1. An Introduction to Photography

2. So you want to win the competition? How do you do it? Go out and take pictures! The best way to learn photography is through trial and error! See what you think is best! But since you’re here why don’t we go through some basic rules of photography to get you going?

3. Issue of Lighting Photography is all about light But the camera sees light differently from us Need to understand this difference, and adjust light that enters camera (exposure)

4. Exposure Exposure the most important technical aspect of photography This is controlled by 3 variables- Aperture, Shutter speed and ISO (sensitivity) The scene modes on your camera just plays around with different combinations of these! You can do it yourself through Shutter Priority (S), Aperture Priority (P) and full manual (M)

5. What is correct exposure? There’s no such thing! Technically, correct exposure means all light values fall within the range that your camera sensor (or film) can capture. Which works fine, but it might not give you the look you’re trying to achieve.

6. Exposure effects High key image Low key image ‘normal’ exposure

7. Wow that’s so cool, how can I do that? Take your camera out of green auto mode, put it into P mode. This allows you to use exposure compensation You can underexpose your pictures by dialling in – compensation, and + for overexposure. How much to set? That’s up to you! Try starting with +/- 1EV. Also useful if you think your images just look under/overexposed.

8. Other uses for exposure com. ‘Black cat in coal cellar’ Sunny, snowy landscape Your camera will get fooled more often than you think!

9. Shutter Speed ‘the amount of time that the shutter is open’ This can typically range from 1/1000 of a second to 2 seconds More light reaches the sensor if the shutter is longer Usually keep this as high as possible to “freeze” the image

10. However You can use slower shutter speeds to create cool effects

11. Examples Long shutter speed – capturing motion Short shutter speed - Freezing the moment

12. Aperture ‘the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken’ Measured in ‘f-stops’ or f/number – for example f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6,f/8,f/22 etc. Moving from one f-stop to the next doubles or halves the size of the aperture

13. Some more things The aperture scale is the ‘wrong’ way around: Larger number means smaller size hole Landscape photography usually needs a small aperture (big number) so that the whole scene is in focus Less light gets in with large apertures (small numbers) so slower shutter speeds will be needed and vice versa

14. Effects of aperture The size of the aperture affects the how much of the picture will be in focus – Depth of Field f/32 f/5

15. ISO ‘The sensitivity of the image sensor’ Typical values: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 Higher ISO means more sensitive – so can take pictures in lower light However high ISO also means more grain (degradation of image quality) So if you have lots of light or your shooting on a tripod always use a low ISO

16. Examples Low ISO always yields best image quality, use when maximum detail is required, such as portraiture, landscape, etc. Picture taken in the studio at ISO 200 Detailed crop

18. Decide for yourself the maximum ISO you would happily use.Taken at ISO 3200

19. Composition Getting the technical things right with photography is trivial, but getting nice looking pictures isn’t! Some rules that you can follow when it comes to composition, but rules are there to be broken! So don’t follow it blindly.... Subject bang in the middle usually doesn’t look good though!

20. Rule of thirds Placing your subject off centre, by about 1/3 of the way usually looks good. Your eyes are naturally drawn to these positions.

21. Portraits Can be very powerful in portraits

22. Other compositions Don’t be afraid to break these rules too! Very centered Very off centered

23. Leading lines Use lines and vanishing point to guide the viewer

24. Perspective Wideangle lens exaggerates perspective, while telephoto compresses it. Telephoto compression Wideangle perspective exaggeration

25. Flash Do your images turn out like this?

26. Flash Diffusion All done with a piece of paper!

27. Quick Fire Tips for Portraits Alter Your Perspective Photo by striatic

28. Experiment with Lighting Photo by Bukutgirl

29. Take a Series of Shots Image by diyosa Switch your camera into ‘burst’ or ‘continuous shooting’ mode and fire off more than one shot at a time

30. Be careful about wide-angle Photo by DannyDoo

31. Watch for backgrounds Portrait by akbar1947 Photo by paulbence

32. Conclusion So much to explore with photography, go out and have fun! Practice and experimentation makes perfect! Develop your own style!

33. Questions?