Class2
- 1. Course on In Embassy of Finland, Nairobi, June 2012 Seppo Toikka
- 2. This course consists of: 7) Basic ideas and concepts in photography 8) Digital photography technique 9) Composition and subjects in photography 10) Digital editing, workflow examples 11) Other topics requested by you
- 3. Camera doesn’t matter You can get amazing photos with any camera You just need to understand two things… Amazing photos are about composition and light, not about the technical properties of the camera
- 4. Photo by Badruddeen (Flickr)
- 5. Don’t capture, convey You can’t capture exactly what you see, so don’t even try Instead, try to convey the feeling! Good pictures are all about conveying emotions, making us feel something The next time you feel the urge to take a picture, focus on that feeling
- 6. Knowing your camera Specific technical properties of your camera are not important Knowing how to use them to get the best possible pictures is! Every setting in your camera changes the way it captures light and changes the resulting photo
- 7. Exposure Exposure = the amount of light passed throught the lens to the sensor surface Change in exposure is measured in stops (EV). +/-1 stop = doubling/halving the amount of light passed through the lens
- 8. Exposure example When the camera’s dynamic range cannot capture the whole tonal range, you need to decide what tones are most important Virtually all cameras have the possibility to adjust exposure by at least +/- 2 stops(EV)
- 10. Adjusting exposure In auto mode camera tries to figure out the ”correct” exposure You can adjust this exposure from camera menus, or… …you can use the half-press shutter trick (just remember that it fixes focusing too!)
- 11. Adjusting exposure (cont.) Exposure is the combination of 3 things: Aperture Shutter speed Light sensitivity of the camera sensor (ISO)
- 12. Focusing In auto mode camera tries to figure out the ”correct” point of focus Focus points are shown on the display as rectangular boxes when you press the shutter half way
- 13. Focusing (cont.) Point of focus defines the depth of field, how much of the pictures depth is in focus Size of depth of field depends on the distance of the focus point, the type of lens and aperture of the lens
- 17. Camera blur Even if the focusing is correct, photos can be blurred If the camera or the subject moves while exposing the photo, this will result in blurred picture
- 18. Camera blur (cont.) Many cameras have built-in image stabilizer (IS, OS, VR) Without a stabilizer shutter speeds slower than 1/30s will probably result in a blurred photo
- 19. How to avoid blurred photos Steady the camera against a support Squeeze the shutter release slowly Remember, the longer focal length (zoom), the bigger risk of camera blur!
- 20. Motion blur Even if the camera is held still, the subject can move during the exposure, resulting in motion blur Learn how to avoid unwanted blurring, but also how to use it to your advantage!
- 21. Shutter speed settings Shooting modes also affect shutter speeds Sports mode keeps the shutter speed as fast as possible Landscape mode tries to maximise the depth of field with the expense of slower shutter speeds
- 22. Shutter speed settings (cont.) Setting higher ISO will result in faster shutter speeds If all else fails, you can decrease the exposure to increase shutter speed
- 27. Camera modes Specifics of camera shooting modes are unfortunately company trade secrets Modes affect shutter speeds, depth of field, color rendition and flash use Nobody says that they need to be used in situations described in the manuals! Experiment by taking photos of same subject with many different settings
- 28. Focal length Focal length defines the angle of view Longer lengths ”compress” targets relative to their distance from camera Keeping the subject size unchanged, changing the focal length will change the perspective and composition! Don’t forget the ”leg zoom”!
- 31. Camera flash If camera tells you to use flash, don’t! Unless I say it’s ok… Flash in low light will flatten any details, especially in portraits Learn how to use fill-flash, to combine flash with light from other sources
- 32. When to use fill-flash? Bright light, but subject is in shade Night-time, when there are artificial lights to provide some light When using flash, the distance from your subject makes all the difference: don’t be too close!
- 35. Online photocoursenairobi.wikispaces.com Slides, example photos with explanations, glossary seppo.i.toikka@gmail.com
- 36. Homework Find out how to adjust exposure in your camera (+/- EV) Find out what shooting modes your camera has and take one photo from the same place with every mode When you see any photo, pay attention to the light in that photo