Intermediate Photography Course

Nowadays, anyone can simply pick up a camera to "point-and-shoot". The question is how to shoot good pictures that make others go "WOW".
Check it out...these are the interesting techniques that I have learned from attending the intermediate course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic Photography Course - Lesson 6

Design Elements

*Framing             
*Lines
*Pattern                  
*Perspective
*Reflection
*Shadow
*Shapes
*Silhouette
*Texture

Flash Photography

Basic Photography Course - Lesson 5

Night Outing - One Marina Boulevard

 

 

 

Basic Photography Course - Lesson 4

Day Outing - Botanic Gardens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic Photography Course - Lesson 3

Work flow
*Capture Settings
- Save picture in RAW file format.
*Image Transfer
- Transfer all images as soon as possible after each photo session to avoid missing files.
*Backup 1
 - Backup your files after the transfer.
*Inspecting & organizing
- Browse through all images before deleting them.
- Organize files into different catalogues.
*Image Editing
- Choose a software that caters to your editing needs.
*Output
- Save images in correct size file for different situation such as print, presentation, web.
*Backup 2
- Perform a second backup to update changes.

Introduction to Lightroom 4

Learn the functions and attributes in using Lightroom 4 to edit photographs that require some editing due to over or under exposure.

Basic Photography Course Lesson 2

Part 1 of 2

The 3 fundamentals of exposure

1. ISO - High /Low
2. Aperture - Big/Small
3. Shutter Speed - Fast/Slow

How the three variables affect one another?
ISO > Shutter Speed
Aperture > Depth of Field & Shutter Speed

ISO (Resulting in different shutter speed)
High ISO 1600 = Noise / Fast shutter speed ie.1/500s
Low ISO 200 = Good quality / Slow shutter speed ie. 1/4s

Aperture (Resulting in different shutter speed / background sharpness)
Big Aperture f3.5 = Fast shutter speed / Background blur
Small Aperture f22 = Slow shutter speed / Background sharp

Exposure Modes
Program (P) - You set ISO, Camera set Aperture & Shutter Speed
Aperture Priority (A)  - You set ISO & Aperture, Camera set Shutter Speed
Shutter Priority (S) - You set ISO & Shutter Speed, Camera set Aperture
Manual (M)  - You set ISO, Aperture & Shutter Speed                                        

Resolution and Compression
Subjected default : Large (12 mega pixel) and Fine (good quality, large file size ie. 3MB)

White Balance
*Auto - tries to give you white as white
*Tungsten - tries to neutralize the warm light cast from the tungsten bulb
*Fluorescent - tries to neutralize the green blue cast from the fluorescent tube
*Daylight - it enables you to capture the colour as what you see in front of you
*Cloudy and Shade - it makes the picture warmer

Composition Rule - The Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is a powerful compositional technique for making photos more interesting and dynamic. You can use the rule of thirds as a guide in the off-center placement of your subjects for making images that resonate with viewers.

Part 2 of 2

Good to know:
Aperture Priority - Control of Shutter Speed
*Set ISO 100, Aperture f22 or smaller  - Achieve the slowest possible shutter speed to give        blur moving water motion. (Use tripod or increase ISO)
*Set ISO 1600, Aperture f3.5 - Achieve the fastest possible shutter speed to freeze motion/action.
Aperture Priority - Control of Depth of Field
*Set ISO 1600, Aperture f22 or smaller - Big depth of field with shutter speed faster as compared to using ISO 100. Result is foreground and background clearer.
*Set ISO 100, Aperture f3.5 - Small depth of field, apply on a sunny day or with tripod, use low ISO for less noise. Result is foreground and background blur.

Note: Windy condition - *Sunny ISO 800 *Cloudy ISO1600 / Non-windy condition - *Sunny ISO 400 *Cloudy ISO 800

Metering Modes
Select Center-weighted. This measurement is based primarily on a center circle. Usually 60% of the center of the viewfinder.

Tips
For static subject  - any shutter speed
*Hand held - P mode, high ISO
*Tripod - P mode, low ISO
For moving subject - Fast (freeze) / Slow (blur)
*Freeze 1/500 or faster - A mode, high ISO 1600, big Aperture f3.5
*Panning 1/15 - S mode, low ISO 100 to 400
*Blur Waterfall 1" - A mode, low ISO 100, small Aperture f22
*Light trails 30" - A/M mode, low ISO 100, small Aperture f22
*Fireworks 4" - M mode, low ISO 200, small Aperture f11 (need tripod)

Basic Photography Course Lesson 1 - Sept 29th

Part 1: DSLR Camera, Focal Length & Angle of view, ISO, Focusing, File Types

DSLR camera
DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex.

Why DSLR camera?
It is the far most popular among the professionals and serious amateurs. It solves many problems associated with the compact camera such as the Parallax Error is corrected with a built-in mirror and prism. Now the viewfinder and the image capturing lens are one in the same when the TTL (Through-the-lens) light passes through the lens is bounced off a mirror and up into the viewfinder, which allowing you to view the object through the same lens that takes the picture. So when you press the shutter release, the mirror is flipped up so that the light can pass on to the image sensor.

Focal Length and Angle of view
Focal length is the distance between the lens and the image sensor when the subject is in focus.

The angle of view is the visible extent of the scene captured by the image sensor, stated as an angle. Wide angle of views capture greater areas, small angles smaller areas. Changing the focal length changes the angle of view. The shorter the focal length (e.g. 18 mm), the wider the angle of view and the greater the area captured. The longer the focal length (e.g. 55 mm), the smaller the angle and the larger the subject appears to be.

Two types of basic lenses
Prime lenses and Zoom lenses

Prime Lenses

Prime lenses have only one focal length.  For example: A standard/normal lens range at 50 mm. It captured images without distortion, which makes the picture looks natural. This lens is generally fast and can have maximum aperture as high as f1.4. This makes it great for low-light situation especially for taking action picture.
Disadvantage: The only way to adjust the image size is by moving closer or further away from the subject.

Zoom Lenses
Zoom lenses can be adjusted to cover a range of focal lengths. Lenses with a wide picture angle are referred to as wide-angle lenses, lenses with a small picture angle as telephoto lenses.

A zoom lens with a focal length of 18–55 mm offers the widest picture angle at 18 mm and the smallest picture angle at 55 mm. If the only lens available is an 18–55 mm zoom lens but you want wider angles—say, for landscape shots—you should buy a lens that offers focal lengths shorter than 18 mm, for example, a 10–24 mm lens. If, on the other hand, you want to photograph at greater distances, you should choose a lens that offers focal lengths longer than 55 mm, for example 55–200 mm. Disadvantages: Heavy, expensive and slower than other lenses.

Lens	Picture angle	Focal length	Area captured	Apparent size
Wide angle	Wide	Short	Large	Small
Telephoto	Small	Long	Small	Large

Wide Angle Lenses – As their name suggests, these lenses enable their users to take shots with a very wide perspective. They are useful for landscapes and for getting in nice and close to subjects still fitting a lot of them in. At the extreme end of the ‘wide angle’ range are ‘fisheye lenses’ which purposely distort your image in a curved way to get more into the shot.
Disadvantage: For close-up picture, easily get distorted images. This lens is meant for landscape.

Telephoto Lenses
Telephoto lenses are used for capturing distance objects like wildlife and spot events.
Disadvantage: When using telephoto lens, it must be held still using a tripod when the shutter is pressed or else the picture will be blurry.

ISO
It is a measurement that indicates a film's sensitive to light. The greater number of ISO the more sensitive it is to light and speed. Base on international standard, the ISO sequence is; 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 and etc. Each step between the numbers effectively doubles the sensitivity of the sensor.
Used low ISO number to produce sharp and better image quality, good shadow detail and greater colour saturation and contrast. For example ISO 50 for landscape and ISO 200 is a good all-round for most purposes. Disadvantages: Not suitable for low light situation and usually tripod is needed when shooting in indoors or flash is needed.
Used high ISO number for low light shooting or when flash is not allowed. Also, ideally used for shooting action photos and moving objects. Disadvantages: It produces grains and noise.

Focusing
Step 1: Without moving the camera, press the shutter release button halfway. Both Focus and Exposure will stay locked. Keep the shutter release button in this halfway position until you are ready to take the picture.
Step 2: Re-frame the picture so it includes the elements you want and excludes anything that is not important to the picture.
Step 3: Pressed the shutter release button completely to take the picture.

File types
There are three basic file format options available when working with a digital camera. Each has its strength and weakness, and each can impact the final image quality.
JPEG
- it's convenience.
- most software support jpeg images.
- small file size.

TIFF
- no compression is applied to the pixels.
- an excellent way to store archival images.
- large file size.

RAW
- it's nota file format.
- developed by individual manufacturer. Example: Cannon - CRW file format and Nikon - NEF file format.
- must convert these files in the computer before you can edit the image.

DSLR - Digital Basic Photography Course

Finally, I have made up my mind to take up a basic photography course to learn some photography jargon, how to set the camera settings, and also things like Design Elements which make a picture WOW! The course is commercing on Sept 26th. I am looking forward to learn some skills other than knowing "point-and-shoot" photography.