Photography Workshop.

Overview of SLR photography, hints, and tips.

Quality

The Quality of the image depends on two main factors. The ISO and the File Type.

ISO

100 ISO is the LEAST sensitive to light, but the BEST quality.

1600 ISO is the MOST sensitive to light, but the LEAST quality (noisy).

File Type (in the Quality menu) sets how much colour information and resolution the final image has.

Colour

The final colour of the image depends on two variables. The White Balance and the Picture Style.

White Balance

This adds a warming (amber) or cooling (blue) colour filter to the image in order to balance the whites with different light sources.

Picture Style

This defines what colour biases our images will have, whether they are saturated, black and white, sepia, etc.

Focus

There are 3 factors which effect whether an image is in focus or not. These are Auto Focus, the Focus Points within the frame and The Aperture.

Auto Focus

This must be switched on by the AF/MF button on the lens.

Focus Points

The focus points within the frame can be set manually or left automatically. You will see these as red lights within the viewfinder that flash and make a beeping sound when part of an image is in focus.

Aperture

Having a wide aperture, e.g. f4.0 gives a small depth of field. A narrow aperture e.g. f22 gives a large depth of field.

Movement

How much movement blur we achieve within our image depends on the shutter speed we set on the camera i.e.

SLOW shutter speeds will exaggerate the movement within your shot and cause light trails. It also picks up our own shaky hands (using a tripod to create "light graffiti" is advised!).

FAST shutter speeds will freeze movement.

Exposure

How light or dark an image is depends on 3 factors, the Shutter Speed, the Aperture, and the Exposure Compensation.

Shutter Speed

In Manual Mode setting a SLOW shutter sped will let in more light than a FAST shutter speed.

Aperture

In Manual Mode setting, a WIDE aperture e.g. 4.0 lets in more light than a NARROW aperture e.g f22

Exposure Compensation

How much EXTRA or LESS overall light we give to the image to make it brighter or darker.