Shortcourses Canon Powershot S90 Photography

A ShortCourse Book
Canon Powershot S90 Photography

Canon Powershot S90 Photography

This clearly written and easy-to understand short course on your Canon Powershot S90 explains step-by-step how, why and when you use your camera's controls for better pictures. This guide is available as a traditional 160 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 S90 camera. This beautifully written and illustrated guide, pulls together answers to the questions you might have about using the camera.

Contents

Chapter 1
Getting Started with your Canon S90 ...7

The PowerShot S90 — An Overview ...8
Jump Start— Taking Photos in Auto Mode ...9
Good Things to Know ...11
When Things Go Wrong ...13
Using the Monitor ...14
Using Dials and Buttons ...16

Top of Camera ...16
Back of Camera ...17
Control Dial ...17

Using the Control Ring ...18
Using Menus ...19

Tabbed Menus ...19
The Function Menu ...21
Resetting All Settings ...22

Managing Images in Review Mode ...23
Managing Images in Playback Mode ...24

Using Index View ...24
Using Scroll Display ...25
Erasing and Protecting Images ...25

Giving Slide Shows ...26

Connecting to a Standard TV ...26
Connecting to an HD TV ...26
Slide Show Settings ...26

Working with Groups Of Images ...28

Auto Category ...28
My Category ...28
Filtering Images and Jumping ...29
Specifying a Range of Images ...30

Selecting Image Quality and Size ...31

Number of Pixels ...31
How an Image is Captured ...33
It’s All Black and White After All ...33
Choosing Image Quality and Size — Still Images ...34

Chapter 2
Controlling Exposure ...38

Understanding Exposure ...39
The Shutter Controls Light and Motion ...40
The Aperture Controls Light and Depth of Field ...42
Using Shutter Speed and Aperture Together ...44

Exposure— Faucets & Buckets Analogy ...45
Exposure— Seesaw Analogy ...46

Retaining Highlight and Shadow Details ...47
Choosing Shooting Modes ...47
Using Special Scene (SCN) Modes ...49
Using Program AE (P) Mode and Program Shift ...51
Using Shutter-Priority (Tv) Mode ...52
Using Aperture-Priority (Av) Mode ...53
Using Manual (M) Mode ...54
How Your Exposure System Works ...55
Choosing a Metering Method ...57
When Automatic Exposure Works Well ...58
When to Override Automatic Exposure ...59

Scenes Lighter than Middle Gray ...59
Scenes Darker than Middle Gray ...60
Subject Against Very Light Background ...60
Subject Against Very Dark Background ...61
Scenes with High Contrast ...61
Hard to Meter Scenes ...62

How Overriding Autoexposure Works ...63
How to Override Automatic Exposure ...64

Exposure Compensation ...64
AE Lock ...65
Autoexposure Bracketing (AEB) ...66
Using Safety Shift ...67

Using Histograms ...68

Displaying Histograms ...68
Evaluating Histograms ...68
Clipped Pixels ...70
Sample Histograms ...71

Chapter 3
Controlling Sharpness ...72

Getting Sharper Pictures ...73

Using the Self-timer ...73
Setting the Image Stabilization (IS) Mode ...74
Changing the ISO ...75

Sharpness Isn’t Everything ...76
How to Photograph Motion Sharply ...77

Speed of Subject ...77
Direction of Movement ...77
Distance to Subject and Focal Length of Lens ...78

Focus and Depth of Field ...79

Focus ...79
Depth of Field ...79

Focusing Techniques ...81

Focusing ...81
Changing the AF Frame Mode ...81
Changing the AF Frame Size ...82
Using Focus Lock and AF Lock (AFL) ...82
Using Servo AF ...83

Face AIAF and Face Self-Timer ...84

Face AIAF ...84
Face Self-Timer ...85

Manual Focus ...86

Manual Focus ...86
Bracketing Focus ...87

Checking Focus ...88

Checking Focus in Shooting Mode ...88
Checking Focus in Playback and Review Modes ...89

Controlling Depth of Field ...90
Using Maximum Depth of Field ...91
Using Shallow Depth of Field ...92
Conveying the Feeling of Motion ...93

Chapter 4
Capturing Light & Color ...94

Where Does Color Come From? ...95
White Balance ...96
Color Balance and Time of Day ...98
Sunsets and Sunrises ...99
Photographing at Night ...101

Fireworks ...101
The Moon ...101

The Weather ...103
The Direction of Light ...105
The Quality of Light ...107

Chapter 5
Understanding Lenses ...108

The Zoom Lens ...109
Normal Zoom ...110
Wide-Angle Zoom ...111
Telephoto and Digital Zoom ...113
Portraits with a Zoom Lens ...116
Perspective in a Photograph ...117
Using Macro Mode ...118
Focusing and Depth of Field Close Up ...119

Chapter 6
Using Flash and Studio Lighting ...120

How Automatic Flash Works ...121

Flash Falloff ...121
Flash and Shutter Speeds ...121
Flash Modes ...122
Flash FAQs ...122

Using Safety FE ...122
Using a Small External Flash ...123
Using Flash Settings ...124
Portraits with Flash ...125
Reducing and Removing Red-eye ...126

Reducing or Correcting Red-eye in Shooting Modes ...126
Removing Red-eye in PLayback Mode ...127

Using Flash On— Fill Flash ...128
Using Available Light ...129
Using Slow Synchro Flash ...130
Controlling Flash Exposures ...132

Flash Modes ...132
Flash Exposure Lock ...132
Flash Exposure Compensation ...133
Adjusting Flash Output Manually ...133

Studio Lighting ...134

Candidates for Studio Lighting ...134
Lighting ...134
Backgrounds ...136
Risers ...136
Special Bulbs ...136

Portrait and Product Photography— Introduction ...137
The Main Light ...138
The Fill Light ...139
The Background Light ...140
The Rim Light ...141

Chapter 7
Special Features ...142

Panoramas—Stitch Assist Mode ...143

Basic Techniques ...143
Stitch Assist Mode ...144

Using i-Contrast ...145

Using i-Contrast While Shooting ...145
Using i-Contrast in Playback ...145

Using Color Accent and Color Swap ...146
Using My Colors ...147

Using My Colors in Shooting Mode ...147
Using My Colors in Playback Mode ...148

Continuous Photography ...149
Capturing Movies ...150

Movie Modes ...150
Movie Recording ...150

Playing Movies ...152
Editing Movies ...153
Using C Mode ...154
Using The Shortcut Button ...155
Using My Menu ...156
Using the Set Up Menu ...157

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 S90 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 S90 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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