You don’t take a picture…You make it
{or how to take better pictures}
C:\Users\mrichter\Dropbox\Public\vids\basicintro.avi
You don’t take a picture…You make it
What you need to take this course
A Digital Camera
The Manual – Tip: Know your camera!
A USB thumb drive (for the projects)
You don’t take a picture…You make it
About this ClassClass is 4 meetings 2 hours each
1st hour a review of last weeks projects
2nd hour new material
Class 1 – The basics about Cameras, Types of Photos with Tips & Light
Class 2 – Aperture, Shutter & Exposure
Class 3 – Composition and Art
Class 4 – Review and Intro to Photo Editing Software
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Myths of Photography
Myth #1- Photography records what we see.
Myth #2- The Camera Knows Best.
Myth #3- There is a right and wrong way.
Myth #4- You need expensive equipment to take great photos.
Myth #5- Megapixels Matter
You don’t take a picture…You make it
What I saw....
You don’t take a picture…You make it
...What my camera saw.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Professional Portrait Session
You don’t take a picture…You make it
DSLR, Micro 4/3s and PnS
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Each has strengths and weaknesses
Know the limitationsWork within those limits
Trying to force the camera outside it’s limits usually results in poor images.
Causing photographer FRUSTRATION
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Which one is from a dSLR and which is from a PnS camera?
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The one on the left is from a PnS (Nikon p5100)
You don’t take a picture…You make it
For now,,,,stay within yourcamera’s limits.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Megapixels how many dots
Pixel - picture elementSmallest element that carries color information
3008
2000
6 megapixels
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Megapixels Screen (72dpi) Print (300dpi) X by Y
0.5 5x3 NR 800x6002 10x8 5x3 1600x12004 14x11 7x5 2300x17006 20x16 10x8 3000x200010 40x25 17x13 3888x2592
Useful Image Size Chart
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Digital Zoom
Blows up a portion of the image at the expense of quality
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Optical Zoom
The lens ability to enlarge the subject and maintain image quality
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Optical Zoom
Just like taking a few steps toward the subject. Image size will not change.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Exposure recording the light
CombiningQuantityDurationSensitivity
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Choose a bright sunny daySeal the room from light with black plastic
then cut a dime sized hole
You don’t take a picture…You make it
First Class Project
Photo a DayBring any camera with you.
Create a photo which uses any of the concepts presented in class
Bring your best with you to class.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Day 2 Day 1 Day 3
Daily Photo Challenge - ExampleDay 4
Day 5 Day 6
Day 7
You don’t take a picture…You make it
How to hold the Camera
Reduce SHAKE
Hold close to your body.
Elbows in…
Don’t hold your breath
Use a brace, any brace
Low light…use a support.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Support Yourself
Tip - Make use of anything that will help you be steady
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The miss-understood On Camera Flash
Often used as a primary light source…WHAT?
RED-EYE
HARD SHADOWS
FLAT IMAGES
WASHES OUT COLORS
USED as a FILL LIGHT
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The miss-understood On Camera Flash
1st- on camera flash is only good for about 5 meters
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The miss-understood On Camera Flash
2nd - on camera flash is not very flattering.
It flattens out features and washes out skin tones.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The On-Camera Flash
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The On Camera Flash
Can work well as a fill light with other light to reduce shadows.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The On Camera Flash
At reduced power, it can “pop” extra light into dark areas.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Automatic Modes
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Help with Specific Situations
Reduced Light Indoors
Outdoor Landscape
Portrait
Sports
Macro – Close Up
Child and Pet
Fireworks
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Standard Frames vs. the Camera
Most digital cameras capture at a ratio of 4:3.Most standard frames are at a ratio of 3:2.Therefore composing for prints requires a little extra attention to allow for cropping to fit the frame.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Portrait & LandscapeYour camera works just fine when tilted 90°
Turn your camera to properly frame the subject.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Make the frame work for you!
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Portrait Mode
Smart cameras use facial recognition to set focus
Red-eye Reduction
Higher shutter speeds to reduce shake and wider apertures
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Portraits
Tip:Get light into the eyes and make sure they are in focus. Watch for reflections from glasses.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Portraits
Tip:Simplify the background.
a “busy” background is distracting.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Portraits
Tip:Look for the “good side”.Humans, as a rule, lack symmetry.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Portraits
Tip:Don’t shoot from a low angle and avoid a wide lens setting.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Portraits
Also, avoid extreme angles as they distort the rest of the body
You don’t take a picture…You make it
PLAY
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Landscape Mode
Higher apertureFlash offHigher saturation
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Landscape Tips
Successful landscapesoften contain elements in the foreground, mid-ground, and background
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Landscape Tips
Elements in the foreground, mid-ground, and backgroundcreate depth and dimensionality
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Sports/Action Mode
Fast shutter speedsReduce motion blur
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Sports/Action Tips
Find the best position for the action.
Work within your gear’s limits.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Macro Mode
Repositions lens elements for ultra close ups.
High aperture for maximum DOF
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Macro Tips
Bring lots of light
Use a support (tripod)
Choose subjects that are stationary and fairly flat to start.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Let the camera help, Choose the right mode for the subject
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Let's take a 5 minute
breakC:\Users\mrichter\Dropbox\Public\vids\people2.wmv
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Let’s Talk Light!
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The Color of Light
What our eyes see as “white” is only a relative construct formed by our brain.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Light has it’s own Color
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Tint Neutral
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Color Correction
Automatic white balance
Manual Calibration
Best guess – manual white balance settings
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Know the light
and use it to your advantage
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Different Light…. Different Results
Bright Sunlight can make photos look flat and washed out with harsh shadows.
Evening Light creates highly saturated warm colors.
Indoor Lighting can cause color casts.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Different Settings, Different Results
Daylight SettingFull SunShadeCloudy
Incandescent SettingFlorescent Setting
Daylight Balanced FlorescentAutomatic
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Quality vs. Quantity of LightIt's not just about there being enough light
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Enough LightBUT
Poor QualitySun directly overhead
Harsh Shadows
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Open shade provides enough
light and
Good quality light
You don’t take a picture…You make it
C:\Users\mrichter\Dropbox\Public\vids\Class_3_changing_light.mp4
You don’t take a picture…You make it
{or how to take better pictures}
You don’t take a picture…You make it
{or how to take better pictures}
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The Mechanics behind the Camera
The handout goes into nerd like detailIn class we will just touch the surface
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The Exposure Triangle
ApertureShutter SpeedISO sensitivity
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Zone 9 lightest
Zone One 1 darkest
Zone 4 mid gray
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Shutter Speed 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60 1/30
F/stop f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11
at f/5.6
at 1/125 sec.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Shutter Speed 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60 1/30
F/stop f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11
at f/5.6
at 1/125 sec.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Shutter Speed
Long 1/20th secShort 1/500th sec
You don’t take a picture…You make it1/30 @ f/2.8
You don’t take a picture…You make it30 sec @ f/8
You don’t take a picture…You make it1/20 @ f/5.6
You don’t take a picture…You make it
10 sec @ f/22
You don’t take a picture…You make it15 sec f/32
You don’t take a picture…You make it
1/20 @ f/4
You don’t take a picture…You make it1/625 @ f/8
You don’t take a picture…You make it
1/2000 @ f/2.8
You don’t take a picture…You make it
1/250 @ f/6.3
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Fast Shutter Speeds
1/2000th will freeze rapidly moving water.
1/650th will freeze most rapid motion like sports or birds.
1/250th will freeze most casual human movement.
1/60th will freeze most slow human movement.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Slow Shutter Speeds
Between 1/60th and 1/10th seconds usually results in
undesirable blurring. (BUT it can work for panning.)
1/4th can give panning techniques an interesting look.
1 second will allow fast movements to blur to colored.
smears . Longer times can make movement disappear and
turn flowing water in to soft cotton.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Aperture
Mechanical opening that regulates how much light enters the camera through the lens.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
ApertureThe physical opening
of the camera lensCalled F-StopHigher the “F”
number the smaller the opening
F/22 smallF/1.2 big
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Depth of Field
ShallowDOF
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Depth of Field
Long DOF
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Depth of Field
MACRO Very Short DOF
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Increasing the Sensitivity
ISO more sensitivity at the expense of “noise”
You don’t take a picture…You make it
ISO
ISO 2500ISO 200
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Digital Noise
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Changing any setting impacts the exposure value (or EV)
=Shutter Speed+Aperture+ISOEV
PLAY
You don’t take a picture…You make it
What can we do when there just isn’t enough light other than buy expensive equipment
Move to a brighter spotPush the ISO a noisy photo is better than nothingAdd light- Flash, lamps & reflectors
** Make the light work for you **
When there’s not enough light…
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Second Class Project
Take a walk with your camera and take at least 50 photos.
Remember you still have to take a photo a day!
You don’t take a picture…You make it
{or how to take better pictures}
You don’t take a picture…You make it
{or how to take better pictures}
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Photography is Art
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Photography is Art
Therefore many of the basic concepts of art and graphic design apply.
Most strong images use many of these “rules” along with placing a subject in context with the environment or PURPOSLY removing the subject from the surroundings.
Photos can tell a story without any words known as a Photo Essay( photo album?)
You don’t take a picture…You make it
What do you want to achieve?
Are you telling a story about an event or trip?
Are you conveying emotion?
Are you scratching an artistic itch?
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Sense of Place
Wide shots give an overview.
Sense of place can be given through many hints
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Out of Context, No Sense of Place
The story is told in the details.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Rule of 3rds
Offset the subject away from the center of the frame
Using 3rd lines.
Most dynamic points are at the intersections
Square frames become an exception
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Rule of 3rds
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Rule of 3rds
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Applied Rule of 3rds!
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Beyond the Rule of Thirds
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The Rule of Three
Or the rule of odd numbers States that odd numbers are more interesting
than even quantitiesMostly for PortraitsCan be used with any clearly defined subjectsSubjects should relate to each other
PeopleSame Type of Animal or object
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Perspective
Change your point of view to make your subject stand out.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Contrasts
ContrastingShapesSizesColorLight to Dark
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Negative Space
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Repetition
Similar shapes and lines help to tie a composition together
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Repetition of Shapes
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Leading Lines
Look for the leading lines that lead your eye through the picture. Converging lines create depth.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
FramingUse your surroundings to help display your subject.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Quality of Light
As we discussed in class #1, Make the Light work for you!
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Copy those who are successful
Eventually you will create your own styleafter all you’ll learn more from the successful than from the mediocre!
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The Masters
From this image we learn about leading lines
Henri Cartier-Bresson
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The MastersA master ofcapturing personalitywarts and all
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The Masters
From this work we learn about shape and form
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The Masters
Elliot Erwitt
Here we see repetition
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The Masters
See with the Photographer’s Eye
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The Masters
From RC we learn to develop a “Style”
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The Masters
Jan Groover
This image shows us contrasts
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The MastersPhilippe Halsman
Learn to think out of the box, be creative!
You don’t take a picture…You make it
The Masters
Clyde Butcherfrom Clyde’s work we learn patience.Sometimes we justhave to wait for theright moment
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Practice! Practice! Practice!
The more you shoot the better you will get!
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Review – 11 Tips
Know Your Camera!
Watch for interesting light
Choose a clear subject
Support the subject include that which makes the subject stronger and remove the excess.
Look for bad things in the background
Look for odd things sticking into the frame
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Review – 11 Tips
Use light to your advantage
Support the camera
Use the self-timer
Use the correct mode
Look for new and interesting perspectives
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Final Class Project
Can you take an every day object and make it art?
Use perspective, lighting and location to create an interesting “artsy” image
Bring your favorite in for class
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Next week Software
How to “tweak” an image
How to fix common problems
Gimp, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements
And Picasa
You don’t take a picture…You make it
{or how to take better pictures}
You don’t take a picture…You make it
{or how to take better pictures}
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Software
The combination of digital cameras and image editing software gives the photographer almost limitless control of the final image.
You don’t take a picture…You make it
SoftwareCan make your photos “POP”
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Can be just corrective
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Or artistic
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Or black & white
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Better than in-camera
You don’t take a picture…You make it
What Computer Should I Use?
How to fix a computer.
Powerful enough to run your softwareOperating system supports your software
You don’t take a picture…You make it
What software do I use?Whats your budget?What features do you really need?
How are your photos to be used?How serious do you plan on becoming?
AmateurSerious hobbyist (pro skills but not for pay)Professional Photographer
You don’t take a picture…You make it
What's available?
Plus many others
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Links
Learn Stuff:http://www.michaelsrichter.com/class/
http://www.edigitalphoto.com/http://strobist.blogspot.com/http://www.morguefile.com/
http://www.adorama.com/alc/category/AdoramaTVhttp://www.picturecorrect.com/
http://www.learnfoodphotography.com/
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Links
Share Stuff:http://www.flickr.com/
http://www.meetup.com/St-Petersburg-Photography-Group/
Buy Stuff:http://www.pepperlu.com/
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/http://www.adorama.com/
You don’t take a picture…You make it
Links
Free Stuff:http://freephotoshop.org/
http://www.gimp.org/http://www.andreaplanet.com/
Other Stuff:http://www.colourlovers.com/http://www.featureshoot.com/
You don’t take a picture…You make it
{or how to take better pictures}
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