BASIC DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP By: Richard Pagulayan
WHAT IS PHOTOGRAPHY? • From the Greek word photo (light), and graphia (drawing) • It is a science of capturing light into a film or sensor • It is an art of recording an image in history which we find captivating, amusing, or thought provoking
WHY DO WE USE IT? • Preserve memories (birthdays, weddings) • Tell a story (photojournalism, editorial) • Entertainment (paparazzi shots, photo sharing) • Business (advertising, marketing) • Documentation (research, surveillance, forensics) • For the sake of Art
EQUIPMENT ESSENTIALS OF A BUDDING GEARHEAD
TYPES OF DIGITAL CAMERAS • Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) • Point & Shoot
DIGITAL SINGLE-LENS REFLEX (DSLR)
POINT & SHOOT
CAMERA ACCESSORIES • Monopod / Tripod • Shutter Remote Release • Camera Bags • External Flash and Batteries • Cleaning Kits • Storage Media
TYPE OF LENSES • Telephoto • Standard / Normal • Wide-Angle • Zoom • Prime • Macro • Perspective Control / Tilt-Shift
LENS - THINGS TO LOOK FOR • Manual or Automatic • Lens Speed • Focusing Distance • Lens Construction • Vibration Reduction • Lens Motor • Filter Thread
LENS ACCESSORIES • Lens Hood • Filters (UV, CPL or Circular Polariser, Neutral Density, Infrared, etc) • Teleconverters • Extension Tubes
Coto Mines, Zambales (2008)
Safa Park (by Tet Bautista)
EXPOSURE & CAMERA FEATURES BASICS OF GETTING THE RIGHT SHOT
ISO
THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE SHUTTER SPEED
APERTURE
ISO • measures the sensitivity of the image sensor • the lower the iso, the finer the grain (or less pixel noise) on the shots.
Soap Balls - iso 100 (2009)
Al Khuwair 33- iso 800 (2008)
SHUTTER SPEED • discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a shutter is open • it is measured in seconds • by adjusting the shutter speed you can control the movement of the subject
Hatta Dam (2007)
Ibrahim (2007)
Al Khuwair 33- Bulb Exposure
Grand Mosque – F13 Speed 1min
APERTURE • referred to the lens diaphragm opening inside a photographic lens • aperture size is usually calibrated in f-numbers or f-stops f/ stop represents a specific quantity of light that pass through the lens
• it also affect the degree of depth of field
madinat jumeirah (2006)
HISTOGRAM • a very useful tool that many cameras offer their users to help them get a quick summary of the tonal range present in any given image
More Pixels
Fewer Pixels
Black - Dark - Medium - Light - White
HG
L Too Dark
H ID Just Right
Too Bright
WHITE BALANCE • the reason we adjust white balance is to get the colors in your images as accurate as possible • color temperature is a way of measuring the quality of a light source.
Incorrect White Balance
Correct White Balance
Auto - this is where the camera makes a best guess on a shot by shot basis. Custom - allows you to take a picture of a known gray reference under the same lighting, and then set that as the white balance for future photos. Kelvin - you can set the color temperature over a broad range.
Tungsten - for shooting indoors, especially under tungsten (incandescent) lighting. It generally cools down the colors in photos. Fluorescent - compensates for the ‘cool’ light of fluorescent light and will warm up your shots. Daylight - sets things as fairly ‘normal’ white balance settings Flash - - the flash of a camera can be quite a cool light so in Flash WB mode you’ll find it warms up your shots a touch. Cloudy - this setting generally warms things up a touch more than Daylight mode. Shade - - the light in shade is generally cooler (bluer) than shooting in direct sunlight so this mode will warm things up a little.
Color Temperature Light Source 1000-2000 K 2500-3500 K 3000-4000 K 4000-5000 K 5000-5500 K 5000-6500 K 6500-8000 K 9000-10000 K
Candlelight Tungsten Bulb (household variety) Sunrise/Sunset (clear sky) Fluorescent Lamps Electronic Flash Daylight with Clear Sky (sun overhead) Moderately Overcast Sky Shade or Heavily Overcast Sky
RAW vs JPEG
RAW is… • The RAW file format is digital photography's equivalent of a negative in film photography
• at least 8-bits per color • uncompressed (an 8 megapixel camera will produce a 8 MB Raw file) • the complete (lossless) data from the camera’s sensor • lower in dynamic range (ability to display highlights and shadows) • lower in contrast (flatter, washed out looking) • not as sharp • not suitable for printing directly from the camera or without post processing • sometimes admissable in a court as evidence • waiting to be processed by your computer
JPEG is… • a standard format readable by any image program on the market • exactly 8-bits per color • fairly small in file size • lower in dynamic range • higher in contrast • sharper • immediately suitable for printing, sharing, or posting on the Web • can be manipulated, though not without losing data each time an edit is made •processed by your camera
COMPOSITION ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES
POINT OF INTEREST • each picture should have only one principal idea, topic, or center of interest to which the viewer's eyes are attracted
Fire at Sheikh Zayed Road (2007)
SIMPLICITY • tell only one story • simpler and more direct a picture is, the clearer and stronger is the resulting statement
Abba (2008)
Painting at 25k feet (2006)
Wooden orbs (2007)
LINES • an effective element that can lead the viewer’s eye • can be straight, curved, vertical, horizontal, diagonal or zigzag
Dubai Metro (2009)
Kandooma Island, Maldives (2009)
Road To Sagada (2006)
SHAPE • a two-dimensional outline of an object or its representation in an image • can be geometric (square, triangle) or organic (human, leaves)
Aerial view of a roundabout in Dubai (2006)
Ruth (2007)
Lost Chambers, Atlantis (2008)
FORM • a distinguishable three-dimensional image of the subject matter • Light and dark areas within an image provide contrast that can suggest volume.
Sample shots from Weekend Strobist Sessions (2009)
El Nido, Palawan (2008)
Jowel & Rooz (2008)
Shape Example
Form Example
TEXTURE • refers to the surface quality or "feel" of an object • helps to emphasize the features and details in a photograph
crocodile farm, palawan (2008)
Mutra Souq
“Faces of Sagada” (2006)
strawberry shake (2009)
RULE OF THIRDS • rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography & design • it states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.
“Children of Manila” (2008)
“Children of Manila” (2008)
Swarovski model, Dubai Bride Show (2007)
FRAMING • helps to emphasize the features and details in a photograph • capturing "texture" of objects being taken, you can create form
Korean Tourists, Corregidor Island (2007)
Edmund & Irene (2006)
Bananas, El Nido, Palawan (2008)
Yazid & Clarissa (2008)
Shimizu Beach, El Nido, Palawan (2008)
REPETITION & PATTERN • provides unity and structure • creates rhythm that the eyes enjoy following • by both emphasizing pattern and breaking it you can add some dramatic effects to your photographs
“scales” (2008)
Bur Dubai windows (2007)
PERSPECTIVE point of view (pov) - how the subject is intended to be perceived depth and distance - refers to the relationship of imaged objects in a photograph. This includes their relative positions and sizes and the space between them
abba (2008)
mac james (2007)
“gateway” (2007)
Kandooma Resort, Maldives (2009)
Deira Fish Market (2008)
BALANCE • implies that the visual elements within the frame have a sense of weight • composition is kept in balance by two different methods: symmetrical, or formal, balance and asymmetrical, or informal, balance.
“Children of Manila” (2008)
Cadlao Island (2008)
Ryan (2007)
“Road to Sagada” (2006)
CONTRAST • photographing contrasting or contradictory subjects is a favorite tool for catching the viewer's attention • an unusual spin on an old cliché creates variety that interests the viewer.
Nazwa Desert (2006)
Ibrahim (2007)
“jane” (2008)
“beauty in white” (2006)
“beauty in my dreams” (2006)
SPACE • rule of thumb is to give your subject or point of interest space or room to move • active and dead space
Dubai Air Show (2007)
COLOR • determine the emotional content of a photograph • one of the most accepted ways to describe color is in terms of its hue, saturation and lightness
Kayaks (2008)
American War Memorial (2006)
Joel & Joanne (2009)
MOTION • there are times when intentionally switching to a slow shutter speed and exaggerating movement is a better interpretation of the context of a photo. • freezing the motion of a subject gives the photo a sense of latent energy.
Dubai Night Run (2007)
Wawa, Montalban (2007)
DEPTH OF FIELD • is the range of distance within the subject that is acceptably sharp • varies depending on camera type, aperture and focusing distance
Mika (2009)
Double A (2008)
SCALE • by simply adding a familiar element to the photograph, such as a human, car, or animal, we create an instant indicator of the size of the landscape or subject. • this is a great way to inform the viewer of the scale of the photo.
Burj Al Arab (2008)
Green Mubazzarah (2007)
Margham Desert (2008)
END OF LECTURE THANK YOU
PHOTOWALK ASSIGNMENT • Each member should choose three elements / principles of composition before the walk • Each group shall have all the elements and principles of composition: Repetition/Pattern Color Simplicity Perspective Rule of thirds Balance Framing Contrast
Space Motion Depth of Field Scale
Librodo Sharpening Technique Filter > Unsharp Mask : effect 18, radius 40, threshold 0 USM : effect 150 radius 0.3, threshold 0 edit/fade USM, 100%, darken blend mode, USM : effect 150 radius 0.3, threshold 0 edit/fade USM, 50%, brighten blend mode.