Introduction to Digital

Photography

Digital camera – A camera that

captures the photo not on film, but in

an electronic imaging sensor that

takes the place of film.

Using a Digital Camera

Technology rapidly growing as more people become both computer and web savvy.

We will be using

Canon

PowerShot’s in

multiple models.

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)

Delay Between Shots

The amount of time (measured in seconds) it

takes the camera to process and store an

image when shooting in normal mode, at the

camera’s maximum resolution setting also

known as recycle time or lag time.

Try taking multiple shots one after another

with your digital camera. How much lag time

is there?

Shooting-The Basics

Check that the camera is in Shooting mode.

Turn the dial to AUTO

Aim the camera at the subject you wish to shoot

Use the zoom lever to achieve the desired composition

Press the shutter button halfway

Press the shutter button all the way

Megapixels

Probably the most significant feature when

choosing a digital camera is the number of

megapixels, which determines the quality of

your photos.

Higher the megapixels the better off you are.

Nowadays cameras are up to 14 megapixels.

How many megapixels does our camera have?

Shooting Mode Dial

Image Zone

Portrait-subject sharp, background blurry

Landscape-landscape scenes

Night Scene-human subject against night sky

Fast Shutter-fast moving objects

Slow Shutter-moving objects blurred

Movie-sound and video

Shooting Mode Dial (con’t)

Special SCN

Foliage-flowers, leaves, trees

Snow-subjects against backdrop of snow

Beach-scenes by the sea or on the beach

Fireworks-fireworks shot clearly

Underwater-use with waterproof case

Indoor-indoor shots with fluorescent lighting

Kids and Pets-subjects that move around

Night Snapshot-subjects against night skies

Macro Mode

Normal mode Macro mode

White Balance

•WB corrects for different lighting conditions

Resolution

A digital camera is made up of hundreds of

thousands of tiny squares, called pixels.

Unlike that of traditional film where the dots are

known as grain.

If supplying

photos for a

website then you

would shoot at a

low resolution.

-refers to the number of pixels.

Why is resolution important?

The higher the resolution, the better the picture.

Resolution is expressed in pixels, and refers to the “true” resolution of the camera. Resolution Range: “S” 640 x 480 Pixels (monitors) = Minimum Computer Resolution. GREAT for websites

“L” 4000 x 3000 Pixels = Extreme resolution. Capable of huge prints and cropped, photo-quality 8” x 10”s from a fraction of the original image file.

Image Resolution/Quality

Small resolution 640x480

•Fine compression

•Increases memory capacity

Medium resolution 1078x760

•Fine compression

•Good quality for prints or Net

Large resolution 2048x1576

•Fine compression

•Best quality for prints

Low Resolution Image

High Resolution Image

Rapid-Fire Shots

Rapid-Fire is also known as Burst Mode or

Continuous Shooting Mode.

This feature allows you to take multiple rapid-fire

shots with one touch of the exposure button. This can

be very useful feature when shooting subjects in

motion, such as during a sporting event.

Flash Option on a digital camera

Off/On/auto-This refers to the basic flash

functions, where the flash is always off,

always on for “fill-ins” (for example: bright sky

behind a subject will fill-in dark shadows on

the face), or set to fire automatically when

needed.

Red-Eye Reduction-This refers to a mode of

flash that helps prevent the appearance of

people with red eyes in the picture.

Downloading images to the Computer

Use the supplied interface cable to connect the computer’s USB port to the camera’s DIGITAL terminal

Slide the camera’s mode switch to playback

Turn the power on

Either copy the images from the SD card to your computer or move them from one to the other

Image Compression & File Formats

JPEGs (.jpg)-– Most common digital camera image

format used for images with continuous tone

changes such as photos. (* This is the one we will be using)

GIFs (.gif)- images with solid color such as text

banners. Primary use are websites. Smallest file size.

PDF (.pdf)-stands for Adobe Acrobat’s Portable

Document Format, a system for creating documents

that can be read cross-platform.

CCD Raw (.raw) – An uncompressed image format

that contains all of the data picked up by the image

sensor.

Now it’s your turn…try to

accomplish the following

Take a picture with date option “on”

Take a picture with date option “off”

Take a picture with the sepia option, also try black & white option

Photograph 1 object in “normal mode”

Then photograph the same object in “macro mode”

Take 3 pictures, but change your pixel settings (small, medium (1, 2, or 3), large)

A “Continuous Motion” or “Rapid Fire” option (set to 5)

Put the grid option “on” so it shows up on your screen and take a picture.

Now download off of camera and transfer into your H: Drive in a folder labeled Camera Activity and label images accordingly.