Photography 101 Part 1

Photography 101

Part One

Equipment: camera, meter, flash, tripod

This article is a simplified photography course directed at new photographers out there who want to know where to start.

If you really want to learn photography the first thing you need is a good affordable and reliable camera. It must, and I repeat must, be able to shoot in fully manual and fully auto focus modes. (This leaves out any digital cameras on the market right now, sorry.) To really learn photography you must understand the equipment. You'll need to learn how manipulating the shutter speed, aperture, and focus will have a dramatic effect on your photos. Meters, if you have a camera that can work in a fully manual mode it should have an internal meter suitable for what you will be doing. Tripod, you're going to need one whether it's portrait work or landscapes you'll need one eventually. Luckily you don't have to spend a lot here. Just something lightweight and durable. Flash, you can buy a separate camera mounted flash, which is great if you can afford it. Consider what kind of photography that you will be doing though. If you're going to do mostly nature and landscape, you may only need the fill flash that comes with most cameras today. If you plan on doing portraiture alone you will want to consider a camera mounted flash that has an adjustable angle.

Film, film speed to be exact. Slower speeds (25 to 400) are intended for portraiture and landscape photography. Faster speeds (600 and above) are intended for actions shots and photojournalism. So first you need to know what you going out to photograph and make sure that you have the appropriate film for the job.

Now that you have the camera loaded with film consider shutter speed. Do you want to blur motion, or freeze it? If there is no motion at all what shutter speed do you need to expose the scene with natural light. From 1/60th and down to the bulb setting will blur most motion. For example if you want to blur the water in a waterfall, a setting of 1/30th should work. (You'll need a tripod though.) 1/125th is a normal setting for most shots. On many cameras the 125th setting is marked in a different color to make it obvious. If you want to freeze action you'll need to start with 1/500th and work up from there. The faster the motion the faster the shutter speed needed to stop motion. Many cameras go up to 1/2000th of a second. If you're trying to use natural light alone in a scene you will want to determine the aperture first and then see what shutter speed you need to properly expose the scene for available light. (Keep in mind sometimes there isn't enough light.)

Aperture, these are the set of numbers on your lens closest to the body of the camera. They can go from 1.8 to 22, and they are referred to as F-stops. These numbers determine how much light reaches the film inside of your camera. Most internal meters will blink on the appropriate aperture for the shutter speed that you've set, or the speed you've set will blink if your F-stop is correct for the speed. Both the F-stop and shutter speed can be changed to expose the scene correctly. Consider that the faster the shutter speed the more light will be needed to expose the scene correctly. This makes logical sense if you think about it. If the shutter isn't open as long, fast shutter speed, then there is less light able to make it to the film and so the scene must be brighter to expose correctly. To learn, bracket your shots. Take the first shot at the aperture suggested by your meter, move one stop up, take a photo, one down, take another photo.

Flash, I personally like shooting with natural light whenever possible and at most I use a fill flash. But if you're going to do portrait work then most of the time you may be indoors and you will need a flash sometimes. For the amateur the fill flash units that are on the top of most of today's cameras are wonderful for basic work. You will have to read your manual on your particular flash unit to learn what it can and can't do. This is where the camera that is fully manual and fully auto is great for the amateur. You can usually set it so that the camera will meter and set the flash output accordingly and then you still can control the shutter speed and aperture.

This week's assignment: Have several rolls of 400 speed film, find a subject that you can work with preferably something that won't move, and shoot one roll of film. Shoot some of the roll in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Bracket every shot, take notes on time of day and light conditions, and what your settings (aperture) were for each frame, keep the film speed the same for the entire roll. Have the film developed and examine the photos. You should be able to see a difference in each frame. You'll need to repeat this procedure until you feel that you understand the relationship between shutter speed and aperture, and every camera and meter has it's own quirks and differences, you're camera will act differently than someone else's. This way you will learn you own particular camera as well. Once you have a sense of how aperture works you won't need to bracket every shot you take, you may only need to do it in cases where you want to be extra safe on exposing the subject correctly.

If you have some specific questions please visit my Photography Forum at: http://kellypaalphotography.com/v -web/bulletin/bb/index.php

Copyright 2004 Kelly Paal

Kelly Paal is a Freelance Nature and Landscape Photographer, exhibiting nationally and internationally. Recently she started her own business Kelly Paal Photography (www.kellypaalphotography.com). She has an educational background in photography, business, and commercial art. She enjoys applying graphic design and photography principles to her web design.

---

Online Photo Sharing: Not Just for Family and Vacation Photos

You may have joined the photo-sharing craze to share your... Read More

How a Digital Camera Works

The digital camera is not something of a magic box... Read More

Diffusion & Softening of Digital Photography Images

Like many people who've made the switch from film cameras... Read More

Photography - Rules of Composition

Composition is defined as the combining of distinct parts or... Read More

Photography Business: Taking Baby Photos - for Professionals & Families

Babies make the best and the worst subjects to photograph.... Read More

Elephants in the Sky and Four Poems

Elephants in the Sky[1980s, Lee Evens in Mali, Timbuktu/Africa]Advance: Lee... Read More

Using a Camcorder to Record Family Events Quickly and Easily

Let's start there (but not spend too much time on... Read More

Digital Cameras Demystified

Demystifying Digital Camera JargonWant to buy a digital camera but... Read More

8 Simple Tips for Taking Great Baby Photos

Taking pictures of your new baby is a great way... Read More

Where Do Great Ideas Come From?

At a Photo Club meeting I attended recently, the President... Read More

Is your Digital Camera Compatible With Your Computer?

So you recently bought a digital camera or perhaps your... Read More

Digital Camera Macro Mode

The digital camera is a wonderful device that allows a... Read More

Photography Workshops and Master Classes

Several years ago, I met a fellow photographer - albeit,... Read More

Digital Camera Interpolation Explained

In a device such as a digital camera it is... Read More

Digital Image Files ? Megapixels, Megabytes, or DPI?

When I promised readers that I was going to do... Read More

Photography 101 Part 3

ContentEven if you feel that you already know what kind... Read More

The Mysterious Powerful Element of a Picture That Sells

A photo buyer calls for a picture of pigs. It... Read More

Traveling to Europe with Your Digital Camera?

The Vacation Season is fast approaching and naturally you will... Read More

Imperfect Photos And How You Can Fix Them

So your picture came out less then perfect. Blemishes or... Read More

Kodak CX7300 Digital Camera

Quality digital cameras are becoming affordable for just about everyone... Read More

Photography Success Without School

What I learned from a mentor that enabled me to... Read More

Becoming A Digital Artist On A Budget

So, you want to become a digital artist but paying... Read More

Black and White is Beautiful

Think about Laurel and Hardy for a moment, or Charlie... Read More

Bracketing and How To Use Tt Correctly...

What Is... Exposure BracketingExposure bracketing is a simple technique professional... Read More

Types of Digital Cameras

If you are in the market to purchase a digital... Read More

Inspired Vision

A picture is worth a thousand words, so goes a... Read More

Let Those Digital Photos Out! (You Don?t Have To Print Them Yourself)

What have you done with the photos you've taken with... Read More

Removing Spot Scratches in Your Treasured Photos ? 5 Minute Digital Fix

Probably one of the most common problems you will be... Read More

Photography Has No Gender

Women photographers are fortunate. Unlike other titles, photographer has no... Read More

History of the Camera

Early cameras of the 16th and 17th century were able... Read More

Tips for Better Vacation Photos

Photos are a great way to share your travel experiences... Read More

Taking Professional Quality Pictures

By now I'm sure you've used Either a digital or... Read More

Help! My Old Colour Photo has Turned Pink ? 5 Minute Digital Fix

Almost all of us will have seen this particular photographic... Read More