Shortcourses-Using Your Digital Camera 4th edition

A ShortCourse Book
Using Your Digital Camera 4^th edition

Using Your Digital Camera 4^th edition

To get the best from your digital camera, you need to understand how to use the many features it offers. Here, supported by interactive multimedia animations, is everything you need to know to master such topics as exposure, focus, sharpness, lenses, flash and much more-most of which isn't discussed in your camera manual. (Note that you don't need this guide if we have a book specific to your camera model.) This guide is available as a traditional 124 page large-format (8.5 by 11) spiral bound book printed in black and white, and as a full-color, fully searchable PDF eBook you can order on a CD or download instantly. The eBook also includes links to animations and other resources that bring to life the core concepts of digital photography.

Preface

A great photograph begins when you recognize a great scene or subject. But recognizing a great opportunity isn't enough to capture it; you also have to be prepared. A large part of being prepared involves understanding your camera well enough to capture what you see. Getting you prepared to see and capture great photographs is what this book is all about. It doesn't matter if you are taking pictures for business or pleasure, there's a lot here to help you get better results and more satisfaction from your photography.

To get better, and possibly even great photographs, you need to understand both concepts and procedures; the "whys" and "hows" of photography.

Concepts of photography are the underlying principles that apply regardless of the camera you are using. They include such things as how sharpness and exposure affect your images and the way they are perceived by viewers. Understanding concepts answers the "why" kinds of questions you might have about photography.
Procedures are those things specific to one kind of camera, and explain step-by-step how you set your camera's controls to capture an image just the way you want to. Understanding procedures gives you the answers to the "how" kinds of questions you might have. This book is organized around the concepts of digital photography because that's how photographers think. You think about scenes and subjects, highlights and shadows, softness and sharpness, color and tone. Discussions of the procedures you use with specific cameras are integrated throughout the concepts, appearing in those places where they apply. This integrated approach lets you first understand the concepts of photography and then see where to look in your camera manual for the specific steps you use in all kinds of photographic situations. There are even places for you to write in notes about how you do it with your own camera.

To get more effective, interesting, and creative photographs, you only need to understand how and when to use a few simple features on your camera such as focus, exposure controls, and flash. If you've previously avoided understanding these features and the profound impact they can have on your images, you'll be pleased to know that you can learn them on a weekend. You can then spend the rest of your life marveling at how their infinite variety of combinations makes it possible to convey your own personal view of the world. You'll be ready to keep everything in a scene sharp for maximum detail or to blur it all for an impressionistic portrayal. You'll be able to get dramatic close-ups, freeze fast action, create wonderful panoramas, and capture the beauty and wonder of rainbows, sunsets, fireworks, and nighttime scenes.

As you explore your camera, be sure to have fun. There are no "rules" or "best" way to make a picture. Great photographs come from using what you know to experiment and try new approaches. Digital cameras make this especially easy because there are no film costs or delays. Every experiment is free and you see the results immediately so you can learn step by step.

This book assumes you've mastered the mechanics of your camera. It's about getting great pictures, not about installing batteries and connecting your camera to your computer. That information is presented in the user guides that came with your camera.

Contents

Chapter 1
Camera Controls and Creativity ...6

Taking Photos in Automatic Mode ...8
Good Things to Know ...9
When Things Go Wrong ...10
Types of Digital Cameras ...11
Understanding Image Size and Quality ...13
Exposure Controls—The Shutter and Aperture ...17
Choosing Exposure Modes ...18
The Shutter Controls Light and Motion ...19
The Aperture Controls Light and Depth of Field ...21
Using Shutter Speed and Aperture Together ...23
Composing Images ...26

Chapter 2
Controlling Sharpness ...28

Eliminating Camera Movement ...29
Increasing Sensitivity ...31
Sharpness Isn’t Everything ...32
How to Photograph Motion Sharply ...33
Focus ...35
Depth of Field ...38
Circles of Confusion ...39
Controlling Depth of Field ...40
Using Maximum Depth of Field ...41
Using Shallow Depth of Field ...42
Conveying the Feeling of Motion ...43

Chapter 3
Controlling Exposure ...44

The Importance of Exposure ...45
How Your Meter Works ...46
When Automatic Exposure Works Well ...49
When to Override Automatic Exposure ...50
How Overriding Autoexposure Works ...54
How to Override Automatic Exposure ...55
Using Histograms ...58
Using the RAW Format ...62

Chapter 4
Capturing Light & Color ...64

Where Does Color Come From? ...65
White Balance ...66
Color Balance and Time of Day ...68
Sunsets and Sunrises ...69
Weather ...71
Color Choices ...74
Photographing at Night ...75
The Direction of Light ...78
The Quality of Light ...80
Using Light and Color Creatively ...82

Chapter 5
Understanding Lenses ...84

Introduction to Lenses ...85
Understanding Focal Lengths ...86
Zoom Lenses ...88
Normal Focal Lengths ...89
Short Focal Lengths ...90
Long Focal Lengths ...92
Portraits and Focal Length ...94
Macro Mode and Macro Lenses ...95
Perspective in a Photograph ...97
Lens Accessories ...98

Chapter 6
Using Flash & Studio Lighting ...99

How Automatic Flash Works ...100
Flash Sync and Shutter Speeds ...101
Portraits with Flash ...102
Using Fill Flash ...104
Controlling Flash Exposures ...105
Using Slow Sync Flash ...106
Using Available Light ...107
Using an External Flash ...108
Using Flash Creatively ...109
Studio Lighting ...110
Portrait and Product Photography—Introduction ...113
The Main Light ...114
The Fill Light ...115
The Background Light ...116
The Rim Light ...117

Chapter 7
Exploring Special Features ...118

Shooting Panoramas ...119
Photographing in Black and White ...120
Continuous Photography ...121
Shooting Movies ...122
Caring for Your Camera ...123

Animations

The book has links to interactive animations and other resources that bring to life the underlying concepts of digital photography. Here is a liost of just some of them.

Chapter 1
Digital Images and Digital Cameras

Camera Icons (PDF)... 9
Dots on an Inkjet Print ...13
The Big Lie ...13
Resolution—The True Meaning ...14
Pixelization ...14
Converting Pixels to Print Sizes ...14
Cameras are Boxes ...15
The Meaning of "Charge-Coupled" ...15
RGB Color ...16
CMYK Colors ...16
Pixels and Curves ...16
The Effects of Compression ...16
RAW vs JPEG Image Quality ...16
Understanding Exposure ...17
Changing Exposure Modes ...18
How Various Shutters Work ...19
Shutter Speed Effect on Exposure ...19
Shutter Speed Effect on Motion ...20
Apertures and their Effect on Exposure ...21
Aperture and Depth of Field ...22
Aperture-Shutter Speed Equivalents ...25
Parallax in an Optical Viewfinder ...27
The Light Path Through an SLR ...27

Chapter 2
Controlling Sharpness

Noise, Example from Cadillac Ranch ...31
ISO and Noise ...31
Distance and Sharpness ...34
The Shutter and Sharpness ...34
The Plane of Critical Focus ...35
Servo AF Focus ...35
Focus Zones ...36
Focus Lock ...37
Aperture and Depth of Field ...40
Selective Focus ...42

Chapter 3
Controlling Exposure

Understanding Exposure ...45
How Your Meter Sees ...46
Exposure Compensation ...55
Exposure Lock ...56
Autoexposure Bracketing ...57
Understanding Histograms ...58
Highlight Warnings ...59

Chapter 4
Capturing Light & Color

The Color of Light ...65
Adjusting White Balance ...66
Changing Color Spaces ...67

Chapter 5
Using Lenses

Canon Lenses ...85
Image Stabilization ...85
Focal Length and Angle of View ...86
Focal Length Factors ...86
Image Sensor Sizes ...87
360-Degree VR Panorama ...90
Optical and Digital Zoom ...93
Wide-angle Lens Distortion ...94
Macro Magnifications ...95
Parallax in an Optical Viewfinder ...96
Perspective ...97

Chapter 6
Flash and Studio Photography

The Inverse Square Law ...100
Calculating Guide Numbers (Excel) ...100
Flash Sync ...101
Red-eye ...103
Fill Flash ...104
Flash Exposure Compensation ...105
First and Second Curtain Sync ...106
External Flash ...108
Hard and Soft Light ...110
The Main Light ...114
The Fill Light ...115
The Background Light ...116
The Rim Light ...117

Chapter 7
Special Features

360-Degree VR Panorama ...90 Continuous Mode ...121 Movie Mode ...122 Dust on Your Image Sensor ...123

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