Photography: The Digital Photograph
Contents
1. You can do the following to maintain a constant flow of data e Try recording at a lower write speed Close all other programs Disable any screen savers that might begin during writing Defragment your hard disk before writing a CD Make sure that the CD and the CD recorder are clean and dust free If the CDs from one manufacturer keep failing try a different brand When creating a CD Windows uses available free space on your hard disk to store temporary files The amount of free disk space required depends on the amount of data to be copied to the CD For a standard CD Windows uses up to 700 megabytes MB For a high capacity CD Windows uses 850 MB or more You can do the following to free up disk space Run the Disk Defragmenter tool Run the Disk Cleanup Wizard Empty the Recycle Bin Delete unneeded data files If you have more than one partition or disk drive select one for the temporary file storage area that has sufficient disk space Other CD or DVD burning options The two most common burning software packages are 0 Roxio Easy Media Creator www roxio com and Nero www nero com These packages are purpose built to help make your disc burning and file archiving processes easier and they also include many additional bits of software to help you with editing movies music slideshows and many other digital media functions Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 20 Photography The Digital2. Exposure Compensation EC y Look for the button or menu with this symbol to activate the EC control Note Your scale may extend from 2 to 2 or 5 to 5 The ticks in between the full stops may be in half stops or third stops You may also just see the number not the scale diagram As I have mentioned before camera manufacturers do not agree on one way to present some of the buttons and controls yet For predominantly bright scenes snow ice whiteboards set the EC control to 1 5 or 2 0 For predominantly dark scenes black cats on black satin tuxedos blackboards set the EC control to 2 0 In all cases determine what is the best exposure for your scene that ensures you do not overexpose the important highlights 1 e the bride s dress bright clouds etc Cook and Look Take a test shot and see what compensation is necessary I worry about Exposure Compensation every time I take a picture Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 15 Photography The Digital Photograph Camera White Balance The Colour of Light One of the more complex but interesting features of a digital camera is the ability to correct for varying colour casts found in photographs as a result of the different hues of light sources If you are familiar with buying print film you may have noticed the terms Daylight Balanced printed on the packaging This indicated that the film was balanced for
3. and growing IBM Microdrive up to 4GB Smart Media now extinct xD soon to be extinct SecureData SD and now SDHC high capacity eS aS Se e SoD Some printer models both inkjet and dye sub will read directly from the camera memory card or even wirelessly allowing you to make a print without a computer Most consumer digital cameras will take short movies in either Quicktime or MPEG formats and many even record sounds 35mm film scanners can record information from a 35mm negative or slide with resolutions starting at over 9 megapixels high end scanners can record at over 30 megapixels Photoshop recognizes 23 different file formats Most consumer cameras will allow you to choose how to save your images in up to six formats You will probably work with 4 formats BMP JPG TIFF and RAW There are now very good stable editing programs available for free that easily allow you to edit and enhance your photos Picasa Faststone Irfanview Paint NET etc etc and many more soon to follow Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com www picturetheweb com page 3 Photography The Digital Photograph What is Digital Photography Digital stuff e computers Photography Stuff e exposure New stuff e instant review e software e electricity e i cian scilleand light amp colour movies e composition e image file man
4. e www picturetheweb com my own web site packed with even more information and video tutorials www dpreview com www steves digicams com www strobist blogspot com www theonlinephotographer com www luminous landscape com www dailytech com www picasaweb google com www flickr com www pbase com For more links and information please visit my web site www picturetheweb com Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 26
5. break Get and use a tripod e Sharper images e When you don t e Able to keep your eyes on your have time subjects group portraits e Will slow you down so you can study your subject in detail e Worst light for a portrait turn it on Full Auto only e Camera exposure systems canbe When you don t works 50 of the easily fooled by tricky lighting have time time use another situations and provide less than setting optimal images you can often do better e Full Auto usually means the camera won t let you make slight adjustments so use P A S or M Leave White e Most cameras Auto WB settings e When taking a Balance on Auto are very accurate series of portraits in the same room different colours of clothing can create inconsistent results Use the highest e You can always make a small e When you are image resolution image for emailing but you can t running out of your camera offers make a large image for printing room on your from a small original memory cards go to a lower resolution film is cheap from making mistakes Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com www picturetheweb com page 5 RRO tog raphy ANS Rigital eA QtOOraPh vic when they are put into practice and disclaimer broken when necessary If the scene you want to capture is extremely important to you it s okay to set the camera on Full Auto and let it do its stuff When you have the luxury of trying the shot a second time try to a
6. choose RAW JPEG o SO is set to lowest normal value o Metering Mode is set to Aperture Priority o Meter is set to Evaluative or Matrix or ESP or whatever your camera s most automated setting is called not Spot or Centre weighted o Aperture is set to widest to begin with you may alter the aperture during the day but you might want to set 1t wide open so you don t forget Exposure Compensation is set to 0 0 to begin with then adjust as necessary Flash Exp Comp is set to 0 0 White Balance is set to Auto Drive selection is set to Single AF Mode is set to Single Selection point is set to Centre Point This is definitely a personal option you may wish to use any one of the AF options but make sure you know how it s set before you start shooting o Any other settings you may have changed the last time you were out should be reset to the default This could include Saturation Colour Mode Sharpness etc O O O O Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 14 Photography The Digital Photograph Apertures and Shutter Speeds Typical Aperture Range F stops ERE EE ee ee ee ee eee Wider openings Smaller openings smallest typically greatest Depth of Field smallest Depth of Field aperture on P amp S cameras Typical Shutter Speeds in seconds or fractions of seconds Slowest speed for hand held shots
7. daylight and also for electronic strobe lights as they produce generally the same colour of light as a bright sunny day The colour of light is based on the Kelvin scale of temperature see http en wikipedia org wiki Kelvin and also http en wikipedia org wiki Color_temperature for more details if you are really interested What you need to remember is that regular incandescent light bulbs emit reddish light sunny days are bluish and overcast days are even more bluish These tints are also referred to as warm for reddish light and Cool for bluish light If you see reddish or bluish tints in your photos where you did not expect them to be remember that photos taken at sunset should look reddish then you will likely need to adjust the White Balance option in your camera The White Balance Menu Luckily your camera has a Auto White Balance function which manages to make all the colours in your photograph look pretty normal about 75 of the time So for the most part you can leave the menu set to Auto and everything should be fine But when the colours don t look right try one of the other menu options Most cameras offer the following selections in the WB menu Here s a typical WB menu Auto White Tf your camera has the options to set a white balance either by choosing a Kelvin Balance custom temperature K or setting a custom white balance 4 or Custom then you have ss even more control over how ac
8. see www photobytrusz ca Photo by Trusz Studio and Trusz Gallery and Photography School 349 Carlaw Avenue Suite 305 Toronto ON M4M 2T1 TRUS Z a ei Po RSS GALLERY WORKSHOPS Also check out my galleries at picasaweb google com truszphoto and flickr com truszphoto and if you have a Flickr account be sure to join Mark s Photo Workshops and post your photos for others to see and comment Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com www picturetheweb com page 2 Photography The Digital Photograph Interesting Facts amp Figures or you thought digital was easier than film At www steves digicams com there are 806 reviews available 371 in January 20 2004 www dpreview com has information and reviews for 1 424 models as of Sept 30 2009 o Get an up to date Dictionary of digital photo terms at www steves digicams com There are over 30 at least Brand Names of digital cameras on the market Digital cameras in the 35mm design are available in eight resolution levels from less than 1 megapixel to over 21 megapixels Medium format backs offer resolution up to 45 MP with a new model offering 160 MP There are over a dozen types of storage media available including 1 floppy disk 1 44MB CD 700MB mini CD 156 185MB DVD 4 7GB Dbl Layer 8 5 GB HD DVD BluRay 25 50GB Memory stick Memory Stick Pro Duo etc only for Sony models Compact Flash CF Type I and II 64 GB
9. software supplied with your camera may include some form of image transfer function This type of function is becoming more common and can be used with Picasa Faststone Image Viewer Lightroom Picture Window and many other editing software packages I will detail the basic steps involved using My Computer also known as File Manager and Windows Explorer Once you understand how it all works you may wish to experiment with some of the other helpful software options and see if any of them make sense for your way of working Mark s Recommended Process 1 Remove the memory card from your camera and insert it into the appropriate slot in your card reader 2 When the Autoplay window pops up Select the option to Open folder to view files Windows can perform the same action each time you insert 99 a disk or connect a device with this kind of file using Windows Explorer or open Windows Explorer P fal Pictures manually using the Start key and the E key together ea ee mae Tg Weng Picazas 3 In Windows Explorer make sure the Folders view 1s Ry Work with photos s el using Roxio Easy Media Creator 7 selected and navigate to the drive and folder location A Edit amp Print Photos where you want to copy the new files Note It is strongly as using Picture Window Pro recommended that you DO NOT keep data files in the My TE ausing Windows Expl Documents area on your C drive but rather on an e
10. spraying out by the clogs Aligning the print heads is necessary after one or more of the ink cartridges is replaced or whenever the print heads have been removed for cleaning or other maintenance Mis aligned print heads can cause dark ridges to appear across your photos Some newer printers perform these tasks automatically but you should be aware of the procedures to be able to correct for imperfections in your photos should they appear Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 24 Photography The Digital Photograph Special Situations Here are some things to try to create unique portraits or landscape photos with just about any camera Nighttime Flash Portraits Many entertainment venues have designed some pretty spectacular lighting presentations to keep you thrilled after the sun goes down You get your friends to stand in front of the brightly lit fountains and take their picture only to end up with a photo of your friends standing out in the dark The lights didn t get captured the way you saw them with your eyes The camera will need a little help to capture both the lights and your friends and here s how Look for one of the following options on your camera Flash slow or rear sync Nighttime portrait scene mode or Nighttime snapshot scenery mode You will want to use a tripod for these shots as the camera will trip the flash to illuminate your friends and keep the shutter open for a longe
11. ODS Clas aN aa 25 FS SM FIC CS ee capee se ae 26 All content Copyright 2002 2009 Mark L Trusz Do not copy without written permission Photography The Digital Photograph Version 3 0 PEARLS BEFORE SWINE HEY I VE OH GREAT SO YOU RE JERE LEARNING ALL ABOUT FOCAL LENGTH APER TURE ISO RATINGS THAT SORTA STUFF I JUST PRESS THE UTTLE DOOHICKEY Tipha Pane Dik by Lines Poaka Symcicaan ler WAA CMCS COM TET Ca e e a i y ae aae eaa a ea ae a a ee ee aa E a apa is fs a E bo S T RRR anes lam enema eran a TELELE ceed vr tana Cae used without permission Photography The Digital Photograph TDSB Course Outline Overview Week One Week Two Week Three Week Four Week Five Week Six Week Seven Week Eight Week Nine This class will introduce you to the main ingredients of Digital photography You will learn about camera features and basic functions as well as how to start improving the quality of your photographs You will also learn about editing images and the basics of image editing software as well you will be shown how to email print and share your images Overview of class the whole process start to finish Camera Basics parts of the camera basic settings taking and deleting pictures and movies using the User s manual Camera Basics controls that are necessary when taking pictures when to use the flash and when not to common problems and their solu
12. Photograph Basic Image Editing Here are the typical steps you will want to become experienced with when first editing your photos Most of these operations are similar to the ones you can find at a photo printing kiosk so you may already be familiar with them I think you will find it s a lot easier and more comfortable to perform these editing steps in the comfort of your own home and then take the edited images to the store for final printing if you don t want to do the printing at home Overview Workflow Here are the typical steps involved in taking editing and storing digital photographs 1 Take the pictures Worry about getting the proper exposure correct white balance and desired composition when taking the picture Ask about the TDSB classes that will help you with the steps 2 Review the You can review your images right on the camera but it s pictures easier and more accurate to do your reviewing on a computer screen You have a few options at this point e Use My Computer also known as Windows Explorer or File Manager to copy images to new folders rename photos delete search etc Scan the image folder with Picasa or FastStone or other browsing software and select your best shots 1 e the ones you will want to edit for emailing or printing Make the Rotate or Straighten necessary edits Crop Adjust Colour and Levels as necessary Add Filters these are optional Res
13. Photography The Digital Photograph Mark Trusz Photographer Instructor mark picturetheweb com www picturetheweb com HDS BC OURS Go OUTING sax va tate sencrcea ca eeed a autecuieas ae aces ne eaanat nex dusaue 1 PAOOUE YOUN WS UCO esir 2 Interesting Facts amp Figures or you thought digital was easier than film 3 Whatis Digital Photography 4 ss cecsasecnetedehtesasccedeserovedssauieasciads E E EEEa 4 Mark s Rules for Digital Photography annannnnannennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnrennnnrerrnennnne 5 NV OrK OW oa S ahaa eae ce saa ec Paneer T Make Your OWN WOTKIOW sxcessdeeiedsivees oncosearniegatehodeniateus ended E N 8 Popular Sotware Choices mossero eeeaaaaenaamuntobens 9 Parts of a Digital Camera a6 npc sncacecsocenxscmmedsesasa add pacenecaanesannbhatedessenadsdensdaedscaabaccesdeeudet 11 Suggested Default Settings for your camera s nsnsnnennnnenrnrnnsrrnrsrrnrsrrnrerrrrernn 14 Apertures and Shutter Speeds virinon Rea iai 15 CANT AV VAI Balan CO eerste tates E 16 MAGES Trans lo csscatejesuiaceeudea ead iee lances araneatadctdsaasee hare atenalenedgesedeuntaebaaneleaeeeantsecet 17 BASIC IMAG eS EWN eici eneaneoaee Meio ita ietecicaneeecuaee eatiactartieteeneete eos 21 Browsing and Editing with FastStone Image ViICWET cccccceceseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeees 22 Getting Started With Printing cccccccccecceeeceeeceecceeceeeceesaeeceesasecesauecaeeseesaeeceeeags 24
14. agement and e web sites e print and display storage In the new world of Digital Photography you can use the new technology to do the old things faster and do some new things not possible with the traditional methods New digital technology builds on the existing 180 years of traditional photography tools and techniques so many of the basic photographic rules still apply It s not necessarily a case of newer is better but it s certainly clear that it s a case of newer is more fun The new technology brings along some new challenges as well Computer skills need to be constantly upgraded along with your computer hardware and software Probably the most important skills you will need to develop and nurture along the path to becoming an accomplished digital photographer are PATIENCE and 0 READING and 0 CURIOSITY Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com www picturetheweb com page 4 Photography The Digital Photograph Mark s Rules for Digital Photography Perhaps you can tell from the title of this document but I believe most of these rules will Overview apply to any kind of photography film or digital Improving your skills as a photographer takes practice like learning any other new skill or sport If you take the time to learn and practice the fundamentals I am sure you will enjoy photography more and you will be happier with your photographic images Have fun The Rules When to
15. and your TV screen In this sense a digital camera is more like a video camera than a traditional film camera There are some things that have not changed and if you are familiar with how a film camera works then these parts should be familiar to you These are the parts of your digital camera that for the most part are similar to those found on a traditional film camera Camera parts Lens zoom function Auto focusing options manual focus optional Shutter release button Exposure mode options P S A M P Tv Av M shutter speed and aperture settings Viewfinder LCD display screen Built in flash with many option including off Self timer sometimes available in variable lengths of time ISO sensitivity settings Exposure EV Compensation settings These are the new functions found on most digital still image cameras Some of them like the white balance adjustments playback functions and digital zooming will be familiar to the videographers among you Digital parts e image sensor instead of film memory card and internal memory storage white balance options playback review delete slideshow movie capture file format and resolution options ISO sensitivity settings can be changed for each shot or set to automatically change as the light changes e Digital zoom function You should spend some time pressing every button and reading every menu item before you are faced with taking the
16. curate your colours look evin wiy A S Tungsten Cai iii wily Experimentation is the best way to get a handle on this stuff Most point amp shoot wn Fluorescent cameras will show you on the LCD display how your WB choices are effecting your bayigt Colours so change the options until everything looks about right Flash j Colour casts or imbalances can also be corrected later with most image editing software R Cloudy It is most important to use a preset or custom WB when you are taking a series of photos A like family portraits for instance where you do not shifts in colour due to changes in N subject clothing or background lighting incandescent i ET Auto WB E o er Ea E incandescent shade Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 16 Photography The Digital Photograph Image Transfer There are many many different options available to help you transfer images from your camera to your computer In fact even the steps involved can be described in many different ways Transfer your images Back up your photos Archive your image files Import your photos from your camera to your computer from the memory card to a hard drive The goal here is to safely 1 copy the photos you have taken to a 2 storage location that you will be able to find at a later date and also to 3 make another set of copies to a second location for long term storage The
17. en skip to step 5 In the Copy Items dialog box click the CD recording drive and then click Copy In My Computer double click the CD recording drive Windows displays a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD Verify that the files and folders that you intend to copy to the CD appear under Files Ready to be Written to the CD Under CD Writing Tasks click Write these files to CD Windows displays the CD Writing Wizard Follow the instructions in the wizard To open My Computer click Start and then click My Computer Do not copy more files to the CD than it will hold Standard CDs hold up to 650 megabytes MB High capacity CDs hold up to 850 MB Be sure that you have enough disk space on your hard disk to store the temporary files that are created during the CD writing process For a standard CD Windows reserves up to 700 MB of the available free space For a high capacity CD Windows reserves up to 1 gigabyte GB of the available free space After you copy files or folders to the CD it is useful to view the CD to confirm that the files are copied To add more files to a CD l 2 e7 gt Insert the writable CD into the CD recorder Open My Computer and check that there is available disk space on the CD to add more files To check the available disk space on the CD in My Computer right click the CD recording drive and then click Properties Click the files or folders you want to copy to
18. important pictures on your vacation or of your family Setting the camera to Auto mode and default settings will result in recorded images but to really make your photographs into works of art or at least into pictures you will be proud to share you will benefit from learning to make a few simple adjustments on your own Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 11 Photography The Digital Photograph The Menu system To control the way your camera functions you have to enter the menu system and apply settings as required Menu systems vary by manufacturer and by model so if you buy a new camera or borrow a friend s it might take you some time to understand how the new menu system is organized Record vs Playback Modes Quite often the menu is split between user options and camera functions User options are generally the type of things you will want to set once and then forget about them clock date time sounds on or off colour sharpening and other image parameters etc Camera functions are generally adjusted frequently during shooting white balance exposure compensation image quality size etc and are also sometimes accessible with buttons directly on the camera body Set the Correct Time Take the time to set the correct date and time when you first put batteries in your camera Follow the instructions in your User Manual to find the right menus and to become familiar w
19. it left and right panels 4 Learn about the different Views available Thumbnails Tiles Icons List Details Tips and Tricks e Drag and drop Copying files from one folder to another requires first creating and the destination folder then displaying the files to copy then arranging the folder list such that the destination folder is visible then selecting dragging and dropping the files into the destination folder Hint Use File New Folder to create new folders e Selecting more than one image file Use Ctrl Click or Shift Click to select and highlight more than one file at a time Ctrl Click will select each file you click on Shift Click will select an entire list starting at the first file you click on and including the last file you Shift Click on Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 18 Photography The Digital Photograph Burning files to CD with My Computer Excerpt from Windows XP Help and Support Center To copy files and folders to a CD l 2 3 N Insert a blank writable CD into the CD recorder Open My Computer Click the files or folders you want to copy to the CD To select more than one file hold down the CTRL key while you click the files you want Then under File and Folder Tasks click Copy this file Copy this folder or Copy the selected items If the files are located in My Pictures under Picture Tasks click Copy to CD or Copy all items to CD and th
20. ith the proper sequence of up down left right OK Set Cancel and other commands used in selecting and applying menu choices It becomes important to have the correct time and date set before you start taking pictures as the time date shutter speed ISO aperture and many other bits of information are stored as part of each image in the image file EXIF header EXIF Exchangeable Image File Format You can search for images taken on a specific date or date range to help you find photos from an important party or vacation if you can t remember which folder you stored the images in on your hard drive With many models of cameras you will have to switch the camera from Record to Playback to access menu options associated with each of these primary functions Choosing Resolution and Quality Settings Digital images are recorded in files that are so many pixels across by so many pixels down If you multiply the pixels across by the pixels down and also by 3 for each of the colours recorded R red B blue and G green you will arrive at the number of Megapixels of resolution your camera is capable of I recommend that you shoot at the highest resolution possible for your camera when you are taking pictures on vacation or at a family gathering or any other time when important photos are being taken You will probably be recording images in JPEG format some cameras offer TIFF which is not
21. ize but very common Sharpen almost always the last step Save As Save the pictures Use My Computer or Picasa Roxio Sonic Nero or other CD burning software to copy your images to CD or DVD media for long term storage Print the pictures e Athome use one of the editing programmes to make prints with your inkjet printer Copy final versions of images to CD or to a blank camera memory card and take to a retail location for printing Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 21 Photography The Digital Photograph Browsing and Editing with FastStone Image Viewer Overview FastStone Image Viewer is a very fast and flexible way to display your images for review and also offers the usual list of basic editing tools for you to get started fixing your pictures It includes a very flexible Slide Show option full screen editing RAW image file support and a quick link to your other favourite editing programmes The software is available free for download from www faststone org Getting started 5 Download and install the software 6 Download and read the tutorial file found on a link on the Download page on the web site Keep this file FastStoneTutorial pdf handy as it is much more detailed 37 pages than the rather brief Help file 7 Take a look at the Settings options there are lots of user customizable settings so spend a little time reading through the options to make the wo
22. ly the most arduous part of keeping track of your digital images is renaming them so that you can find them later with text searches FastStone offers you a very comprehensive feature that allows you to make new filenames for many files all at once saving you time and frustration Also batch changes can be made when converting images to a new file format or for lossless rotations Slideshow Options Create on screen slideshows of a folder full of images in just seconds with music if you have MP3 files on your hard drive Choose from 150 transitional effects to make your slideshow entertaining and personalized Edit with External Program If you prefer to do your editing with some other programme then you can set it up so that by pressing the E key the image is automatically opened with the other software or Alt 2 3 4 to use more than one external programme Basic Edits Rotate crop straighten add a frame and remove red eye are among the editing functions built in to FastStone Image Viewer Should you just want a fast one or two step edit you don t need to leave this programme to get the job done More Help ts Available For more help with Faststone Image Viewer download the Tutorial from http www faststone org FSIV Tutorial htm and take a look at the Online Tips at http www imagingtips com faststone Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 23 Photography The Digital Photograph Get
23. next time What can I do to improve my skills Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com www picturetheweb com page 7 Photography The Digital Photograph Make Your Own Workflow There really cannot be a recipe book of steps for you to follow along with when taking and processing your images there are too many variations in cameras computers and image editing software choices for there to be any consistency There is however some consistency to be found in the overall steps involved These steps are collectively referred to as the workflow I suggest you fill in the blanks in this worksheet to create your own special recipe that suits your own set of equipment and personal requirements Steps How you accomplish this step with your camera computer Set up camera Check and adjust exposure White Balance etc Edit selected images for printing and emailing Archive images to CD or DVD Transfer images to external Hard Drive Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com www picturetheweb com page 8 Photography The Digital Photograph Popular Software Choices A survey of recent students along with my own personal choices for image browsing editing and archiving software This list is be no means exhaustive but these are among the most popular and best reviewed options available No doubtnew options added over time It s an exciting time in the software development business Feel free to add in y
24. our own particular favourites Items listed in bold face are available for free Workflow Step Suggested Software Browsing Faststone Image Viewer Picasa Irfanview Lightroom Photoshop Element Photoshop Bridge Picture Window Pro RAW Conversion Lightroom Photoshop Photoshop Element Picture Window Pro Capture One optional UFraw Nikon Capture NX Canon DPP other camera specific options provided by the manufacturer of your camera Editing basic Lightroom Picasa Faststone Image Viewer Paint NET Editing retouching Photoshop Photoshop Elements Picture Window Pro Paint NET Editing special Arcsoft Panorama Maker Pro Neat Image Noise Ninja Archiving Match Lightroom Roxio Nero View Pro now called Expression View Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com www picturetheweb com page 9 Photography The Digital Photograph I i Media card i CF SM SD xD other l I I I I Digital camera w Film sca a S e i SL eS ee i I a Pa 4 i ot Tis ra se ae I i Computer i F f J i a w ed Email web sites storage i Prints Flatbed scanner i Lss ee es Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 10 Photography The Digital Photograph Parts of a Digital Camera Overview Your digital camera can take record pictures both stills and movies and display playback pictures on the LCD screen
25. pply some of these rules and see what else can be accomplished More When to break Rules Make your own Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com www picturetheweb com page 6 Photography The Digital Photograph Workflow Planning Phase e Choose your equipment Batteries memory cards cables tripod protective cases e Pre visualize your pictures What results are you expecting Camera Phase e Preview Check exposure white balance framing background etc e Shoot Stay focused on your subject easier if you use a tripod e Review Confirm results delete mistakes Cook and Look e Share Slide show on TV kiosk printing direct to portable printer Computer Phase e Review Open images in browser software like FastStone Image Viewer for detailed review e Transfer Transfer images to portable storage device CD or DVD or your hard drive using My Computer or other file transfer utility software e Edit Make adjustments to your images o Crop resize correct colour retouch etc e Store Save your images in multiple locations hard drive CD DVD memory cards Archive your images with cataloguing or album software e Share Print yourself or at retail display on web site make CD DVD slide show etc Learning Phase e Review Did I get the results I had hoped for What do I like or dislike about my most recent images e Plan What could I do differently
26. r than normal length of time up to 60 seconds in some cameras so to keep the pretty lights in the background sharp you ll need to keep the camera very steady Panoramic Stitching There are many instances where your camera s field of view based on the focal length of the lens just isn t wide enough to capture the scene you are looking at The Grand Canyon comes to mind but you may also want to capture all of your Aunt s award winning backyard garden in one shot too By taking a series of overlapping images you can stitch them together to make one large image using panoramic stitching software Many camera manufacturer s provide you with software capable of performing the stitching and some cameras provide you with shooting guides to help make the series of images required Future cameras will even perform the stitching right in the camera The best software I have found for this job is called Panorama Maker Pro available from www arcsoft com It s not free but it s definitely worth the purchase price if you find yourself interested in making really wide images Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 25 Photography The Digital Photograph References Here are some of the more useful and interesting on line web sites I have found In addition you should become familiar with your own camera manufacturer s web site for product information and especially software and firmware updates
27. recommended and RAW which is discussed in the Advanced classes JPEG images can also be saved in varying levels of Quality and your camera may offer you some choices in what level of quality to set You may wish to experiment to see if you can see any difference between your highest and second highest settings and leave it set to the one you are most comfortable with JPEG quality relates to the amount of compression that is applied mathematically to the image data in an effort to create visually acceptable images that take up the least amount of memory space to store Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 12 Photog raph Lrs LE Digital PhotograRh urter monitor go to properties settings by right clicking on your desktop and also in the DPI dots per0inch settings you choose when printing your images with an inkjet printer Additional User Settings Many cameras also let you set the levels for image processing parameters that can effect how your images look These settings include Sharpening Contrast Tone Saturation Colour Mode c S co oo To great extent these factors can be adjusted after you take the photo with editing software but you can save yourself time if you pre select some of the options on the camera Shutter Release Optical button Viewfinder Flash Lens Focal Length and Aperture Info Lens Zoom Factor Lens Flash Ready and Focus Lock Optical indicator lights Shut
28. rking environment suit your personal style Working Environment The main browser window in FastStone looks very much like that of the Folder view in My Computer and functions in much the same manner You can locate a folder to browse from the left panel and display its contents in the right panel You can create new folders rename folders and image files delete folders and files and add images to a Favourites selection Double clicking on a thumbnail opens the image in full screen view There are menus hidden at the edges of the screen that can be displayed by sliding the mouse pointer to the edge of the screen Clicking and holding the left mouse key starts a magnifier function allowing you to quickly zoom in and scroll around to get a close look at your images The zoom factor can be adjusted from 1x to 3x by selecting the Magnifier Zoom Ratio drop down list from the hidden menu at the bottom of the full screen view Pressing the Escape key returns you to the main window view Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 22 Photography The Digital Photograph Fantastic FastStone Features Compare Images Bel By selecting up to four images at once you can easily compare the images at any magnification ratio This is an indispensable function when you ve taken a series of shots of the family and want to make sure you re keeping the sharpest one or the one with everybody s eyes open Batch Rename Probab
29. ter Release button Viewfinder Camera Mode switch gt Still images iot Video Playback AF Frame Center Navigation and AF Frame Size Normal direct controls AF Point Zoom On Digital Zoom Standard Flash Settings Self timer We Th Camera Functions some makes only LCD monitor screen Display button Menu button image live view Image playback menus Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 13 Photography The Digital Photograph Suggested Default Settings for your camera Here are my suggestions for default settings for your camera that you can Overview use to check before you go out shooting to make sure you start off in a consistent manner This list is also a test to help you learn where to find all the buttons and menu options necessary to control these settings As your experience grows you may wish to make changes to this list And also when in an emergency you can always turn your camera to Auto and let it do what it can for you o Do you have enough room on your memory card once you have Typical transferred your images from the card to a HDD or DVD you should Settings return the card to the camera and Format it to get it ready for the next set of photos o Are your batteries charged up Do you have a second battery charged up and ready to go o Set Image Size to Large and Image Quality to Best or lowest compression for JPEG images or
30. the CD To select more than one file hold down the CTRL key while you click the files you want Then under File and Folder Tasks click Copy this file Copy this folder or Copy the selected items If the files are located in My Pictures under Picture Tasks click Copy to CD or Copy all items to CD and then skip to step 5 In the Copy Items dialog box click the CD recording drive and then click Copy In My Computer double click the CD recording drive Windows displays a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD Verify that the files and folders that you intend to copy to the CD appear under Files Ready to be Written to the CD Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 19 Photography iNe Riigita Rh etogra P p Windows displays the CD Writing Wizard Follow the instructions in the wizard 9 Ifthe CD is not full you can add more files to the CD by repeating this process Tips for writing CDs The following tips can help you avoid errors when writing to CDs Common errors include interrupting the flow of data to the CD recorder or running out of available disk space for the CD recording process When creating a CD the CD recorder must receive a constant flow of data from the hard disk If the flow of data is interrupted the CD continues to spin but the writing laser does not have any information to copy onto the disc When this happens the writing process stops and you end up with a useless CD
31. ting Started With Printing Types of Printers Not all printers are created equally and you may find that you will want to use a different printer to obtain different results from time to time There are three types of printers you can choose from to print from home Printer Type Photos presentations general use Cost per print can be high due to Can print on almost any kind of cost of inks paper up to 60 wide Laser Documents and presentations Too coarse for fine photographic Very low cost of toners work Dye sublimation Dye sublimation Photos ssi Limited to specialized papers to Limited to specialized papers papers Of course you can also take your images in to a commercial location for printing as well For standard 4x6 inch prints this is the cheapest way to go Many photo retailers will also provide larger print sizes 16x20 20x30 or larger and may also offer unique treatments and surfaces canvas mounted cake designs rugs etc Inkjet Printer Maintenance There are a couple of procedures that are necessary for you to perform to keep your inkjet printer in good condition head cleaning and head alignment Cleaning the print heads is typically something you do if the printer is not used on a daily basis or conversely if it s been used too much to keep the teenie tiny nozzles free from clogs Clogged heads can result in white streaks in your photos as some ink is prevented from
32. tions Digital Images getting them into your computer getting started with email Photography taking better pictures of people Photography taking better pictures of landscapes and other subjects Editing Images introduction to recommended software why editing helps Editing Images tips and tricks to make your snapshots into works of art Printing types of printers why print at home preparing images for printing Review the whole process from start to finish again Subject to change Outline based on the needs of the participants Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com www picturetheweb com page Photography The Digital Photograph About your instructor Your instructor Mark Trusz is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about photography Mark has had over 30 years of fun with film and darkroom techniques and ten years of learning all the bits of digital imaging He has been the instructor for Introduction to digital photography and Advanced digital photography with the Toronto District School Board since 2002 Mark is a creative portrait and commercial photographer located in central Toronto and is available for commissioned work Mark can be contacted at anytime for advice and guidance at mark picturetheweb com Find out about other classes and photography workshops at www picturetheweb com Blogs http truszphoto blogspot com http truszgallery blogspot com For commercial portfolio please
33. xternal hard drive Take no action Always do the selected action 4 Make a new folder File New Folder with an appropriate name then 5 Drag and drop the image files from the card to the new folder or select the image files you want to copy and use Copy Paste After you have confirmed the file transfer you can replace the memory card in your camera and Format the card following the menu options on your camera Instructor Mark Trusz mark picturetheweb com page 17 Photography The Digital Photograph Using My Computer to organize your images Overview My Computer also known as File Manager and Windows Explorer is the place to start when getting your computer files organized not just your images but ALL of your computer files I recommend that you become expert with the basic functions available in My Computer as most other experienced Windows users can help you with questions along the way Note these comments are current for Windows Versions up to XP For Vista and Windows 7 Windows Explorer is mostly the same with the addition of Libraries Getting started 1 My Computer is part of the Windows operating system so there s nothing to download 2 Double click the My Computer icon on your desktop or press the Start key and the E key at the same time to open My Computer 3 Ifnecessary click the Folders button up in the toolbar to change the display to the spl
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