Understanding Your Camera 1: Basics UUU103 Understanding Your Camera I The Basics Objective After completing this class, the student will have an understanding of basic photography and basic creative DSLR camera functions. Materials Items required for participation are the following: • Digital Single Reflex Camera • Camera Manual • Normal (50mm) Lens • DSLR Instruction Booklet (provided) • Pen or pencil Standards Addressed 1. The definition of photography. 2. The function of the International Standards Organization rating for sensitivity to light and how it affects the exposure as well as the aesthetic look of a photograph. 3. The mechanics of the shutter and how it affects the exposure as well as the aesthetic look of a photograph. 4. The mechanics of the aperture and how it affects the exposure as well as the aesthetic look of a photograph. Independent Practice Record an image demonstrating: • a shallow depth of field • a medium depth of field • stopped motion • a blurred subject implying its motion • panning Michael Downey Head Instructor [email protected] 908.458.6716 123 US HWY 46, Fairfield, NJ 07004 WWW.UNIVERSITY.UNIQUEPHOTO.COM Michael Downey is the Head BE PATIENT Instructor of Unique University. He currently owns and operates Michael Downey Photography, Inc. out of Take Lots Somerville, New Jersey. He has photographed hundreds of of Pictures moderate to high-end weddings throughout the northeast. Michael also Practice teaches during photo walks and workshops. His images can Makes Perfect be seen at New Century Artist Art Gallery in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. Have Fun! Notes: NJ’s Only Camera & Video Superstore n 20,000+ Brand Name Products n Highly Trained Photography Sales Staff n Photography Classes n Digital Computer Lab n Photo Lab n Free Technical Support Since moving to Fairfield in 2008, Unique Photo has become the center of photography in NJ. Our Superstore stocks over 20,000 items, including the latest digital cameras and accessories from top brands such as Canon, Sony, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Leica, Fujifilm, Manfrotto, Epson, Lexar, and many more. We also have NJ’s best photo lab, NJ’s largest rental equipment program, NJ’s premiere camera trade-in program, and a Red House Roasters gourmet coffee bar and Wi-Fi lounge. Unique University® is the highly acclaimed education component of Unique Photo®. There is over 2000 sq. ft. of learning space, including our state-of-the-art, 1000 sq. ft. main presentation hall. Unique University’s mission is to help our visitors “Create Better Pictures” by providing photography education for beginners to professionals. With events daily, it is the place where photography groups such as local camera clubs, ASMP, PPA and others meet. We have a full curriculum of classes and seminars from world famous speakers such as Art Wolfe, Rick Sammon, Ron Wyatt, Michael Yamashita, Tyler Stableford, Lindsay Adler, and Will Crockett. We offer photography excursions to many places, including the Meadowlands Racetrack, Lakota Wolf Preserve, Rutgers University Football, Botanical Gardens and Ballooning. Our technical classes include such topics as basic DSLR photography, DSLR video, lighting techniques, Adobe Photoshop, Elements anf Lightroom, composition, editing and printing, wedding photography, HDR photography, working with speedlites, one-on-one instruction, and much more. What is Photography? Let’s begin with a very clear definition of photography. Photography is the art or science of recording light. Specifically, you are capturing the light’s direction, color, and intensity. A camera is a light recorder, just like a tape recorder is an audion recorder. It doesn’t matter what’s in front of your lens because the subject is always in the light. The subject is the direction, color, and intensity of the light. photo- A combining form meaning “light” (photobiology); also used to represent “photographic” or “photograph” in the formation of compound words: photocopy. A combining form denoting a process or graphy- form of drawing, writing, representing, recording, describing, etc., or an art or science concerned with such a process: biography, choreography, geography, orthography, and photography. The Marriage Photography is a wonderful marriage. It is the marriage of art and science. I’m the type of person that likes to save the best for last so I will begin by talking about the science aspect of photography. First, it is very important that we understand the photographic principles and techniques we use in order to create wonderful images. Proper Exposure Every DSLR camera is designed to achieve proper exposure at any setting other than manual. It will always try to achieve an exposure of “18% gray”. In photography 18% gray is an accurate exposure but in the real world we seldom see things at a value of 18% gray. A great example of this is when taking pictures of polar bears playing on icebergs at the North Pole. When shooting in mid-day light, the camera would render these images a little darker than reality. It would expose the white bears and snow at 18% gray. Notes: How to Achieve a Good Exposure Three Variables That a Camera Uses to Achieve a Good Exposure Let’s begin by talking about the three variables the camera uses to achieve 18% gray. 1 ISO Setting 2 Shutter Speed 3 Aperture All of these have an impact on how a picture looks and each of these can be manipulated to vary the exposure. ISO 1 ISO Setting The ISO setting dictates International Standards Organization your digital camera’s sensitivity to light. ISO 50 Low ISO ISO is an acronym for the For Bright International Standards Conditions ISO 100 Organization. Before the digital age, you may remember your parents ISO 200 Medium ISO talking about film. Film is For Darker Conditions assigned an ISO number to ISO 400 designate its speed rating or sensitivity to light. Prior to the 1980s, a film’s light ISO 800 High ISO sensitivity was designated For Action, Low by the ASA (American ISO 1600 Light and Night Standards Association) Photography rating. The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive ISO 3200 The effect is Noise or Grain the film or digital sensor is to light. The higher the ISO the more sensitive to light the sensor is. In very bright situations you want to use lower a ISO but in very dark situations you want to use higher ISOs. My recommendation is to start somewhere around 400 to see of you can create the picture you want. Higher ISOs have the effect of noise in an image. The actual ISO at which the noice occurs varies from camera to camera. A great photograph Low ISO Settings is a full expression of what one feels about what Low ISO settings are recommended is being photographed in the for bright conditions, when there is deepest sense, and is thereby, a lot of light. a true expression of what one They have the least amount of noise feels about life in its entirety. and best overall image quality. - Ansel Adams ISO 100 ISO 200 Notes: Medium ISO Settings Photograph: a picture painted by Medium ISO settings are used the sun without in darker conditions: instruction in art. n Deep shade - Ambrose Bierce n Dawn or dusk n Overcast skies ISO 400 ISO 800 Notes: I believe there is no more creative medium than photography to recreate High ISO Settings the living world of our time.. Photography gladly accepts High ISO settings are often used the challenge because it is at in action, low light, and night home in its element: namely photography. realism--real life--the now. - Berenice Abbott ISO 1600 ISO 3200 Notes: Shutter Speed A camera’s shutter is a mechanical curtain in front of the imaging sensor. It opens and closes at various speeds to let in either more or less light. Most normal shutter speeds are measured in fractions of a second. When combined with the size of the aperture opening, the shutter controls how much light reaches the imaging sensor. Shutter speeds will range from as fast as 1/8000th of a second to 30 seconds on most digital cameras. There is also a “BLUB” or “B” setting, which will force the shutter to stay open for as long as the release button is held down. Shutter Speed Priority S Tv Nikon/Olympus Canon In the viewfinder you will see: n 1/250th = 250 n 1/8th = 8 n 4 seconds = 4” The shutter speed is the first number in the viewfinder. Fast Shutter Speeds Fast shutter speeds ensure that the subject records no movement. They are generally 1/1000th second used in bright daylight and to freeze motion. Notes: Slow Shutter Speeds You’ve got to push yourself harder. You’ve got to start looking Slow shutter speeds record for pictures nobody else movement in the subject. They could take. are generally used in deep shade You’ve got to take the tools or low lighting conditions or to you have and probe deeper. create motion blur. - William A. Allard 1/4th second Panning Panning is a creative effect that combines a slow shutter speed with a moving camera following the moving subject. Notes: Long Shutter Speeds Life is about capturing the moment in its beauty, and Long shutter speeds refers to when telling a story to every the shutter of the camera is open for longer than one second. Longer beautiful moment. shutter speeds are generally used in night photography. - Blanca Acosta 15 second Bulb Exposures Used when you can’t anticipate the action, and you want the exposure to last several seconds. Put the camera on a tripod with theshutter speed set to ‘B’ (bulb). Also used when an exposure of longer than 30” is required.