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SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH “VIEWFINDER”
“Choosing your digital camera is your first step into the wonderful world of photography”….. Well if you think that is Correct I would say “you are WRONG”. Photography is an art. One has to learn to see the picture before he or she even tries to capture it. Learning to put a scene into an imaginary frame is the first step into the wonderful world of photography. |
Thinking out a concept from a scene is very important before you start capturing the scene itself, like “Flowers” depict smile on ones face, “Sparkling lights” depict happiness, “Raindrops” show the richness of the environment, butterflies show the colors of mind, a “beautiful lady” represents the charming glory of perfection, “fire” can speak all languages, an “old man” is a face of experience, a “child” means innocence and curiosity and so on, and so forth……. |
One does not need any expertise to achieve this knowledge nor a special classes and a teacher to teach this. All you need to do is sit and watch. Be curious about whatever you see. And let your imaginations flow through your mind. If you happened to do is sincerely, I am sure that you will be able to capture a strong message along with the picture making the picture more effective and beautiful. |
Once you master this art of imagination and composition it is time for you to know the basics of camera and its technology. Technology in a Camera resembles to that of your eye. We see better in good light and so does the camera. Good light often produce sharp images. Dull light will make your camera to produce images that are dark and colorless. It is a game of light and dark in the world of camera and photography. Light intensity, Luminosity, angle in which light falls on the subject and even shooting in dull light is a concept. (Which I will discuss in later stages with you)
Know your camera well before you start
Type: Point and shoot (fig 3a), Single Lens Reflex (SLR), Digital Single lens reflex (DSLR) (fig 3b).
Make: Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, Olympus, Kodak, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Samsung and so on
Model: Specific model numbers are given by each company for equipment of different configuration,
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Resolution: Cameras range from 1.8 MP to 40MP Zoom: In point and shoot cameras zoom is usually represented by a number and “x” beside the number (e.g. 10x). The optical and digital zooms range from 3x to more than 25x in point and shoot. For SLRs the concept of digital zoom does not exist. The zoom factor purely depends on the external Lens attached (fig 5) to the body (make a note that lens in point and shoot camera is not detachable) lens for SLr come in wide range starting from 11-18mm macro with wide angel to 400-600 macro with zoom lens. |
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Min and Max ISO: ISO (international organization for Standardisation) refers to the light sensitivity of your camera. Low sensitivity with ISO 50 will give you fine image details with low image brightness and High sensitivity ISO 6400 will give brighter image but with considerable noise along with it, however the higher ISO can be used in dull light conditions and higher shutter speed conditions to produce good images. ISO ranges from 80 to higher than 6500 in professional cameras.
Shutter speed: It refers to the minimum and maximum speed |
Semi Automatic Modes
Aperture Priority Mode (A or AV): This mode is really a semi-automatic (or semi-manual) mode where you choose the aperture and where your camera chooses the other settings (shutter speed, white balance, ISO etc) so as to ensure you have a well balanced exposure. Aperture priority mode is useful when you’re looking to control the depth of field in a shot (usually a stationary object where you don’t need to control shutter speed). Choosing a larger number aperture means the aperture (or the opening in your camera when shooting) is smaller and lets less light in. This means you’ll have a larger depth of field (more of the scene will be in focus) but that your camera will choose a slower shutter speed. Small numbers means the opposite (ie your aperture is large, depth of field will be small and your camera will probably choose a faster shutter speed).
Shutter Priority Mode (S or TV): Shutter priority is very similar to aperture priority mode but is the mode where you select a shutter speed and the camera then chooses all of the other settings. You would use this mode where you want to control over shutter speed (obviously). For example when photographing moving subjects (like sports) you might want to choose a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion. On the flip-side of this you might want to capture the movement as a blur of a subject like a waterfall and choose a slow shutter speed. You might also choose a slow shutter speed in lower light situations.
Program Mode (P): Some digital cameras have this priority mode in addition to auto mode (in a few cameras Program mode IS full Auto mode… confusing isn’t it!). In those cameras that have both, Program mode is similar to Auto but gives you a little more control over some other features including flash, white balance, ISO etc. Check your digital camera’s manual for how the Program mode differs from Automatic in your particular model.
Fully Manual Mode
Manual Mode: In this mode you have full control over your camera and need to think about all settings including shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, flash etc. It gives you the flexibility to set your shots up as you wish. Of course you also need to have some idea of what you’re doing in manual mode so most digital camera owners that I have anything to do with tend to stick to one of the priority modes.
Automatic Mode: This mode us the most used of all modes amongst the beginners. I guess no introduction is needed to this mode where the camera captures the image using its brain and not the photographer…happy clicking.
Aperture Priority Mode (A or AV): This mode is really a semi-automatic (or semi-manual) mode where you choose the aperture and where your camera chooses the other settings (shutter speed, white balance, ISO etc) so as to ensure you have a well balanced exposure. Aperture priority mode is useful when you’re looking to control the depth of field in a shot (usually a stationary object where you don’t need to control shutter speed). Choosing a larger number aperture means the aperture (or the opening in your camera when shooting) is smaller and lets less light in. This means you’ll have a larger depth of field (more of the scene will be in focus) but that your camera will choose a slower shutter speed. Small numbers means the opposite (ie your aperture is large, depth of field will be small and your camera will probably choose a faster shutter speed).
Shutter Priority Mode (S or TV): Shutter priority is very similar to aperture priority mode but is the mode where you select a shutter speed and the camera then chooses all of the other settings. You would use this mode where you want to control over shutter speed (obviously). For example when photographing moving subjects (like sports) you might want to choose a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion. On the flip-side of this you might want to capture the movement as a blur of a subject like a waterfall and choose a slow shutter speed. You might also choose a slow shutter speed in lower light situations.
Program Mode (P): Some digital cameras have this priority mode in addition to auto mode (in a few cameras Program mode IS full Auto mode… confusing isn’t it!). In those cameras that have both, Program mode is similar to Auto but gives you a little more control over some other features including flash, white balance, ISO etc. Check your digital camera’s manual for how the Program mode differs from Automatic in your particular model.
Fully Manual Mode
Manual Mode: In this mode you have full control over your camera and need to think about all settings including shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, flash etc. It gives you the flexibility to set your shots up as you wish. Of course you also need to have some idea of what you’re doing in manual mode so most digital camera owners that I have anything to do with tend to stick to one of the priority modes.
Automatic Mode: This mode us the most used of all modes amongst the beginners. I guess no introduction is needed to this mode where the camera captures the image using its brain and not the photographer…happy clicking.