Photography Club Lessons

Lesson 1 - Camera settings

Automatic Modes

Automatic Mode

I suspect no one will need any introduction to this mode (as it seems most digital camera owners use it). Auto mode tells your camera to use it’s best judgement to select shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, focus and flash to take the best shot that it can. With some cameras auto mode lets you override flash or change it to red eye reduction. This mode will give you nice results in many shooting conditions, however you need to keep in mind that you’re not telling your camera any extra information about the type of shot you’re taking so it will be ‘guessing’ as to what you want. As a result some of the following modes might be more appropriate to select as they give your camera a few more hints (without you needing to do anything more).

Portrait Mode

When you switch to portrait mode your camera will automatically select a large aperture (small number) which helps to keep your background out of focus (ie it sets a narrow depth of field – ensuring your subject is the only thing in focus and is therefore the centre of attention in the shot). Portrait mode works best when you’re photographing a single subject so get in close enough to your subject (either by zooming in or walking closer) so that your photographing the head and shoulders of them). Also if you’re shooting into the sun you might want to trigger your flash to add a little light onto their face.

Macro Mode

Macro mode lets you move your closer into your subject to take a close up picture. It’s great for shooting flowers, insects or other small objects. Different digital cameras will have macro modes with different capabilities including different focussing distances (usually between 2-10cm for point and shoot cameras). When you use macro mode you’ll notice that focussing is more difficult as at short distances the depth of field is very narrow (just millimeters at times). Keep your camera and the object you’re photographing parallel if possible or you’ll find a lot of it will be out of focus. You’ll probably also find that you won’t want to use your camera’s built in flash when photographing close up objects or they’ll be burnt out. Lastly – a tripod is invaluable in macro shots as the depth of field is so small that even moving towards or away from your subject slightly can make your subject out of focus. (I’ll write a full tutorial on Macro Photography in the coming weeks).

Landscape Mode

This mode is almost the exact opposite of portrait mode in that it sets the camera up with a small aperture (large number) to make sure as much of the scene you’re photographing will be in focus as possible (ie it give you a large depth of field). It’s therefore ideal for capturing shots of wide scenes, particularly those with points of interest at different distances from the camera. At times your camera might also select a slower shutter speed in this mode (to compensate for the small aperture) so you might want to consider a tripod or other method of ensuring your camera is still.

Sports Mode

Photographing moving objects is what sports mode (also called ‘action mode’ in some cameras) is designed for. It is ideal for photographing any moving objects including people playing sports, pets, cars, wildlife etc. Sports mode attempts to freeze the action by increasing the shutter speed. When photographing fast moving subjects you can also increase your chances of capturing them with panning of your camera along with the subject and/or by attempting to pre focus your camera on a spot where the subject will be when you want to photograph it (this takes practice).

Night Mode

This is a really fun mode to play around with and can create some wonderfully colorful and interesting shots. Night mode (a technique also called ‘slow shutter sync’) is for shooting in low light situations and sets your camera to use a longer shutter speed to help capture details of the background but it also fires off a flash to illuminate the foreground (and subject). If you use this mode for a ‘serious’ or well balanced shot you should use a tripod or your background will be blurred – however it’s also fun to take shots with this handheld to purposely blur your backgrounds – especially when there is a situation with lights behind your subject as it can give a fun and experimental look (great for parties and dance floors with colored lights).

Movie Mode

This mode extends your digital camera from just capturing still images to capturing moving ones. Most new digital cameras these days come with a movie mode that records both video but also sound. The quality is generally not up to video camera standards but it’s a handy mode to have when you come across that perfect subject that just can’t be captured with a still image. Keep in mind that moving images take up significantly more space on your memory storage than still images.
Other less common modes that I’ve seen on digital cameras include:

• Panoramic/Stitch Mode – for taking shots of a panoramic scene to be joined together later as one image.
• Snow Mode – to help with tricky bright lighting at the snow
• Fireworks Mode - for shooting firework displays
• Kids and Pets Mode – fast moving objects can be tricky – this mode seems to speed up shutter speed and help reduce shutter lag with some pre focussing
• Underwater Mode – underwater photography has it’s own unique set of exposure requirements
• Beach Mode – another bright scene mode
• Indoor Mode – helps with setting shutter speed and white balance
• Foliage Mode - boosts saturation to give nice bold colors

Lesson 2 - Taking sharp pictures

Getting your digital images perfectly sharp is something that most photographers want – however clean, crisp, sharp images can be difficult to achieve.
But before we discuss how to get sharp photos we need to look at why our photos are blurry:

• Poor Focus – the most obvious way to get images that are ‘un-sharp’ is through having them out of focus. This might be a result of focussing upon the wrong part of the image, being too close to your subject for the camera to focus, selecting an aperture that generates a very narrow depth of field or taking an image too quickly without checking it is in focus.
• Subject Movement - another type of ‘blur’ in shots is the result of your subject moving – this is generally related to shutter speed being too slow.
• Camera Shake – similarly you can get blur if you as the photographer generate movement while taking the image – this often relates to either shutter speed and/or the stillness of your camera.
• Noise – ‘noisy’ shots are ones that are pixelated and look like they have lots of little dots over them (get up close to your TV and you’ll get the same impact).

So how do we fix this? Here are some tips...

1. Hold Your Camera Well

A lot of blur in the photos that I see is a direct result of camera shake (the movement of your camera for that split second when your shutter is open). While the best way to tackle camera shake is to use a Tripod (see below) there are many times when using one is impractical and you’ll need to shoot while holding your camera. Try these tricks.
a.) before you snap your photo breathe out slowly, hold your breath then snap your photo.
b.) rest your camera against something stable i.e) a fence, tree trunk, wall etc.
c.) place the camera on a hard surface such as a table.
d.) use the camera's timer and place it down.

2. Tripods

Regular use of a tripod is a way to reduce (and even eliminate) camera shake. While not always practical, the result you’ll get when you do go to the effort of hauling one around can be well worth it. You can get small tripods really cheap. Gorilla pods allow you to mount your camera on just about any surface. All professionals use tripods, and if there is low light then using one is necessary. In a pinch a beanbag is a good alternative.

3. Camera Settings

Using an incorrect setting will give you blurry photos... learn your camera settings!!!

4. Focus

Perhaps the most obvious technique to work on when aiming for sharp lenses is focussing. Most of us use ‘Auto Focussing’ with our cameras but don’t assume that the camera will always get it right. Always visually check what part of the image is in focus before hitting the shutter and if it’s not right try again. Use the rule of half press to focus, then fully press to take the photo.

5. Practice, Practice, Practice

The Golden Hour

In photography, the golden hour (sometimes known as magic hour, especially in cinematography) is a period shortly after sunrise or before sunset during which daylight is redder and softer than when the Sun is higher in the sky.




Rule of thirds

Notice how his eye, the focal point, rests upon the intersecting lines of the grid

Right: Rule of thirds working in another picture.

Pictures with centrally placed subjects do not have visual tension or dynamism and are described as static. To avoid static pictures, place the main subject away from the center. To help you decide where to place the subject, away from the important parts of the subject, apply the rule of thirds:

Divide the frame into three horizontal sections and three vertical sections using two horizontal and two vertical lines. According to the rule of thirds, the points of maximum impact are the four lines and the four points where the four lines meet.

Place important subjects along any of the four lines, such as the horizon line. Or position them at any of the four points where the four lines meet, such as a house on a hilltop. For a portrait the eyes are the most important part of our body, photographically speaking.

Leading Lines and Frames

The bridge is leading the viewer's eye to the other side across the water. This can also be classified as diagonal composition.

Right: Long desk keeps pushing our attention towards the reading man.

Let the eye flow toward the subject using frames and leading lines. Examples of leading lines are roads, rivers, and fences. They lead the eye right to your subject. Contrary to what may instantly pop into your head, compositional lines need not be straight. They can be curved (called S-curves or C-curves) and preferably cut across the picture at an angle, usually originating from a corner of the picture.
Expectedly, a photographer that uses a leading line and places the subject two-thirds of the way combines two of the most effective compositional techniques in photography. Frames can surround the subject, like doorways, or just border the top or one side, like branches or a statue. Besides drawing the eye to the subject, frames also create depth by providing a foreground.
If you look hard enough, you'll find frames appropriate to your subject almost everywhere: wheels, windows, street signs, gateways, picket fences, statues. Remember that if you include a frame in the picture, you must set your lens for the required depth of field to get the foreground frame and background subject in focus.





Creating a frame within the frame of your photo is an effective and easy way to add interest to your compositions. The inner frame focuses on the important aspects of your composition, while the outer frame usually adds a decorative element. A frame within a frame can present visual symmetry, or echoes of symmetry—partial symmetry that the viewer’s mind completes.
Depending upon the kind of inner frame you use, multiple frames can invite the viewer to join in peeking with the photographer.There are many possible kinds of inner frames. These compositional devices range from a bright light or deep shadow as a framing mechanism to literal frames, such as windows, doors and gates.There is no shortage of framing devices out there. You can find frames everywhere.

Contrast and Similarity

Left: One chair is different than hundreds of others around it.

Right: The feet size contrast between father and baby.

Show the size of unfamiliar subjects by including things of a known size in the frame. How big is that tower or space observatory? A person or car in the picture will show relative size. How small is the baby? Ask the baby's mother, or even a brother or sister, to pose beside the baby.

Even with subjects of known size, using contrast to emphasize subject characteristics is an effective photographic tool. For example:

• a baby's hand wrapped around its daddy's finger (size contrast)
• young face beside a grandparent's face (texture contrast),
• one light dress among dark dresses (tonal contrast),
• a sad expression among happy faces (content contrast),
• a person going or looking one way while everybody else is going or looking the opposite way (action contrast).

Geometric Composition: Diagonals, Circle and Rhythm


Other powerful composition techniques worth a mention are compositions based on geometrical objects such as circle, diagonal lines or repetition. By placing objects in your composition along strong diagonal lines that create a triangle, you'll add strength to your image.

There is so much repetition around us, you'll be amazed! See the rhythm?	Sometimes circle composition is ideal for the subject. This flower is in the center of the image forming a circle.

Can you spot any diagonals in this composition? Diagonal compositions are very common and we tend to create them without thinking. They are naturally pleasant to look at. Sometimes even a simple trick - tilting your camera to make the horizon diagonal - makes your photo very dynamic and interesting.

Shape and Texture

Photography Composition: Shape

The way subjects connect to each other in a photo forms shapes that draw the eye from subject to subject. If the photo composition lacks shape, then the photo becomes too busy and awkward to appreciate.



Shapes can also become the subject of your photo. This is very common in black and white photography as well as architectural photography. What shapes do you see in the following pictures? Are they geometric shapes such as circles or triangles or are they more organic? How is colour used in the photograph?

Black and White Photographs can be the most beautiful and artistic photos of all. Learning to shoot for B&W can be a challenge. Try using the following tips.

1. Shoot in Color

Always shoot in color and do your conversion to black and white later on your computer.
While most digital cameras offer you the option to shoot in Black and White (and can produce some reasonable results) you have more control over your end results if you have the color data to work with. Take your photo into an editor to convert it. Many will allow you to play with how dark or light certain colours can be.

2. When to Shoot

Many digital photographers actually prefer to shoot images for Black and White in low contrast situations. So an dark or overcast day can be a great time to shoot out door shots.
Ironically these are the days that those who shoot only in color sit at home complaining about the ‘poor light’. So next time you find yourself with a dark and gloomy day – shoot some black and white shots.

3. Composition

Most of the general tips on how to compose or frame a good shot apply just as well to black and white photography as they do when shooting in color – however the main obvious difference is that you’re unable to use color to lead the eye into or around your shot. This means you need to train yourself to look at shapes, tones and textures in your frame as points of interest. Pay particularly attention to shadows and highlights which will become a feature of your shot.

4. Look for high contrast of light and dark

5. Try to photograph a story

What is Popular in photography this year?

For most amateurs or people who just love taking photos, who don't care about image quality there is a clear winner. Instagram.
Instagram is a free app you can get frojm iTunes to use on both your iPhone and iPod 4. It comes with a handfull of preselected filters which give images a different look.




You can add a frame or a texture to give your photo some depth. It is a fun app that can allow you to have a camera on hand anytime, anywhere.

Lomography

Lomography is a trend followed by many amateur photographers. It requires either a true lomo-type toy camera or a photo editor which has a lomo-filter. Pictures in this style tend to be square-shaped with a vignette (darknes around the sides), blurry, and have bright saturated and slightly off colourings. True lomography is rather costly as it can only be done using a film camera, and traditionally with a film that is only processed in larger cities or by high-priced professional developers.







X-Pro or Cross Processing

If you are a film fanatic then you need to see this technique. Cross processing or xPro is when you or a photolab develop a film purposely using the wrong chemicals. The results can be quite interesting!!!






Again, these effects CAN be achieved in a photo editor by adjusting the reds, greens , and blues seperately (RGB).

Vintage/ Polaroid/ Retro Looks

Vintage photos typically look like they were taken long ago. The results are achieved by making the photos less saturated, more yellow or sepia and by adding texture.




Retro photos have the look of a photo taken in the 1970s or 1980s.









Polaroid look is meant to mimic the old instant pictures. This can be achieved by using the actual film or by using an editor.