1. 1. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyIn Introduction to Digital SLR Photography Evan Sharboneau St. Paul, Minnesota Version 1.0 Published by: Yessdeal.comCourse Guide: Introduction to Digital SLR Photography1
2. 2. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyIntroduction: Welcome to my class about digital SLR photography. You have all gone out and purchased your digital SLR cameras with high expectations because you are all aware that your cameras are capable of capturing amazing photographs. Your cameras are very complex devices that have the potential to do amazing things; it is my job and duty to teach you what you need to know to become great photographers of your own and to use your cameras to their full capabilities. I assume that you all know the basic functions of the camera (turning it on, charging the battery, taking a picture, etc.) but I also assume that you all are here because you do not know how to use the camera to its full capability. I will teach you this. I will also you teach about the art of photography and how one is able to take great photographs. Photography is made up of the Latin words photo and graphos which translates to light writing. Lighting is photography and I am going to show you some different forms of lighting and how to use it to your advantage. After you have completed my course, you will all have a much better understanding of what photography is and how it works. And, you will also learn what you need to know about your cameras to take professional quality pictures. You will all be on your way to becoming great, aspiring photographers on your own. Throughout my career in Digital SLR photography, I have used Canon digital cameras. I will be using Canon throughout this course and I suggest you do the same for the ease of you as students of my class as well as me as your instructor.2
3. 3. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyDedication: This course is dedicated to my father, Jamie Strickland who taught me everything I know about photography and showed me what it takes to be a great photographer. Dad, thank you for everything.Mission Statement: My goal is to teach you the wonderful world that is photography. Since the nineteenth century, photography has captured memories and events that have kept us in place with our past and will keep us on track with the future. I am going to make sure you all walk out of my class with a full understanding of the beauty that is photography and the confidence and knowledge you need to create precious memories of your own. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say, a picture is worth more than that. A picture is worth whatever you want it to be. That is why photography is so special. -Evan SharboneauWhy this class? Other photography classes assume that the users taking the course already know so much about photography and their SLR cameras. I have interviewed people who have expressed their frustration with their photography course because they did not enhance their skills set. They were hoping to learn the fundamentals of photography, instead, they learned about in-depth techniques and information that they did not know about nor had ever heard of before. In my class, I am going to start at a beginning and explain basic settings and controls. Then, we will cover more advanced settings and controls.3
4. 4. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyAnother great reason why my class is going to benefit you is because everyone else in the class is in the same boat you are in. No one will be ahead of you and it is going to be my job to keep you all on-track at the same pace. The ability to learn from each other and work with each other is a concept I strongly suggest as well. In my class there is no pressure whatsoever. If you need to contact me, I am just an email away unlike other teachers who have restrictions as to when you can email them. This class will ensure that you learn everything you need to know about photography and I promise that this class will be the foundation of your great future in photography, no matter where it takes you.4
5. 5. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyTable of Contents: Lesson 1: Introduction, Basic Camera Features, and White Balance----------Page 6Lesson 2: How to use the Cameras Menu and Redeye---------------------------Page 8Lesson 3: Lighting--------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 10Lesson 4: Aperture-------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 12Lesson 5: Zoom-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 14Lesson 6: ISO and Shutter Speed-------------------------------------------------------Page 16Lesson 7: Lenses and Filters-------------------------------------------------------------Page 18Equipment-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 20Glossary---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 215
6. 6. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyLesson 1: Introduction and Basic Camera Functions Introduction: Go around class, introduce each other ss, Exchange emails, contact information in case you miss a classDiscussion: What do you hope to learn from this class? Any previous experience with photography?Basic Camera Features: How to access the Menu Where is your Mode Dial and what does it do? Where is the flash? What do the numbers in the LCD panel mean on the top of the camera? How to review your pictures. How to read the information on your reviewed pictures. How to turn this on/off How to delete picturesWhite Balance: White Balance: Establishing the white points of a scene for your cameras. The resulting photo : will have the correct color representation How to set white balance: o AWB-Auto White Balance Auto o Daylight o Shade o Cloudy. Twilight, sunset o Tungsten o White fluorescent o Flash o Custom o Color Temperature For the purpose of our class, we are going to stick to AWB. As you explore photography on your own, you will be able to see what these different white balances can do for lighting you have available to you.6
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8. 8. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyLesson 2: How to use the Cameras Menu and Redeye How to use the Cameras Menu: Turn on the camera Press the MENU button o Navigate through the menu using the Quick Control Dial o Changing the Quality of your pictures o Turn Redeye on/off o Adjusting the exposure balance o Change Review Time duration o Adjust power off duration o Adjust the brightness of the LCD screen Format: To format the card simply means to delete everything on the camera currently in use. By choosing to format the card, you will NOT be able to receive the files that were on the card prior to the format. Make sure you have all your pictures backed up before you execute a format of your memory card. A format normally takes a few seconds depending on how many pictures you are deleting off. The cameras menu offers more features than what we have covered. For the purpose of this class, we will only focus on the features we have gone over. You will learn what the other features will offer you when you are out on your own or if you sign up for my next course.Redeye: Redeye: Redeye is caused by the reflection of light on a human eye. Ways to avoid redeye: o Turn on as many lights as possible in the room to reduce the need for flash o Turning on lights also will dilate your subjects pupils which will decrease the chance of redeye occurring in your photographs o Taking a series of photographs will take out the redeye in pictures How to turn on redeye: o Go to the Menu o Scroll down to the second option: Red-eye On/Off. Turn it on Typically your camera will flash before the picture is taken to decrease the size of the person(s) pupil allowing for the flash to reduce the chance to cause redeye on the person/people in your pictures.8
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10. 10. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyLesson 3: Lighting Lighting: It is photography. Proper lighting can make your pictures become marvels and improper lighting can ruin every picture you take. The ability to use lighting to ones advantage can ultimately the best photographers to the worse photographers. Though I have dedicated this lecture on lighting, it WILL appear in most of my other lectures. As I have stated before, photography is essentially the ability to capture light. Do not be surprised if, in your endeavors in photography outings, you adjust your exposures and white balance frequently due to proper/poor lighting available to you. Light: Light in terms of photography can simply defined as the recording of light rays. Light in regular terms is defined as electromagnetic radiation that we can see. Ways to control light in any setting: o Adjust your cameras light meter so that your picture will not turn out too bright or too dark o If the white balance is off, adjust it so that it fits the lighting in the room or area o Adjust the aperture o Adjust the shutter speedHow to read the meter: o Each dot on the meter represents a stop o You may need to adjust the aperture And stop to suit the lighting o When the meter is in the negative side, That means that there is not enough light available. Adversely, the positive side indicates that there is too much light and your picture will be overexposed.When to overexpose a picture: o The subject is much darker than the background o When you are taking snow shots o On a bright day if your subject(s) are showed by a larger object o When to underexpose a picture: o The subject is very light in comparison to the background o On an overcast day-increases saturation o To achieve a silhouette affect10
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12. 12. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyLesson 4: Aperture Aperture: Aperture is the circular opening that limits the amount of light that can enter. An aperture with a small opening will have a large numbered aperture. An aperture with a large opening will have a small numbered aperture.Large ApertureSmall Aperture1. Will perform better in low-light scenarios (admits more light than a smaller opening) 2. Allows for a faster shutter speed 3. If the wrong shutter speed is matched with the incorrect F-stop, the picture may turn out under/overexposed1. Gives the photographer more latitude in the pictures taken 2. Sunny/bright conditions allow for a small F-stop because there is enough light to let in through a smaller aperture 3.F1.8F2.8F4F5.6F8F11F161/2501/1251/601/301/151/81/4Aperture/Shutter Speed Combinations12
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14. 14. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyLesson 5: Zoom and the Zoom Effect Technique Zoom Zoom is a mechanical assembly of lens elements with the ability to vary its focal length (and thus angle of view), as opposed to a fixed focal length (FFL).Optical Zoom Optical Zoom uses the optics of an object to bring a subject closer. By optics I mean the visible and the invisible light.Digital Zoom Digital Zoom is not really a zoom. It is a stimulant of optical zoom by simply enlarging a portion of an image. When zooming in to take a picture, make sure you have an auto focus set so that your pictures do not turn out blurry. By having an auto focus set, you will also reduce the noise that shows up on your pictures as well.The Zoom Effect The Zoom Effect is the result of changing the focal length during an exposure. By doing so, you create brilliant bursts of light around your central object. Here is an example of a photo using the Zoom Effect.Notes14
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16. 16. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyLesson 6: ISO and Shutter Speed ISO ISO stands for International Standardization Organization. ISO denotes how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of light present. ISO in digital photography is convenient because you can adjust it in just a couple of seconds whereas in film cameras you did not have the option to change the ISO, you were stuck with what you had until the roll of film was empty. o An ISO set at a higher speed will allow you to take pictures of objects moving fast. This setting is helpful when taking sports pictures. Doing so, though, will create noise in your pictures. o Noise is speckles of light that appear on pictures when they should not be there. o An ISO set at a lower speed will allow you to obtain the best image quality because your camera recognizes the fact that there is enough light to perfectly capture the picture you are taking. o If you are in a low-light setting, use a flash, or adjust your ISO up to account for the light that is not present. This is an example of a photo shot at ISO 1600. Look at the Noise in this picture!This photo was shot At ISO 200. Look at the clarity!Shutter Speed Shutter Speed is simply the amount of time the shutter is open. Shutter speed is measure in fractions of a second. The larger the denominator, the faster the shutter speed (1/1000 is faster than 1/250) If you are using a shutter speed of less than (1/60) of a second, you will need to use a tripod o If you want to capture an image that is moving fast, use a fast shutter speed o If you want to capture an image that is moving slow, use a slower shutter speed Sometimes motion is good in a picture. How? o Motion in a picture can show how fast a car is moving or how quickly a waterfall is falling when you can see the blur of motion from behind the object. This gives the image a sense of speed which can create amazing pictures16
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18. 18. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyLesson 7: Lenses and Filters To help better understand lenses and filters, I am first going to define them for youLenses Transparent optical devices used to converge or diverge transmitted light and to form images.Filters Lens screen of glass for controlling the rendering of color or for diminishing the intensity of light. o Notice how both definitions depend on light for use!Types of Lenses Standard: Lenses that can take pictures with no apparent wide angle or telephoto distortion Wide Angled: Use when taking pictures of object far away. These lenses have a lot of zoom! Telephoto: Use this type of lense for landscape photographsTypes of Filters There are many filters available, here are the basic ones that are the most common Protective Filters: Protect the lenses from damaging or scratching as well as from too much UV light Polarizing Filters: Improves landscape imagery by reducing the amount of light reflected off non-metallic surfaces such as water. Adds a richness into blue skies, absorbs 1.5 stops of light. Neutral Density Filters: Reduces and/or modifies the intensity of all wavelengths of colors of light equally. Used to take pictures with motion blur effects with slower shutter speeds. As you progress in your photography, you will find filters that suit your needs best as well as lenses that will be best for the photography to which you are taking whether it be landscape, portrait, or sports. You will figure out the lenses and filters that will be best for youNeutral Density Filter: Look at the rich blue sky and the clear water!Protective Filter: Notice how the lense is not distorted with scratces 18Polarizing Filter: Look at the difference!
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20. 20. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyEquipment Here is what you will need to capture and store your pictures: Canon EOS 20D Digital CameraLarge camera bag to carry camera, manual, camera cards, battery pack, filtersA Compact Flash memory card. I recommend at least 2-Gigabyte cards or larger (cards of smaller size will have a low limit as to how many pictures you will be able to take)A computer or laptop to store all your pictures. An external hard drive would also workEditing software (your camera comes equipped with software but Photoshop and other editing software allow you to do more with your pictures).Here are other accessories you can purchase that will help you: A tripodFiltersAdditional lensesDigital light censoring meterAdditional rechargeable batteryExtra Compact Flash memory cards20
21. 21. Introduction to Digital SLR PhotographyGlossary White Balance: The processes of removing unnecessary colors to make the people who appear white in person appear white in your photos. (6) Redeye: Redeye is caused by the reflection of light on a human eye. (8) Light: Light in terms of photography can simply defined as the recording of light rays. Light in regular terms is defined as electromagnetic radiation that we can see. (10) Aperture: The circular opening that limits the amount of light that can enter. (12) Zoom: A mechanical assembly of lens elements with the ability to vary its focal length (and thus angle of view), as opposed to a fixed focal length (FFL). (14) Optical Zoom: Uses the optics of an object to bring a subject closer. By optics I mean the visible and the invisible light. (14) Digital Zoom: Not really a zoom. It is a stimulant of optical zoom by simply enlarging a portion of an image. (14) The Zoom Effect: The result of changing the focal length during an exposure. By doing so, you create brilliant bursts of light around your central object. Here is an example of a photo using the Zoom Effect. (14) ISO: Denotes how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of light present. (16) Noise: Speckles of light that appear on pictures when they should not be there. (16)Shutter Speed: The amount of time the shutter is open. (16) Lenses: Transparent optical devices used to converge or diverge transmitted light and to form images. (18)Filters: Lens screen of glass for controlling the rendering of color or for diminishing the intensity of light. (18) Standard: Lenses that can take pictures with no apparent wide angle or telephoto distortion. Wide Angled: Use when taking pictures of object far away. (18) Telephoto: Use this type of lense for landscape photographs. (18) Protective Filters: Protect the lenses from damaging or scratching as well as from too much UV light. (18)Polarizing Filters: Improves landscape imagery by reducing the amount of light reflected off non-metallic surfaces such as water. (18)Neutral Density Filters: Reduces and/or modifies the intensity of all wavelengths of colors of light equally. (18)21