Photo Tips
- Resolution vs. Quality
- Shooting Modes
- Focusing
- Light
- Flash
- White Balance
- Shutter Speed
- Aperture
- Composition
- Set the resolution to suit the purpose of the image, such as printing size or email attachments.
- Resolution settings can be viewed through the MENU on your digital camera.
- Read your user's manual to find out the different settings for resolution and other information regarding resolution.
- Change the quality of your image through the MENU on your digital camera.
- Read your user's manual to find where the quality settings are located.
- Standard Modes:
- Auto
: For the novice- the camera does all the work. - Action/Sport
: For fast-moving subjects. - Portrait
: Focus on a person or group while slightly blurring the background. - Landscape/Infinity
: For both near and distance shots. Subjects and the background are in focus. - Flower/Macro
: For subjects in the range of 2 inches-1 foot from the lens. - Night/Low Light
: For outdoor dusk shots and in-door/low light situations. - Professional Modes:
- Av (Aperture Value) allows you to set your desired opening of the aperture so the camera will automatically read the amount of light available and set the shutter speed. Aperture controls the focus of the objects in the image
- Tv (Time value) allows you to set the amount of time you want the aperture to be open. Tv controls the shutter speed.
- P, or programmed AE (aperture and exposure), allows the photographer to control everything- aperture and shutter speed.
- Auto focus- Lock the focus on a subject by placing the subject in the center of the viewfinder and then pressing the shutter button halfway down. This will lock the distance from the camera that you want to be in focus so you can arrange the image for a more interesting composition.
- Manual focus- Mainly just for an SLR camera, where there is a focus ring on the lens that allows you to control what you want to be in focus.
- Read your user's manual to find out the distance your flash will reach.
- Make sure your subject is a least 4 feet away from the camera to avoid overexposure.
- For night shots indoors or outdoors, use the "slow synchronized" flash, if your camera has that option. This will reduce the chances your background will be too dark. Tripod is recommend for this flash option.
- It is better to use a tripod and no flash to get a more evenly exposed picture. However, your subject must remain still if you want a sharp picture.
- Auto: Default option; The camera adjusts automatically for the current color
- Daylight: For any situation using natural light (sunlight).
- Fluorescent: For indoor fluorescent lighting; Subject will have a green hue if not corrected.
- Tungsten: For indoor tungsten (light bulb) lighting; Subject will have a red/orange hue if not corrected.
- The measurement for shutter speeds are shown on cameras as:
(fast) 1/1000, 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, (slow) - Small Opening = Large Number
- Large Opening = Small Number
- The aperture opening is measured in f-numbers.
(small) f/22, f/16, f/11, f/8.0, f/5.6, f/4.0, f/2.8, f/2.0, f/1.8 (large) - Rule of Thirds: The main format to keep in mind is the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is basically a tick-tack-toe grid over your desired image. Placing your subject in the left or right columns of the grid creates a more interesting photograph. The rule of thirds is a template to better frame your photographs. Try to avoid placing the subject dead center.
- Horizon: Try to avoid putting the horizon in the center of the photo. If you want a sense of spaciousness, place the horizon at the bottom of the photo. Place the horizon at the top of the photo to create a sense of closeness.
- Using leading lines, such as roads, fences, tree shadows, etc, helps bring the viewer's eye into the photograph and focus on the main subject. Leading lines don’t have to be straight lines- integrating curvy and graceful lines creates a softer feeling in the overall photograph.
- Avoiding distracting backgrounds when taking portraits. A photographer has to be aware of the subject and also what is behind the subject. Also keep in mind the angle of the camera. Angling the camera high makes the subject appear small, while angling the camera low, makes the subject appear very large. Either way creating different moods for the portrait.
Resolution vs. Quality
In digital photography, photographs are made up of pixels (px). The amount of pixels your camera's memory card can hold determines the number of pictures you can take. However, the resolution and the quality of each photograph can be altered to allow you either more or less space on your memory card.
Resolution
Resolution is the amount of pixels in a photograph in relation to its height and width. Resolution dimensions can vary from 2592 px x 1944 px (Large), 1600 px x 1200 px (Medium) or 640 px x 480 px (Small).
Users' Tips:
Quality
Quality is a term to describe the compression of an image. It allows more space in your memory card. However, when you compress your images the color and detail are affected.
Users' Tips:
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Shooting Modes
Many digital cameras come with automatic modes for different environments. The typical modes are Auto, Action/Sport, Portrait, Landscape/Infinity, Flower/Macro and Night/Low Light. The new point-and-shoot digital cameras coming out have even more modes so be sure to check your user's manual for more information. Modes are either marked on the main dial of the camera or are listed in the MENU.
The above modes are used with most digital cameras. More professional cameras (SLRs) will have extra modes for specific controls, such as "aperture value" (Av), "time value" (Tv) and "programmed AE" (P). With these settings, a photographer can set the mechanisms of the camera, instead of allowing the camera to choose the settings based on the environment.
SLR stands for single-lens reflex. An SLR is a camera that uses a movable mirror placed between the lens and the film or image sensor (in digital cameras) that is moved out of the way when you take a picture. Before taking the picture the mirror allows you to make sure what you are looking at is actually in the photograph.
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Focusing
Every camera controls focusing a little differently, but every camera has circles or crosshairs in the center of the viewfinder. These markings show where the camera will focus. Make sure you read your user's manual to find out how your camera focuses on subjects. Every camera has the option of auto focus or manual focus.
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Light
The use of light can make or break a photograph. Different kinds of weather create different kinds of photographs. Shooting on a perfect sunny day does not mean you'll get better photographs than you would shooting on a rainy day. A great photograph is due to how the photographer has dealt with light overall. A photographer has to be aware of what happens with different type of light. For example, on rainy days objects are more reflective when wet, and bright colors are more vibrant on an overcast day. Time of day is also important to remember when looking for a certain mood. Objects appear to have a slight change in color at different times of day. Practicing with different types of light or shooting at different times of day is the only way to understand this. The main thing to remember is that light affects the mood of the photograph.
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Flash
Using a flash is sometimes difficult. If a subject is too close the flash will overexpose the subject leaving the background underexposed. If the subject is not close enough, the flash could not even reach the subject rendering the entire image underexposed.
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White Balance
The color of the subject being photographed could be altered depending on the light source. To adjust for the correct colors, go to the white balance option in the menu of your digital camera. Each digital camera is different, but all should at least have these same 4 options: Auto, Daylight, Fluorescent and Tungsten. Some digital cameras might have more options such as cloudy, or overcast and rainy days, and more options for different types of fluorescent lights.
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Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is the amount of time the aperture is open. The longer the aperture is open the more light comes in. The shutter speed affects the image. A fast shutter speed will freeze an action; a slower shutter speed will show the movement of an action. Unfortunately, if you hand-hold the camera while using a slow shutter speed, the entire image will be blurry. But if you use a tripod, the still objects will be sharp while the moving object will have an interesting effect.
Remember: The shutter speed has to correspond with the aperture so the image is not over- or underexposed. The perfect combination of both aperture and shutter speed will expose all objects evenly- where nothing is too dark or too bright.
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Aperture
The size of the aperture affects the focus of the image. The size also has a relationship with the depth of field. Depth of field is a term to describe the level of "sharpness" between the objects in the foreground and the objects in the background. A small aperture (or a large number) will allow all the objects, near or far, to be sharp. If the aperture is wide, only the objects closer to the camera will be sharp.
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Composition
Creating a composition in a photograph conveys different meanings and moods. Here are some tips for achieving an effective composition.
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