphonse Bertillon)
● Thermo Photography - kind of photo where we use laser
beam radiation using laser beam film.
● Aerial Photography - kind of photography applied for
photo mapping.
● Underwater Photography - Photographing things underwater.
● Night Photography - technique used to capture images at
night.
● Panoramic Photography - It involves using specialized
equipment or software, that captures images with
elongated fields of view. It is sometimes known as wide
format photography

PRINCIPLES OF PHOTOGRAPHY
● A photograph is the mechanical and chemical result of
photography.
● To produce a photograph, light is needed aside from
sensitized materials.
● Lights reflected or radiated by a subject must reach the
sensitized materials while all other lights must be
excluded.
● The exclusion of all unwanted and unnecessary lights is
achieved by placing the sensitized material inside a
camera.
● The amount of light on the sensitized material after
exposure is not immediately visible to the eyes.
 ● To make the formed image visible, it must undergo the
development process.
● The visual effect that results from the chemical
processing is depended on the quantity and quality of the
exposing light.
● More light will yield an opaque or black shade on the
sensitized material after development.
● Too little light will produce a transparent or white
shade.
● The varying shade of gray will finally form the complete
image.

HISTORY: IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES

Aristotle (347-322 BC) A famous Greek Philosopher

who invented the first
pinhole camera that was known
later as Camera Obscura
(Italian word for darkroom
chamber) which is literally
translated as Darkened box.

Alhazen (965-1039) An Arabian Scholor who found

out that light entering a
small hole on the wall or
shuttered window of a
darkened room cast an upside
down picture of the scene
outside onto the opposite
wall. He used this in
observing the solar eclipse
by entering a dark room with
a pinhole opening to avoid
harming the eye. He was
considered to be the one who
invented the camera.

Jean Babtiste Forta An artist and scientist who

in his Pseudo Science Magic
 had made use of the Camera
Obscura and replaced the hole
with a lens which made the
image brighter and sharper.
He was the one who introduced
the lens.

Johann Heinrich Schulze A German Scientist who

discovered Silver Nitrate
when he exposed it to light
it turned purple. He got
interested in his finding
and, that fair later, he
discovered that the evening
action was not due to heat
but light. He finally
concluded that Silver Nitrate
is sensitive to light and
capable of producing images.

Thomas Wedgewood (1802) discovered that Silver

Chloride is more sensitive
that Silver Nitrate and thus,
more capable of recording and
producing images.

Joseph Nicephore Niepce In 1816, near

(1816) Chalon-Sur-Saone, France, he
experimented by combining
photosensitive materials with
Lithography to facilitate his
endeavor in printmaking. By
1822, he claimed some
success, achieving what he
called Points de Vue. He
took the world’s very first
photograph called
Heliography.

Louise Jacques Mande Daguerre A Parisian painter and

(1838-1839) theater designer who
continued the efforts of
Niepce to perfect a
photographic process. He
 invented the principle of
Silver plate photograph and
using the Daguerro type that
produces one of a kind
picture on metal which was
presented by French
Scientific Academy. He
invented the Daguerro type in
Paris.

Mathew Brady When the American Civil War

broke out, he was able to
preserve the scene with the
use of a camera.

He is the Father of Modern

William Henry Fox Talbot (1839)
Photography. He invented the
Calotype which produces a
negative picture on paper,
the light on the image was
recorded as dark and dark as
light.

John Herschel coined the word Photography.

He then suggested negative
and positive in the following
years. He pointed out images
with a solution of
hyposulfite of soda (hypo or
sodium thiosulfate) which he
had discovered in 1819.

Frederick Scott Archer pioneered the wet colodian

process which took place of
the Collotype known as
colodian type process.

Daniel Barbaro He introduced the use of the

lens in the camera.

Sir Isaac Newton (1666) An English philosopher,

Mathematician and Physicist
who discovered and proved
that the strongest light is
white light. He defended his
 theory by allowing white
light (sunlight) to pass
through a prism thus
refracting and diffracting
the light onto its component
parts.

Maddaox (1884) He successfully introduced

the plate with gelatin. The
roll film came and new brands
of cameras with different
lens and mechanism were
placed in the market.

Andre Adulphe Eugene Disderi He popularized the small

cheap portrait wherein anyone
could afford a picture of
himself or herself.

Nadar took the first Aerial

photographs of Paris from a
free balloon in 1858

Sir William Abney discovered the use of

Hydroquinone as a developing
agent in 1880 in England.

George Eastman (1889) Founder of Budha Co., who

introduced the use of roll
film made of celluloid
materials for use by a
portable camera.

Wilhelm Roentgen (1895) discovered X-ray photography

which later became the basis
of Radiograph used by the
doctors in measuring the
heartbeat and to see the
other structure of the body.

David Octavious Hill & Robert Both used photographic

Adamson portraits in printing.

Aloh Roemer measured the speed of light

in 1676.
James Clark Maxwell A British scientist who
discovered the wavelength
structure of light after 20
years of research. He
likewise researched on
colors.

Abel Niepce de Saint-Victor introduced a process of

(1848) negatives on glass using
albumen as a binding medium.

Louis Desirie Blanquart-Evard introduced a printing paper

coated with albumen to
achieve a glossy surface.

Odelbrecht (1864) He first advocated the used

of photography for the
identification of criminals
and the documentation of
evidence and crime scenes.
Early photographs of accused
and arrested persons were
beautifully posed as example
of the Victorian
photographers at 20 to 30
years. Later, every major
police force in England and
the United States has Rogues
Gallery which became an
integral part in almost all
police departments

Alphonse Bertillon (1882) He initiated anthropometric

measurements of personal
identification and was also
involved in various means of
documentation by photography
which developed into a fine
science of Criminalistics
when he photographed crime
scenes and formulated a
technique of contact
photography to demonstrate
erasures on documents.
Dr. R.A. Reis (1902)
A German scientist who
contributed heavily to the
use of photography in
forensic science and
established the world’s
earliest crime laboratory
that serviced the academic
community and the Swiss
police.

Victor Baltazard (1910) developed a method of

photographic comparison of
bullets and cartridge cases
which act as an early
foundation of the field of
ballistics.

Edwin Land (1947) introduced Polaroid –

one-step photography.

Gabriel Lippman (1908) He won the Nobel Laureate in

Physics for his method of
reproducing colors
photographically based on the
phenomenon of interference,
also known as Lippman plate

Thomas Sutton invented the first Single Lens Reflex

Camera.

D.A. Woodward (1857) first constructed an

enlarger. It was a cumbersome
object. The sun was collected
by means of a convex lens,
and the camera has to be
turned with the sun. This
design became the model for a
number of solar cameras. The
picture shows an advert for
his cameras, and a medal that
he had been awarded to him at
a major exhibition.

Wothly He made a few improvements to

 Woodward's solar camera, and
exhibited portraits almost at
life size. Wothly's solar
camera was a monstrosity! The
condenser had a diameter of 1
metre. The heat of the
condensed rays of sun was
such that one had to have
water troughs built in.

Draper (1840) First ever reference to an

enlarging process can be
attributed to DraperLinks to
an external site.. In 1840 he
wrote: "Exposures are made
with a very small camera on
very small plates. They are
subsequently enlarged to the
required size in a larger
camera on a rigid stand.

Louis Jules Duboscq made an apparatus for

(1817-1886) enlarging by electric light,
and showed it to the Paris
Photographic Society in 1861.

Griffin & Sons made the simple daylight

enlarger.

Steven Sasson American Electrical Engineer

who invented the digital
camera.

HISTORY: IMPORTANT DATES

16th Century Italian scholars used the

camera as a drawing
apparatus. Instead of using
a darkroom, they used box
with a lens and placed a
mirror.
17th Century Camera Obscura was built-in
with convex lens.

1800 Thomas Wedgewood and Humphey

Davy produced photograms.

1839 The birth year of modern

photography, the year when
the Science of Photography
became a public knowledge.

1850 The year when photography was

already well-developed. It
was used as an art concerned
with landscape, portraiture
and architectural
presentation.

1835 The year when colored films,

sensitized materials and
different brands of cameras
came in different types and
model sold in the market.

1859 In the United States, one of

the earliest applied Forensic
Science was in photography.
It was used to demonstrate
evidence in a California
case. Enlarged photographs
of a signature were presented
in a court case involving
forgery.

1890 Full corrected lens were

introduced.

1906 A plate was placed on the

market that could reproduce
all colors in equivalent
shades of gray.

1907 Lummiere color process was

introduced. A panchromatic
film was used but with blue,
 green and red filter.

1935 Color process came out

together with electronic
flash.

1960 LASER was invented making

possible Holograms –
tri-dimensional pictures.

1970 Colored photography has

matured as an artistic
medium.

1981 Sony unveiled the firs

consumer camera to use a
charge-couple device for
imaging, eliminating the need
for film. The Sony Mavica
saved images to disk, the
images were displayed on
television, and the camera
was not fully digital.

1988 Arrival of true digital

cameras.

1990 Kodak unveiled the DCS 100,

the first commercially
available digital cameras.

MODULE 2: PHOTOGRAPHIC RAYS

Light
- A form of radiant electromagnetic energy which travels in
wave motion.
- It is a wavelength of radiant energy capable of visual
detection.
- It is a radiant energy which emanates from heat.
 - It travels at speed of about 186, 000 miles per second in
air or 300, 000 km/sec in an open space but they differ
in wavelength and frequency.

QUALITIES OF LIGHT IN WAVE MOTION

● velocity of travel
● wavelength
● frequency

Wavelength Theory
- The wavelength of the light is the most pertinent,
particularly in the design of lens.
- It is best illustrated by the dropping of a stone in a
pond of still water. The series of wave which travels
outward from the center point are just like light waves
that travels in all direction from a source with equal
velocity.
- This theory may be used to illustrate reflection,
interference, refraction, diffraction and polarization.

Inverse Square Law

- Illumination is reduced as distance increases.
- As applied to light, the principle that the illumination
of a surface by a point of light is proportional to the
square of the distance from the source to the surface.

Dodging
- The process used in printing by covering some light that
strikes the printing paper in order to give the same
amount of light available.

Bracket
- Using three exposures with the use of the manual control
if in doubt of the amount of light appropriate for one
shoot.
Fogging
- It is the accidental exposure of the film to light.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIGHT

Electromagnetic Spectrum
- A colored band that is formed when light is allowed to
pass through a prism.
- It includes different energies such as cosmic rays, gamma
rays, x-rays, ultra-violet rays, visible light, infrared
rays, heat rays, Hertzian waves, and the alternating
current oscillations.

4 PHOTOGRAPHIC RAYS OF MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY

● X-rays – 01 to 30 nm
● Ultra-violet rays – 30 to 400 nm
● Visible light – 400 to 700 nm
● Infra-red rays – 700 to 1000+ nm

GENERAL TYPES OF LIGHT

● Visible light – lights with a wavelength of 400 to 700
nm.
● Invisible light – lights with a shorter or longer
wavelength.

White Light
- When all the wavelengths between 400 to 700 nm are
presented to the eye in nearly equal quantity, we get the
sensation or perception of colorless or white light. If
a narrow beam of white light is allowed to pass through a
prism it will bend the light of shorter wavelength more
than those with longer wavelength thus spreading them out
into visible spectrum. These are the color of the
rainbow.
 - If we divide the wavelength of visible light into nearly
equal quantity, we will produce blue, green and red
colors.

PRIMARY COLORS
● red
● green
● Blue

SECONDARY COLORS
● yellow
● cyan
● purple magenta

PROPERTIES OF LIGHT
● Reflection - is the deflection or bouncing back of light
when it hits a surface.
● Regular Reflection – happens when light hits a flat,
smooth and shiny surface.
● Irregular Reflection – occurs when light hits a rough or
uneven but glossy object.
● Refraction - the bending of light when passing from one
medium to another.
● Diffraction - the bending of light when it hits a sharp
edge of an opaque object.
● Interference - color can be produced by interference of
light waves in thin film like in soap bubbles or a film
of oil floating in water. The light refracted from the
top surface of such a film undergoes a reversal phase but
the light reflected from the bottom surface does not
undergo this type of change.
● Rectilinear - the nature of light that normally travels
in straight line.
● Absorption - the nature of light to be absorbed in the
process of dark surfaces.
 ● Filtration - the character of light to be altered from
its colorless into its visible state.
● Polarization - the process by which the vibration of
light are confined to a definite plane where the speed of
light can be measured.
● Fluorescence - this happens when molecules of the
fluorescent material absorbs energy at one wavelength and
radiate it at another wavelength.

QUALITIES OF LIGHT
● Intensity – it refers to the strength of light which
varies according to the output of the light source and
the distance from the source.
● Direction – when there is a single source, the direction
is clearly defined. Where there are multiple sources, or
the light is diffused as on a cloudy day, the direction
is less evident or totally absent.
● Color - light varies in color depending upon its source
and the substance through which it passes. Natural
sunlight has a different color mixture from incandescent
lighting or electronic flash, and the color of sunlight
itself varies depending upon the atmospheric conditions
and time of the day. The following are the
characteristics of color: hue, saturation and brightness.

KINDS OF OBJECT AS HOW THEY BEHAVE TO LIGHT

● Transparent Object - allows sufficiently visible light to
pass through them that the object on the other side may
be clearly seen.
● Translucent Object - allows light to pass, however,
diffuse it sufficiently that objects on the other side
may not be clearly distinguished.
● Opaque Object - so greatly diffuse the light that
recognizing the object on the other side is very
difficult if not impossible.
SOURCES OF LIGHT

1. Natural light.
● Bright Sunlight - lighting condition where objects in
open space cast a deep and uniform or distinct shadow.
● Hazy Sunlight - objects in open space cast a transparent
shadow.
● Dull Sunlight - objects in open space cast no shadow.

2. Artificial light.
● Continuous Radiation - those that can give illumination
continuously.
● Short Duration (flash unit) - gives a brief flash of
light produced by burning a metallic wire (flash bulb) or
an electrical discharge trough gas-filled tube
(electronic flash).

MODULE 3: CAMERA PARTS & FUNCTIONS

● Camera - light proof box with a means of forming an

image, with a means of holding a sensitized material and
with a means of regulating the amount of light that
enters the camera at a given time. An optical instrument
that records images that can be stored directly,
transmitted to another location, or both. These images
may be still photographs or moving images such as videos
or movies

● Circle of Confusion - overlapping circle patches of light

representing each patch of light on the subject. This
circle of confusion represents unsharp images, but the
human eyes see them as acceptably sharp.
 ● Depth of Field - refers to the distance between the
nearest object and the farthest object that appears to be
focused when the lens is focus in infinity.

● Film Speed Control - this control is utilized by

manipulating the ASA/ISO/DIN dial of the camera.
Basically, the shutter and the f/numbers are both
controlling the system of the rays of light that enters.
However, the effects in making photographs are different.
In an automatic setting camera, the camera has a sensor
that reads or determines the ASA number of the film
loaded.

● Focus - is the means by which the object distance is

estimated or calculated to form sharp or clear images.

● Hyper focal distance - is the nearest distance at which a

lens is focused with a given particular diaphragm opening
which will give the maximum depth of field.

● Parallax - is the difference between what is seen through

the viewfinder and what is exactly recorded on the film.

● Relative Aperture - the speed of light gathering power of

lens equal to the duration of the focal length to the
diameter of its lens pupil or the relative brightness of
the image produced by the lens as compared with the
brightness of the object.

EARLY FORMS OF CAMERA

1. Pinhole Camera - camera of single design and
construction, usually home-made consisting of a box
having a small aperture functioning as a lens at one end,
the image being projected o the film at the other end.
2. Box Camera - simple camera s little more than a pinhole
camera. It has a lens and a shutter. The pinhole was
 replaced by the lens to enable the photographer to gather
more light to be recorded.
3. Camera Obscura - a box used for sketching large objects
which literally means dark chamber. It contains a mirror
set at 45° angle. A double convex lens like in a
photographic camera is placed in the front end. The
image of the objects is transmitted through the lens and
appears on the mirror. The mirror reflects it upward to
a ground glass screen on the top of the box. There it
can be sketched easily.
4. View Camera - biggest and the most sophisticated among
the different types of camera. This is a version of
press cameras; they have removable lenses which can be
focused by moving either the front or the rear of the
camera, and are equipped with long bellows. The back can
be moved or swing both vertical and horizontal axes and
its lens board raised, lowered or tipped. This
flexibility enables the photographer to control the image
formed by the lens. Practically useless for candid or
action photography however useful in the reproduction of
small objects.
5. Press Camera - camera loaded with sheet film. They are
traditional of folding bellows design with a lens
standard in an extendable baseboard. IT can also be
loaded with roll film and 70 mm film magazines and often
coupled with range finders.

TYPES OF CAMERA
1. Reflex Camera
● Single Lens Reflex Camera - the term single lens means
that only one lens is used for both viewing the scene and
taking photograph of it, thereby preventing parallax.
● Twin Lens Reflex Camera - employs two separate lenses –
one for viewing and one for focusing, and the second
usually mounted under the first, transmit the light to
the focal plane for recording. The camera has
permanently fixed lenses and an automatic parallax
 adjustment. Its two lenses focus in unison so that the
top screen shows the image sharpness and framing as
recorded on the film in the lower section.
2. Polaroid Still Camera - is restricted in its uses but is
ideal in instant photograph when there is no requirement
for enlargements.

3. Underwater Camera - is designed for underwater

photography.

4. Panoramic Camera - used for landscaping photography. It

is easy to use by encompassing a 120°, 180°, 360° view of
one exposure.

5. Still Video Camera - images can be stored on video tapes

equipment with a floppy disc – a disc that can hold about
50 images or more.

6. Compact Camera - is a camera which have appropriate

dimensions for putting them into the pocket of a jacket
instead of a special camera bag.

MAIN PARTS OF A CAMERA

● Lens - a disc of transparent glass generally bounded by

two spherical surfaces capable of forming an image.
● Shutter - an adjustable mechanism that regulates the
amount of light reaching the film by varying the length
of time. Light is allowed to be recorded on the film.
This is a control by which you can determine how long in
time the lens will remain open for light to be recorded
on the film. The control ring will be of two types:
mechanical and electronic. Remember, if the shutter
speed is controlled electronically there is a
considerable drain on camera batteries when using long
time.
 ● Blade or Between the Lens Shutter - is made up of
overlapping blades powered by a spring. Located between
the aperture and the lens or in between the lens. It
will give speed up to 1/500th of a second. They have a
delayed action fitted.
● Focal Plane Shutter - consists of two metal blinds that
open progressively or made of a black cloth and generally
located very near the focal plane. These shutters are
preset; it has to be cocked before release. It can be
set and synchronize at all speed.

Note:
At first the shutter is manufactured as a separate
accessory which could be filled in front of the lens or more
rarely between the lens. In time cameras were manufactured with
the shutter included as part of the lens assembly or the camera
body.

CONTROLS IN THE CAMERA

● Focusing Control - the most important control in the
camera.

● Focusing Ring - a large knurled ring around the barrel of

the lens, when turned, the lens will either move away or
toward the camera body, depending upon the direction of
rotation until ring cannot be turned further.

At this stopping point, all distant objects are in focus

regardless of difference in their distance, is termed as
infinity focus or simply infinity. When the lens is set in
infinity, the lens-to-film distance is at the shortest
distance to bring the most distant objects into focus.

Stamped on the surface around the focusing ring are series of

number called distance scales. It indicates the distance the
camera is focused.
Shutter speed control. It controls the length of time reduced
by the light ray to reach and affect the film inside the
camera. The common shutter speed exhibited on the shutter
speed dial are 1, ½, ¼, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250,
1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000, 1/8000, T/B. The shutter speed
can stop the movement of an object.

● T stands for time - Pressure on the shutter release

button causes the shutter to open. It will remain open
until the shutter release button is pressed a second time
to close it.

● B stands for bulb - When you press the shutter release

button with the setting B, the shutter remains open as
long as the shutter is pressed down. For long exposure,
this is usually required in dim places to permit enough
light to accommodate to make satisfactory pictures.

● Aperture or Diaphragm Control - An adjustable mechanism

device in the lens assembly which controls the amount of
light passing through the lens to the film. The
diaphragm works like the pupil of the eye. It maybe
enlarged or contracted. If it is enlarged, it allows
more light to enter. The adjustment is done by moving
the ring of the diaphragm toward the desired size of the
opening. It is generally represented by number known as
f/stops.

TYPES OF FOCUS
1. Scale Bed Type/Focusing Scale - these distances
correspond to the distance from the camera lens to the
subject. To focus with this method, one has to use a
measuring device and actually measures the distance from
the lens of the camera to the subject. Whatever distance
was measured, will be the setting of the marker or
pointer of focus.
 2. Microprism/Range Finder Type - these are finely etched
prisms which break up the image. They are brought
together as you focus.
● Split Image - two prism which splits your image in half
as you focus both halves rejoins to form a clear image.
● Co-incident Image - is usually used on compact cameras
with a fixed lens.

3. Ground Glass Type - a ground glass screen is a matt

glass. The whole of the image on the screen will
progressively become sharp. It is found at the back of
the camera or in the case of modern cameras, also coupled
with the viewfinder. The point of focus is where the
image is sharpest. It may also be a combination of
three.

PARTS OF A CAMERA
● Lens - a specially shaped piece of glass which reflects
light from outside onto the back of the camera and
creates a reversed, upside down image on the film at the
back of the camera.
● Focusing Ring - moves the lens back and forth which
allows the photographer to create a sharp image of the
subject.
● Diaphragm/Aperture - small opening in a camera usually
circular in shape and usually varies in the form of iris
diaphragm that regulates the intensity of light which
passes through the lens.
● Shutter Speed Dial - will control the length of time when
light is allowed to strike the sensitized material.
● Shutter - an adjustable mechanism that regulates the
amount of light reaching the film by varying the length
of time light is allowed to pass through the lens.
● Shutter Release Button - part of the camera which when
pressed will keep the shutter in open position.
● View Finder/Window - a viewing instrument attached to a
camera, used to obtain proper composition.
● Film Holder - holds the film firmly inside the camera. It
is always located at the opposite side of the lens.
● Accessory Light Shoe/Hot Shoe - is where the flash bulb
is inserted for indoor photography.
● ISO/ASA/DIN Dial - a camera device in which when adjusted
it will conform with the sensitivity of the film to
light.
● Exposure Counter/Frame Counter - a device indicating the
number of exposures made.
● Distance Scale -a device that shows the approximate
distance from the optical center of the lens to the point
of focus on the object.
● Film Rewind Lock - a device that secure the film for any
accidental rewinding.
● Back Cover Release Knob - a device used in opening the
back cover for film reloading.
● Lens Lock Release Lever -a device used to secure the
lens.
● Data Display - often a liquid crystal display (LCD),
permits the user to view settings such as film speed
exposure, and shutter speed.
● Lens Cap - covers and protects the lens during storage.
● Sprocket Teeth - this is where the sprocket holes will be
engaged in.
● Take Up Spool - is a metal or plastic cylinder, generally
located on the right side of the camera, looking from
behind. There will be either a notch, gears or both on
the cylinder. In film cameras, the take-up spool pulls
the film along so unexposed film can be placed behind the
shutter. Film attaches to either the notch or gears,
allowing the spool to advance film as it turns.
● Flash Button - pressed with the flash down, this button
releases the flash head to pop up.
● Mode Dial/Camera Dial - is a dial used on digital cameras
to change the camera's mode.
1. Manual modes
● P: Program mode - offers the photographer partial control
over shutter speed and aperture

● A or Av: Aperture priority - AKA Aperture value allows

the photographer to control the aperture, while the
shutter speed and ISO sensitivity are calculated by the
camera.

● S or Tv: Shutter priority - AKA "Time value" allows the

photographer to control the shutter speed, while the
aperture and ISO sensitivity are calculated by the
camera.

● Sv: Sensitivity value allows the photographer to control

the ISO sensitivity, while aperture and shutter speed are
calculated by the camera (this is a Pentax DSLR feature)

● M: Manual mode allows the photographer to control shutter

speed, aperture and ISO independently.

● U: User mode (like program with preset)

2. Automatic modes
● Action or sports mode increases ISO and uses a fast
shutter speed to capture action.

● Landscape mode uses a small aperture to gain depth of

field

● Portrait mode widens the aperture to throw the background

out of focus. The camera may recognize and focus on a
human face.

● Night portrait mode uses an exposure long enough to

capture background detail, with fill-in flash to
illuminate a nearby subject.
 ● Others: Fireworks, Snow, Natural light/Night snapshot,
Macro/Close-up, and Movie mode.

❖ Light Meter - determines the proper exposure under

various light conditions. It is usually connected to the
diaphragm and/or shutter in such a way that a correct
exposure is automatically produced when the shutter is
tripped.
❖ Self-timer - is used for delayed release of the shutter.

PARTS OF ANALOG CAMERA

PARTS AND FUNCTION OF DSLR CAMERA