Exposure triangle
 

• Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO
   
• Light meter reads the values and calculate the correct exposure.
   
• Dynamic range –camera can see 6-8 stops of light, eyes can see 16
   
• Auto mode
   
• Aperture priority –story telling, subject isolation , low light, long exposure
   
• Shutter priority –freeze motion, panning, imply motion
   

Light, exposure
 

• At least six possible exposures in any situation
   
• Light -soft light, golden light, day light, flash light
   
• One F-stop at a time
   
• F2.8, F4, F5.6, F8, F11, F16, F22
   
• F2.8 at 1/1000 is same exposure as F4 at 1/500 sec
   
• Learn manual exposure mode
   

Aperture
 

• Find the one best aperture
   
• Depth of field, shallow to wide
   
• Wide aperture in low light
   
• Wide aperture to isolate subject
   
• Story telling apertures, to get front to back sharpness
   
• F8 , F11 . . . . sharpest, leaves on the floor, portrait against a wall etc.
   
• Exercise - photograph a face with different apertures, to show shallow background and depth field.
   

Shutter speed
 

• Find the one best shutter speed
   
• Sunny 16 rule
   
• Moon 11 rule
   
• Freeze motion, (People=1/200,sports = 1/500, wild life 1/1000 –1/2000, rain 1/50 for rain )
   
• Long exposure ( Eg : traffic trails, moving light, waterfall, star trails, ND filter)
   
• Panning ( freeze motion with panning @ 1/30 sec )
   
• Exercise - Shoot water fall at different shutter speeds, same exposure, different result. Use shutter speeds of 1/200 second, 1/10 second and 1 second. You can photograph a waterfall, or any small stream of water, or even water  flowing from a tap to see the same experience.   
   
• Exercise - Shoot ferry’s wheel at different shutter speeds, same exposure, different result (this one needs traveling to Seattle downtow2n waterfront, of course). If you can find any device with a rotating wheel in it, you can do similar experiment. A wall clock or a desk alarm clock with a seconds needle also will work as subject here.
   

ISO
 

• Light sensitivity of the sensor
   
• Keep at lowest ISO possible to avoid noise.
   
• Long exposure noise reduction
   
• Noise reduction using tools like Nik Define, Lightroom
   
• Exercise - Photograph the front page of a magazine in different ISO modes, to show increase in noise as we increase the ISO. Use any magazine or cover page of a book.
   

White balance
 

• Color balance
   
• Color temperature
   

Un-Sharp images –common causes
 

• Avoid camera shake
   
• shutter speed1/mm , reciprocal rule
   
• Image stabilization or hold camera steady
   
• Use a tripod
   
• Motion blur due to movement of subject
   
• Use shutter priority mode ,
   
• People = 1/200, sports = 1/500, wild life 1/1000 –1/2000
   
• Shallow depth of field can cause blurry photo
   
• Use shallow aperture , like F8 or shallower
   
• Missed focus
   
• Use single focus point
   
• Use a shallow f-stop
   
• Air quality
   
• Long focal length means hazy and humid if subject is far away
   
• Go closer to subject if possible
   

How to get sharp images
 

• Use tripod
   
• Use cable release or remote or timer
   
• Lock mirror
   
• Use fast enough shutter speed
   
• Switch off Vibration reduction / Image stabilization while on tripod
   
• Shoot at Lens’s sharpest aperture , 2 stops from widest
   
• Avoid high ISO if possible
   
• Shoot in burst mode, chance that one will be sharp
   
• Zoom in to check sharpness
   
• Use a fast memory card
   

Portraits / people / outside / Inside
 

Some technical stuff
 

• Chose background . .. don’t want it to be busy
   
• Position camera at eye level, lower or raise the camera
   
• Avoid harsh sun light .. look for shade, or cloudy day
   
• Use a diffuser, flash bender or Gary Fong
   
• Built-in flash to fill shadows, make sure to ON flash (15 ft)
   
• Use flash to darken or lighten the background of the subject
   
• Use a flash to freeze motion in portraits
   
• Flash not required always
   
• Telephoto zoom for portraits ( 100mm or close )
   
• F2.8 -> nice bokeh,f11-> more background visible
   
• Shoot in portrait orientation if one person
   

How you get the shot
 

• What lens to use, what aperture to use etc. are easy technical details to find
   
• Connect with the subject, make a relation with the subject, and capture the moments
   
• Watch the subject through the lens, slow down, stay calm and concentrate ( Eg: dancer, kid, runner )
   
• Ask your subject to help you learn to become a better photographer
   
• Don’t ask subject to smile, make them smile
   

Some composition rules
 

• Obey the rule of thirds
   
• No implanting of subject, no horns behind the head
   
• Make sure to fix hair, ask model
   
• Check where to cut hands, Eg : don’t show back of subjects hand
   
• Don’t cut limbs
   
• Don’t chop forehead
   
• Focus in the dominant eye
   
• Keep both eyes focused
   
• Compose tight, more appealing
   
• Chin down, always
   
• Get couples really close
   
• Make sure to focus the girl correctly, you can ignore the guy
   

Some special situations
 

• How to shoot a sunset portrait
   
• Better portraits with a reflector
   
• For group shots, don’t use rows, use clutters, and leave no space between people
   

Photographing stage performance
 

• No flash absolutely, there is enough light on the stage to give you good images
   
• You want to capture the color and vibrance of the stage lights
   
• You want to capture the moments as you see on the stage
   
• Use a high ISO to give you 1/125 shutter speed at a moderate aperture
   
• Lights constantly change, shooting a performance on stage is really challenging
   
• Use the lens with the widest aperture you have, like an F2.8 lens
   
• Use a noise reduction software, like Nik Define
   
• If sitting close to stage, you will need both a wide angle lens and a telephoto
   
• Use a monopod if sitting in the same place, so you can relax your hands
   
• Watch the stage through the lens always, and click when the moment happens
   
• Shoot in burst mode when important moments happen on stage, so u don’t miss a thing
   
• Aperture priority, spot metering
   

Creating a Panorama image
 

• Use a tripod
   
• Shoot vertical
   
• White balance –use one of the presets
   
• Use manual exposure
   
• Use manual focus –focus at one place in the center of the scene, then switch lens to manual focus
   
• Overlap by 25-40 %
   
• Shoot quickly, the scene may change due to moving clouds
   
• Use cable release (eg. $6 Velo ) to avoid camera shake
   
• Use Photoshop, Lightroom, or ICE to stich the panorama
   
• If you use Photoshop, you can hand hold camera and shoot
   

Rules of composition
 

• Rule of thirds
   
• Leading lines
   
• Diagonals
   
• Framing –use natural frames like windows and doors
   
• Find a contrast between subject and background
   
• Fill the frame
   
• Center the dominant eye
   
• Patterns and repetition
   
• Symmetrical balance
   

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