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Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7: Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for a better picture & Taking Pictures of people © Copyright John Estru

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Page 1: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group

3 December 2013

Lesson 7: Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for a better picture& Taking Pictures of people

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 2: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Programme19 September Exploring your camera

1 October You’ve taken some pictures now what? (Viewing pictures; filing on your computer)

15 October Printing & Composing a better picture (part 1)

29 October Camera modes/scenes & Composing a better picture (part 2)

5 November Simple editing to improve your pictures

19 November Understanding exposure

3 December Controlling exposure/focal length/perspective/composition for a better picture &

Taking Pictures of people

17 December Everything you want to know about digital photography but never dared ask.© Copyright John Estruch

Page 3: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Last Time

How to improve my pictures.• Understanding Exposure

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 4: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Homework

Go through Exercises 1-6 again at home in your own time.

Make sure you feel comfortable with:• Controlling exposure• Freezing / blurring motion• Controlling depth of field

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 5: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Exercise 1- Automatic Exposure

1. Set your camera to Auto mode.2. Find where your camera tells you what shutter speed and aperture it is

going to use when you are about to take a picture.3. Take some pictures, taking particular notice of the shutter speed and

aperture as you take each picture.4. Take pictures in a variety of lighting conditions:

i. Indoors and outdoorsii. Scenes with bright and dark areasiii. Sunny day & grey day (if you can find them!)iv. Sun behind you / sun in front of you.

5. Are you happy with the exposure in all of the pictures?

ISO

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 6: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Exercise 2 - Exposure Compensation

1. Set your camera to program mode.2. Find the exposure compensation adjustment on

your camera (if you have one).3. Try taking several pictures of the same scene at

different exposures:i. Shoot the same scene with set to +2; +1; 0; -1; -2ii. Try this with several different scenesiii. Find some scenes which have a both bright and dark areas

ISO

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 7: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Exercise 3 – Shutter Speed

1. Set your camera to Shutter Priority2. Find out how to adjust the shutter speed in this mode.3. Change the shutter speed:

i. Find the shutter speed and aperture on the camera display.ii. How does the camera tell you if it can’t set the aperture to get a correct exposure at your chosen shutter

speed?

4. Take pictures of moving objects:i. Take some shots at fast shutter speed (1/250 or faster)ii. Take some shots at slow shutter speed (1/30 or slower)

5. Find out what happens at slow shutter speedsi. Zoom in as far as your camera will allow (longest focal length or highest “x” zoom) and shoot outdoors at

shutter speeds of 1/30 or less.ii. Zoom out as far as your camera will allow (shortest focal length or 1x zoom) and shoot a similar scene at

shutter speed of 1/30 or less.iii. Come indoors – how slow do you have to set the shutter speed to get a good exposure (without flash)?iv. Stay indoors – what happens when you take pictures at speed of around 1/10 or 1/15.

ISO

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 8: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Exercise 4 – Aperture

1. Set your camera to Aperture Priority2. Find out how to adjust the aperture in this mode.3. Change the aperture:

i. Find the shutter speed and aperture on the camera display.ii. How does the camera tell you if it can’t set the shutter speed to get a correct exposure at your

chosen aperture?

4. Take pictures of scenes with object(s) in the foreground which are clearly separated from the background:

i. Take shot at a wide aperture (f/4 or larger)ii. Take shot at small aperture (f/8 or smaller)

5. Take pictures in a range of lighting conditions.6. Can you always find a viable shutter speed for the aperture you have chosen?

ISO

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 9: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Exercise 5 – Manual Exposure

1. Set your camera to Manual Exposure (if you have one)2. Find out how to adjust the aperture and shutter speed in this mode.3. Find out how your camera tells you if the shutter speed / aperture combination

gives a “correct” exposure. 4. Try taking a range of shots

i. take pictures in various lighting conditionsii. “freeze” motioniii. show motion by “blurring” the imageiv. isolate an object from the background (object in focus, background blurred)v. foreground and background both in focus

5. Do you have more of a range of shutter speed or aperture?

ISO

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 10: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Exercise 6 – ISO

1. Find out how to adjust the ISO on your camera.2. Set ISO to Auto.3. Take pictures in a range of lighting conditions – note the ISO, shutter

speed and aperture.4. Choose the shutter speed (shake/freeze/blur) and aperture (depth of

field) then see if you can adjust the ISO to get a correct exposure.5. Take a picture with the lowest ISO you have and a similar picture with the

highest ISO. Can you see any difference in quality of the image?

ISO

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 11: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

This Time

How to improve my pictures.• Drawing together exposure / focal length /

perspective• Taking pictures of people

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 12: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Last Time -What affects Exposure

How sensitive is the film (or digital detector)

“Film Speed”

How much light is there on the subject “Lighting”

How big is the hole letting light into the

camera “Aperture”

For how long is the camera collecting light

“Shutter speed”4”

2”1”1/2”

1/250”1/125”1/60”

1/30”1/16”1/8”

1/4”

1/500”

ISO

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 13: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Summary (what have you got to tinker with)

Exposure

Brighter/DarkerDepth of field Motion / Still

ISO

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 14: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

The time before – Lenses etc.• Focal length• Magnification• Angle of view• Perspective • Position• Depth of field• Distortion

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 15: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

18 mm1x

39 mm2x

100 mm5.5x

250 mm14x

Wide Angle Telephoto

SLRCompact

Magnification / Angle of view

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 16: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Perspective / Position(relative size of objects at different distances)

How can I make the bollards look

bigger?

Zoom…… …. Or get closer.

Relative sizes of bollard, car and road sign stay the same.

Bollard has got relatively much larger than sign and house.

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 17: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Perspective / Depth of Field

45mm lens1 m distance

140mm lens3 m distance

• Wide angle and close to front bottle makes closer bottles appear relatively larger

• so parallel lines running along top and bottom of bottles come together quickly

• Long focal length and further from front bottle makes closer bottles appear relatively less difference in size

• so parallel lines running along top and bottom of bottles come together gradually © Copyright John Estruch

Page 18: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Distortion

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 19: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Lenses Focal Length (Zoom)

Distance from Subject

Magnifi-cationDepth of fieldAngle of view Perspective

ISO

Exposure “Composition”

Summary (what have you got to tinker with)

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 20: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

The time before that – Composition

• Some guidelines …………

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 21: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

What’s in the picture –avoid distractions

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 22: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

2. Avoid the middle/fill the frame

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 23: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

3. “The rule of thirds”

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 24: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

4. Frame the picture

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 25: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

5. Leading lines

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 26: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Focal Length (Zoom)

Distance from Subject

Magnification

Angle of view

Perspective

Summary (how to take the perfect picture)

Brighter / Darker

Depth of field

Motion / Still

ISO

Things you change affect the picture

Leading Lines

Frame the picture

Avoid middle / fill frame

Rule of thirds

Avoid distractions

Guidelines help you decide what’s in the

picture

Just add creativity

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 27: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

This Time

How to improve my pictures.• Drawing together exposure / focal length /

perspective• Taking pictures of people

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 28: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Beware posed picture

• It’s a record of the day

But• There is lots of

distracting background

• Its Dull !!!!!

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 29: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Beware Posed Pictures

• It’s a record of the day

But• I cringe• Nice door handle!• It’s Dull!!

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 30: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Beware posed pictures

• It’s a picture of Katie posing on her 9th birthday

• It’s dull and it’s awkward

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 31: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Oh Dear!

• The subjects look awkward

• Paul is hidden in the shade

• Far too much going on – distracting from the subject

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 32: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

What•Fill the frame•Blur the background•Highlight the subject•Less awkward look

How•Zoom (fill frame/ helps blur / not in subject’s face)•Use “portrait” setting or large aperture (blur background)•Don’t pose (he knew I was shooting but this is one of series walking down street.)•Use light to highlight subject

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 33: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

What•Isolate the subject•Keep the context

How•Stand a long way back and use Zoom (helps blur / not in subject’s face)•Use “portrait” setting or large aperture (blur background and foreground to isolate subject)•Don’t pose (she knew I was shooting but I was a long way off.)

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 34: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Unconventional views

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 35: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Unconventional views

• Unusual angle• Looking away from

the camera• Looks natural• Fill the frame

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 36: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Capture the action

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 37: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Capture the action

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 38: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Candid shots

• Long telephoto• And cropped

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 39: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

• Telephoto – camera is not in her face

• Background slightly blurred

• Use the light to highlight the subject

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 40: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Candid shots

• Not posed• Looking away from

the camera• Use the light to

highlight the subjects

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 41: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Homework1. Go through your pictures:

a. Find some that you don’t think are so good. What could you have done differently to improve them?

b. Find some that are better. What was different? Why did they work?

2. Take some pictures of people between now and the next session. Bring some along.3. Select one photo you think is not good and one which is good. Bring to next

meeting or email to [email protected] by Monday 16th December

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 42: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Homework

Photo competition - 3 pictures in each of 3 categories:1.People – portrait, group picture, action, candid etc.2.Places – buildings or landscapes3.Open – any subject you likeSend your 9 entries to [email protected] by Sunday 15th December (or arrange to deliver otherwise e.g. via cloud storage or deliver memory card to my house).

© Copyright John Estruch

Page 43: Buxton & District U3A Digital Photography Beginners’ Group 3 December 2013 Lesson 7:Controlling exposure / focal length / perspective / composition for

Buxton & District

Digital Photography Beginners

Next Time

• Everything you wanted to know about digital photography but never dared ask– Recap of what we have done – Your questions answered

• Photo competition– Competition portfolios.– Competition winners.

© Copyright John Estruch