Photography Basics - Revision history

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2008-09-11T18:18:07Z

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J at 20:44, 20 June 2008

2008-06-20T20:44:33Z

J at 20:31, 19 June 2008

2008-06-19T20:31:33Z

J at 04:58, 26 April 2007

2007-04-26T04:58:48Z

J at 04:51, 26 April 2007

2007-04-26T04:51:46Z

J at 19:55, 13 April 2007

2007-04-13T19:55:13Z

J at 18:30, 13 April 2007

2007-04-13T18:30:33Z

New page

Ever wonder why one picture looks so much "better" than another? Ever want to make your pictures look that good? It's definitely possible, and you don't even need a great camera to significantly improve the pictures you take.
{{Incomplete2|Outline|All Content|Example photos}}
==Composure==
===Filling the Frame===
===Rule of Thirds===
===Leading Lines===
===Contrast===
===Colors===
==Camera Settings==
===Aperature===
===Shutter Speed===
===Focus===
==Photo Editing==
===Software===
====Photoshop====
====Photoshop Elements====
====Photoshop Lightroom====
====GIMP====
===Crop===
===Contrast Correction===
===Brightness Correction===
===Color Correction===
===Exposure Correction===

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 The first step in making a great picture is actually capturing the image.  It's important to spend at least a little time thinking about the shot and planning what it will look like.  This is called ''composing'' the shot.  The thing you're taking the picture of is called the ''subject''.  There are several key elements to think about while you're composing your shot:
 ===Filling the Frame===
-The edge of the photo is often refered to as ''the frame''.  The easiest thing to do to better your pictures is called ''filling the frame''.  Look around the edges of the picture before you take it and walk through this list:
+The edge of the photo is often referred to as ''the frame''.  The easiest thing to do to better your pictures is called ''filling the frame''.  Look around the edges of the picture before you take it and walk through this list:
 #Do you have everything you're looking for?  If not, re-compose the shot to include everything
 #Is there something in the picture that you would rather leave out?  If so, re-compose the picture to leave that thing out.  It might take attention away from your subject.
-#Make sure nothing is cut off, like a person's head, because that sort of thing instantly runins a picture
+#Make sure nothing is cut off, like a person's head, because that sort of thing instantly ruins a picture
-#Make sure there isnt excessive space between the subject of the photo and the edge of the frame - extra space will take attention away from your subject and put it on the background
+#Make sure there isn't excessive space between the subject of the photo and the edge of the frame - extra space will take attention away from your subject and put it on the background
 {| width="100%"
 |-
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 ===Zoom===
-There are two major types of zoom setting, ''wide-angle'' equivelant to low zoom and ''telephoto'' equivelant to high zoom.  Interesting things happen when you compose the same shot at different zoom levels.  Wide angle zoom allows you to capture a wider section of the background in the shot, telephoto does the oppoiste.
+There are two major types of zoom setting, ''wide-angle'' equivalent to low zoom and ''telephoto'' equivalent to high zoom.  Interesting things happen when you compose the same shot at different zoom levels.  Wide angle zoom allows you to capture a wider section of the background in the shot, telephoto does the opposite.
 ===Contrast===
@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 ==Camera Settings==
 Ever wonder what all those silly dials and buttons on your camera do?  Here's the answer.  You might not see options with these specific titles if you're using a point-and-shoot digital, but I assure you it works the same way.  I'll also tell you what you point-and-shoot might say instead.  In this article, I'll only tell you how it affects the picture.  If you want to know more, see [[Photography Science]].
-===Aperature===
+===Aperture===
-This is the amount of light that is let into the camera.  The more light you have, the faster shutter speed you can use.  Aperature also affects your ''depth of field'', which describes how large the range is in which things are in focus.  Aperature is measured in ''f-stops''.  Lower f-stops are often called ''faster'', as they let in more light and cause the film or CCD to react quicker.  The faster the stop, the smaller your depth of field.  If your camera doesn't have a specific setting for ''aperature'' try setting it to something like ''portrait mode'' or ''landscape mode''.  These usually put the camera into ''aperature priority'' mode with low and high f-stops respectively.
+This is the amount of light that is let into the camera.  The more light you have, the faster shutter speed you can use.  Aperture also affects your ''depth of field'', which describes how large the range is in which things are in focus.  Aperture is measured in ''f-stops''.  Lower f-stops are often called ''faster'', as they let in more light and cause the film or CCD to react quicker.  The faster the stop, the smaller your depth of field.  If your camera doesn't have a specific setting for ''aperture'' try setting it to something like ''portrait mode'' or ''landscape mode''.  These usually put the camera into ''aperture priority'' mode with low and high f-stops respectively.
 ===Shutter Speed===
-This is how long the camera will ''expose'' the film or CCD to light.  The faster the shutter speed, the more light you need to take the picture.  Faster shutter speeds allow you to take pictures of moving action without blur.  Low shutter speeds will allow you to take pictures with less light, but are very prone to ''camera shake''.  Camera shake happens when the camera moves while the picture is being taken.  This causes the entire picture to look blured or doubled.  The general rule of thumb is to use a shutter speed that is the inverse of your current ''focal length'', or zoom amount measured in mm.  This doesn't really apply to point-and-shoot cameras, as you don't really know your focal length without doing some calculations.  If your camera doesn't have a "shutter speed" setting, try ''action mode'' or ''night mode'' to get a fast or slow shutter speed, respectively.
+This is how long the camera will ''expose'' the film or CCD to light.  The faster the shutter speed, the more light you need to take the picture.  Faster shutter speeds allow you to take pictures of moving action without blur.  Low shutter speeds will allow you to take pictures with less light, but are very prone to ''camera shake''.  Camera shake happens when the camera moves while the picture is being taken.  This causes the entire picture to look blurred or doubled.  The general rule of thumb is to use a shutter speed that is the inverse of your current ''focal length'', or zoom amount measured in mm.  This doesn't really apply to point-and-shoot cameras, as you don't really know your focal length without doing some calculations.  If your camera doesn't have a "shutter speed" setting, try ''action mode'' or ''night mode'' to get a fast or slow shutter speed, respectively.
 ===Focus===
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 [http://www.adobe.com/products/psprelements/ Photoshop Elements] is basically a watered down version of Photoshop with some features aimed at the home user, such as special projects, built in connectivity to online print services, and so on.  List price is about $150.
 ====Adobe Photoshop Lightroom====
-[http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/ Lightroom] is Adobe's new (released February 2007) digital darkroom software.  It is amazing.  List price is about $300, but if you're a student you can get a heafty discount through Adobe's educational program.  Lightroom allows you to quickly and effectively crop, color correct, touch up, sort, and search all your photos.  It's even possible to copy settings from one picture to another.  It works especially well with RAW type digital photos (more on RAW on the [[Photography Science]] page).  This is the software I use almost exclusively.
+[http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/ Lightroom] is Adobe's new (released February 2007) digital darkroom software.  It is amazing.  List price is about $300, but if you're a student you can get a hefty discount through Adobe's educational program.  Lightroom allows you to quickly and effectively crop, color correct, touch up, sort, and search all your photos.  It's even possible to copy settings from one picture to another.  It works especially well with RAW type digital photos (more on RAW on the [[Photography Science]] page).  This is the software I use almost exclusively.
 ====GIMP====
 [http://www.gimp.org ''The GIMP''] is a free, [[Wikipedia:Open_source|open source]] software for photo editing.  It currently runs on Linux, Windows, and MacOS X.  I haven't used it in years, but when I did I found that most of its functionality was similar to Photoshop.  There are some picky issues with color management, and some filters that are missing, but otherwise it's a pretty good product, especially for free.

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 [[Category:Photography]]
 Ever wonder why one picture looks so much "better" than another?  Ever want to make your pictures look that good?  It's definitely possible, and you don't even need a great camera to significantly improve the pictures you take.
 {{Incomplete2|Only preliminary content has been entered|Example photos lacking|Outside fact check}}

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:31, 19 June 2008
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		+	[[Category:Photography]]
	Ever wonder why one picture looks so much "better" than another? Ever want to make your pictures look that good? It's definitely possible, and you don't even need a great camera to significantly improve the pictures you take.		Ever wonder why one picture looks so much "better" than another? Ever want to make your pictures look that good? It's definitely possible, and you don't even need a great camera to significantly improve the pictures you take.
	{{Incomplete2\|Only preliminary content has been entered\|Example photos lacking\|Outside fact check}}		{{Incomplete2\|Only preliminary content has been entered\|Example photos lacking\|Outside fact check}}

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 #Make sure nothing is cut off, like a person's head, because that sort of thing instantly runins a picture
 #Make sure there isnt excessive space between the subject of the photo and the edge of the frame - extra space will take attention away from your subject and put it on the background
-[[Image:PhotoTut_FillFrame_Wrong.jpg|thumb|300px|none|The subject of this picture does not fill the frame]][[Image:PhotoTut_FillFrame_Right.jpg|thumb|300px|none|The subject of this picture fills the frame nicely]]
+{| width="100%"
 ===Rule of Thirds===
 The ''rule of thirds'' is a way to divide your photo into segments.  The segments and divisions between segments are "strong points" in the photo, or places where attention will be quickly and easily drawn.  This is very hard to explain without an example, so I won't until I make an example.  (yes, I know there are examples now, but it's late at night, and I'm tired. I'll explain it later.)
-[[Image:PhotoTut_RuleThirdsLandscape.jpg|thumb|300px|none|This landscape shot uses the rule of thirds]][[Image:PhotoTut_RuleThirdsLandscape_Demo.jpg|thumb|300px|none|The same shot with a rule of thirds overlay]]
+{| width="100%"
+|-
 ===Leading Lines===
 The human eye tends to be attracted to long, obvious lines.  Using long lines, say at least 1/3 the width or length of the frame, in photos are great ways to catch attention.  It's important that lines in your photo lead to something important, like your subject, otherwise they could end up being a distraction.
-[[Image:PhotoTut_LeadingLines.jpg|thumb|300px|none|The branches act as leading lines]][[Image:PhotoTut_LeadingLines_Demo.jpg|thumb|300px|none|The most prominant lines are highlighted here]]
+{| width="100%"
+|-
 ===Perspective===
 Don't always shoot a subject from where you would normally view it.  Try different angles, different heights, or different distances.

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 Ever wonder why one picture looks so much "better" than another?  Ever want to make your pictures look that good?  It's definitely possible, and you don't even need a great camera to significantly improve the pictures you take.
-{{Incomplete2|Outline|All Content|Example photos}}
+{{Incomplete2|Only preliminary content has been entered|Example photos lacking|Outside fact check}}
 ==Composure==
 The first step in making a great picture is actually capturing the image.  It's important to spend at least a little time thinking about the shot and planning what it will look like.  This is called ''composing'' the shot.  The thing you're taking the picture of is called the ''subject''.  There are several key elements to think about while you're composing your shot:
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 #Make sure nothing is cut off, like a person's head, because that sort of thing instantly runins a picture
 #Make sure there isnt excessive space between the subject of the photo and the edge of the frame - extra space will take attention away from your subject and put it on the background
 ===Rule of Thirds===
-The ''rule of thirds'' is a way to divide your photo into segments.  The segments and divisions between segments are "strong points" in the photo, or places where attention will be quickly and easily drawn.  This is very hard to explain without an example, so I won't until I make an example.
+The ''rule of thirds'' is a way to divide your photo into segments.  The segments and divisions between segments are "strong points" in the photo, or places where attention will be quickly and easily drawn.  This is very hard to explain without an example, so I won't until I make an example.  (yes, I know there are examples now, but it's late at night, and I'm tired. I'll explain it later.)
 ===Leading Lines===
 The human eye tends to be attracted to long, obvious lines.  Using long lines, say at least 1/3 the width or length of the frame, in photos are great ways to catch attention.  It's important that lines in your photo lead to something important, like your subject, otherwise they could end up being a distraction.
 ===Perspective===

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{Incomplete2|Outline|All Content|Example photos}}
 ==Composure==
 ===Filling the Frame===
 ===Rule of Thirds===
 ===Leading Lines===
 ===Contrast===
 ===Colors===
 ==Camera Settings==
 ===Aperature===
 ===Shutter Speed===
 ===Focus===
 ==Photo Editing==
 ===Software===
-====Photoshop====
+These are a few programs that I've used to edit pictures.  There are tons of others which vary in cost and feature set.  Generally, there's nothing wrong with using a software that's not listed here.  It's important that you use the software that you are most comfortable with and most able to create the effects you like easily.
 ====Photoshop Elements====
-====Photoshop Lightroom====
+[http://www.adobe.com/products/psprelements/ Photoshop Elements] is basically a watered down version of Photoshop with some features aimed at the home user, such as special projects, built in connectivity to online print services, and so on.  List price is about $150.
 ====GIMP====
 ===Crop===
 ===Contrast Correction===
@@ Line 22: / Line 58: @@
 ===Color Correction===
 ===Exposure Correction===