Introduction to Digital Photography
Digital camera – A camera that captures the photo not on film, but in an electronic imaging sensor that takes the place of film. Using a Digital Camera
Technology rapidly growing as more people become both computer and web savvy.
We will be using Canon PowerShot’s in multiple models.
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
Delay Between Shots
The amount of time (measured in seconds) it takes the camera to process and store an image when shooting in normal mode, at the camera’s maximum resolution setting also known as recycle time or lag time. Try taking multiple shots one after another with your digital camera. How much lag time is there? Shooting-The Basics
. Check that the camera is in Shooting mode. . Turn the dial to AUTO . Aim the camera at the subject you wish to shoot . Use the zoom lever to achieve the desired composition . Press the shutter button halfway . Press the shutter button all the way
Megapixels
Probably the most significant feature when choosing a digital camera is the number of megapixels, which determines the quality of your photos. Higher the megapixels the better off you are. Nowadays cameras are up to 14 megapixels. How many megapixels does our camera have? Shooting Mode Dial
.Image Zone .Portrait-subject sharp, background blurry .Landscape-landscape scenes .Night Scene-human subject against night sky .Fast Shutter-fast moving objects .Slow Shutter-moving objects blurred .Movie-sound and video
Shooting Mode Dial (con’t)
Special SCN Foliage-flowers, leaves, trees Snow-subjects against backdrop of snow Beach-scenes by the sea or on the beach Fireworks-fireworks shot clearly Underwater-use with waterproof case Indoor-indoor shots with fluorescent lighting Kids and Pets-subjects that move around Night Snapshot-subjects against night skies Macro Mode
Normal mode Macro mode
White Balance
•WB corrects for different lighting conditions Resolution- refers to the number of pixels.
A digital camera is made up of hundreds of thousands of tiny squares, called pixels. Unlike that of traditional film where the dots are known as grain. If supplying photos for a website then you would shoot at a low resolution. Why is resolution important?
The higher the resolution, the better the picture. Resolution is expressed in pixels, and refers to the “true” resolution of the camera. Resolution Range: “S” 640 x 480 Pixels (monitors) = Minimum Computer Resolution. GREAT for websites “L” 4000 x 3000 Pixels = Extreme resolution. Capable of huge prints and cropped, photo-quality 8” x 10”s from a fraction of the original image file. Image Resolution/Quality
Small resolution 640x480 •Fine compression •Increases memory capacity
Medium resolution 1078x760 •Fine compression •Good quality for prints or Net
Large resolution 2048x1576 •Fine compression •Best quality for prints Low Resolution Image High Resolution Image Rapid-Fire Shots
Rapid-Fire is also known as Burst Mode or Continuous Shooting Mode. This feature allows you to take multiple rapid-fire shots with one touch of the exposure button. This can be very useful feature when shooting subjects in motion, such as during a sporting event.
Flash Option on a digital camera
Off/On/auto-This refers to the basic flash functions, where the flash is always off, always on for “fill-ins” (for example: bright sky behind a subject will fill-in dark shadows on the face), or set to fire automatically when needed. Red-Eye Reduction-This refers to a mode of flash that helps prevent the appearance of people with red eyes in the picture. Downloading images to the Computer
. Use the supplied interface cable to connect the computer’s USB port to the camera’s DIGITAL terminal . Slide the camera’s mode switch to playback . Turn the power on . Either copy the images from the SD card to your computer or move them from one to the other
Image Compression & File Formats
JPEGs (.jpg)-– Most common digital camera image format used for images with continuous tone changes such as photos. (* This is the one we will be using) GIFs (.gif)- images with solid color such as text banners. Primary use are websites. Smallest file size. PDF (.pdf)-stands for Adobe Acrobat’s Portable Document Format, a system for creating documents that can be read cross-platform. CCD Raw (.raw) – An uncompressed image format that contains all of the data picked up by the image sensor. Now it’s your turn…try to accomplish the following
Take a picture with date option “on” Take a picture with date option “off” Take a picture with the sepia option, also try black & white option Photograph 1 object in “normal mode” Then photograph the same object in “macro mode” Take 3 pictures, but change your pixel settings (small, medium (1, 2, or 3), large) A “Continuous Motion” or “Rapid Fire” option (set to 5) Put the grid option “on” so it shows up on your screen and take a picture. Now download off of camera and transfer into your H: Drive in a folder labeled Camera Activity and label images accordingly.