A Short Course in Photography: Chapters 1&2

In these entries relating to chapters from the photography book, I will write down things I find interesting, important to remember or confusing from the reading.

Chapter 1: camera

• ISO= film speed, everytime you use a different kind of film you must set your camera to the correct film speed. Film canisters have DX codes which the camera reads to automatically know the film speed.
• overexposed: too light
• underexposed: too dark
• SLR: single lens reflex, popular among photojournalists and fashion photographers
• the faster the shutter speed, the sharper the moving object will appear
• the smaller the aperture, the more of the picture that will be sharp
• the longer the focal length, the larger objects will appear
• you can set the camera to shutter or aperture priority to have the camera automatically change only the one
• shutter speed: affects light and motion
• slower: more light enters; more motion blur
• faster: less light enters; less chance of motion blurring
• aperture: affects light and depth of field
• smaller: less light enters; more depth of field
• bigger: more light enters; less depth of field

Chapter 2: Lens

• a lens is not needed for a camera to work
• main function is to project a sharp, undistorted image onto the light sensitive surface
• lens focal length: dictates how much of a scene you can take in 
• smaller the focal length, the more you get in a picture
• longer allows you to zoom on things
• med-long is good for portraits
• short lenses can create interesting perspectives by making objects in the foreground larger
• macro lens: used for close up photography
• fisheye lens: distort image, lots of depth of field
• sharp focus attracts the eye
• lower aperture increases depth of field and more of the photograph will be in focus
• shorter focal length increases depth of field
• moving away from your subject increases depth of field
• photographs can do a lot to determine the perspective and impression of subjects 
• Close ups
• depth of field is shallow
• increase exposures
• use a tripod
• filters:
• in black and white photography, blue tends to be faded and less sharp
• filters lighten one color and darken all others
• polarization helps when photographing around glass, water or any reflective surfaces but tend to work better at specific angles