Camera Basics
A photographer’s exposure is determined by altering the settings on a DSLR, and determines how exposed the image will appear.
A camera is essentially a light-tight box incorporating a lens, a shutter and an aperture. It also holds a viewing system, through which you can create the image. The lens forms an inverted image of the subject inside the camera, and adjustable lenses have a focusing control enabling you to sharpen the image by altering the distance. This allows you to take sharp images at a variety of subject distances. Shutter speed, ISO and aperture are adjustable, so that you can vary the duration and brightness of light in the image that you are creating.
Shutter speed
Shutter speed is a relatively simple concept to comprehend. It essentially controls precisely just how long the sensor inside the camera is exposed to the light and how long the shutter remains open depends on how much light there is, which helps to restrain the under/over exposure of images. You can also increase the shutter speed to freeze an action, or increase aperture for selective focus.Essentially it is a measure of the amount of time the shutter opens to allow the flow of light onto the imaging sensor. From an artistic point of view shutter speed is used to depict your subject in its motion.It is often used to minimize the chance of camera shake, which often ruins a potentially great shot.
Shutter speed is a relatively simple concept to comprehend. It essentially controls precisely just how long the sensor inside the camera is exposed to the light and how long the shutter remains open depends on how much light there is, which helps to restrain the under/over exposure of images. You can also increase the shutter speed to freeze an action, or increase aperture for selective focus.Essentially it is a measure of the amount of time the shutter opens to allow the flow of light onto the imaging sensor. From an artistic point of view shutter speed is used to depict your subject in its motion.It is often used to minimize the chance of camera shake, which often ruins a potentially great shot.
Using manual settings will allow you to control correct exposure that you desire. The number is usually a fraction, so if you see a shutter speed of 4000, it’s actually 1/4000th of a second, while a value of 200, is 1/200th of a second.
Aperture
Aperture has comparable features of that of an eye. The eye has an iris that regulates the amount of light that the brain will fundamentally interpret. If you were in a badly lite room, the pupil will convert bigger and gather more light, but on a very sunny day, the pupils need to be reduced to avoid the entrance of extra unwanted light. The same goes for a camera; there is a mechanism that controls the amount of light reaching the sensor. But your eyes don’t work exactly like a DSLR, as inside the camera will be a combination of parameters to expose the image correctly.
The lens aperture is specified as an f-number, the smaller the f number (f/1.2,f/1.4) the bigger the aperture is and the more light that is allowed to pass through. If the f stop is higher (f/16,f22) the smaller the aperture size.
A common aperture range may be f/2.8 at the widest aperture and f/22 being the minimum, but these can differ between lenses.
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This photograph benefits me to understand and extend my knowledge of the technical side of aperture. ISO-International standards organisation The ISO denotes how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of light present. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the image sensor is and therefore has a higher chance of capturing the desired appearance of the image in low light situations, although using higher values dramatically increase camera noise.The relationship between the settings allows you to produce a variety of affects to your desired outcome. Aperture and shutter speed are bound together, if you open the aperture you increase the shutter speed, and if you close down the aperture you decrease the shutter speed. The higher the ISO sensitivity you select on a D-SLR, the more noise becomes apparent. |
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Shutter Speed 1/25 sec F Stop f/5.0 ISO 200 |
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Shutter Speed 1/5 sec F-stop f/11 ISO 200 |
Angle of view
The Digital Advantage
There are countless factors that direct people to believe that shooting digitally will not only advance your photography, but will also be creative and raise the fun factor.
• Instant review of images, giving you the facility to see and exchange the effect of lighting and composition without having to re shoot, and when preformed appropriately can improve your success rate significantly
• Instant change of parameters, each shot can be transformed from one minute to the next without any detrimental effect on the images already captured. These include, aperture, ISO, white balance, filters etc.
• Financial savings, from the moment you begin to use your D-slr, you can save money, no more buying and wasting films and the cost of developing.
• Digital media can easily be transferred and stored on a laptop, and furthermore placed on websites, attached in emails and burned to Cd/Dvd
Images can easily be developed with creative post production digital techniques to enhance and optimize the image using a large selection of editing tools found when using editing software. My favorite editing suits are Photoshop, light room and aperture and I believe they hold the factors that greatly enhance the final quality of the end product.
The advantages of Film photography
Although film photography isn't quite my forte, there are still many people who believe shooting in film gives the images more depth and history. Here are some key advantages before ruling film photography out.
Although film photography isn't quite my forte, there are still many people who believe shooting in film gives the images more depth and history. Here are some key advantages before ruling film photography out.
- A lower initial cost, unlike digital photography where the primary cost of equipment can be quite pricey.
- Significant of capturing high quality detail in black and white, without blowing out highlights.
- Handles far better light blooms than digital
- Film has a great deal of exposure latitude. Get the exposure within 2 stops and you can correct and adjust any sloppy exposure in the darkroom.
- Your film camera doesn't become outdated as fast as digital which can be as near as six months in today's technological society.
- Images taken with film have a timeless quality as they share the same chemical process with photos taken throughout history.
Camera settings and functions
Every camera is different, the more costly the camera the more advanced it will be helping you to create remarkable images providing you know how to use the settings. My particular DSLR is a Nikon d90 and has the following eleven shooting modes.
P)- Programmed auto
In this mode, the camera automatically adjusts shutter speed and aperture for optimal exposure in most situations. This mode is recommended for snapshots and other situations in which you want to leave the camera in charge of shutter and aperture.
(S)- Shutter-priority auto
In shutter-priority auto, you choose the shutter speed while the camera automatically selects the aperture that will produce ideal exposure.
(A)- Aperture-priority Auto
In aperture-priority auto, you choose the aperture to control depth of field, while the camera automatically selects the shutter speed that will produce optimum exposure
(M) In manual exposure mode, you control both shutter speed and aperture to your creative intent.
Scene Modes-Selecting a scene mode automatically optimizes settings to suit the selected scene, making creative photography as simple as rotating the mode dial.
Portrait – Use for portraits with soft, natural looking skin tones.
Landscape-Use for vivid landscape shots in daylight or at night.
Close up- Take vivid close-ups of flowers, insects and other small objects.
Sports-Freeze motion for dynamic sports shots
Night portrait-shoot portraits against a dimly lit backdrop
There is also a function on most DSLR’s called Bulb. Bulb mode allows you to take an image with an exposure longer than 30 seconds and for however long you desire. I think this setting is great and allows you to experiment and be creative with you images.
I created the following image whilst using the bulb setting.
File Formats
When a camera captures an image it has to be saved or memorized in a “file format”. If the binary material is seen as the communication, the file or format can be equated to the language from this communication. The information can only be read and comprehended if the software distinguishes the format. Images can be accumulated in numerous different formats. The four most domineering formats in most widespread usage are:
· RAW (.dng)- Camera RAW or Digital negative
· JPEG (.jpg, jpf and jpx) –Joint photographic Experts Group
· TIFF (.tif)- Tagged Image File Format
· Photoshop (.psd)- Photoshop document
RAW or Digital Negative-Distinct from other file formats, RAW is not an acronym for a much longer name. Selecting the RAW format in the camera instead of JPEG OR TIFF prevents the camera from administering the colour data gathered from the sensor. The RAW data is what the image established before the camera processes the image. The unrefined RAW has to be converted into a usable image file format using image editing software.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)- Industry Standard for compressing incessant tone photographic images directed for the Internet or for storage when space is restricted. JPEG compression uses a “lossy compression”(image data and quality are forfeited for minor file sizes when the image files are closed. The consumer is able to restraint the amount of compression. A high level of compression results in a higher quality image and a smaller file size. A low level of compression results in a higher quality image but a larger file size. It is favorably recommended that you only use the JPEG file format after you have fulfilled image editing and always keep a master document for archival purposes.
On my Nikon d90, although it is everyday practice on most cameras in todays world, manufactures offer a RAW+JPEG option which I consider offers the best of both worlds, intending that the image is captured in both RAW and JPEG formats. Even though this consumes additional storage space, it means that a digital image is detained for archival intentions or to be used at a later stage, but a previously processed JPEG version is available for use. The JPEG is also accessible for sharper preview of the image, as the RAW file is often only available after opening.
PDS (Photoshop Document) – This is the default format used by the Adobe image editing software. A photoshop document is usually kept as the master file from which all other files are created depending on the obligations of the output device.
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)-This has been the industry standard for images directed for publishing in magazines, books etc. TIFF uses a “lossless” compression (no loss of image data and quality), although conserving the quality of the image. It is only capable of compressing images by a small amount.
Understanding Resolution
The foundation of every D-SLR is the image sensor, the minute component that translates the real world into digital form. The sensor is a wafer-thin array, which is contained of million little light-sensitive photo indicators, positioned in a consistent grid system. These are commonly referred to as Pixels.
Pixels are rectangular and are situated in rows horizontally and vertically to form and materialise a grid or mosaic. Every pixel in the grid is the same size and is consistent in colour and brightness,i.e. the pixel does not differ from one side of the pixel to the other. If we abundantly zoom into an image, you can appreciate how smooth and soft flowing shapes can be captivatingly composed out of rectangular building blocks, with not a curved pixel in sight. The greatest substantial way to portray a smooth flowing line is to present the pixels so small that we cannot make them out to be square using the naked eye.
The following images show an original image with
typical image pixilation once closely zoomed and magnified.
An Introduction to Lenses
A camera’s lens redirects light rays coming from the subject so they establish an image onto the sensor. A lens is made up of one of more glass components, that can either have a converging or straying result on the light rays. Convex elements generate a inadequate image on their own, and lens manufacturers reimburse for this by incorporating weaker concave elements. These additional elements advance the image quality but also increase the price of the lens.
A typical standard lens gives you an angle of view that is roughly the same as normal human vision. The natural perception gives the standard lens the greatest widespread versatile approach for general photography.
Wide-angle lenses have characteristically a wide angle of view. They capture the setting in front of you, to the side of you above and almost behind you, so there superb for taking images of a vast widespread landscape. They make objects appear further away than they actually are.
Telephoto lenses let you home in on distant objects; they also make perspective objects less obvious so portraits are more flattering. You could also use a telephoto lens to isolate interesting details from a scene .
Macro photography is a term used for close up images. It is a term related to most close up images but should really only be associated to images that have a 1:1 or closer magnification.
There are numerous methods to accomplish an appropriate magnification for close up images. The idyllic solution is an SLR or DSLR with a dedicated macro lens. This lens will have the 1:1 facility built in and the lens will be a suitable quality considered for this intention. An alternative option to a dedicated macro lens is to use extension tubes. These go between the camera body and the lens on an SLR or DSLR, they don’t have any glass in them, but they allow you to focus a lot closer than the standard lens would naturally.
Below is an image I have captured using a Macro lens. This is a technically incorrect image as the ratio isn't 1:1.
Depth of Field
Depth of field is the space concerning the nearest and farthest parts of a subject that can be recognised as a photographic image with modestly sharp details at one focus setting of the lens.
The widest aperture (smallest f number) gives the least depth of field while the smallest aperture gives the greatest depth of field.
There are two Noteworthy effects....
Depth of field befalls less when you are shooting close-ups and grander when your total subject matter is farther away.
The lengthier the focal length of your lens the less depth of field it gives, even with the same aperture and subject distance.
White Balance
One of the greatest significant factors of image colour is the “white balance” setting. The depiction of colour will differ subject on the light conditions. Even the most widespread “white” light sources such as sunshine; flash and incandescent light fluctuate considerably in their colour composition. Daylight itself will vary from bluish in a dappled gloomy movement, to yellowish as the light rays of the sun become liberated, while candlelight is quite orange in its colour.
Below is 3 identical images each shot with different specifications of white balance.
Colour Temperature
All traces of light include fluctuating quantities of the three primary colours: red, green and blue. The human eye distinguishes all colour sources to be standard-i.e. We don’t see the assorted percentages of the primary colours in a certain light source. The colour of a light source is quantified and measured in units of degrees kelvin (K) and this is represented to as colour temperature. The lower the colour temperature the more red is contained in the light. Equally, at the other end of the scale, higher colour temperatures emit a higher proportion of blue light.
Above left has a higher colour temperature, and right has a low colour temperature.
Camera Noise
The Digital comparable equivalent of film grain is noise, and you will acquire noise in every single image captured by a digital camera. Noise is engendered while heat from the electronics able electrons from the image sensor; these are thermal electrons. The higher the ISO, the more likely you are to have large amounts of noise.
Above is an example of typical camera noise, if you look closely you can see a sort of grain effect
An Introduction to Studio lighting & Equipment
Artificial lighting can extend your control over your images. Flash is the most widely used light source, and with a simple camera, flash is often essential to cope with a variety of lighting conditions. Certain subjects, particularly still-life portraits, and interiors necessitate fully controlled lighting. The finest way to attain this is with a group of lamps. You can use either tungsten or flash lighting. Tungsten runs of the mains, is easy to adjust, works independently of the camera and is slightly cheaper than flash lighting. The disadvantage is that tungsten equipment gets very hot, were, as flash lighting stays cool during a shoot however long it may be. The key disadvantage to flash is that its brief duration makes the lighting intensity difficult to judge, although most do now have modeling lamps that allow you to preview affects which can give you more confidence about the shoot. The colour temperature of tungsten is very much different to flash lighting, as it doesn’t give off the same colour temperature as daylight unlike flash, it has a warmer yellowish colour.
To achieve a respectable light balance you can vary settings from full to one-quarter power and in modern lighting setups they recycle their power quite rapidly with the norm being under 1 second.
Umbrellas spread and diffuse flashlight softening its effect. The are many types of umbrellas that offer different affects, such as soft light and shadow less illumination.
Lighting heads are available to create a variety of different affects. Key lights and snoots provide a concentrated light with sharp controlled shadows, were as soft light heads give a more widely diffused beam. Filters/reflectors and honeycomb materials help you control the strength and extent of the light, while barn doors help to control light spillage.
Portraits
As an introduction to the studio lighting and equipment we were set a very simple task. To choose a model/partner and take images of them in numerous studio lighting setups. We also had the freedom to play around and experiment with the essential settings on our cameras.
This image is quite mysterious looking. With is low key dramatic look, I am quite content with how the image looks and how the shadows under the models eyes look asif they have been painted on.
f 5.6 1/60s ISO 250
f 5.6 1/60s ISO 250
This is quite a soft image and has a warming effect. My preferred part of the image is how the eyes have been illuminated and the hair has been accentuated.
f5.6 1/200s ISO 250
During the task we were also pushed to not only use studio lighting, but to go out and use natural light sources and luckily it was a very pleasant day and the sun was shinning so it was the perfect opportunity.
f/11 1/125s ISO250
Colour Management
The three essential characteristics of colour are hue, saturation and brightness. As most people are aware, perceptions and discernment's of colour are also distorted by the history of colour experience of an individual. To enhance further intricacy to an already distinctive issue, the various ways that we replicate colour, through the mechanical and electronic devices at our disposal, have considerable drawbacks that may ultimately adjust the colour generated.
Colour management is the implementation of a method whereby all devices within a chain used to establish colour images that are associated together to create expectable consistent reliable unswerving colour.
Colour Space
There are two discrete means we can produce a variety of precise colours. The first is by using light and the second is with pigments, dyes or inks. A colour space is a map of all the colours we can detect when we use a specific approach to create the colour in the first place. The colour space is often represented graphically to try to theorize which colours can be seen” and which falls outside that particular space. Colours can also be affected on the type of paper used to print on and may have an impact on the final colours.
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F5.6 ISO400 1/30s |
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Above is a sample of basic colour management. These images haven’t been digitally manipulated but have simply been modified using advanced camera settings.During the studio exercise we were all asked to set our camera settings identical to one another and then in stages we modified the settings using numerous colour management tools.The settings used were daylight, shade and more vivid which is a totally new concept for myself as I have never been quite so adventurous with exploring camera settings that were unknown to me.After taking the images the group compared all the images and I could see the wide range of images collected even whilst using identical settings. The images I captured have quite a warmish colour tone were as others had pure white tones. I found this exercise in the studio exceptionally stimulating and it has assisted me to reach the appropriate and desired exposure for different studio requirements.
Metadata
One of the greatest annoyances of classic photographers is endeavoring to retain shooting information for captions. The D-SLR documents all the shooting information for every image and transfers it across to the workstation with the images. This information can be presented from any browser, image-editing program or operating system. Detailed information is usually given for both exposure and the camera, plus (depending of the manufacturer) any custom function settings that you have in place. If you are shooting in RAW the data can be retrieved at any time from your browser.
Histograms
Sensors do not perform unerringly like film and so the rules of exposure that have aided photographers previously do no essentially apply. Undoubtedly, too much exposure will trigger intense glitches, but underexposure may result in “banding” within shadows and a general increase in noise. Feasibly one of the utmost beneficial devices presented to digital photographers is the histogram that can be located in the camera and be opened and examined on the cameras LCD screen. The histogram is a graph presenting the dispersal of tones within the captured image.
The Histograms figure or profile is defined by the scene itself if angled to the left, this signifies that the shot is low key, or if clustered to the right, it advocates an exceedingly intense bright scene. Nevertheless the definite arrangement and situation of the histogram shape is determined by the exposure. If the exposure is to high, then the graph will drift to the right and may leak highlight tone through clipping. If the exposure is to low, the graph will sit the left, with tones clipped to the shadow end.
Here are 2 examples of the histograms from images I have captured, One presenting under exposure and the additional displaying overexposure
Image Adjustments
Each digital image that has been captured can be enhanced and improved further so that it may be observed in its finest condition for the proposed output device. Whether images are ordained to be observed in print or an electronic format, the image habitually requires to be resized, cropped, retouched, colour-corrected, sharpened and saved in an suitable file format. The initial capture will usually retain pixel dimensions that do not precisely counterpart the necessities of the output device. In order for this is be adjusted we must focus on the matter of image size, resampling and cropping.
When it comes to editing software there are numerous fantastic programs to produce with, Adobe Photoshop is my preferred software I feel very comfortable and at ease with the use of tools and find the use of all the features endless.
Lightroom is an additional superior designed specimen of software that is excellent to use. Below are several screen shots taken throughout an editing session.
Original image prior to editing
major tool and a major factor of image editing is editing the image brightness and contrast. This is always one of the first exposure/colour correct tools I use.
Image being cropped the ensure identical widths either side of the glass.
One of the main menu's used to modify colour correction & exposure
A Histogram showing the levels of exposure, as you can see it is enabling me to believe the image is overexposed but with simple image manipulation this can be edited. One of the limitations of this feature is that it doesn't and cannot focus its attention on only the shadows or the highlights, it generally edits both.
Histogram of curves, I find this a great tool, you can target tones within the image and move them independently whilst preserving the value of other tones.
Selective colour is another fantastic way to correct image colour, by selecting a colour for example red, you can adjust all the red in the image to make it more brighter and more saturated or vise versa.
The shadows and highlights tool is only a good option I find for more portraits if used well, so in this instance once experimenting with the levels I decided not to use it.
That is one of the great advantages of post editing because everything you do can be tried and tested but also undone for best results.
The clone stamp tool/spot healing tool, I believe is the biggest advantage of post image editing , which this particular brief(objects) I have been unable to use it correctly . When editing glass and reflective objects its very difficult to obtain substantial results.
Darkroom
As a basic introduction into the darkroom we were set a simple task of creating photograms. Although this is a very basic level or darkroom exposures it was fun and a great way to get to know the in's and out's of the darkroom.
Once I had scanned the photograms that I had created , I opened photoshop and created some rather odd, but creative images.
After viewing the image several times,I have realised that this would not be a typical cover image and I am not at all pleased with the results.
The shadows and highlights tool is only a good option I find for more portraits if used well, so in this instance once experimenting with the levels I decided not to use it.
That is one of the great advantages of post editing because everything you do can be tried and tested but also undone for best results.
Sharpening an image is usually that last step of the editing process. The unsharp mask is the most sophisticated and controllable of the sharpening filters. It is used to sharpen the edges by increasing the contrast where different tones meet.
The clone stamp tool/spot healing tool, I believe is the biggest advantage of post image editing , which this particular brief(objects) I have been unable to use it correctly . When editing glass and reflective objects its very difficult to obtain substantial results.
Darkroom
As a basic introduction into the darkroom we were set a simple task of creating photograms. Although this is a very basic level or darkroom exposures it was fun and a great way to get to know the in's and out's of the darkroom.
Once I had scanned the photograms that I had created , I opened photoshop and created some rather odd, but creative images.
CD Cover
As an extra activity & as a way to push the class out of their comfort zones the tutors set a task of creating a CD cover of our choice. Although at first it may sound a quite easy simple task, the more options you have the harder it is. I really didn't have any idea of were to even start, but eventually I came up with the idea of a very old song that I have fond memories from.
N-TRANCE SET YOU FREE
