Photography Blog

Camera guides, technology tips

Basic Photography Lesson

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This post will give you a basics photography lesson and prepare you for macro photography. Let’s begin with overview of cameras in our lesson:

Camera: Cameras come in all types and sizes ranging from old film point and shoot to new digital medium format cameras. Chances are you would be using a digital SLR or digital point and shoot camera. Whatever camera you have, make sure to read the manual from start till end at least 2 times, since every camera has different controls and you would not want to carry the manual with you all the time.

Digital SLR Camera

Digital SLR Camera

The digital cameras have a CCD or CMOS sensor inside which captures the images and then the camera records it on the storage card. The size of the sensor is important as a large image can be edited and also printed out on large size. Nowadays, anything above 10 mega pixels is fine and is easily available.

Compact Digital Camera

Compact Digital Camera

Lens: If you have a point and shoot the lens would be fixed in the camera, while in the digital SLR you have the option of changing the lens as per your requirement. It is here that the digital SLR gives you great versatility over the point and shoot. The focal length of the lens shows you the angle of the lens i.e what is the coverage of the lens. The lens coverage ranges from wide angle (very wide view) to telephoto (very narrow view).

Telephoto Zoom                                            
Wide Angle Zoom Lens                                  
Macro Lens

Lenses are made for a variety of applications ranging from macro to sports photography. The aperture and focal length of the lens is made according to the purpose it is made for.

Aperture: Aperture is the opening of the lens. Inside the lens are shutter blades which control the light passing through the lens. A smaller number like 1.0 means a bigger shutter opening as compared to a bigger number like 32.

WaterProof Compact Camera

WaterProof Compact Camera

Depth of field: The depth of field is determined by the aperture of the lens. Depth of field means how much area of the picture is in focus from the point where you focus. A small aperture will give a shallow depth of field, while a high aperture like 32 would give you a high depth of field.

Shutter Speed: The shutter speed is controlled in the camera body. It depends upon the light entering the camera through the lens. A higher shutter speed is very essential for macro shots if you are holding the camera in your hand. Generally, a shutter speed reciprocal to the focal length of the lens is enough to hand held the camera. i.e a shutter speed of 1/100sec on a 100mm lens is ok.  Any shutter speed less than that would require a tripod.

Exposure: The exposure in layman terms is the amount of light falling on the sensor and it is responsible for the photograph taken. The exposure can be adjusted via mainly shutter speed and aperture. There are also other variables like ISO (sensor sensitivity) which can affect the exposure.

Tripod: For slow shutters speeds where you cannot hold the camera in your hand a tripod is essential to get sharp pictures. The heavier a tripod is the more stable it is. A tripod is an essential item in macro photography involving static objects.

Storage Media: The last lesson is about the storage media. The camera captures images on the sensor and then stores it on a storage media. Different cameras have different media slots like compact flash (CF), secure digital (SD), microdrive, smart media, memory stick, xd picture card etc.  As a basic rule, estimate the number of photographs you intend to take in a single trip away from home. I would recommend at least 2 GB to hold images.

This was a basic photography lesson from my side. Hope it is enough to get you going on your macro photography.

 

How to choose a Digital SLR Camera for Yourself

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It depends a lot on a person’s profession and usage when it comes to choosing a digital SLR camera. There are many advantages of choosing a digital SLR Camera. One of the key feature is the lens attached is used for viewing and focusing the image. The other cameras don’t have such function; the object is basically seen through the viewfinder and not the lens. Whatever image is seen in the camera before clicking the same comes on the negative. SLRs are parallax error free. The SLRs have multiple features that can be implemented for various uses. Use of different lenses makes the camera usable in many situations. Keeping this in mind most manufacturers have come up with a wide range accessories and lenses for SLRs. For example some lenses come with very long focal lengths making the objects clear especially when a wildlife photographer uses it. As it won’t be possible for them to go near to the wild animals still the image is not blurring.

When you go for choosing a DSLR then first thing to click your mind should be ‘what you would like to photograph?’ What are your photography styles? Few of them are listed below:

  • Landscapes

A landscape photographer would like to click the beauty of nature. There is no human figure to be clicked so the main focus is on clarity of stationary objects.

  • Wildlife

A wildlife photographer would like to click only moving objects. As the focus will be on wild animals so the images to be captured are for running or moving objects. Overall sedentary objects are not to be captured.

  • Small objects

If a photographer likes clicking small objects for example a flower so very minute details of that flower is to be captured. And fine details of the surroundings are also focused. Another name for this is macro photography.

  • Availability of light

If you love to click objects during night then such lens are required which makes the objects clear irrespective the availability of light.

  • When you travel

While travelling no one would choose such a camera which is bulky or requires accessories for its use. It’s not convenient to carry loads of things when you travel. You should be able to click objects while biking, hiking etc.

  • When you want to click indoor

The light availability is the maximum if the objects are clicked at home. And most of the time the objects are stationary. So it’s very easy .The focus and clarity of objects is very easy.

  • Frequently moving objects

If you like photographing frequently moving objects then you need a different lens. For example if you want to photograph a small child then obviously small kids keep on moving and changing expressions. The SLR should be able to capture the moment which you want to capture for the lifetime.

  • Portraits

When you want to photograph the facial expressions of a person the clarity is a must.