1. The Basics of Digital Photography
By Dana Reese
Welcome to our 6th Made In Alaska Webinar…we hope you enjoy the Webinar and find the information helpful.
Tomorrow we will follow up with a brief survey on the webinar, and hope you will take 2-3 minutes to answer the questions and provide us feedback regarding the webinar.
The Goal of this webinar is to teach you and motivate you to take your own photo’s of your products. Not only is doing it yourself cost effective, but with today technological advancements one can capture close to perfect photos, and then enhance the photos with photo editing software.
I’m not a professional photographer by any means…I’ve basically just researched, practiced.
1st Poll – Do you have pictures of your product? 1

2. Poll #1 A poll will be displayed on your screen.
Please select the appropriate responses
You have 15 seconds
Do you have photographs of your product or services?
Yes No
If you don’t have photos of your product or services you need to get some. Either get pictures done professionally or take them yourselves. Bottom line is you need photos. 2

3. Do I Need Photographs of my Product?
The answer is YES!
Absolute necessity to have digital photographs to market your product
Brochures
Web page
Press release
Juried shows
Spotlight a new product
Made In Alaska website
Not many people would purchase a product with out seeing it first; especially if it is expensive. 3

4. Poll #2 A poll will be displayed on your screen.
Please select the appropriate responses
You have 15 seconds
Do you have a Digital Camera?
Yes No
If you don’t have photos of your product, invest in a digital camera
10 mgp camera at costco for $200.00
8 mgp camera at costco for $129.00
Digital Memory Cards are really Cheap
Costco 4GB - $30-$40 4

5. Advantages of Digital Cameras
Save time
Save money
Memory cards hold large amounts of photos
Easy to use programs for downloading photos
Easy to use

6. Advantages of Digital Images
More creative control
Use computer and photo-editing software to touch up and enhance pictures
Instant, easy, photo sharing
Website
Photo gallery
Going digital opens up a world of artistic and practical possibilities that you simply don’t have with film

7. Digital Camera Terms Resolution Image Quality File Formats
Media Storage Devices
OPTICAL vs. DIGITAL ZOOM
Exposure

8. Resolution Digital Pictures are made up of thousands of pixels
Pixels square “tiles” of color that make up all digital images.
1 Megapixel (MP) = 1 Million Pixels
More Pixels = Better Image Detail and Quality
More Pixels = Higher Camera Price
Most digital cameras allow you to change the resolution setting
Simply put, the greater the number of pixels in an image, the higher the resolution. And the higher the resolution, the better and larger the prints you can make.
Most Cameras allow you to set your resolution…Set it to the maximum resolution….
However, keep in mind that higher resolution photos will take up more space on your memory card and in your computer.

9. Selecting the Image Quality
Good, Better, and Best
These settings reflect the compression levels of photos
Compression refers to the amount of image your camera collects when taking a photo
Lower Compression = Large File Size
High Compression = Small File Size
The Image quality settings reflects the compression levels of the photos
Compression refers to the amount of image your camera collects when taking a photo

10. Selecting the Image Quality
Best – Excellent Picture Quality, Large File Sizes, and Prints (11x17)
Better – Acceptable Picture Quality, Medium File Sizes, Prints 8x10 and Smaller
Good – Lowest Acceptable Quality, Good for Online Usage, Prints 5x7 and 4x6
The Image quality settings reflects the compression levels of the photos
Compression refers to the amount of image your camera collects when taking a photo

11. To maximize both the resolution and clarity of your photos, set your camera on its highest resolution and Best Image quality setting

12. File Formats JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group
Most Common Format
Low Quality - Compressed File
Ideal for Web and
TIFF – Tagged Image File Format
High Quality – Uncompressed File
Capable of Editing
Intended for Printing
RAW
Digital Negatives
Not directly usable as an image, but has all of the information needed to create an image
The file format you choose doesn't affect the resolution of the photo

13. Media Storage Device Memory Stick CD DVD
Measured in Megabytes (MB) & Gigabytes (GB)
Hard Disks
Compact Flash
􀂄 Memory Stick
􀂄 Floppy Disk
􀂄 CD-R & CD-RWs
􀂄 Measured
Back up your photos

14. Memory Cards Size does matter
Take as many pictures as needed; delete bad pictures, keep the good ones
Limited Storage
Higher resolution photos
Takes up more storage space
Lower resolution photos
Takes up less storage space

15. Memory Cards Capacity # of Photos (jpeg format) 128 MB 98 256 MB 196
392
1 GB
784
2 GB
1,568
4 GB
3, 136
8 GB
6, 272

16. Digital Zoom vs. Optical Zoom
Most Cameras come with both
Optical Zoom
The lens changes focal length and magnification as it is zoomed.
Image quality is high throughout the zoom range.
Digital Zoom
simply crops the image to a smaller size, then enlarges the cropped portion to fill the frame again
zoom results in a significant loss of quality
Optical is better because it maintains image quality by relying on the lens itself.
Digital electronically magnifies a section of the image from the sensor, almost always resulting in a degraded image.
Pay more attention to Optical Zoom because
it will give you the results that you want.

17. Exposure
Image affected by shutter speed, aperture, and ISO (sensitivity to light)
Programmed auto exposure
Camera selects proper aperture and shutter speed
Very Convenient
Exposure – is the amount of light that falls on to the film
ISO
The higher the ISO, the less light required to capture the image
Higher ISO can also make grainy image
ISO: A measure of film speed, the higher the number the faster the film.
Raising the ISO allows faster shutter speed, smaller aperture can result in a grainy image
Ideal picture is a combo of all three

18. Built-in Flash Very Convenient Low Power Limited Range 10-20 ft range
Prone to Red-eye
very convenient
low power
limited range
10-20 ft range
prone to red-eye

19. Flash Heads External Flash More Power Good Range Up to 100’
Ability to Bounce Light
Eliminates Red-eye
More Features and Flexibility
Hot Shoe
Flash Heads
more power
good range
up to 100’
can bounce
eliminates red-eye
more features and flexibility

20. Tips for getting the most from on-camera flash
Stay within the Flash Range
Turn on Additional Lights
Avoid Reflective Surfaces
􀂄 Rule of Thirds
􀂄 Fill-Flash
􀂄 Kodak’s Top 10 Tips for Great Photos
􀂄 Infopeople Digital Photography 101 Tips

21. Taking Great Digital Photos
Know your camera
Diffuser
Close Up
Stabilize
Angles
Lighting
Top Ten Digital Tips

22. “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
This quote goes a long way but not if you take a terrible photo
Know your camera
Learning just a few of your digital camera features can help in achieving powerful and meaningful photos
Read your cameras manual!
Read about the various features and play around with them
Your camera’s manual will not only teach you what all the buttons on your camera do, but it will also teach you how different techniques.

23. Light Diffuser
White-translucent fabric that is setup between a light source and subject
“softens” Light
Diffusing the light source allows for greater detail to be revealed
Eliminates dark shadows and bright spots caused by direct light
Tissue Paper
With direct sunlight falling on the subject, notice the very bright spots and dark shadows on the subject. There is very little detail in the dark, shadowed areas and detail is lost in the bright “hot spots” as well. Overall, this kind of light is not very flattering to most subjects

24. Light Diffuser
Captured without diffuser
Captured with diffuser

25. Close Up – Zoom In Always get as close as possible to subject Zoom in
Removes background clutter
Zoom in
Beware: some auto focus cameras have limits on how close they will work
Fill picture with the subject
For small objects, use the camera’s Macro Mode and a Tripod
Get close, then get closer
• Zoom in, get camera closer to subject
• Beware some auto focus cameras have limits on how close they will work
Use Macro mode, enables you to shoot up close.

26. Take Vertical Pictures
Many subjects look better in a vertical picture
Make a conscious effort to turn your camera and take vertical pictures
Yes, it can be a little awkward to hold until you get used to it but, what a difference it can make to the picture. If you are taking a picture of one person then it is essential to shoot upright, you waste so much of the picture area at the sides if you don't.
Wasted Space

27. Use Auto Focus Center the subject Press Shutter Button halfway down
Re-Frame your picture
Finish by Pressing the Shutter Button all the way down
Many Focusing Options – Auto, Manual,

28. Stabilize Tripods Use for sharp images Eliminates shake
Get a stiff tripod
Great for close ups
Tripods
􀂃 use for sharp images
􀂃 low light or night
􀂃 use mirror lockup
􀂃 eliminates shake
􀂃 get a stiff tripod

29. Use a Plain Background A cluttered background is distracting
Plain background will emphasize your subject
Experiment with different color backgrounds
Use sheets, towel, etc.
While your subject will already have a color of its own, pay attention to how that color interacts with your background and foreground. If your subject is green and the background is green, your subject is liable to be hard to see in the image. In contrast, if your subject is red and the background purple, you may be able to see the subject very well but the clashing colors can distract from the subject.

30. Control Your Flash Turn it off experiment with available light
Know your flash range
Pictures taken beyond the maximum flash range will be to dark
Check your manual

31. Light Great light makes great pictures
Study the effects of light in your pictures
Avoid strong over head lights that cast hard shadows
Use a diffuser between light source and subject
Diffuser spreads light over larger area of subject
Use natural light to your advantage
avoid harsh light behind your subject, watch out for dark shadows, and watch out for whites that glare in the light.

32. Light Manipulate the scene to create the effect you want
Move lights
Move the subject
Purchase additional light
Professional Photo Studio Light Kit –
3 Head lighting set, stand and light bulbs ($149.00)
Wireless Flash ($360.00) ours ($50.00 Cheapest)
You need to manipulate the scene to create the effect you want, this might mean moving a light on a stand or moving your subject relative to the sun, or waiting for a better time of day to get the effect you want.

33. Angles Try different Angles Move the subject
Shoot your photo from different angles

34. Verify details in the display screen
For close-ups with a digital camera, use the display screen to compose the picture and then review it
If you think it could be better, you can delete the picture and retake it
The most common mistake people make when taking pictures is not filling the frame with the subject.
Most cameras have some sort of circle or rectangle etched onto the glass and we are inclined to think, in our less thoughtful moments, that this is the whole picture area. Take a moment to glance around the viewfinder to see what you have got at the edges and especially in the corners. Watch out for clutter in the background
Make sure that everything in the viewfinder is there because you want it to be.

35. Editing and Enhancing Digital Photos
With picture-editing software, you can enhance your pictures
Recommend
Photoshop Element (less than Costco)
Photoshop Element
Resize
Rotate
Crop
Adjust Lighting
Adjust Contrast
Work with Tiff files
One of the biggest advantages of digital photography is being able to edit photos with editing-software!

36. Create Your Own Studio
A simple setup outside or inside by a window is all you need
Create a plain background by draping a bath towel or solid-color sheet over something, or tacking it to the wall
Smooth out any distracting folds
Cheaper
Be creative and create your own studio! You don’t have to spend a lot of money. Just do whatever works best. There is no right or wrong way.

37. Purchase Portable Lighting Studio
Sunpak EBOX Portable Mini Studio
Less than $80.00
Everything need to take professional studio-quality images
Two 50 watt floor-standing lights
Mini aluminum tripod with 3-way panhead
Includes carrying case
Pros
Convenient and Complete
Construction sturdy
Backdrops are a good neutral color
Cons
Lights are poor

38. Practice, Practice, Practice
Experiment with lighting
Experiment with different color backgrounds
Experiment with different angles
Have fun
Read your manual
Research online
Take lots of pictures
Create your own studio
Hands-on In the Field
􀂃 Bring your camera!
􀂃 Bring your questions!
􀂃 Be prepared to experiment!
􀂃 Have fun!
Take Lots of Pictures
Try New Angles
Camera
Lights
Subject
Have Fun You Can Always Erase The Pictures That You Don’t Want

39. Resources The Complete Guide to Digital Photography
Michael Freeman
Digital Photography Bible Desktop Edition
Dan Simon
The Joy of Digital Photography
Jeff Wignall
The Complete Guide to Light and Lighting in Digital Photography
Digital Photography for Dummies
Julie Adair King
Listed are the resources which I used and think are really great. I highly recommend researching online. Kodak.com is a great site that has lots of info and tips.

40. Questions?
Questions or concerns?

41. Made In Alaska Website
Made In Alaska Permit Holders have the opportunity to display one photo on the Made In Alaska website, along with your business information.
We Need Your Photos!
Please your photo to
Our goal is for all our Made In Alaska Permit holders to have a picture on our website! We don’t care if it is just your logo, or a picture of your staff…we want something! But, preferably a picture of your product.