Photography 101

[scelestic]

The guides here are not very complete and I had done one for another website so I thought I would share it here:

Photography 101 with Sarah =)
(I will only be discussing digital photography. Let me know if you would like to know about film as well)

So you know that you are not getting any bad information I have been studying photography for 7 years and I have been in the business as a wedding and portrait photographer for three years. A link to my website is in my signature if you would like to look at my work.

Your Camera:
Point & Shoot vs. DSLR

You probably have a point and shoot camera or a entry level DSLR. Point and shoots have a fixed lens (a lens that does not come off of the camera). DSLRs have lenses that come off and can be replaced with a different lens. This gives you more creative control with a DSLR.

I will get into lenses and other things about the camera later. Right now I would like to focus on things that I see people in these forums need to work on.

Shutter Speed:

You can control shutter speed with a shutter priority mode or manual mode. I suggest you start with shutter priority first. Shutter priority lets you control the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture for you.
If you can not find that on your camera and also cant find your manual try http://www.photo-manuals.com or message me and I will try to help you find a online version.

If your shutter speed is slow (about 1/50 or below) you will get blurring from movement. If you would like to have the movement in a image blur then put your camera on a tripod because there may be camera shake just from you holding it. If you use a fast shutter speed (about 1/60 or higher though I suggest at least 1/100 to really stop motion) you can freeze movement.

That said shutter speed is just like most of the cameras settings it controls how much light is let onto the sensor of your camera. A slower shutter speed will let more light in than a faster shutter speed because when you take a photo the mirror in your camera flips up and exposes the sensor to light which records the image (if you have a DSLR don't try to mess with this you will get your sensor dirty)

Example:

Freezing the subject with a fast shutter speed. 1/100 f/4 Lit from the side with strobes on either side.

Aperture:

You can control aperture with a aperture priority mode or manual mode. I suggest you start with aperture priority first. Aperture priority lets you control the aperture and the camera sets the shutter speed for you.
Aperture controls the depth of field or "how blurry the background is". A wide aperture like f/1.4 (most likely your lens does not go this wide) will make the background out of focus and as long as you focus correctly your subject will be in sharp focus. That said the wider the aperture the smaller your focusing field is so most of the image will be out of focus while your focus is in a very small section of the image. A smaller aperture like f/12 will keep most of the image in focus. Again a wide aperture lets a lot of light in so you would not be using a slow shutter speed unless you were in a dark room. The smaller aperture lets less light in.

Here are the aperture blades in your camera:


Example:

Small Aperture f/2 Lit with a blue light from above (the subject is a red CD)

Aperture Test:


ISO:

ISO is simply a way to control how much light gets to the sensor. ISO in digital cameras is equivalent to film speed. The higher the ISO the more noise is in your images. This should be the last thing you mess with in dark situations because a high iso will only ruin your image (depending on the limits of the kind of camera that you have).

Example:
coming soon

Examples are my images (c) Sarah Ashley Photography and the diagrams were found using google.  

[scelestic]

Reserved for lighting discussion  

[scelestic]

Histograms:
This can be seen on your camera and in your editing program. When you edit levels or curves in photoshop you will be seeing it as well.

If your image was under exposed this is what your histogram would look like:

The histogram is bunched up at the black end of the histogram.

If the image was over exposed this is what your histogram would look like:

The histogram is bunched up at the highlights end of the histogram clipping the highlights.

You want it too look like this from side to side without any dips and without being on one side or the other:
 

[scelestic]

Ooops move this to the underground please  

[I Am A Photographer]

Incredible guide, miss Scelestic. 3nodding
A film guide would be great, too. I feel that learning how to shoot in film, and processing the film, is great for any photographer to learn, which is why I am wanting to learn. And the fact you can make gigantic prints using film. I've done a tad bit of studying, but I do not have the tools just yet to test what I have learned.  

[scelestic]

I Am A Photographer

Incredible guide, miss Scelestic. 3nodding
A film guide would be great, too. I feel that learning how to shoot in film, and processing the film, is great for any photographer to learn, which is why I am wanting to learn. And the fact you can make gigantic prints using film. I've done a tad bit of studying, but I do not have the tools just yet to test what I have learned.

You can make very large prints with digital as well. The only thing diffrent about film is the processing. Instead of exposing the light to a sensor you are exposing to film. Also as I had said iso is the same thing as film speed. The higher the film speed the more sensitive to the light (just with fil you can't change speeds mid roll & then go back to your original speed haha). I have not been in a darkroom in a long time but ill do my best to explain it when I have the time.  

[I Am A Photographer]

scelestic

I Am A Photographer

Incredible guide, miss Scelestic. 3nodding
A film guide would be great, too. I feel that learning how to shoot in film, and processing the film, is great for any photographer to learn, which is why I am wanting to learn. And the fact you can make gigantic prints using film. I've done a tad bit of studying, but I do not have the tools just yet to test what I have learned.

You can make very large prints with digital as well. The only thing diffrent about film is the processing. Instead of exposing the light to a sensor you are exposing to film. Also as I had said iso is the same thing as film speed. The higher the film speed the more sensitive to the light (just with fil you can't change speeds mid roll & then go back to your original speed haha). I have not been in a darkroom in a long time but ill do my best to explain it when I have the time.

Oh, I know, but Deardorffs are sexy. blaugh
Oh. haha Film sounds really complicated to a beginner in film shooting, like me. I like it complicated. 3nodding Can't wait for your guide.