Digital photography

*photographers who have just bought their first camera and need to understand the basic principles of photography and how to apply them,

*photographers with a bit more experience but who want more detailed knowledge on design and composition of photos and how to apply it in the more common types of photography and

*more experienced photographers who are ready to push the boundaries of design, composition and execution in the fields of i.e. photographic art and flower photography. The book contains more than 400 photographs but it is more than just a book of beautiful photos. The text and will guide you through the enjoyment of the photography experience

Basic Principles.

*The first 8 chapters describe the basic principles and how to use them

*Understand ISO and use it as part of your exposure.The functions, ISO, aperture and shutter speed were all designed to use the same rule when their scales were calibrated – so that if for example the aperture setting is kept constant, and you move a stop up or down any of the other two scales, the exposure of the photo will either double or be reduced by half. The figure below illustrate the three scales.

ISO, Aperture and shutterspeed. If you were to take a picture using the same aperture throughout, (i.e. f16), something that took 1/125 second to be photographed at ISO100  (the green figures) would take only 1/250 second at ISO 200 because ISO 200 is twice as fast. (The red figures). If you then use ISO 400, it would be twice as fast again, so it would only take 1/500 second to photograph. This ability to interchange values off one scale for another gives an incredible flexibility in the exposure of your photographs, and you can start to take more control over the way you capture your pictures.

Principles of focus For a camera to capture a sharply focused image the lens, which is used to capture the light rays reflected from the image, must be able to concentrate light  originating from the object to a sharp single point on the sensor. This principle is illustrated in the figure below:

The histogram. Another very important tool which can be used to make sure your exposure is correct, is the histogram. Most cameras these days offer the function of having the histogram of your photo instantly available. Making use of the histogram can be a very valuable tool in getting your exposure just right.

Chapters 13 and 14 cover important aspects of composition and design.

Chapter 13

Elements of importance in visual-design photography

·         Contrast: in light, colour and tone

·         Lines: Vertical, horizontal, diagonal

·         Shapes: Rectangles, squares, triangles, circles

·         Other: Texture, repetition (rhythm), perspective in size and depth

Chapters 15 – 19 introduce the reader to five commonly practised photographic genres.

Chapter 15

Macro photography

Macro awareness

The genre of macro photography introduces one to a world generally unseen. From relatively large subjects such as flies, spiders, butterflies and flowers to butterfly eggs and the structure on them, we enter a world that most of us are totally unaware of. In addition to equipment with the ability to focus in tight, you also need a different visual sense when undertaking macro photography. When landscape photographers walk through a garden, they tend to see the big picture. When doing macro photography you need to focus on the details and it is these small details which become the subject of attention.

Chapter 16

Flower Photography

Flower photography is one of the most rewarding forms of photography. There is an almost endless variety of shapes, forms, lines and colours available and the beauty of it all is that there is no limit to the possibilities close to home. You don’t need to worry about what equipment to take with you, what the weather may be like when you arrive at your destination or any of the other details associated with travelling, because it may not be necessary to venture beyond your own back yard! If you do not have a garden you can even buy your subject material at a florist and take it home!! However, having said that, flower photography is more than just pointing your camera and pressing the shutter button. To capture a beautiful, artful, unique and striking image of a flower takes a bit more work and planning. Sometimes you will take a photograph of a flower that has the proper exposure and composition and you may consider it a good photograph and maybe it is just that. But you must always remember though that ‘good’ is the enemy of ‘great’. Don’t settle for ‘good’, go for ‘great’. If you know your camera, have the desire to learn from the pages to follow, be willing to experiment with the various techniques and to apply them to your photography, you should be able to elevate your flower photography from ‘good’ to ‘great’.

Chapter 17

Landscape photography

The rule There are two, and only two, times during the day to capture stunning landscape images: Dawn and Dusk. You can shoot from about 30 minutes before sunrise to about 30 minutes past sunrise and from about 30 minutes before sunset to about 30 minutes after sunset.

Why only these times? During these times the light is at its very best. You get soft warm colours because the light from the sun strikes the earth’s atmosphere at an oblique angle and all the cold harsh colours are filtered out, leaving only the soft, warm yellow/orange and red hues which will turn an ordinary scene into something quite magical! For this reason photographers call these times ‘the golden hours’

Composing landscapes

General

A good landscape is either of a large panoramic scene, or of a beautiful part of a scene, or both. Good landscapes have an essential unity, a clear subject, and the composition harmonizes well with the subject, enhancing and directing attention towards it. Good landscapes are considerably more abstract than ordinary snapshots. The viewer must immediately know what you are photographing and what the story is you want to tell. In order to create an eye catching landscape photograph you would need to take the following aspects into consideration:

Dynamic Range

Any scene or object to be photographed contains a range of colour tones ranging from lighter tones to darker tones. The term dynamic range is used to describe the range of tones in the image. Some scenes contain a wider range than others, in other words, one scene contains darker dark tones and lighter light tones than another scene and its dynamic range is therefore greater. The greater the difference between the darkest dark and lightest light tone, the higher the dynamic range of the scene. A digital camera’s sensor does also have a dynamic range, meaning that it can only capture a limited range of light to dark tones. The dynamic range of sensors differs between cameras. The sensors of the newer model cameras have in general a wider dynamic range than the older cameras.  In addition, the dynamic range of the top model of any manufacturer is higher than that of the cheaper models.

Chapter 20

Tack sharp photos

If your photo, or at least the important part of your photo, is not sharp, nothing else matters. These are harsh words, but very true. You may have a beautiful scene with beautiful light and a perfect composition but if the photo is not sharp, you will get remarks like: “beautiful scene – pity though that it is not in focus” One would rather want to avoid remarks like that and the only way to do that, is to do everything in your power to get your images ‘tack sharp’

To conclude: Photography is a journey with many destinations and like all journeys it starts with the first step. Pack your camera bag, fit yourself out with adequate knowledge, start walking and enjoy the journey.

To obtain the e-book, please send an  e-mail for further details.  Using email, arrangements for payment, delivery will follow by return email. Price: South African customers, or customers using the South African Rand as currency, R300 per copy. Overseas customers, or customers wishing to pay via PayPal, US$25 per copy. 

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