Working+Draft

Imagine yourself driving out to an electronics or department store. Today is a good day because you are looking for a new digital camera. An average user would move into the Compact or even the Ultra-Compact camera section. The more skillful photographer would first move to the SLR-like section, or possible the DSLR section. The average photographer’s budget is between $150, and $300, where as the more experienced photographer would move right into the $400 to $1500 range. The option could be quite simple depending on your knowledge of cameras. Nonetheless, you never know what you are looking for until you are able to test-drive the camera for yourself. There are many misconceptions of digital photography. Choosing a type of camera, learning the functions of the camera, and ultimately knowing how to use those functions, are the common dilemmas faced by an amateur photographer. People either have a hard time choosing a camera, of have a hard time using their camera. Cameras have many modes, functions, and settings. ISO is the camera’s sensitivity to light, shutter speed is…well…the shutter’s speed, Aperture controls how much light is allowed through the lens (also controls depth of field), and metering is how the camera establishes exposure. Although technological advancements in digital photography have made it easier to capture a satisfying shots in AUTO mode, all these things need to be properly implemented in order to achieve a spectacular photograph. In digital photography, effective manipulation of focus, ISO, and Metering will dramatically improve the quality of an amateur's pictures.

Have you ever had the perfect shot and when you finally upload it to the computer, it was out of focus? You are not alone. Many amateurs snap their pictures quickly without letting their cameras focus on a subject. An out of focus photographs kills the image completely and makes a potential success, absolute garbage. Intermediate to advanced photographers keep there photos in focus by pressing the shutter button half-way down on the camera, to let the lens focus, and then all the way to capture the image. This is done with all cameras, where as DSLR cameras allow you to manually adjust the focus. The importance of focus, for either casual or creative purposes, is crucial to shooting a good photograph. When shooting landscape and foliage, for example, it is vital to keep the camera as still as possible and use a high f/stop if possible.// Sharpness is essential to landscape photography (Busch 174). Capturing landscape in focus makes for a truly beautiful picture. When shooting landscape shots, you should consider a tripod. "A rock-solid tripod is essential for two reasons. Focus is critical with macro shots, and it's easy to shift your camera slightly and throw your picture completely out of focus if your camera isn't mounted on a tripod" (Busch 178). //

// Focus is very important for creative purposes as well. Placing only some things in focus with a compact camera can be challenging, yet very affective and creative. Changing the level of focus with a DSLR camera is quite straightforward and can produce pictures that are simple yet breathtaking. Intermediate and Advanced photographers place certain things in focus to emphasize a subject. "So, when you want to use selective focus to isolate your subject, a large aperture will help, but when you need to have as much of the image in focus as possible, a smaller f/stop will do the job" (Busch 66). // Working in aperture priority mode can help tremendously in shooting certain subjects in different f/stops. Although priority mode like shutter and aperture can only be found in professional point-and-shoot cameras, and DSLRs, it can be artificially achieve with a compact camera like the Canon sd1100 IS. By focusing on a subject, place the camera in Auto-Focus Lock (AE-L), and then re-pointing the camera to where you want some things to be out of focus and shoot. This will lock whatever you originally set focus to, and allow you to move the camera to show the out of focus region. Creative focus, however, can fail. Try to be simple without over thinking your photographs. Remember that you are taking a photograph for not only just you to see, but potentially other people as well. When taking pictures of people or animals, it is vastly more important to obtain a correct focus on the subject’s face, than any other part of its body. // "When it comes to a person or an animal, the main focus point usually is the eyes” (“10 Ingredients for Successful Images" 41). Focusing on the eyes allows emotion to seep through to the person viewing the picture, and will inspire the person in one way or another. Shooting with a tripod may not be necessary due to the fact that the shutter speed might be nigh enough to completely bypass vibrating and camera shake. Shooting at a medium f/stop allows the focus level to precise into the eyes and the face, and also allows for a slightly fast shutter speed. "By shooting at f/11 and focusing on the eyes, this will give you a nice level of sharpness throughout the face (and most importantly, the eyes will be tack sharp, and in portraits that is absolutely critical)" (Kelby 119). Not only is it important to focus in on the subjects’ eyes, but to imply some creativity. Portraits do not always have to be a tight shot to the face with little to no emotion; they can be more creativity depending on the position of the subject. "Placing the main subject off-center is usually more interesting than dead-center" ("10 Ingredients for Successful Images"39). // When the subject is off center, there are different emotions that can be processed. When the subject is facing away from a more open area, it tends to convey a deeper emotion. When the subject is facing towards the open area, it conveys a more inspirational emotion. Make sure you choose a background that does not conflict with the subject,// “so that the background elements compliment the main subject" ( //“10 Ingredients for Successful Images" // 39). // The most important aspect of capturing a perfect/near-perfect portrait is captivating the look/feel/emotion of the subject. That is why it is incredibly important to see the entire subject. // If you're shooting candid portraits or editorial style shots with the subject's eyes in consideration, position the eyes a third of the way down from the top of the frame (Kelby 119). This can be done by adding a grid to the display of the camera, which can be done in the menu modes of nearly all cameras. //

In analog Photography, the sensitivity of the film used is labeled as ISO. From 100 to 800, the ISO determines how much light is needed to properly expose a photograph. In digital photography, however, ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive your camera is to light and the clearer the image. Higher ISO settings are therefore implemented in darker lights to capture a more properly exposed picture; however, the cost is noisier shots. Top of the line digital cameras can produce ISOs anywhere from 50 to 6400. Different ISOs may require different adjustments // "There are three main settings that govern exposure- ISO, shutter speed and aperture" ("Digital SLR Skills" 86). //

// Shooting during the day with a DSLR camera allows a photographer to capture shots with ultra low ISO. When shooting in high light, however, you risk overexposure. To avoid overexposure, set a smaller aperture, a faster shutter speed, and a lower ISO setting" ("Digital SLR Skills" 87). When one shoots with a compact camera, shutter speed and aperture are not controllable, therefore you are relied upon the cameras ISO to control the shutter speed, and aperture, and noise reduction to manage the clarity of the images. Decreasing the ISO setting lets you use a longer shutter speed or a larger aperture, which might be the case when the light is very bright or you want or you want to use a longer shutter speed or a larger lens opening for creative reasons" (Busch 68). When using a large aperture and a faster shutter speed, there’s an outside possibility that pictures will tend to be underexposed and lacking information. This can be easily fixed, but still requires practice. "When making an exposure in very dark conditions increase your ISO setting and/or choose a wider aperture” ("Digital SLR Skills" 87). This can also be done by not just adjusting the ISO, but balancing the modes and overriding the exposure value (EV). //

// When shooting in low-light scenarios, the ISO needs to be increased due to exponentially less light entering the camera lens. Limits in light can hamper a photographer and leave him/her frustrated. Pictures tend to be underexposed and lose information. “To prevent underexposure, seat a wider aperture, a slower shutter speed, and a higher ISO setting" ("Digital SLR Skills" 87).Since a smaller aperture allows for more light to enter the lens, “increasing the ISO setting allows the camera to capture a picture using a briefer shutter speed or a smaller aperture" (Busch 68). // // ISOs also allow for creativity for one reason, the values of aperture and shutter speeds are what you may call inverses. "In the same lighting conditions and with the same ISO, you can use settings of 1/250sec at f/16 to generate the same exact exposure as 1/1000sec at f/5.6" ("Digital SLR Skills" 86). This is great information when choosing how you want to focus on the image. Shooting at f/5.6 captures a larger depth-of-field, and shooting at f/16 captures a smaller depth of field (more in focus). //

In the world of automatic digital photography, automatically adjust the level of exposure to properly balance the light in the picture is a blessing. Metering is a process which involves the camera’s computer taking a light-level reading from the current scene and selecting the suitable blend of aperture and shutter speed to set the perfect exposure value. Metering with DSLR cameras is crucial and therefore has its own button on the camera. On compact or professional point-and-shoot cameras, metering can be accessed through the menu. There are three types of metering setting. Although known as different names by different companies, it is the same concept in all models. The first type of metering is called single, or spot metering. Spot metering takes a reading from a single ‘spot.’ Spot // or partial metering only takes a reading from a small part of the frame, normally the center ("Digital SLR Skills" 85). Spot metering has its faults due to the fact that it requires adjusting the subject in the frame, and might give false exposure readings. On the other side, s //pot// metering is potentially the most accurate method but requires you to re-frame your shot, but also requires the most practice ("Digital SLR Skills" 85). // // Another type of metering is called Center-weighted averages, or just simply Center-weight. Center-weight can be considered a half way metering between spot and Multi-zone metering (which will be covered within the next paragraph). //Center// -weighted average meter takes a reading from the whole image, but the exposure is based towards the center of the frame. "This helps prevent the exposure from being affected by a dark or light areas in the foreground or background" ("Digital SLR Skills" 85). Placing it in terms for a wide audience to understand, center-weight metering takes a reading from the center of the frame like spot metering. Unlike spot metering, however, center-weight metering also takes a reading in the area around the center-‘spot’. Spot metering and center-weight metering are important when taking a picture of a subject that is backlit by the sun or a light. //

// The final type of metering is Multi-zone. It is also known as Multi-Segment, Zone, and Matrix metering. This type of metering, first introduced by Nikon, takes various readings from different areas, ‘zones,’ or ‘segments.’ Multi-cones metering is used in Auto mode, and does a good, but not great, job at determining exposure, pretty quickly. //Multi//-//// Zone, Multi-Segment, and Matrix metering works by dividing the image into several different segments while taking a separate reading from each segment ("Digital SLR Skills" 85). The amount of zones a camera is capable of monitoring differs directly with its price because the more expensive the camera, the more powerful its image processor. The Multi-zone metering essentially takes a calculated average reading from the current frame and balances the exposure appropriately. // Imagine yourself after learning how to use your camera, driving out to a party, family gathering, or just out at the park. Today is a better day because you are looking for ways to implement your skills. You have learned and studied the camera, and can utilize its modes, functions, and settings. You know that ISO is the camera’s sensitivity to light, shutter speed is the speed of the lens’ shutter, aperture is the opening that controls how much light is allowed through the lens (also controls different focus levels), and metering is how the camera establishes exposure. All these things need to be properly implemented in order to achieve a spectacular photograph. Creativity is the bridge between average photography, and excellent photography. Letting your knowledge loose and playing with the camera is the best way to learn. Understanding what the camera does through reading instructional papers and forms can only go so far. Using your creativity will you’re your photographs transcend the common photo, and let you reach an exceptional end-product. Just remember that in digital photography, effective manipulation of focus, ISO, and Metering will dramatically improve the quality of an amateur's pictures.