GETTING TO KNOW The DSLR CAMERAS! Photography is all about capturing light

SLR Single Lens Reflex camera

GETTING TO KNOW The DSLR CAMERAS!

Camera Functions Auto Fully automatic including flash if needed. P Program – The camera automatically set the shutter speed and aperture but you can change theses to gain different effects. It also unlocks other options like the ISO and light meter. Tv Time priority - You select how long the shutter if the camera will be open for. It will automatically set the necessary aperture. Av Aperture priority - You select the size of the aperture which effect the depth of field in your image. It will automatically set the necessary shutter speed . M Manual - You decide on which effect you want to create by balancing the exposure settings (aperture & shutter speed) using the meter inside the viewfinder of the camera) Portrait shots Landscape shots Close ups Sports Night time No Flash

info display

IT’S YOUR CREATIVE & TECHNICAL CHOICE Aperture/F.stop Remember if you are after… Lots of light you need a small number Less light you need a big number Lets in more light Lets in less light Shallow Depth of Field Greater Depth of Field IT’S YOUR CREATIVE & TECHNICAL CHOICE

Aperture/F.stop

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Depth of Field

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ depth of field

Shutter Speed Shutter speed on a camera controls the length of time it takes for the shutter to close. The longer the shutter is open = the more light entering the camera.

Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed Panning with movement Slow shutter speed 1/30 Fast shutter speed 1/250

Fast or slow shutter speed

ASA/ISO ISO relates to how much light the light receptor panel in the camera will receive. A lower ISO of 50 or 100 will be able to be used in a brightly lit situation and will record a lot of detail while a higher ISO of 800 – 1000 will cope with a more dimly lit lighting situation but may not record as much detail and may add a little grain to the images captured. 100 200 400 800 1600 Brightly Lit Situations Dimly Lit Situations

Focus You can choose either Auto or manual focus. Auto Focus – Use Auto Focus when you want to capture a moving subject or are needing to shoot a volume of images. Manual Focus – Use Manual Focus when you want to capture close up ( macro ) or after something specifically in focus.

Exposure - light meter The light meter inside the camera tells you whether the exposure is correct or if you are allowing too much or too little light. 0 your exposure is going to be correct. – area the exposure is going to be too dark as there is not enough light. + area the exposure is going to be too light as there is too much light.  

finding the balance

Some technical rules Shoot in a large format (L) - This will allow you to collect as much data as possible. This gives you more to ‘play’ with once images are on the computer. E.g you can crop an image and it won’t pixelate. Shoot in full colour – Again this is to collect as much data as possible. Black and white mode will reduce the amount of data collected. You can easily transform images into gray scale once on the computer. Back up your images - Upload your images & save them to an external hard drive that you can bring to and from school, as well as on file at home if you can. Find a sensible file naming system and stick to it! Try not to shoot hundreds of photos – Evaluate the image you are taking through the viewfinder before you press the button. Try not to use the flash - It flares off objects and flattens the depth of your images. Although it can be useful for fill when your subject is backlit. Use a slow shutter speed with a tripod if there is not enough light. Do not wipe the camera lens - Don’t wipe the camera lens with your t-shirt or any other materials as you will scratch the lens. Use a proper cleaning cloth that we can provide you