Digital Photography
How a Digital Camera
produces an image
Painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by French artist
Georges Seurat – a master of a technique known as pointillism, in which scenes are
composed of millions of tiny dots of paint, created by dabbing the canvas with the tip
of a paintbrush. Stand across the room from a pointillist painting, the dots blend
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together – only when you get close can you distinguish the individual dots.
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Sensors
• Digital cameras use either CCD or CMOS sensors.
• Sensors are different in size and light sensitivity.
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CCD & CMOS Sensors
• CCD – charge-coupled device.
• CMOS – complementary metal oxide semiconductor.
• Originally most cameras used CCD because CMOS
sensors were considered inferior. Recent advances
have made them competitive with CCD.
• CMOS consumes less energy.
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… In More Detail
Pixels
• Digital images work like pointillist paintings.
• Rather than being made up of dots of paint, digital
images are composed of tiny squares of colour
known as pixels.
• Pixel is short for Picture Element
• The quality of a digital image depends on the
number and density of pixels within it.
• But not all camera pixels are equal.
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Resolution
• A sensor with 1280
pixels by 1084 pixels
would have a total of
1280 x 1084 or
1,310,720 pixels
(1.3 Megapixels)
1280
1084
• What are the common
resolutions available in
cameras today?
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ISO stands for International Standards Organization, and it is a
standardized industry scale for measuring sensitivity to light.
Generally use the minimum possible ISO setting.
Increase the ISO setting if the shutter speed is too slow to hand hold.
A faster shutter speed captures action, or use a smaller aperture for greater
depth of field.
Two Camera Types:
Point and Shoot (p/s, fixed-lens) and Digital-Single-Lens-Reflex (DSLR).
DSLR cameras are larger, usually for professional photographers.
DSLR cameras have a larger CCD, the quality of the photo is better.
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Viewfinders
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White Balance
The colour of light reflected off any object is
determined by the colour of the light source. Human
eyes automatically adapt to the changing colours of
the light source and as a result, the objects appear
white regardless of whether they are in the shade, in
bright sunlight, or under a florescent lamp.
Digital cameras attempt to determine the colour of
the light source and process the information from the
camera’s sensor so as to correct the colour
information. White balance is the camera adjustment
that compensates for different coloured light sources.
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Automatic White Balance
Digital cameras have automatic white balance (AWB)
which attempts to adjust the colour balance settings
automatically for the colour temperature of the scene
being photographed.
In most cases, using
the AWB is your best
choice. However, in
some situations, AWB
doesn’t correctly read
the colour in the scene.
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Exposure Value (EV) or (AV)
Automatic settings which control how much light is let into the
camera (via aperture) and how long the light is on the sensor
(shutter speed). EV has simple steps to automatically
increase or decrease both shutter speed and aperture value
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Use the Correct File Size
When printing an image on a large scale
you will need a larger file size.
Set your camera to take images at the
largest file size possible.
Check the camera manual for correct
settings.
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Digital Photography
Composition
Resolution Again!
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Portrait and landscape
Vertical
Horizontal
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All are General guidelines to follow
rather than compulsory rules
• Question – What is the purpose of the
photo?
• Question – How will I guide the viewer’s eye?
• Question – How will I give the image depth?
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Purpose of Photo
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Purpose of Photo
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Frame the Subject
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Amount of Background Depth of Field
Zoomed in to fill frame
Moved closer to fill frame
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Fill the Frame
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Fill Frame, Check Background
Person larger and beach visible
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Rule of Thirds
Divide the image into thirds both hoizontally and vertically. This will result in 3
rows and 3 columns. Place the subject at one of the four points where the
dividing lines intersect. This means that you have to overcome the natural
tendency to place the object of interest in the centre of the frame.
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Rule of Thirds - Applied
For more information:
http://www.ictpd.net/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=489
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Works in Portrait as well
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Thirds and Filling the Frame
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Rule of Thirds - Partial
Horizon can’t be lower
Pay close attention to horizons - generally the horizon would be no
more than the top third or quarter of the frame unless the sky is the
main subject. Aim to position the horizon on one of the horizontal lines.
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Rule of Thirds - Applied
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Rule of Thirds - Broken
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Horizons and the Rule of Thirds
Three other Rules involved here
Leading space for motion
Symmetry
Silhouette
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Avoid Clutter or Distractions
Images from
http://www.ictpd.net/moodle/course/view.php?id=13
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Avoid Clutter or Distractions
Images from http://www.ictpd.net
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Repetitive Images
Can Make Good Compositions
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Repetition
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Creating Depth
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Depth, Interest and Scale
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Watch for Background Merging
Images from http://www.ictpd.net
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Look into Photo (at camera)
Images from http://www.ictpd.net
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Depth and Balance
Images from http://www.ictpd.net
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S Bends and Crescents
Photograph by
one of
Australia’s most
famous
photographers –
Max Dupain
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Max DuPain
Sunbaker
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Max Dupain
Bondi
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Use Curves
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Use Curves
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And Lines into Corners
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Angles to Draw Attention
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Perspective
Images from http://www.ictpd.net
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Camera
Orientation
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Use Lines
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Use Lines
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Leading
the Eye
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Thirds and using Diagonals
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Fill Flash
When there is bright light behind a subject
use the flash to keep the subject from
being to dark.
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Framing
Careful framing of your subject can
make a dramatic difference in your
photos. Remember—every photo
has a foreground and background,
so use them together to add an
interesting element to the shot.
Use foreground elements to frame
your photo's subject. Architectural
elements work well (windows,
doorways, arches, and so on), but
you can find any number of
interesting elements to use for
framing your photos. The important
point here is the subject. It doesn't
do much good to frame your
subject with interesting elements if
they overshadow the subject,
making it difficult to determine what
the subject is supposed to be.
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Visual cropping
Crop your photos visually
before you take them. Look
into the corners of the
viewfinder. Do you see things
that shouldn't be there? You
can remove, or crop, these
elements from your photos
simply by moving closer to
your subject, zooming in on
your subject, or moving your
subject within the viewfinder.
Try different angles. Look for
anything that will diminish the
impact of unwanted objects
in your photos.
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Angle of the view
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Balance
Achieving good balance in your photographs requires the correct
combination of colours, shapes, and areas of light and dark that
complement one another.
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Perspective
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Without the bow of the boat
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Draw the
viewer's
eyes
through the
photo
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Rules are made to be broken
"The so-called rules of photographic composition
are, in my opinion, invalid, irrelevant and
immaterial"
Ansel Adams
Camera Modes
and Shot types
Auto Mode (green box)
Camera sets aperture, shutter speed, white balance,
flash and ISO.
Useful for quick photography when no time to set the
camera manually.
Program Mode (P) semi-automatic mode.
You set ISO, white balance, and flash.
Eg You could prevent the flash from firing
automatically and instead raise the ISO to
compensate for low light conditions, such as when
you don't want the flash to wash out the subjects'
features for an indoor photo.
Aperture Priority Mode (A or AV)
You control aperture (f-stop) and thus depth of field.
This mode is used for an image that won't be affected by
shutter speed.
Shutter Priority Mode (S or TV)
You control shutter speed.
Especially useful with sport and wildlife photography.
Manual Mode (M)
Allows complete control.
Requires a understanding of the relationships between
different functions - in particular the relationship
between shutter speed and aperture.
There is a convention in the video, film and television
industries which assigns names and guidelines to
common types of shots, framing and picture
composition.
The exact terminology varies between production
environments but the basic principles are the same.
Shots are described in relation to a subject.
Ref: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/
EWS (Extreme Wide Shot)
The view is so far from the subject.
Often used as an "establishing shot"
Can show the scale of the action.
Also known as an extra long shot
or extreme long shot (acronym XLS)
VWS (Very Wide Shot)
The subject is just visible
Emphasis on subject’s environment.
WS (Wide Shot, Long
Shot, Full Shot)
The subject takes up the full
frame or as much as
comfortably possible.
MS (Mid Shot)
Shows part of the subject in
more detail while still giving
an impression of the whole
subject.
MCU (Medium Close Up)
Half way between a MS and a
CU.
CU (Close Up)
A single feature or part of the
subject takes up the whole
frame.
BCU Big Close-up (Choker Shot)
A variation of CU
It is typically framed on the subject's face
from above the eyebrows to below the
mouth, about half way between a closeup and an extreme close-up camera shot.
You see this shot used in interviews a lot
as it can be used to emphasize an
interviewee's anxiety or tension and can
suggest lying or guilt.
ECU (Extreme Close Up)
The ECU gets right in and shows
extreme detail.
Just the eyes is also called the
Italian Shot
Cut-In
Shows some (other) part of the
subject in detail.
ECU (The Italian Shot)
Just the eyes
Named after the movie genre of Italian-Westerns
by director Sergio Leone
CA (Cutaway)
A shot of something other than
the subject.
Two-Shot
A shot of two people, framed
similarly to a mid shot.
(OSS) Over-theShoulder Shot
Looking from behind a person
at the subject.
Noddy Shot
Usually refers to a shot of the
interviewer listening and
reacting to the subject.
Point-of-View Shot
(POV)
Shows a view from the
subject's perspective.
Weather Shot
The subject is the weather.
Can be used for other
purposes, e.g. background
for graphics.
Weather Shots
Equipment List
Cameras, storage media, batteries,
chargers, sound recording equipment,
lenses, lens cleaning equipment,
tripods, equipment bags, lights, flash
guns, bulbs, connecting wires for
chargers, monitors, lens cleaners, rain
covers, reflectors.