Basics of Photography
Photography is an interesting hobby to have than many people are interested in. Some keep it at a basic level that is sufficient for lifetime memories. Others want to further their understanding into a hobby with a desire to produce artistic photos. This guide will cover the basics of photography and the use of equipment. Due to modern times, the equipment discussed will be of digital basis.
The deciding factor of photography is the final image. What a person sees on a computer screen or in print is the most important thing. When a person is viewing a picture from an artistic standpoint, or as a walk down memory lane, all he or she really cares about is the appearance of the photo and content. The technicality is just a mere curiosity. Only when a photo is being critiqued for the express purpose of improvement does the technical details really matter. For instance, who really cares what paints, brushes, or canvas Leonardo da Vinci used when he painted the Mona Lisa?
Pick a part of photography that you really like and concentrate on that. For me, I like to shoot people in a studio and at events. If landscapes are your thing, go all for it. Or bugs. Or commercial. Or products. Or architecture. There are many areas of photography. Concentrate on what you like best.
Equipment:
Keeping in mind the above statements, equipment is still important to producing quality photos. Good equipment will be reliable and produce the best possible image quality. A dSLR will produce a better image than a point & shoot. This is not to be confused as to which takes a better picture. An excellent photographer with the cheapest point and shoot will still produce a picture that is better than a beginning novice with the most expensive equipment.
Cameras:
Point and shoots are the first thing that comes to mind when people think digital camera. They have the stereotypical LCD screen that you use to compose a shot and instantly review. Many of these types of cameras have very little control over exposure, white balance, etc. The more advanced point and shoots have more control, a bigger zoom, and usually a better sensor. However, they still do not offer the control of a SLR camera.
SLRs (Single Lens Reflex) cameras are the staple of enthusiasts and professionals. This type of camera is most commonly recognized in its 35mm film format. Modern times have boosted the popularity of the digital SLR and they have become affordable for nearly all that are interested in photography. A SLR will have a bigger sensor than a point and shoot. They also have the most recognizable feature of having interchangeable lenses. If you want to get serious about photography, this is the type of camera most suited for learning. All modern dSLRs have full manual control over the image produced. Since the SLR is usually the weapon of choice, all camera talk and technique will be made in reference to a SLR camera (specifically a digital SLR).
Basic Workflow:
Before the advent of digital, people would load up film into their cameras, shoot it, and then process the film in a lab. With digital, the same basic workflow still exists. You put a memory card into your camera, shoot pictures, and then you process the images on a computer. There are some purists that hold the belief that a picture should come out of a camera without any manipulation in a computer. I personally think this is an unwise thought pattern to adhere too. To get to the level that you see in magazines and advertisements, processing is a requirement. You can do most of the computer manipulations in a film darkroom as well.
Starting out:
The building block of all photography is exposure, or how much light is made to hit the sensor. Properly exposed pictures look good with lots of detail. Underexposed pictures look dark and overexposed pictures look too bright or washed out. Exposure is made up of a combination of aperture, shutter speed, and optionally, flash. The aperture is part of the lens. It is a diaphragm that closes to a specified size hole and dictates how much light gets in. The lower the aperture number, the larger the hole, and the more light that is let in. The shutter speed dictates how long the sensor is exposed to light. Longer shutter speeds expose more light.
So you decide that you want to get into photography and produce wonderful pictures. So you need to decide how much money you want to spend and how much dedication you are willing to put into your new hobby. Buying a lot of equipment in the beginning is not a wise decision and may over whelm you. My suggestion to a beginning kit is as follows:
A good quality dSLR with room to grow. My suggestion is Nikon or Canon. Pentax, Olympus, and now Sony are all major manufacturers, but the lens range, third party accessory support, and the sheer number of people who use Nikon and Canon are a lot better with these two companies. This gives you an edge in options and a bigger pool of information to draw from. The Nikon D50, D70s, Canon Rebel XT (350D, and 20D/30D are all great cameras to start out with. There are pros who use these cameras as well. Read up on reviews, specifications, and go to the store to check out each camera. Pick the one you like the best.
Lenses are necessary to the operation of the camera and have the greatest impact on image quality. Do not be afraid to spend more on lenses than the camera body. The body will be replaced every few years while the lenses will last a significantly longer time. Dont go cheap here. There are two main specifications when you are looking at a lens: the focal length and the aperture. The lens will list the maximum (lowest number) aperture. If you have a bigger hole, there will be more light, and hence you can use a faster shutter speed. So larger aperture (lower number) lenses are called fast lenses. These usually range f/2.8 or lower. Faster lenses require bigger glass elements and more engineering to get them to work correctly. With these extra costs, the price of the lens rises significantly. Fortunately, you also get better glass and build quality. Focal length gives the field of view. A lower focal length will give a wider field of view than a longer focal length. Longer focal lengths in effect zoom into whatever you are looking at. 50mm is considered the normal length and equivalent to what a human eye sees.
A tripod is essential for landscapes, night photos, and when using slower shutter speeds. Bogen/Manfrotto and Gitzo are two quality manufacturers with good value for your money. Fully expect to pay around $200-$300 for a decent tripod and head combination.
An external flash unit will provide more control and power over the built in pop-up flash that is common to many consumer dSLRs. The proper flash unit will help the exposure by filling in shadows and giving extra light in low light situations. Expect to pay around $300 for a unit.
A good, durable bag to hold all your gear. Lowepro, Tamrac, and Crumpler are a few good brands. High speed memory cards to hold your pictures. I personally use Sandisk Extreme III CF cards. A good quality card reader to transfer your images over to the computer. Photoshop CS2 or Elements for processing the photos.
Basic Terms:
Aperture: As previously mentioned, it is the adjustable hole in the lens that controls how much light gets in.
Shutter Speed: Controls how long the sensor is exposed to light. Fast shutter speeds freeze fast action while slower shutter speeds introduce motion and blur. The slower shutter speed is also used at night to get long car trails or star trails. Slower shutter speeds are also more susceptible to camera shake when holding the camera. As a general rule, your shutter speed should be at least 1/focal length. So if you are holding a 300mm lens, the minimum shutter speed to be used is 1/300 of a second. The closest that is programmed in a camera is usually 1/500.
ISO: Formerly known as ASA, this dictates how sensitive the sensor is to light. On SLRs it usually goes 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 with steps in between depending on the camera. The higher the number the more sensitive to light the sensor is, but will introduce noise into the image and degrade image quality. Certain cameras are better at controlling the noise than other cameras.
Depth-of-field (DOF) and focus: DOF is the amount of the picture that is in focus behind and in front of your focus point. A larger aperture (f/2.8) will have less DOF than a smaller aperture (f/8). So more stuff will be in focus at f/8 than at f/2.8. The exact DOF is a function of the focal length, aperture, and distance to your focus point.
Meter: Either in camera or a handle held device. It measures the amount of light in a scene and suggests the settings for the camera to get a proper exposure. It can be easily fooled by high contrast scenes, very bright scenes, or very dark scenes. It is up to the photographer to recognize these situations and over or underexpose the image from the suggestion of the meter.
