Photography  - Drawing With Light

The derivation of the word photography from Greek literally means drawing with light. The photographer uses film or digital sensors as the canvas while the light provides the palette of colors, contrast and tonal levels. The process of taking a photograph is both artistic and technical. The artistic aspect relates to visualizing how a scene will look in a photograph and how to optimize that visualization, in short composition and exposure. The technical aspect involves, for the most part, the capabilities and operation of the camera. In the Photo Bits to come we will look at many of the major elements of each side of the photographic process – artistic and technical. Future Photo Bits will cover the following topics:

  •   New to photography? – A starting point

What camera should I get?

Have camera, now what?

Took photos, now what?

•   Exposure Defined – the amount of light needed to create the image you want. The amount of light is controlled by:

Aperture – the size of the opening that allows the light to enter the camera.

Shutter speed – how long the light is allowed to enter the camera.

ISO – how sensitive the film or digital sensor is to the light that enters the camera.

•   Exposure Modes and Metering Methods

Exposure Modes

Aperture priority – uses a set aperture and adjusts the light entering the camera by varying the shutter speed.

Shutter priority – uses a set shutter speed and adjusts the light entering the camera by varying the aperture.

Program/automatic –the camera selects the aperture and shutter speed.

Manual – you select both the aperture and shutter speed.

Metering Methods

Matrix – in simplified terms the camera reads the light from a matrix of the scene as seen in the viewfinder and determines the amount of light needed to properly expose the overall image.

Center weighted – the camera reads the light from a fixed central portion of the scene to determine the proper exposure.

Spot – similar to center weighted except that the central portion of the scene used for determining the proper exposure is smaller then that used for the center weighted method.

•   Depth of field

Depth of field (DOF) defined.

How to control DOF.

How to use DOF effectively.

•   A steady camera

Hand held.

Monopods, tripods and other supports.

Lens and camera control.

•   Composition

Simple or complex, artistic or technical, planned or intuitive – good composition can make an everyday scene into an award-winning image.

•   Editing software

Digital images can be gently tweaked to eliminate red-eye or to remove a telephone pole “growing” out of grandma’s head by using a broad selection of image editing software. You can also use more sophisticated software to markedly modify or improve your images.

•   Doing a panorama

Once you’ve seen a well-executed panorama it will be almost impossible to resist the urge to shoot one of your own. It can be a simple or complex image and your approach to taking the requisite images can be equally simple or complex. A few simple considerations can greatly improve your chances of ending up with a great image.

Some of the topics will require more than one article so we have a lot of material to cover in coming months. If you are interested in a particular photographic subject that we are not covering please send us an email via our Contact Us page and let us know of your interest. We will gladly include the subject PROVIDED we are sufficiently informed to cover it.

Come back to read each monthly informative article. Each article will be archived for easy future access. Next month we will discuss the decision making process for selecting the camera best suited to your needs. Also take time to enjoy new photos by Ed DiTomas and Sandeep Kapur.