M AKING B ETTER P ICTURES A PRESENTATION TO A REA 2 CAT, N OVEMBER 19, 2009 B Y D EREK S OUTHERN, B RANCH 8

P HOTOGRAPHY IS “P AINTING WITH L IGHT ”

H OW MUCH L IGHT ? We have two ways to control how much light enters the camera: Shutter speed Aperture But we can also control the sensitivity of the sensor inside the camera using ISO settings from 50 – 3200+

S HUTTER SPEEDS Fast Slow

A PERTURES Wide open Closed down Fast lens $$$ Slow lens

E QUIVALENT EXPOSURES

H OW MUCH L IGHT IS ENOUGH ?

C AMERA DISPLAY MAY INCLUDE HISTOGRAM

Histogram

H ISTOGRAMS TELL ALL !

I S THIS A WELL EXPOSED PICTURE ?

C AMERA DISPLAY Histogram Exposure compensation White balance Image size (5.04 MP) File size Image quality

AVOID THE 3B’ S OF P OOR P ICTURES Blurry Bad Boring

T HE 3B’ S OF P OOR P ICTURES Blurry Bad Boring

B ETTER ? Focus on main subject, then recompose, and finish the ‘click’  

T HE 3B’ S OF P OOR P ICTURES Blurry Bad Boring 0.6 secs, f/5, ISO 400, auto-exposure

A NY IMPROVEMENT ? 1/10 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400, exposure set manually

S OME W AYS TO R EDUCE B LUR Use a tripod

S OME W AYS TO R EDUCE B LUR Use a faster shutter speed (lens speed becomes an issue!) by selecting ‘action’ or ‘sports’ option

S OME W AYS TO R EDUCE B LUR Remember shutter button has a two stage action; pause at mid- point, then press slowly without jerking camera. This allows autofocus to happen in the background. Then recompose picture if needed. Remember this one? Remember this one?

S OME W AYS TO R EDUCE B LUR Use ‘Image Stabilization’ (Canon’s term) to be able to hand hold camera at slower speed

S OME W AYS TO R EDUCE B LUR Rule of thumb with zoom: minimum shutter speed = 1/focal length of lens e.g., With a 200 mm lens use 1/200 sec shutter speed or faster

S OME WAYS TO REDUCE B LUR Use a tripod Use a faster shutter speed (lens speed becomes an issue!) by selecting ‘action’ or ‘sports’ option Remember shutter button has a two stage action; pause at mid-point, then press slowly without jerking camera. This allows autofocus to happen in the background. Then re-compose picture if needed. Use ‘Image Stabilization’ (Canon’s term) to be able to hand hold camera at slower speed Rule of thumb with zoom: minimum speed = 1/focal length of lens

C ANON SD450

U SE THE C AMERA M ODE F UNCTIONS Use faster shutter speeds to ‘stop’ action or reduce blur caused by camera shake: set ‘Action’ mode Use SMALL aperture (larger number like f/11) to increase area of sharpness : set ‘Landscape’ mode Use ‘Macro’ mode for close-ups (stamps, shells, flowers, ornaments, things to sell on eBay, etc) Use ‘Portrait’ mode and with the LARGE aperture (small number like f/2.8) you have a reduced Depth of Field and get a blurred background

S ELECT AN APPROPRIATE MODE selector

B ETTER PICTURES OF CHILDREN Get down to their level Use natural light, if possible: (avoid flash!) Zoom in; fill the frame Save highest quality pictures (you will need more memory cards, they are cheap and memories are priceless!) Pre-focus by pressing shutter release half way. This also reduces shutter lag time – if you don’t do this the action has happened by the time the camera takes the picture!

P ICTURES OF C HILDREN 1/80, f/2.8, ISO 400

P ICTURES OF C HILDREN 1/100, f/2.8, ISO 400

N EWBORN : ZOOM AND FLASH 1/60, f/5, ISO 400, 200mm, flash The hospital room was not well lit. I moved away from mother and child, used zoom to fill the frame, and added flash

I MPROVING OUR PICTURES : T HE ‘R ULE OF T HIRDS ’ Imagine a “Tic-Tac-Toe” 3x3 matrix superimposed on your picture (some cameras offer this feature) Avoid having the horizon in center of image Avoid having person/subject right in the center Have space in the direction a person is looking BUT - Break the rules when you need to!

B ETTER COMPOSITION The ‘Rule of Thirds’

U SING GRID

M AKE A PICTURE ! U SE PANORAMA WHEN YOU NEED TO

A VOID F LASH ! U NLESS YOU CAN ’ T !!

N O F LASH !

F LASH IS S HORT R ANGE 1/60, f/2.8, ISO 400, with flash

N O F LASH, BUT MANUAL CONTROL 1/6, f/2.8, ISO 1600, NO flash

O THER WAYS TO IMPROVE P ICTURES Fill the screen - zoom, or get closer Change your view point Use scenery to ‘frame’ your picture Do NOT use digital zoom! Bracket the exposure Change the White Balance Take multiple shots (especially if this is an important picture)

FILL THE SCREEN

MOVE ? - F IRST VIEWPOINT

MOVE? - S ECOND VIEWPOINT

N OT A GOOD DAY FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

B ETTER D AY – D IFFERENT V IEW

F ILL SCREEN AND FRAME

A NOTHER WAY TO FRAME A PICTURE

F RAMING S EATTLE

L OOK FOR D IFFERENCES !

O FF CENTER

O UTDOOR PICTURE, R ON AT S IRS IN THE K ITCHEN : NO FLASH 1/160, f/4.5, ISO 100, no flash

R ON WITH “F ILL F LASH ” 1/80, f/5.6, ISO 100, with flash

O LDEST OBJECT ~2 M YRS, IN BM

O LDEST OBJECT IN BM – NO FLASH

M ACRO MODE – GET CLOSE

E VEN CLOSER !