Introduction to Photography

A Visual Guide to the Essential Skills of Photography and Lightroom

Mark Galer

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9780367240820
• eBook ISBN: 9781317520863
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Digital Media

This book is intended to be the primary textbook to support any college who would like to run a Photography 101 course for students. The course is designed to offer tutors an independent learning tool to enable students to learn the craft of using an interchangeable lens camera (DSLR or Mirrorless) and the basics of an image-editing program (Adobe Lightroom) to enable them to take creative control of the imaging process. The curriculum offers a step-by-step and jargon-free approach to learning the fundamental skills of creative camera control. Each page features a large image with a brief explanation of how the creative controls of the camera have led to the resulting visual appearance of the image. Information on each page is stripped down the essentials and text is carefully selected to be unambiguous and kept to the bare minimum to ensure rapid acquisition of the skills on offer. This effective course-in-a-book allows students quickly to become technically proficient, and instructors to efficiently evaluate students' progress.

Creative Challenges

Creative Challenge 1

People

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Creative Challenge One

Create four close-up portraits where the

eyes are sharp and the background is

blurred.

Zoom your lens to an ‘equivalent’ focal

length of 50mm to 70mm (see

Full Frame

Equivalent

), set the ISO to Auto and choose

a wide aperture, e.g. f/4.*

*Note > Some kit zoom lenses will only

open to a maximum aperture of f/5.6 when

zoomed to 50–70mm. If this is the case

with your lens, use the widest aperture.

When using a crop sensor, e.g. APS-C,

4/3-inch or 1-inch set the aperture to

f/2.8 if available (see

‘Depth of Field’

in the

Technical Section).

Alysha Gaden

67

SAIFFER Settings

Set up your camera with the following settings:

Shutter Speed: Use 1/60 sec or faster (using

slower shutter speeds may result in subject blur).

Aperture Priority: Use f/4 for full frame sensors

or f/2.8 for crop sensors. Use the maximum

aperture if your lens does not open to these wider

apertures.

ISO: No higher than 800.

Focus and Focal length: 50–70mm (equivalent)

and ensure the eyes are sharp.

Exposure: Ensure there is no loss of detail

in shadows or highlights (adjust if required by

reviewing the histogram on the camera).

Raw: Set the ‘Quality’ to Raw.

John

68

YES

NO

Step 1: Choose your subject

Choose a subject that is compliant (happy to pose) not candid (camera unaware).

Image marked with a red X is not necessarily a ‘bad’ image, it just does not conform to the technical

requirements for this challenge.

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Interacting with People

If the person is a relative stranger, strike up a

conversation before asking permission to take

their photograph.

1.

Introduce yourself.

2.

Invite them to tell you their story by asking

some open questions.

3.

Express an interest in their appearance or

their activity.

4.

Let them understand your photographic

intentions are honorable and non-threatening.

Consider phrasing your desire to take a

photograph in a way that will...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Course Overview
• Technical Section
• Creative Challenges
• Image Editing
• Exporting Images
• Glossary
• Useful Links
• Index