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Photography 101 Datasheet
#1

Photography 101 Datasheet

Searching through the forum there are many threads on certain aspects of photography such as its use in: gaming, making money, and enhancing your online profile. In each of these threads there exist various questions regarding both equipment and the technical aspects of composure that could be answered with an independent data sheet.

What this data sheet is: A primer on basic photography equipment and the elements of composure.

What this data sheet is not: A replacement for the aforementioned data sheets and threads, nor it is a definitive work on photography.

Why is learning the basics of photography important and worthwhile? The simple answer is that it is another skill to add to a well rounded man's repertoire. The more detailed answer is that even the most basic knowledge allows one to accurately capture the tone, set the narrative, and tell the story of a singular moment in time. While it is not feasible to have a professional around to perfectly capture all of your moments, if you are going to do something you might as well do it right. Well shot photographs, and photographic skills inherently DHV. You could also look at it as learning a skill to save money on future endeavors such as marketing, sales, and public relations by doing work yourself instead of hiring out help.

A. Equipment

1. Camera Types
DSLR - Digital Single Lens Reflex. The image passes through the lens and reflected off a mirror either into the viewfinder or onto the sensor/film.
Mirrorless - New designs that take advantage of more powerful sensors and electronics. Image passes through a lens directly to the sensor.
Point & Shoot (P&S) - Most popular type, most functions are automatically set. Easiest to operate. Turn on, point, focus, and shoot.
Cell phone camera - Always close at hand, little to no control over composition, but can alter photographs with PP. Rapidly improving.

2. Lenses
Zoom - A lens with a variable zoom.
Prime - A lens with a fixed zoom.
Macro - A lens for close up detailed photography of static subjects.
USM - Ultra Sonic Motor. Small ring motors that drives a lens' AF.
IS - Image Stabilization. It can be in either the lens or camera body.
* Buying one brand of lens/camera will marry you to their lens mount system*

3. Accessories
Tripod - Used to hold camera steady in normal or abnormal angles and elevated positions.
Remote - Used to both activate the camera from a distance and to minimize vibration on long exposures.
Flash - Used to focus and provide fill light. External flashes are much more powerful and programmable than on camera flashes.
Battery grip - Allow users to increase battery life as well as have alternate grip options for portrait aspect shots.
Filters - Covers the objective of the lens to impart an effect or correct the lighting on the picture.


B. Elements of Composure

1. Definitions
Shutter Speed - How long the film/sensor is exposed. 1/200 is one two-hundredth of a second, 10 is 10 seconds, BULB is manual open/close. A faster shutter speed will let in less light and show less movement. A slower shutter speed will let in more light and show movement as blur.
Aperture - Measured in "stops" or "f stops" it measures the size of the opening in the lens which light passes through. The more open an aperture is (lower number) the more light is let in and the smaller the area in focus is. The wider an aperture is, the reverse is true.
Frame size - Most non pro grade DSLRs will be "cropped" around 1.3-1.6 which means that a lens will have a longer zoom.
Focal length - The zoom setting when the shot is taken. For reference the human eye has a central angle of view roughy equivalent to a 50mm focal length.
ISO - Known as "film speed" or "speed" it is a measure of sensitivity to light. Higher numbers equal more sensitivity to light.
White balance - Changes the warmth of the picture under various types of light i.e. fluorescent, incandescent, sunlight, etc.
Auto focus (AF) - Most cameras will focus on a single point, point field, or selected points from said field.
Exposure Value (EV) - Listed as +1, +2, +3 or -1, -2, -3. It is how over or under exposed your shot is compared to the ideal image.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) - The process of taking a series of photographs "exposure bracketed" which means to under/over/properly expose the shot then combine them to give a more representative image of what the human eye can see.
Post Processing (PP) - Using software or apps to manipulate the color data of a photograph aka "photoshopping"
EXIF Data - A file contained in the photograph that lists date/time, focal length, aperture, shutter speed, and GPS coordinates.

C. Practical Application

1. Methodology - For this I will be using the equipment listed below, as well as altering the composition within the camera to demonstrate how a change in one or more elements and also the ability to change those elements can completely change a picture, for better or worse. In the interest of simplicity and of this being a basic data sheet I will keep the adjustments to shutter speed and aperture only. I put in a couple of real world images to further illustrate these principles. All images are my own.

2. Equipment used
Canon 30D
Sigma 50mm f1.4
Manfrotto Tripod with ball head

3. Exposure
- We can see that the longer the exposure, the more light is let in. This can be a problem if you are shooting handheld due to camera shake.

.5 second exposure
[attachment=32616]

1 second exposure
[attachment=32617]

2 second exposure
[attachment=32618]

This is a 1/3 second exposure of a waterfall at about 7:00 am, PP to brighten up foreground
[attachment=32622]


4. Aperture
- We can see that with a wider aperture the area in focus is smaller, as you shrink the aperture the focus area becomes larger but can lose the emphasis on the subject. At f1.4 the depth of field is razor thin, almost too thin, stopping it down a few stops will sharpen up the frame a bit too as you can see.

f2.0
[attachment=32619]

f4.0
[attachment=32620]

f8.0
[attachment=32621]

This is an f1.4 exposure and you can see how small the focus area is
[attachment=32623]

D. Resources
- I have no affiliation to the linked sites or products, however they have helped my own progression a great deal and I think they merit mention.

Understanding Exposure 4th Edition
Digital Photography Review
B&H Photo
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#2

Photography 101 Datasheet

camera types: SLR some people still shoot film but in this day and age its usually for people who are experienced and want a certain "feel" or "look." Film photography hasn't died but it sure as hell is expensive and time consuming. You do not get instant gratification like you do with digital photography. Most of the chicks i know that are into film are european college chicks or asian. i find that american chicks are into iphones/digital although i have ran into some that shoot medium format.

Surprisingly I also see people still shooting medium format. There are digital and film medium format but the digital medium format version will be EXPENSIVE. The sensor on the medium format is larger than the sensor on a standard/full-frame (24x36mm) film camera. Again, its not for everyone but its worth mentioning especially if you meet a chick that shoots medium format, I'm instantly turned on. It's worth knowing for the sake of conversation. Brands include Mamiya, Fuji, and Hasselblad.

As to Macro lenses
you will see the terms macro and micro used interchangeably. Nikon trademarked the use of the term "Micro" for their close up lenses. Every other lens manufacturer has to use the term "Macro." I met a chick who was talking and running her mouth about Nikon lenses and she said macro lens i had to technically correct her. She thought she was a know-it-all and I took this opportunity to let her know otherwise. Just an FYI really, nobody cares otherwise.

Flashes
off-camera flash is the way to go for achieving the best exposure when using flash to light your subject. In my opinion the best website to learn off camera flash is strobist 101 (see link below.) That is THE bible for off camera lighting as it covers things like triggers (pocket wizards, yongnuo), strobes, speed lights, etc.

For the most part off-camera lighting allows for softer lighting of the subject versus direct harsh light as a result of on-camera flash. There are times when on-camera flash will work, for example outside on a sunny day when the on-camera flash is used as fill flash and not the primary source of light. This will work.

I think this is a great thread


Strobist 101
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lig...1.html?m=1

If the link doesn't work just google Strobist 101
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#3

Photography 101 Datasheet

Tripod
tripod has a few applications as already discussed.

The tripod can be used for HDR photography or when you need to stitch images together in PP. it helps with the pan when intending to stitch images in post processing (PP). You ever seen those wide images or 360 degree images? They most likely used a tripod to help keep each photo aligned which helps in post processing (photoshop).

Since i mentioned panning, the tripod can be used for panning techniques also. Not required but it sure can help. Lastly, i think its important to mention the use of tripods when long exposures come into play. This can be as simple as taking a photo of a waterfall and you want to get a certain effect, night photography taking photos of the city skylight, or long exposures to capture the sky/stars so you get the perfect pointy stars. i've taken 30 second exposures and that couldn't happen without a tripod. Technically all you need is a steady surface but a tripod will save you from using curse words as you attempt to align your camera just right.
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