PHOTOGRAPHY BASICS
Siddhantpatil

Basics of EquipmentMegapixel MythPhotography Jargons ExplainedConcepts: Aperture, Depth of Field, Shutter Speed, ISO, Noise
Understanding Digital PhotographyStyles/Modes of PhotographyTools & Techniques of Composition

Choosing the Best Camera
Not a once in a lifetime purchase anymore.
Select one which can do the job you want
Today and as per your future requirement
Some kinds of cameras do.
some kinds of things better or more easily
e.g., Sports photography vs. Close-up portraits.
Price isnt the best indicator.

TYPES OF CAMERAS
WEB CAMERAS AND MOBILE CAMERAS

POINT AND SHOOT CAMERAS

ADVANCED CONSUMER MODEL

PROSUMER Dslr models

Professional cameras

MEGAPIXEL MYTH
How much do you need?
Often, cameras are categorized by the no. of
Megapixels they can capture .
As if that resolution figure is the only measure
of the cameras value.
This value can be quite misleading.

ZOOM: OPTICAL AND DIGITAL
Optical vs. Digital Zoom
An optical zoom uses the optics (lens) of the digital
camera to move you closer to your subject.
A digital zoom simply enlarges the existing image
digitally. It is not really zoom, in the strictest definition
of the term.
Enlarging the image digitally reduces picture quality,
and should therefore usually be avoided
.
Some manufacturers label their lenses with the "total
zoom" by multiplying the optical with the digital.
Ignore It.
When comparing digital cameras:
Go for higher optical zoom. Digital zoom can always be
achieved later in an image editing software.

For megapixels you should keep in mind the following things
What you plan to do with the photos you take:
8 x 10 Photo Prints or. 20 x 30 Posters
Do most of the photos you take end up as
your wallpaper on networking sites

RESOLUTION AND PRINT SIZES

Do you plan to manipulate your photos?
Are you a photo hobbyist?
How often do you plan to upgrade?

PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNICALITY
Anti-BlurAnti-ShakeImage StabilizationVibration Reduction
A technology that stabilizes the lens to
effectively reduce blur due to camera shake

HISTOGRAM

METERING
How the camera measures the amount of light
available to expose a picture
Centre-Weighted: Readings are taken at
various part of the picture, with a special
emphasis for the centre.
Spot: Readings are taken at a specific point.
Each camera manufacturer has its own
variations (Evaluative Metering)

WHITE BALANCE
The ability to adjust colours based on white as
a reference colour to give as true a white as
possible
All other colours are corrected accordingly
Auto WB (AWB): the camera determines and
selects the correct colour temperature for
white.

WHITE BALANCE
Some preset white balance settings are
daylight, cloudy, tungsten, or fluorescent.

[ Ev +/-] Exposure-Compensation

Aperture, Depth of Field, Shutter Speed, ISO, Noise
APERTURE
a hole or an opening
through which
light travels
It causes variations in
the Depth of Field
within the image

f16
f2.8

Shutter Speed
Amount of time the
picture is exposed
Short/Fast shutter speed
Long/Slow shutter speed

1/8th

1/30th

1/60th

1/500th

RESULTS OF VARYING SHUTTER SPEED

USING THE TECHNIQUE OF
PANNING

Which shutter speed is the best

ISO
the measure of a digital camera sensors
sensitivity to light
a higher number indicates higher sensitivity
This is usually expressed as a range,
e.g. ISO 100 - 1600.
A higher sensitivity allows us to take pictures
in low light without using flash
Higher ISO causes more "noise" than lower
ISO

ISO 100

ISO 1600

Digital photography
Know your camera.
Know your photography.
Know how to use an image editor.

Exposure triangle

Photography modes

Shutter Priority
Shutter Priority:
Allows you to decide the shutter speed (e.g. fast at 1/500 sec. for stop action photography, or slow at 2 sec. for night photography), and the camera decides the best aperture.

Aperture Priority
Aperture Priority:
Allows you to choose the aperture (e.g. large at F1.8 for portrait, of small at F16 for landscapes).

Manual
You have complete creative control in selecting both the shutter and aperture.

Auto
All digital cameras usually have an Auto mode: the camera decides for you the best shutter speed/aperture settings.
AUTO

Landscape photography
Primary function is to allow a large depth of field.
Landscape mode tells the camera to default to a
large Depth of Field (Small Aperture)f16.

Portrait Photography
This mode is not well suited for full-length
portraits or groups of people
Portrait mode tells the camera to default to a:
Small Depth of Field (Large Aperture) f1.8

Sports/Action Photography
tells the camera to default its settings toward
capturing images faster
This is done by:
Increasing Shutter Speed
Increasing ISO

Night Photography
This preset slows down the shutter speed to
allow a lot of light into the camera.
Both the foreground and background of the image are properly exposed.
very useful in taking low-light
images where you do not want
the background to be black

Macro Photography
This setting works with your camera lens to allow it to focus from a very short distance.
Depth of Field becomes very Small
(Large Aperture) f1.8
Does not have a lot of alternative uses.

Why compose your images?
Create the picture.
Decide what is in and what is left out.
Convince the eye to glance at it moment longer.
Composition" means "Putting Together"

Rule
Of
Thirds

Rule of thirds
The theory is that your photo becomes more
balanced and will enable a viewer of the
image to interact with it more naturally.
Peoples eyes usually go to one of the
intersection points most naturally rather than
the centre of the shot.
It works with this natural way of viewing an
image rather than working against it

Important to experiment to overcome the natural
tendency to centre everything.
But, sometimes you may find situations where it's
difficult to follow the rule of thirds.
If you know why you're doing it -feel free!
But when you're first starting out it's a good idea
to try to follow it whenever you can.

Converging composition
leads the viewers eye into the depth of the
Photo.
Usually, centre it and create a symmetrical
composition leading to the centre.

Camera lens filters still have many uses in digital photography, and should be an important part of any photographer's camera bag....Here is the major filters and their function...1 - Protective Filters
UV Filters - Absorbs ultraviolet rays. Gives cleaner, sharper pictures with less haze. Also serves as a permanent lens protector. Personally, i have a UV filter on every lens :)

Polarizing Filters
-Neutral Density Filters
Special Effects Filters
Close-up - For close-up photography. they come as a kit with many magnifications 2X,4X,....
Colored Filters

EXIF (exchangeable image file)
EXIF (exchangeable image file) data is a record of what camera settings were used to take a photograph.EXIF data stores information like camera model, exposure, aperture, ISO, what camera mode was used .....To interpret this EXIF data, you will need an EXIF viewer. There are many ways to go about this. Your image processing program should provide that functionality within the program.For beginners, reading an images EXIF data can be a very useful learning tool....

Night photography
Take a number of shots at different shutter speed/aperture combinations.Ensure your LCD brightness is set to Normal, not Bright, for a truer representation of your recorded image. A good aperture to start with is F4.0 or F5.6 (for greatest depth of field), and adjust shutter speed up or down until you're satisfied with the shot.
Always bring and use a tripod. It's quite common to have exposures of an entire second or more during night-time photography.
Bring along a flashlight. A pocket flashlight is essential when you're doing photography at night.

Minimalistic photography
Minimalistic photos is creating empty spaces in the photograph....The eye of the person looking at the image cant help but be drawn to the element of the image youve taken.... the subject!
make your subject the strongest point of your photo even though it might take up only a small part of the overall image....When Im attempting to take a show with a minimalist feel to it I keep those words in mind.pick subjects wisely experiment with color use depth of fieldcrop out distractionsZoom In or out...

try new angles.
When taking pictures of
live objects, try to be at
eyes level with the
subject.
If we are higher itdiminishes them, if weare lower it augmentsthem

Thank you