Camera Clinic

An informal presentation on how to do effective digital photography

Camera Clinic is sponsored by the Camera Culture group in the MIT
Media Lab. The presentation began as a series of supplemental class
sessions for MIT students enrolled in Ramesh Raskars fall 2010
class on Computational Camera and Photography (MAS 131/531).
The goal of the presentation is to provide students and other
members of the MIT community with an opportunity to learn more
about basic digital camera operation, exposure control, effective
shooting techniques, and the esthetics of good photography.
Id like to give a big Camera Clinic tip of the hat to Ramesh Raskar
for inviting me to do the presentation, and Id like to give extra special
acknowledgement to Taya Leary for her eager help and enthusiasm
in scheduling and promoting todays session.
Randall Warniers
warniers@alum.mit.edu
Jacques-Henri Lartigue 1911
Anyone can make an
excellent picture at
any time.
A fundamental theorem of photography.
Carry your camera with you wherever you go.
You never know who or what you are going to see.
The fun part
Once you have a camera,
memory cards, and computer,
all digital photography is free!
You can shoot a thousand
images as easily and cheaply
as you shoot a dozen.
The only additional cost is hard
drive storage on the computer,
and thats less than a dime a
gigabyte these days.
So take lots of shots!
!
Four factors contribute to successful photography
Camera + Light + Decisive Moment + Point of View
These four factors lead to
The four fundamental rules
of good photography
1. Know your equipment thoroughly
2. Notice the light
3. Be prepared to photograph quickly
4. Find a good place to stand
Whatever you do to enhance
your skills in these four areas
will improve your photographs.
The ideal goal
Your eye sees the
visual opportunities.
Your camera and
lens are aligned with
your vision and your
way of seeing.
Your method of
working records
what you see,
quickly and easily.
Canon PowerShot S100 ($400)
Nikon CoolPix S8200 ($300)
Canon PowerShot G12 ($500)
Fuji X10 ($600)
Panasonic Lumix G2 ($800)
Sony NEX-7 ($1400) Canon EOS 1D X ($6800 body only) Nikon D7000 ($1200 body only)
Canon EOS Rebel T3i ($900) Nikon D4 ($6000 body only)
Choose a camera that fts what you want to do
Olympus PEN-EPL2 ($600)
compact point and shoot
interchangeable-lens compact
digital single lens refex (DSLR)
35 mm full frame
36 x 24 mm
APS-H (Canon)
28.7 x 19 mm
APS-C (Nikon)
23.6 x 15.7 mm
APS-C (Canon)
22.2 x 14.8 mm
CX (Nikon)
13.2 x 8.8 mm
Four-Thirds System (Olympus)
17.3 x 13 mm
1/1.7
7.6 x 5.7 mm
1/1.8
7.18 x 5.32 mm
1/2.5
5.76 x 4.29 mm
Top-of-the-line digital SLR cameras have a full-frame digital sensor,
equal in size and shape to a 35-mm flm frame. Less expensive mid-
range digital SLR cameras have a 6080% smaller APS-size sensor.
Interchangeable lens compact cameras have APS, Micro 4/3, and
CX-size sensors. Compact point-and-shoot cameras have very small
sensors. In general, bigger sensors produce better image quality.
The digital sensor
Canon 7D
APS-C CMOS sensor
18 MP
55 mm lens
Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III
full-frame CMOS sensor
21 MP
85 mm lens
Bigger digital sensors produce better image quality
Canon 7D digital SLR at $1500 has acceptable but disappointing quality. Top-of-the-line Canon EOS 1Ds digital SLR at $6500 is superb!
1
Thank you for your purchase of a Nikon D200 single-lens reex (SLR) digital camera
with interchangeable lenses. This manual has been written to help you enjoy
taking pictures with your Nikon digital camera. Read this manual thoroughly
before use, and keep it handy when using the product. The documentation for
this product also includes the manuals listed below. Please be sure to read all
instructions thoroughly to get the most from the cam era.
Quick Start Guide: The Quick Start Guide takes you through the process of un-
packing and set ting up your Nikon digital camera, taking your rst photographs,
and trans fer ring them to your computer.
Software manual (on CD): The software manual contains information on using
the software provided with your camera. For information on view ing the soft-
ware manual, see the Quick Start Guide.
To make it easier to nd the information you need, the following sym bols and
con ven tions are used:
This icon indicates that more infor-
mation is available elsewhere in this
manual or in the Quick Start Guide.
This icon marks notes, information that
should be read before using the cam-
era.
This icon marks tips, additional infor-
mation that may be helpful when us-
ing the camera.
This icon marks cautions, information
that should be read before use to pre-
vent damage to the camera.
This icon marks settings that can be
ne-tuned from the Custom Set tings
menu.
This icon marks settings that can be ad-
justed using camera menus.
An AF-S DX 1870 mm f/3.54.5G ED lens is used in this manual for illustrative purposes.
The parts of the lens are shown below.
Lens
Zoom ring Mounting index: 8
Focus ring: 60 A-M mode switch: 60
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CPU contacts: 176 Focal length scale
Introduction
Rule 1: Know Your Equipment Thoroughly
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Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with camera controls and displays.
You may nd it helpful to bookmark this section and refer to it as you read
through the rest of the manual.
Camera Body
Accessory shoe: 180
Getting to Know the Camera
(ash sync mode)
button: 78
[ Flash compensa-
tion: 80]
Lens release button: 8
Focus-mode selector:
19, 51
Built-in ash: 76
Connector cover: 106
Video connector: 106
DC-IN connector for optional
EH-6 AC adapter: 181
USB connector: 108, 111
Eyelet for camera
strap: 9
Flash sync terminal:
180
Flash pop-up button: 78
10-pin remote
terminal: 182
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AF-assist illuminator: 58
[Self-timer lamp: 83]
[Red-eye reduction lamp: 77]
Sub-command dial: 170
Eyelet for camera strap: 9
Depth-of-eld preview button:
62
FUNC. button: 170
Battery-chamber cover: 11
Battery-chamber cover latch: 11 Tripod socket
Mode dial lock
release: 26
QUAL (image quality/size)
button: 29, 32
[ (reset) button: 97]
WB (white balance)
button: 3544
ISO (ISO sensitivity) button: 33 Mode dial: 26
Power switch: 17
[Illuminator switch: 5]
(exposure
compensation)
button: 72
[ (reset)
button: 97]
Control panel:
5
(focal plane mark): 60
(exposure mode)
button: 62
[ (format) button:
14]
Shutter-release button: 20
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The multi selector is used for menu navigation and to control the display of photo in-
formation during playback.
Camera Body (continued)
(playback)
button: 22, 98
(menu)
button: 24
(thumbnail)
button: 102
(protect )
button: 104
[ ? (help) button:
24]
(enter) button: 24
[ (playback zoom)
button: 103]
(delete) button: 22, 105
[ (format) button: 14]
Monitor: 9, 116, 184
Viewnder eyepiece cup
Viewnder eyepiece:
83, 90, 181
View more photo info
Move cursor down
View previous photo
Return to previous menu
Cancel
Playback ( 98)
Menu navigation ( 24)
View next photo
Display sub-menu
Make selection
View more photo info
Move cursor up
Multi selector
(AE / AF lock) button:
56, 70
Main command
dial: 170
AF-area mode selector: 54
Focus selector
lock: 53
Diopter adjustment control:
16, 181
(AF-ON)
button: 52
Memory card
slot cover: 14
Card slot cover latch: 14
Memory card
access lamp:
14
(bracketing)
button: 43, 73
Change number of
images displayed
Make selection
Metering selector: 61
1
Thank you for your purchase of a Nikon D200 single-lens reex (SLR) digital camera
with interchangeable lenses. This manual has been written to help you enjoy
taking pictures with your Nikon digital camera. Read this manual thoroughly
before use, and keep it handy when using the product. The documentation for
this product also includes the manuals listed below. Please be sure to read all
instructions thoroughly to get the most from the cam era.
Quick Start Guide: The Quick Start Guide takes you through the process of un-
packing and set ting up your Nikon digital camera, taking your rst photographs,
and trans fer ring them to your computer.
Software manual (on CD): The software manual contains information on using
the software provided with your camera. For information on view ing the soft-
ware manual, see the Quick Start Guide.
To make it easier to nd the information you need, the following sym bols and
con ven tions are used:
This icon indicates that more infor-
mation is available elsewhere in this
manual or in the Quick Start Guide.
This icon marks notes, information that
should be read before using the cam-
era.
This icon marks tips, additional infor-
mation that may be helpful when us-
ing the camera.
This icon marks cautions, information
that should be read before use to pre-
vent damage to the camera.
This icon marks settings that can be
ne-tuned from the Custom Set tings
menu.
This icon marks settings that can be ad-
justed using camera menus.
An AF-S DX 1870 mm f/3.54.5G ED lens is used in this manual for illustrative purposes.
The parts of the lens are shown below.
Lens
Zoom ring Mounting index: 8
Focus ring: 60 A-M mode switch: 60
I
n
t
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n
CPU contacts: 176 Focal length scale
Introduction
Two ways to learn how to use your camera
Step 1. Find your camera user manual.
Step 2. Read it from cover to cover.
OR
Step 1. Use the review of your
camera on the website
www.dpreview.com as
your instruction manual.
Step 2. Download a pdf of your
camera user manual
for reference.
Step 3. Ask for help when you are confused.
The Nikon Guide Io DigiIaI PhoIography
viIh Ihe
DIGITAL CAM
EA
En
Structure and resolution of the digital image
2560 pixels wide
1920 pixels tall
366 pixels per inch (ppi)
at 7 5.25 inches
The resolution of an
image can be expressed
in three different ways: (1)
the total number of pixels
in the image, expressed
in megapixels; (2) the
number of pixels in the
horizontal and vertical
dimensions; and (3) the
physical dimensions of
the image along with the
number of pixels per inch
(ppi).
Each square pixel has
a specifc color value
defned by the color
space of the image
(usually RGB), the bit
depth of the pixel, and
the component values of
the color channels.
4.9 megapixels
(i.e., 4,915,200 pixels)
Image size and aspect ratio
A digital camera typically has a set
of choices for image size in pixels.
In general, youll want to choose
the largest image size available.
The aspect ratio is the relative
shape of the image frame. On
some cameras this is selectable.
An aspect ratio of 4:3 is the frame
shape of old television and old
movies, 3:2 is the frame shape of
traditional 35-mm flm, and 16:9 is
the frame shape of modern digital
television.
3000
pixels
4000 pixels
3000
pixels
4500 pixels
2530
pixels
4500 pixels
12 megapixels
4:3 aspect ratio
compact point and shoot
13.5 megapixels
3:2 aspect ratio
digital SLR
11.25 megapixels
16:9 aspect ratio
selectable feature
Where does color come from?
A digital sensor is a rectangular
grid of sensor sites that record
light intensities. On this grid
of sensor sites is a Bayer
pattern of red, green, and
blue flters. Each sensor site
records the light intensity in its
given red, green, or blue portion
of the visible spectrum.
The fltered intensity values
are then processed into red,
green, and blue primary
images, or channels, which
defne the fnal RGB image.
Light
Filter
Sensor
Pattern
Bayer flters
Sensor sites
R
G
B
Note that the three individual RGB color
channels are each grayscale images!
What is the ISO value?
The ISO value, or exposure index, represents the quantity of light that is needed
to expose an image properly. This value ranges from 100 to 3200 on most digital
cameras. The ISO setting in digital photography is identical to the familiar ISO
exposure index (or speed) of flm. Lower ISO values require more light for a proper
exposure, while higher ISO values require less light. Unfortunately, high ISO values
often result in excessive digital noise, so use high ISO settings sparingly.
How does this quantity of light change as the ISO value changes? As the ISO
value doubles, the amount of light needed to expose an image is reduced by half.
The red bars below represent the quantity of light needed at each ISO setting.
100
200
400
800
1600
3200
6400
12,800
25,600
The ISO value is not an arbitrary number.
It is determined by the f16 rule. To obtain
a proper exposure in sunny daylight
conditions, use a lens aperture setting of
f16 and a camera shutter speed of 1/ISO.
What does digital noise look like?
ISO 100minimal digital noise
ISO 1600excessive digital noise
Digital noise is the price photographers pay for using a high ISO setting to make a
picture. It looks like visual algae, producing splotches of red, green, or blue in an
image. This noise occurs most noticably in shadow areas of a scene, and is most
unappealing in skin tones. Every camera handles digital noise differently, so test the
ISO settings on your camera to see where high ISO values become unacceptable.
A noisy image may be acceptable for certain low-resolution uses, such as online,
but it is unacceptable when you are looking for good image quality and fne detail.
White Balance
Light has an overall color temperature, which depends on the
source of the light and the lighting conditions. In any shooting
situation you must choose a white balance setting that most closely
matches the specifc light illumination you are in.
Typical white balance choices are daylight, fuorescent, tungsten,
incandescent, cloudy, shade, and fash. Digital cameras also have a
setting for auto white balance, which lets the camera choose the
approximate color temperature for you. In most cases, auto white
balance is an effective choice, and your color photographs will look
natural in nearly all lighting conditions.
You also have options to correct color temperature after the image
is made. If you end up with an unwanted color cast, you can
remove it in Photoshop (or other image editing applications), or you
can shoot pictures in RAW format, which allows you to set the white
balance after the picture has been taken.
Shade
Tungsten
Fluorescent
Daylight
Tungsten white balance in daylight produces an
excessively blue image
Shade white balance in daylight produces an
excessively warm image with too much red.
Fluorescent white balance in daylight produces an
excessively blue-green image.
Daylight white balance in daylight produces a
natural color rendering in this image.
Choices of JPEG compression on your camera
JPEG compression shrinks the storage size of image fles, and
allows more images to be written on a memory card. Cameras
typically have two to four choices for JPEG compression.
Nikon cameras have three compression settings: Fine, Normal,
and Basic. This table shows the size differences among these
JPEG settings for a camera with 10.8 megapixel images.
Ratio File Size Images (1 GB)
Uncompressed 1:1 32 MB ~31
RAW 1:2 16 MB ~62
JPEG Fine 1:4 8 MB ~125
JPEG Normal 1:8 4 MB ~250
JPEG Basic 1:16 2 MB ~500
Important! Compression changes only fle size, not pixel count.
Image compression is not a free lunch
A modest amount of JPEG compression reduces image fle
size while maintaining acceptable image quality. This is good!
Too much JPEG compression, however, particularly in an
image editing application, can produce unacceptable image
compression artifacts. In general, excessive JPEG compression
anything greater than about 1:30should be avoided.
1:60 1:30 1:2
The RAW format is a powerful option for precision
photography, but you have to know what you are doing.
A RAW fle contains unprocessed image data direct from
the camera sensor. The fle is processed, or developed,
on the computer rather than in the camera.
Good. RAW fles give you greater control over the
parameters of image development, primarily white balance
and exposure, which leads to higher quality photographs.
Not so good. RAW fles are much larger than JPEGs,
and each image requires detailed and time-consuming
attention in RAW processing software such as Adobe
Camera Raw, Adobe Lightroom, or Apple Aperture.
Three important details for camera operation
Use recommended memory cards. Your camera manufacturer will
recommend specifc memory cards with certain capacities and write
speeds for your camera. Follow these recommendations! Your camera
manufacturer may not honor the camera warranty if you have camera
problems while using a non-recommended memory card. In addition,
if your camera has a movie mode, the memory card needs to have a
specifc Speed Rating (usually 6 or 10) to record video accurately.
Turn off digital zoom. Your camera may have a digital zoom option
in addition to the optical zoom of the lens. Find the menu setting for
digital zoom and turn it off! Its not a true zoom at all, but a form of in-
camera image cropping that attempts to simulate a longer telephoto
setting. The picture quality is almost always compromised.
Auto sharpening and noise reduction. Image sharpening and noise
reduction are best done on the computer, rather than in the camera.
Set your camera settings for these two features to OFF or LOW.
Rule 2: Notice the Light
Treat light as an ally. Let the light draw the picture for you.
When the light is beautiful, your picture will be beautiful as well.
Natural light in the early morning and in the late afternoon,
when the sun is low in the sky, is best for people photography.
In general, any people photography in the middle of a sunny day
results in hard unappealing shadows on faces.
A bright sunny day may not be best for people photography,
but its great for photographing architecture!
Light comes from many sources and many directions,
including refections.
Soft hazy light, when the sun is slightly obscured by clouds,
is the best light for people photography.
Large windows with indirect daylight illumination is ideal
for photographing people indoors.
Measuring the light
The human eye sees more dynamic range
than the camera sensor can accurately record.
The limited dynamic
range of a digital sensor
cannot capture bright
highlight details and dim
shadow details at the
same time.
A scene can have a
dynamic range of up to
10 stops, while a camera
has a dynamic range of
5 to 6 stops.
A qualitative description of dynamic range
a high-contrast scene in nature
the human eye
flm
digital sensor
monitor
paper
highlights shadows
The goal of good exposure is to capture as much of the highlight
detail and shadow detail as possible, and render it in an image.
highlights
shadows
midtones
Fundamentals of Exposure
Understanding exposure is an important component of effective
photography. Every effort you make to learn exposure techniques will
result in better photographs in a larger variety of shooting situations.
For any image, your exposure is the combination of camera shutter
speed and lens aperture setting. This allows a specifc quantity
of light to enter the camera. If this quantity of light is measured
accurately, your image will be well exposed. If not, your image will be
underexposed (not enough light) or overexposed (too much light).
Shutter speeds typically range from as fast as 1/8000th of a second
to as slow as thirty seconds or longer, depending on the camera.
Lens aperture settings are more restricted.
A suitable choice of ISO value, an accurate camera meter
measurement of the light, and an appropriate selection of shutter
speed and lens aperture, all contribute to a well-exposed photograph.
+
Metering options
There are three traditional methods that a camera might use to
measure the amount of light in a scene: spot metering, center-
weighted averaging, and matrix metering (or evaluative metering).
In general, matrix metering is the best
choice for most lighting situations.
spot
center
weighted
matrix, evaluative, or multisegment
Incident light versus refected light
A hand-held light meter measures incident light, which is the light
illuminating or falling on a scene. This measurement isnt affected
by the tonal values of clothing or other objects in the scene.
A built-in camera meter measures
refected light, which is the light that
bounces off the surfaces in a scene.
This measurement is strongly affected by
the tonal values of objects in the scene.
For example, a brides white dress
refects much more light than a grooms
dark tuxedo. As a result, a camera meter
measures the refected light differently
for the bride than for the groom, even
though the incident light is the same for
both.
The camera meter sees a scene as a midtone gray
By design, a camera meter measures the light intensities in a scene
and determines an exposure value that is interpreted as a midtone
gray. This often leads to undesired underexposure or overexposure.
When the scene is
black
When the scene is
white
When the scene is
gray
the camera meter sees
average midtone gray.
Result: underexposure
the camera meter sees
average midtone gray.
Result: good exposure
the camera meter sees
average midtone gray.
Result: overexposure
Metering and exposure work together hand in hand
The camera metering system
determines the quantity of light
entering the camera in a given
scene.
Then
The camera electronics (or
the photographer) determines
the proper exposure setting
(the best combination of lens
aperture and camera shutter
speed) to record that scene
accurately on the imaging
sensor.
Lens aperture and the f number
The most confusing detail in the exposure process is the f number
(also called the f stop). The f number is a conventional description of
lens aperture setting, or how open the lens is. It is defned as
f = (lens focal length) / (apparent lens aperture diameter)
This fgure shows typical values of the f number, and how it changes
as lens aperture changes. Note that the f number gets larger as lens
aperture decreases, and smaller as lens aperture increases.
What is lens speed and why is it important?
The speed of a lens is its maximum aperture opening. A faster lens
can gather more light at a given shutter speed, which is important
for action photography in low light. Faster lenses are typically heavier
(they have more glass) and more expensive than slower lenses,
although there are notable exceptions.
On most zoom lenses,
the speed of the lens
is different at different
focal lengths. The
wide-angle setting
is usually faster (i.e.,
has a wider maximum
aperture) than the
telephoto setting.

Nikkor 200 mm f/2
telephoto prime lens
6 lbs. 7 oz., $6000
Nikkor
70200 mm f/2.8
telephoto zoom lens
3 lbs. 6 oz., $2400
Vibration reduction (VR) or
image stabilization (IS) is a
powerful new feature found
on many new cameras and
lenses.

It is implemented either in the
lens (e.g., Canon and Nikon)
or in the camera body.
The top image is an enlarged
portion of a telephoto image
taken at a slow shutter speed
with vibration reduction off.
The bottom image was taken
with vibration reduction on.
The difference in image clarity
and detail is substantial.
VR off
VR on
Exposure modes in the camera
Proper exposure of an image is a combination of lens aperture and
shutter speed such that the amount of light in the scene (measured
by the camera meter) is accurately recorded on the imaging sensor.
A digital camera has some or all of the following exposure modes.
Auto the camera makes all the decisions for you.
Scene modes predefned auto modes for specifc situations,
such as sunsets, action, freworks, fowers,
pets, portraits, mountains, and so on.
Program the camera chooses aperture and shutter speed.
Shutter Priority
*
you choose the shutter, camera chooses aperture.
Aperture Priority
*
you choose the aperture, camera chooses shutter.
Manual you choose both aperture and shutter speed.
*
On Nikon cameras. On different cameras these PSAM exposure modes can have different names. For example,
on Canon cameras, Shutter Priority is called Time Value (TV) and Aperture Priority is called Aperture Value (AV).
HOORAY FOR
AUTO
Sometimes you dont
want to pay attention
to exposure.
In Auto mode the
camera does all the
exposure work for you!
THE DREADED
MANUAL
MODE
Dont worry,
it wont hurt you.
In manual mode
you control your
exposure settings.
This is called
getting in touch with
your inner Ansel Adams.
What is the correct exposure in manual mode?
Your camera doesnt determine exposure for you in manual mode,
so how do you know what the correct exposure should be?
The answer is in your viewfnder display, which indicates exposure
information as well as many of your current camera settings.
This example from a Nikon
D40 shows the general idea.
The lighted indicators called
Electronic Analog Exposure
Display tell you whether you are
underexposed or overexposed.
Adjust the current aperture and
shutter speed settings until the
lighted indicators zero out at
the centerline.
The power of the histogram
An important indicator of exposure is the histogram, which shows in
a general way the distribution of tonal values in an image.
good exposure
overexposure
underexposure
The law of reciprocity
You arent locked into using one shutter speed and one f stop for
your exposure. Once you determine a good exposure setting, the
law of reciprocity allows you to choose other combinations of shutter
speed and aperture to get the same total exposure.
Heres an example: f2.8 1/2000
f4 1/1000
f5.6 1/500
f8 1/250
f11 1/125
f16 1/60
f22 1/30
Each of these exposure pairs allows the same
amount of light to enter the camera. Depending
on the shooting situation, certain exposure pairs
will be better than others.
Five examples of reciprocal exposures.
The quantity of light that enters the
camera is identical in each of these
exposures. Note how the depth of feld
shrinks as the f number gets smaller
(i.e., the aperture increases in size).
1/30 at f22 1/60 at f16
1/125 at f11 1/250 at f8
1/500 at f5.6
How the ISO value affects exposure
The ISO value you choose on your camera affects the exposure
settings in a specifc way. For a given shooting situation, as ISO
doubles, you need one stop less light to make a good exposure.
Heres an example for a low-light shooting situation.
ISO aperture shutter ISO aperture shutter
100 f4 1/30 100 f4 1/30
200 f4 1/60 200 f5.6 1/30
400 f4 1/125 400 f8 1/30
800 f4 1/250 800 f11 1/30
1600 f4 1/500 1600 f16 1/30
3200 f4 1/1000 3200 f22 1/30
6400 f4 1/2000 6400 f32 1/30
As you change ISO, you can change either aperture or shutter speed
proportionately, depending on which setting is most important in the
shooting situation.
OR
Question:
Why should I learn all this stuff about f stops
and manual exposure mode if the camera
will do all the exposure work for me?
Answer:
The camera meter can be fooled
by certain lighting conditions.
You should know what exposure
choices to make in these
conditions. The most diffcult
conditions for a camera meter
to measure are night scenes,
backlit scenes, snow scenes,
and sunsets.
Bright lights at night always fool a camera meter. For excellent night photography,
stabilize your camera (a tripod is best) and make a set of bracketed exposures.
Exposure problem 1
A bright background causes
the dimly lit foreground to be
underexposed, as shown in the
upper image.
By recognizing the exposure
problem caused by bright
lighting in the background, you
can measure only the interior
light (for example, with your
spot meter) or use manual
exposure mode to set a proper
exposure, as shown in the
lower image.
The underexposed upper
image can be tonally adjusted
in Photoshop, and somewhat
recovered as a photograph, but
the result will have excessive
digital noise. Getting a correct
exposure at the moment of
image capture is always best!
Exposure problem 2
White snow is recorded by the camera meter as a midtone gray value. As a result,
a beautiful winter scene looks dull and gray. This is not a camera malfunction.
Evaluating the light as midtone gray value is exactly how the camera meter is
designed to read light.
The underexposed image on the left can be corrected in Photoshop, but the
results are not always satisfactory. A better way to expose this scene is to add
two stops of light in manual exposure mode, or use exposure compensation and
add two stops of light to the camera meter reading, to get the properly exposed
image on the right.
Exposure problem 3
Sunsets are challenging to photograph. If you include the setting sun in the frame,
the picture will come out underexposed. Its best to measure the light with the sun
OUT of the picture, lock the exposure, and then reframe the shot to include the sun.
Exposure problem 4
Three important exposure features on your camera
Exposure compensation. You can bias all camera exposures by a
fxed f stop value, typically ranging from 3 to +3 stops. This can be
an effective solution for good exposure in diffcult lighting conditions.
For most shooting situations this value should be set to zero.
Exposure lock and focus lock. You can lock a camera exposure
and focus distance for a specifc exposure situation or for a desired
focus distance. This feature is especially effective for sunset scenes
or strong backlighting.
Exposure bracketing. You can take a series of precisely varied
exposure settings to get a good exposure in diffcult lighting
conditions such as night photography. Some cameras have auto
exposure bracketing as a feature, which automates the process.
If you have such a feature, be sure to turn it off when you are done
using it. You dont want your camera to automatically bracket your
exposures in regular shooting situations.
Example of exposure compensation. Strong backlighting in a
scene, when measured by the camera meter, results in a heavily
underexposed image. By adding exposure compensation, one stop
at a time, you can bias the camera meter for the extreme lighting
conditions. The plus direction adds light to a scene; the minus
direction removes light. Dont forget to reset exposure compensation
to 0 when you are fnished shooting in these conditions!
0 +1
+2
+3 +4 +5
Create an HDR image from separate exposures
A common method for creating a high dynamic range (HDR) image
is to capture a set of bracketed exposures and merge the images in
HDR software such as Merge to HDR Pro in Photoshop.
+3 +2
+1
0 1 2
The merged HDR image created from six separate exposures.
Some current work in HDR tries for an intense surrealistic look.
Ansel Adams. A Master of Light and Exposure
Ansel Adams developed the Zone System, which allowed him to carefully control
flm exposure, negative development, and image printing in order to clearly render
the full spectrum of image detailsfrom highlights to shadowsin the fnal print.
Perfection!
Rule 3: Be Prepared to Photograph Quickly
Anticipate an opportunity, like a baseball player anticipates a pitch.
Have your camera in your hand and ready to use.
Great photo opportunities can be literally a second away.
Unposed and natural is always better than posed and forced.
If you absolutely must pose the picture,
then make the pose as interesting as possible.
Let the light and your intuition guide you. Your spontaneous
instincts are often better than carefully considered judgments.
Helen Levitt. A Master of Photographing Quickly
Rule 4: Find a Good Place to Stand
A camera sees differently from you and me
A camera is inclusive. It sees
everything in front of the lens and
records all detail in its line of sight.
It sees objectively.
Our eyes and brains are exclusive.
We pay attention to important details
in a scene and ignore the rest. We
see subjectively.
This difference in how a camera sees
a scene and how we see a scene
can cause compositional surprises in
a picture.
Train yourself to see a scene
the way a camera sees.
Image composition and lens perspective
The perspective of the lens is
determined by the focal length.
Each focal length has a grammar,
or inherent meaning. Wide angle
is cool and ironic, normal is most
like human vision, and telephoto
is intimate and revealing.
wide angle (2135mm)
normal (4555mm) telephoto (85300mm)
Depth of feld
When a lens focuses at a specifc
distance, there is a region in front
of that distance and behind that
distance that is acceptably in focus.
That region of acceptable focus is
called the depth of feld.
large depth
of feld
shallow depth
of feld
How a lens creates depth of feld
Depth of feld is an optical property
of lenses, as shown in these images
prepared by Fredo Durand of CSAIL.
The amount of depth of feld in a
picture is determined by (1) the lens
aperture, (2) the lens focal length,
and (3) the focus distance.
1. Lens aperture and depth of feld
3. Focus distance and depth of feld 2. Lens focal length and depth of feld
What is wrong with this picture? (Answer: practically everything.)
Some traditional rules of composition
1. A photograph should have a strong center of interest.
2. Keep compositions simple; avoid busy backgrounds.
3. Place a subject slightly off-center rather than in the middle.
4. Dont place the horizon line in the middle of a picture.
5. Leading lines should lead the eye into the frame.
6. Include an interesting object in the foreground of a scene.
7. Frame a subject by zooming in or moving closer.
8. Look for interesting angles.
9. Look for refections.
10. Silhouettes.
11. Symmetry.
12. Light.
etc., etc., etc.
Traditional rules are fne for static scenes, when you have the
time to compose how the scene looks in your viewfnder.
Most photographic opportunities are dynamic. How do you
compose a picture when the scene is changing rapidly?
Get close to the action! Give yourself complete permission
to go where you want to go and do the pictures you want to do.
Find a revealing perspective.
Try different points of view and take plenty of pictures.
Good composition in photography is a direct result
of good old-fashioned camera position at a decisive moment.
How do you fnd a decisive moment?
Do what Henri Cartier-Bresson didwander and observe!
Walk around and look for interesting people,
places, things, and activities.
Pay attention to foreground subjects and background geometry.
Put your camera in a position where they ft together.
or strong graphic forms Look for bold geometry
or lively street activity or strong color.
Connect with the people you meet and the places you visit.
Photograph children at their own level. This allows the camera
to see the world from their perspective.
Dont forget the quiet moments when nothing seems to happen.
Can you photograph with your camera at your hip? You can be
less obtrusive and get a great point of view at the same time.
The key to shooting from the hip is to use a wide-angle lens
and keep your camera level.
A lower point of view looks up at people and ennobles them.
It also helps isolate people from busy backgrounds.
Photographs gain value over time,
so dont forget to record the small moments.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
A Master of Camera Position and Image Composition
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Great photographic possibilities are everywhere around you.
All you have to do is look!