Of all the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, one of the easiest to prepare for is the creation of your next project. Like every such event, you should have lots of pictures of the process and your only chance is now. After making the novice mistakes of relying on fuzzy photographs of a (temporarily) working circuit with an iPhone 2G and arranging for people to demonstrate a piece without taking lighting into account, Elizabeth wants to spare you the same agonies. Learn why, what, and how to document your next great project. Elizabeth will share opportunities missed, lessons learned, specific tips for documenting your next great project. For a written summary of the presentation content, visit http://efuller.net/blog/dont-forget-your-camera.

1. Lessons Learned in Documentation
Elizabeth Fuller
elizabeth@efuller.net
@jumpingship
Don’t Forget Your Camera

2. I am not a professional photographer
[disclaimer]

4. But I also make things

6. Get a professional to do it

10. I can’t count on someone else for
documentation

12. The end of a project shouldn't be the
only time for documentation

13. Overview

14. Overview
Why document

15. Overview
Why document
What to document

16. Overview
Why document
What to document
How to document

17. Why document

18. Save things that are temporary

21. Sanity check

23. Recreate it later

25. Share it with others
Tutorials

27. It may be useful in a presentation

28. What to Document

29. Everything
You limiting factor should not be the amount of memory on
your SD card.

37. It's hard to predict what pictures will
be useful in the future

45. How to document

46. Prep what you are documenting

50. Basics of photography

54. The core goal in digital photography
documentation is to maximize the amount and
range of data collected in an image by finding
the sweet spot between a collection of variables
Focus
Aperture
Exposure
ISO
Shutter Speed

56. A good camera is an investment

57. Single lens reflex (SLR) cameras
Control over variables
Flexibility of lenses
Larger sensors and lenses = more data

58. Focus
Make sure your main subject is in focus. You'd be amazed how many
times the most important text is blurry because the focus is off.

62. Aperture
The size of the hole

65. Exposure
The amount of light exposed to a sensor

69. ISO
How sensitive your sensor is to light

70. Shutter speed
The period of time the shutter exposes the lense

71. Use a tripod

73. Using a lens

74. Focal Length
angle of view and magnification

75. Prime Lens
Fixed focal Length (no zoom)

76. Zoom Lens
Variable focal Length

77. “fisheye”
Wide Angle Lens

78. Long focal length, far away subjects.
Telephoto Lens

79. Macro Lens
Close, small subjects

80. Macro

85. Reflective Surfaces

88. Before and After

91. Sharing it

92. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of
the good.

93. Measure twice.
Cut once.
Photograph everything.

94. Thank You
Elizabeth Fuller
elizabeth@efuller.net
@jumpingship