Shortcourses Canon Powershot S100 Photography

A ShortCourse Book
Canon Powershot S100 Photography

Canon Powershot S100 Photography

This clearly written and easy-to understand short course on your Canon Powershot S100 explains step-by-step how, why and when you use your camera's controls for better pictures. This guide is available as a traditional 173 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.

Introducing Animations

The eBook edition of this book has links to 50 animations, movies, PDFs and other resources that illustrate and explain the core concepts of digital photography. Integrated throughout the eBook, these linked resources help you understand your camera better, and make you a better photographer.

To use the animations and other linked resources you need the eBook version of this book and an Internet connection.

Click to see how every camera is just a black box then minimize or close the animation window.

Click to see how full color images are created from only three colors then minimize or close the animation window.

Introduction

New, a Short Courses digital photography book for people who want to get better pictures with their Canon Powershot S100 camera. This beautifully written and illustrated guide, pulls together answers to the questions you might have about using the camera.

Click to see samples from this book in a new tab

Contents

Cover ...i
Short Courses Books and Web Site ...ii
Preface ...iv
The Technique Finder...v
Contents ...vii

Chapter 1
Getting Started with your Canon S100 ...9

The PowerShot S100 — An Overview ...10
Jump Start— Taking Photos in Auto Mode ...11
Good Things to Know ...13
When Things Go Wrong ...15
Using the Monitor ...16
Using Dials and Buttons ...18

Top of Camera ...18
Back of Camera ...18
Control Dial ...19

Using the Control Ring ...20
Using Menus ...21

Tabbed Menus ...21
The Function Menu ...23
Resetting all Settings ...24

Managing Images in Review Mode ...25
Managing Images in Playback Mode ...26

Using Index View ...26
Using Scroll Display ...27
Erasing and Protecting Images ...27
Tagging Images as Favorites ...28
Viewing Movies made with Movie Digest ...28
Viewing Images in a Group ...28
Auto rotating images ...28

Working with Groups Of Images ...30

Auto Category ...30
My Category ...30
Filtering Images and Jumping ...31
Specifying a Range of Images ...32

Connecting to a TV Set ...33

Connecting to a Standard TV ...33
Connecting to an HD TV ...33
Slide Show Settings ...33
Using a TV Remote to Control the Camera ...34
Smart Shuffle ...34

Selecting Image Quality Settings ...35

Number of Pixels ...35
How an Image is Captured ...37
It’s all Black and White after all ...37
Choosing Image Quality and Size — Still Images ...38
Selecting image settings ...40
Hints & Tips ...41
Resizing Images ...42
Trimming Images ....42

Chapter 2
Controlling Exposure ...43

Understanding Exposure ...44
The Shutter Controls Light and Motion ...45
The Aperture Controls Light and Depth of Field ...47
Using Shutter Speed and Aperture Together ...49

Exposure— Faucets & Buckets Analogy ...50
Exposure— Seesaw Analogy ...51

Retaining Highlight and Shadow Details ...52
Choosing Shooting Modes ...53
Using Special Scene (SCN) Modes ...54
Using Creative Filters...56
Using Program AE (P) Mode and Program Shift ...58
Using Shutter-Priority (Tv) Mode ...59
Using Aperture-Priority (Av) Mode ...60
Using Manual (M) Mode ...61
How your Exposure System Works ...62
Choosing a Metering Method ...64
When Automatic Exposure Works Well ...65
When to Override Automatic Exposure ...66

Scenes Lighter than Middle Gray ...66
Scenes Darker than Middle Gray ...67
Subject against very Light Background ...67
Subject against very Dark Background ...68
Scenes with High Contrast ...68
Hard to Meter Scenes ...69

How Overriding Autoexposure Works ...70
How to Override Automatic Exposure ...71

Exposure Compensation ...71
AE Lock ...72
Autoexposure Bracketing (AEB) ...73
Using Safety Shift ...74
Using the Neutral Density Filter ...74

Using Histograms ...75

Displaying Histograms ...75
Evaluating Histograms ...75
Clipped Pixels ...77
Sample Histograms ...78

Adjusting Tones in your Images ...79

High Dynamic Range (HDR) ...79
i-Contrast in Shooting Mode ...79
i-Contrast in Playback Mode ...80

Chapter 3
Controlling Sharpness ...81

Getting Sharper Pictures ...82

Using the Self-timer ...82
Setting the Image Stabilization (IS) Mode ...83
Changing the ISO ...84
Changing ISO Auto Settings ...84
Noise Reduction—85 ...

Sharpness Isn’t Everything ...86
How to Photograph Motion Sharply ...87

Speed of Subject ...87
Direction of Movement ...87
Distance to Subject and Focal Length of Lens ...88

Focus and Depth of Field ...89

Focus ...89
Depth of Field ...89

Focusing Techniques ...91

Focusing ...91
Changing the AF Frame Mode ...91
Changing the AF Frame Size and position ...92
Using Focus Lock and AF Lock (AFL) ...92
Using Servo AF ...93
Following a Subject with Tracking AF ...94

Face AIAF ...95
Manual Focus ...96
Bracketing Focus ...97
Checking Focus ...98

Checking Focus in Shooting Mode ...98
Checking Focus in Review and Playback Modes ...99

Controlling Depth of Field ...100
Using Maximum Depth of Field ...101
Using Shallow Depth of Field ...102
Conveying the Feeling of Motion ...103

Chapter 4
Capturing Light & Color ...104

Where Does Color Come From? ...105
White Balance ...106

Selecting a white balance mode ...107
Adjusting colors ...107
Hints & Tips ...108

Color Balance and Time of Day ...109
Sunsets and Sunrises ...110
Photographing at Night ...112

Fireworks ...112
The Moon ...112

The Weather ...114
The Direction of Light ...116
The Quality of Light ...118

Chapter 5
Understanding Lenses ...119

The Zoom Lens ...120
Normal Zoom ...121
Wide-Angle Zoom ...122
Telephoto and Digital Zoom ...124
Portraits with a Zoom Lens ...127
Perspective in a Photograph ...128
Using Macro Mode ...129
Focusing and Depth of Field Close Up ...130

Chapter 6
Using Flash and Studio Lighting ...131

How Automatic Flash Works ...132

Flash Falloff ...132
Flash and Shutter Speeds ...132
Flash Modes ...133
Flash FAQs ...133
Using a Small External Flash ...134

Using Flash Settings ...135
Portraits with Flash ...136
Reducing and Removing Red-eye ...137

Reducing or Correcting Red-eye in Shooting Modes ...137
Removing Red-eye in Playback Mode ...138

Using Flash On— Fill Flash ...139
Using Available Light ...140
Using Slow Synchro Flash ...141
Controlling Flash Exposures ...143

Flash Modes ...143
Flash Exposure Lock ...143
Flash Exposure Compensation ...144
Adjusting Flash Output Manually ...144
Safety FE ...144

Studio Lighting ...145

Candidates for Studio Lighting ...145
Lighting ...145
Backgrounds ...147
Risers ...147
Special Bulbs ...147

Portrait and Product Photography— Introduction ...148
The Main Light ...149
The Fill Light ...150
The Background Light ...151
The Rim Light ...152

Chapter 7
Special Features ...153

Panoramas—Stitch Assist Mode ...154

Basic Techniques ...154
Stitch Assist Mode ...155

Using Color Accent and Color Swap ...156
Using my Colors ...157

Using my Colors in Shooting Mode ...157
Using my Colors in Playback Mode ...158

Continuous Photography ...159
Capturing Movies ...160

Movie Modes ...160
Movie Recording ...160
Adjusting exposure ...161

Playing Movies ...162
Editing Movies ...163
Using C Mode ...164
Using the RING FUNC Button ...165
Using my Menu ...166
Using the Set Up Menu ...167
Mapping your Photos with GPS ...170

Latitude and longitude—a refresher ...170
All about reception ...170
Tips on using the GPS function ...170
Turning GPS on and off ...171
Recording (logging) a route ...171
Automatically Updating the Date and Time ...172
Adding images to a map ...172
Using the Map Utility ...173

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. The procedures you use with the Canon PowerShot S100 camera 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 step by step how to use the S100 in all kinds of photographic situations.

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 the infinite variety of combinations make 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 connecting your camera to computers and using your software. That information is well presented in the user guide that came with your camera. Be sure to visit our Web site at www.shortcourses.com for even more digital photography information.

Click to order a PDF download of this book for $19.95US. After completing the checkout process, a download link is given on the thank you page and on your e-mail receipt.

Click to order a copy of the printed book for $24.95US.

Click to order a printed copy of the book and a PDF copy on a CD at a special package price of $36.95US.

Click to order a PDF copy of the book on a CD for $19.95US.

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