RAW versus JPEG - you be the judge

I think I've made it perfectly clear over the last 9+ months of this blog that I'm not a "techie" kind of girl. I find the older I get the more technically challenged I become. It's because I made fun of my grandmother for blowing up an egg in the microwave one time, or teasing her because she was afraid of our VCR, I'm sure. Karma always gets the last laugh, people.

So when it comes to the more technical side of photography I have a tendency to shy away from anything that I find too complex. I realize that isn't logical, given that I am trying to learn MORE about photography, but it's true. Thankfully, this blog has given me a reason to push myself and my knowledge of photography, so I am learning to let go of my technical phobia.

First, a story for you. A few years ago I shot hundreds of vacation photos all in RAW format, without knowing anything about why one would shoot RAW format. Word on the street was RAW was WAY better than shooting JPEG. At the time, though, I didn't have software to process RAW formatted digital photos, so when I went to edit and print out my RAW photos, I either could not open the file, or once printed they looked terrible. That experience was enough to scare me away from shooting RAW - until now. This time I want to truly understand the difference between shooting RAW versus JPEG format, and you, my dear readers, are along for the ride.

Some of you might be thinking "what do you mean - I have a choice??" Why, yes you do - check out your owner's manual for your specific options - you might be surprised just how many options you have!

The most simple and straightforward explanation I've come across was posted over at The Lightroom Lab: picture RAW formatting as a roll of black and white film, and JPEG as a Polaroid image.

Photos shot in RAW format are the exact file the camera writes to the memory card. The camera's internal processor does not alter the original data in any way. However, this original data requires specific software to "process" the original data into files and images you can edit and print. So, if RAW format is a roll of black and white film, your editing software is the way you "develop" RAW images. Otherwise, you won't be able to view, edit, or print your RAW images.

JPEG format, on the other hand, tells the camera to convert the original data into a polished and universally acceptable file format. JPEG images can be viewed straight out of the camera, with no additional processing required - much like an image from a Polaroid camera.

So what are the benefits to shooting RAW versus JPEG, or vice versa? Depends on who you ask - and EVERYONE seems to have an opinion on it. Digital Photography School has a simple breakdown of the pros and cons of each format - click here to check it out. Any questions - leave me a comment or send an email on over!

basic composition - the rule of thirds (revisited)

My husband's aunt is an artist - a painter primarily, but she dabbles in several forms of artistic expression. In fact, we have a painting of hers hanging in our home - click here to see it (it's on her home page).

One time we were talking about what makes good art, or specifically good photography, and she said "It's the eye of the artist - you either have it or you don't." Similar to what Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart wrote in an opinion in 1964, in reference to hard core pornography: "I know it when I see it." Touche, Justice Potter.

But I digress - Aunt Michele and Justice Potter have a point. You can ace every technical aspect of photography and still take a boring picture. That intangible factor, the je ne sais quoi if you will, is composition. And the most basic rule of composition is the rule of thirds.

I wrote about this way back when I was a newbie blogger, so I figured it's time to revisit the concept. What's great about this week's lesson is that anyone can benefit from understanding the rule of thirds - whether you use your camera phone, a point and shoot, or a fancy-schmancy SLR.

The rule itself is pretty basic - imagine dividing your image into a tic tac toe grid, like so:

(photo courtesy of Digital Photography School)

The idea is the more interesting parts of your shot should line up to the intersecting points of the tic tac toe grid (take a look at the bee's eye, for example). Also, you can break your image into three columns (vertically or horizontally, and concentrate the interesting parts of your shot in one or more of the columns (see how the bee and the flower are only in two-thirds of the frame?)

And there you have it - a nice simple rule to practice anytime you whip out your camera. Do off-centered shots drive you crazy? You do know that rules were meant to be broken...but I thought you should know the golden rule of photography before you decide to break it.

Happy composing!

what is ISO?

In looking back at some of my previous posts, I realized I never did a proper post on ISO. And since ISO is part three of the light trifecta if you will, it's time to give ISO its due.

When referring to film photography, ISO (also called ASA) refers to the film's sensitivity to light. When referring to digital photography, however, ISO refers to the image sensor's sensitivity to light. Many of you may not realize that your digital camera has a function that allows you to adjust your ISO settings. That includes both SLR and point and shoot cameras.

Adjusting ISO can make a big difference in your photos, depending on your lighting conditions. For those of you that hate noise or grain in your photos, or your are shooting in broad daylight, you will want the lowest number ISO settings, such as ISO 100 or 200. If you are shooting in low light conditions or indoors, you will have to bump up your ISO setting to 800 or beyond (unless you are using a tripod).

So why can't you just leave your ISO on auto setting? You can, but you will surely run into lighting conditions that will not be properly exposed unless you change your ISO setting. Remember the exposure triangle concept? (Sorry, I'm about to get all geometric on you...) Picture a triangle with aperture, shutter speed, and ISO at each angle. The goal is to get the correct exposure (a "triangle") every time. But triangles come in all shapes and sizes - the trick is to know how to change the "angles" to make the triangle the size and shape you want. So if your shooting in broad daylight, you can set a higher aperture setting (f/11 and above, let's say), shoot at a fast shutter speed, and use a lower ISO for a super sharp photo. If you are shooting in candlelight indoors, you will have to change your settings: low aperture (f/4 and lower), long shutter speed (below 1/30 of a second), and unless you have a tripod, you will HAVE to increase your ISO setting (ISO 800 or above).

Think of ISO as another play in your exposure playbook. Here's a guide from Bacon Lettuce Photo on the various ISO settings:

Auto ISO - Ok, you don’t want to mess with it. Let the camera figure it out. BUT, you are not in control. That is NOT how you’re going to become a better photographer.

ISO 100 - Bright light situation. Most times the lowest ISO setting a digital camera offers.

ISO 200 - Cloudy day, overcast. Noise may start showing.

ISO 400 - Indoor photography, maybe sports stop action photos. Most cameras will start showing noise at this point which results in reduced image quality.

ISO 800 and up - Who coughed on the photo and… oh wait. It just looks horrible. No, I’m just kidding. But most digital cameras will spit out horribly noisy images at this point but some of the more expensive cameras may not.

I have to admit - I shoot with an ISO 800 and over all the time and I've never noticed a huge problem with grainy photos. But then again, I don't mind noise in my photos... Maybe that's why I've never noticed a huge problem with that?

The beauty of digital is there are several programs out there that can remove noise from your digital photos. So give it a shot - change the ISO and see if it helps.

what is aperture? (revisited)

So it's summer school around these parts - not a bad time to revisit some of the basic concepts we reviewed earlier this year (for those of you just starting with LF I started this blog as a one-year DIY photography lesson, so we covered the basics back in Jan/Feb).

I have come across some additional blog posts on the subject of aperture - posts that were amazingly clear on the subject and inspired me to essentially rewrite this lesson. So here goes...

I learned over at Pioneer Woman Photography that "photo" is the Greek word for light. So it follows that photography has everything to do with light, right? How much or how little light enters your camera determines what your photo will look like. Do any of your photos look washed out or too bright? Too much light entering your camera (overexposed photo). Any photos of yours too dark or almost black in parts? Too little light entering your camera (underexposed photo). How do you control the amount of light coming into your camera?

1. aperture
2. shutter speed
3. ISO setting (i.e. film speed)
   

Aperture is the mechanism in your camera that determines how much light enters and hits the film or digital sensor. It can open large or small to let more or less light in, depending on your circumstances.

Here are some diagrams I saw over at Bacon Lettuce Photo:

You can see from the diagrams that if you want MORE light to come into the camera, you need to select a LOWER aperture or f-stop setting, such as f2.8. Conversely, if you want LESS light to come into the camera, you need to select a HIGHER aperture setting, such as f/16 or f/22.

Still with me? This concept is really important, so go back and read it again if it doesn't make sense. Seriously. Read it again.

So, now that you know more about camera modes, and you're feeling adventurous and want to try aperture priority mode, what setting should you select? Depends on what look you want. Aperture determines, to a large extent, the depth of field for your photo - the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in your photo that will be in focus.

• If you want most or all of your photo to be in focus (i.e. a beautiful landscape), select a HIGHER aperture setting.

(aperture = f/14)

• If you want a shallow depth of field, meaning you want your subject to be in focus but all of the background blurry, select a LOWER aperture setting.
  

(aperture = f/1.8)

Obviously there are other factors that will impact your photo's exposure - let's save those for the next few weeks. Until then, break out the camera, move that camera mode dial to aperture priority and start shooting!

Yo

camera modes 101

(image courtesy of information addicts)

It's summer time readers - time for BBQs, beach bonfires, lazy days, and road trips. And, for some unlucky souls, summer school. No rest for the weary here at Lens Flare HQ - I plan on continuing to post lessons through the summer. But since it is summer, and you may not have your "A" game when it comes to concentration due to sun exposure, food & drink consumption, lack of sleep, etc. I want to keep the Thursday lessons nice and easy. So I think it's a good time to kick it old school and review the basics. I'll be revamping the side bar as well, so those of you reading up for the first time can visit the archives more easily.

This is a question I get a lot, although I suspect many of you don't want to ask it via email/comments: how do I use the other camera modes? And when I say "other" I mean any mode other than AUTO. Don't get me wrong - the AUTO mode on your camera is pretty genius. It sets the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, and determines flash or no flash. That's pretty awesome. But as you push your photography further, you will find many instance where AUTO doesn't get it right. Oftentimes the lighting conditions are tricky, or you want to do something beyond the basic photo AUTO will produce. These are the times, my readers, that you will actually need to move that dial.

As you can see in the photo above, there are several modes (most likely) on your SLR. For purposes of keeping this post light & polite, I won't review the other automatic settings now. (Click here for a good summary at Digital Photography School). Most of those modes are self explanatory - for example, if you are shooting at night, perhaps the man with the star next to his head is a good mode for you to try...

No, I'm talking about the semi-automatic modes: aperture priority, shutter priority, and program mode. And, of course, manual mode.

Aperture Priority (A or AV)
Aperture Priority is a semi-automatic mode (or semi-manual, depending on how you want to look at it). Simply put, in Aperture Priority mode you select the aperture setting you want to use, and your camera selects the corresponding shutter speed and white balance that it determines is appropriate. Aperture Priority is best for instances where you need to control the amount of light coming into your camera (such as a low light situation) or where you want to control the depth of field.

For example, if you are shooting a landscape photo and you want a super-sharp depth of field, you could set the mode to Aperture Priority and then select a higher aperture setting such as f/16 or f/22. Your camera would then select the coordinating shutter speed for the shot. Remember with a smaller aperture number less light is coming into your camera, so your camera will probably set a slow shutter speed to create the right balance of light for your photo. That being said, you will need to stand very still to get a clear photo.

Shutter Priority (S or TV)
This should be no surprise if you read the above paragraph - Shutter Priority allows you to set the shutter speed, and the camera sets the coordination aperture and white balance. You might choose Shutter Priority when you are photographing moving subjects or you want to blur moving subjects, such as a running waterfall.

Program (P)
Program mode varies from camera to camera, so check your owner's manual to get the skinny on the specifics. Generally speaking, if your camera has a Program mode, it allows you to have control over 2 or more settings. For example, my camera's program mode is essentially a toggle between Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority - I can change either aperture or shutter speed, and the camera will set whichever I don't (does that make sense?).

Manual (M)
Manual mode allows you full control over the camera's settings. I know it sounds daunting, but believe me, manual mode can really come in handy. I actually shoot mostly in manual, and occasionally in Aperture Priority - I like having full control over how the photo will come out.


(photo courtesy of ManMode)

Proper Exposure for Any Mode:

The photo above is a picture of my control panel on my camera in Manual Mode - hence the M in the blue square above. The green and yellow squares show shutter speed and aperture respectively. But what I want readers to focus on is the exposure meter on the control panel - this the camera's way of telling you if the photo you are composing is exposed correctly. Ideally, after choosing your settings, the reader should be dead center (where the yellow arrow is pointing). If your meter "leans" to the left, the image is overexposed, and to the right, underexposed. To use any mode other than AUTO you must become familiar with this meter - check it before your shot to see if your choices render an evenly exposed photo, or if you need to make adjustments.

The best way to learn about modes and the exposure meter? PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. If you want ideas for how to practice in different modes, leave a comment or drop me an email.

Composition: breaking all the rules

I admit - I really struggled with this week's lesson. I feel like we've covered a lot of the basics of photography, and I started photography 201 to provide more advanced lessons. So readers, if you have any specific questions you want answers to, or help editing a photo of yours, PLEASE email me or leave a comment. I could use the inspiration for next week...

(And by the way, I am an idiot and I misspelled my email address in the sidebar, so if any of you readers tried to email me in the past few weeks, I didn't get it)

So today, we're breaking all the (composition) rules. I love some of these suggestions at digital photography school (a great website for easy-to-digest photo tips). Remember the rule of thirds? Ignore it. Remember those weeks we reviewed focus? Fuggetabouit. Want to spice up your photos? Try some of these tips:

• hold your camera at an angle, rather than squaring up your shot
• break the rule of thirds
• experiment with different framing with portraits
• take an unfocused photo on purpose (this one will be tough for me...)

read all of the broken rules here - let me know if you think this improves some of your photos or detracts from them...

Composition: 10 elements that create more interesting photos

Okay everyone - it's been a long week. The husband has been out of town for work, the 1 year old is recovering from an ear infection, and the dog decided to bark at something outside 3 separate times in the middle of the night. Needless to say I am sleep-deprived and on my 4th cup of coffee.

All that to say this week's lesson is actually two links to Digital Photography School's article on 10 elements of composition in photography:

Click here for the first 5

Click here for the second 5

Normally I read articles and write a post based on the information in the article, and hopefully my post is written in such a way that makes sense to my readers no matter where you're at in learning about photography. However, this article is very clear and has great photos to illustrate the concepts, so no need to rewrite. Plus, this lesson is applicable to you point and shoot photographers as well as SLR.

For those of you that remember/have practiced the rule of thirds, this lesson will push you to continue to explore composition and how to improve your photos even more.

Enjoy!

Extra credit to any readers that read the links and tell me which elements are present in my photo above...

In Focus - when to use manual focus

I'm guessing many of you SLR users don't often use the manual focus on your camera. Most of the time the trusty auto focus mode will do the job just fine. However, there are a few instances where manual focus may produce a sharper image than auto focus. (PS just in case - to manually focus your SLR most cameras have a button or switch that allows you to in essence toggle between manual and auto focus. To manually focus you turn a ring on the lens. Check your camera manual to find the toggle button or switch - email/comment if you have specific questions about how to manually focus).

Here are 5 instances where manual focus may work better:

1) portraits - the key to a great portrait is for the eyes to be in sharp focus. Oftentimes, I find that when using auto focus when photographing portraits, I get something other than the eyes in focus. Using manual focus, you have more control to ensure the eyes are actually in focus.

2) low light - your camera's auto focus may have a difficult time determining what to focus on in low light situations. One sign your auto focus is struggling? If it zooms in and out without focusing on anything. Switch to manual focus in low light to get the photo.

3) macro work - remember this post on close up filters? You will definitely need to use manual focus for shots this close up, due to the very shallow depth of field in macro photography.

4) shooting through glass/fences/wire - it's easy for your camera's auto focus to become confused when you are shooting through something like a chain link fence. Manual focus allows you to control what subject the camera will focus on.

5) action photography - if your attempting to focus on a quickly moving object, like a race car, it is difficult for auto focus to adjust to the subject of your photo. Using manual focus allows you to prefocus on a place where the moving object will pass to get a focused shot. (your timing will need to be precise...)

Don't be afraid to use manual focus - it takes some practice to learn to use it quickly and to adjust it as your subject moves around. Go on - give it a try!

In Focus - using focal lock

So far on Lens Flare, I've covered exposure and composition with you, but we haven't really discussed focus - the third component to a great photo. Today's topic is focal lock - a simple but very effective technique to ensure the subject of your photo is in focus. This lesson applies to SLR and point and shoot photographers alike.

Many of you are probably thinking "I use auto focus, so my subject is always in focus - what's the problem?" Look at the photo below:

(photo courtesy of digital photography school)

It's pretty obvious the couple is the subject of this photo, but they're out of focus. The lady in between their heads, however, is in sharp focus. This is a depth of field issue as well - because of the shallow depth of field in this photo, the lady is in focus but much of what is in front of her (the couple) and behind her is out of focus as a result.

Auto focus is a wonderful thing, but it's no guarantee that what you actually want to be in focus will, in fact, be in focus. When you press the shutter button to focus the image, the camera must make a decision as to where to focus - in this photo it determined that the lady, not the couple, should be the focus. So how can you "train" your camera to focus on what you want? Focal lock.

When you are framing your photograph (imagine you are going to take the picture of the couple above), move your camera so that the subject (the couple's faces) are in the center of the viewfinder/LCD screen. With the subject in the center of your frame, press the shutter button halfway down to focus the image. WITHOUT LETTING GO OF THE SHUTTER BUTTON move your camera again to re-frame your shot (so the couple's heads are in the top third of the image), then press the shutter button all the way down.

Here's another example:



this photo is from the gardens at La Alhambra in Granada, Spain (truly an amazing place to visit - perhaps a future wanderlust post on La Alhambra is in order). I wanted the poppies in the foreground to be in focus, not the poppies further back. To do this, I used focal lock - I centered the foreground poppies, pressed the shutter button halfway to get the shot in focus, and then moved my camera to frame the poppies in the lower third of the image. Voila!

A simple technique that will improve your photos significantly. Happy focusing!

exposure triangle

During a break in the photo shoot for alice rose, her mom brought over her brand new Nikon D60 for some quick tips on how to use it. So I sat down for what I thought would be a straightforward tutorial, and a bunch of gibberish came out of my mouth. I tried to explain ISO, aperture and shutter speed to a new mom, no less, and I'm afraid I just confused her. Which then made me worry that maybe some of my lessons are too obtuse? Too abstract? Too much detail? (send me an email if you have an opinion on that) I figured now is a good time to review the basics of photography again. But first, an analogy:

Growing up, I took dance classes. Lots of them. I loved tap and jazz, and later when I went to college I dabbled in modern and African dance. But I never really warmed up to ballet - I thought it was slow and boring. Only after taking dance classes in college did I realize the importance of ballet to the art form of dance - the techniques you practice in ballet form the backbone for most other forms of dance. I wished many times I had taken ballet from the beginning, rather than trying to play catch up in my twenties.

Generally speaking, there are 3 main components to a good photo: exposure, composition, and focus. Think of ballet as the exposure component - you may have a great eye for composing interesting photos, and you understand how to focus your camera, but if you cannot get the correct exposure for your photograph then you're missing out on a truly great photo. Sure, you can use editing tools to correct your mistakes, but sometimes that leads to overly processed photos.

THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE

The "exposure triangle" is comprised of: (1) aperture, (2) shutter speed, and (3) ISO. You can click here for a review of my lesson on aperture and shutter speed. In a nutshell, ISO is the sensitivity of your film, or in digital photography, your image sensor. The lower the ISO, the less sensitive your camera is to light. For a more detailed explanation click here (courtesy of Digital Photography School). These three concepts work together for the perfect exposure, hence the "triangle" concept. A change in any "angle" of the exposure triangle will necessitate a change in the other angles.

Digital Photography School has a good article on the exposure triangle - one metaphor used to explain it is a window with shutters: the aperture is the size of the window (lower f-stop = big window, higher f-stop = smaller window); the shutter is, conveniently enough, the window shutters. Shutter speed is the amount of time the shutters stay open before closing on the window. ISO is you sitting inside the room with sunglasses on (so you are desensitized to how much light is coming in - like a low ISO setting). There are many options to achieve the optimal light in the room - increase or decrease the size of the window (aperture), increase or decrease the amount of time the shutters are open (shutter speed), or take off your sunglasses (ISO).

These concepts may be basic and essential to good photography, but they are not easy to master by any means. Practice makes perfect. If any of you have a specific question about your camera settings and how to change aperture, shutter speed or ISO leave a comment or send me an email - I'd love to help.

camera lenses - a primer

I've heard from many seasoned photographers that the lens is the most important purchase any of us budding photographers make - even more important perhaps than the camera body itself. With that being said, it's probably time we discussed camera lenses. Keep in mind this is a PRIMER - I just want to review the basics with you, but if you have any questions or would like to start a discussion about a particular lens, leave a comment and let me know.

Most of us purchased a camera with a "kit lens" (or at least that's what they called it at the store I frequented in Berkeley). Your run-of-the-mill standard lens is usually 50mm for film SLRs and approximately 35mm for digital - this is regarded as "standard" or "normal" because the image a 50mm lens makes is very close to what we see with our eyes. (The reason for the different numbers between film and digital is due to the different field of view - generally speaking the sensor in a digital camera is smaller than a single negative of 35mm film. Click here for a more detailed explanation).

So now that a "normal" lens has been established, let's talk about some other lenses. This chart illustrates the amount of area in front of your camera at various focal lengths.

Wide Angle:

Wide angle provides a greater field of vision than what our eyes see. There are, generally speaking, 3 types of wide angle lenses (note these are film focal lengths - these will vary with digital lenses):

24 mm - 35 mm	Wide-Angle
17 mm - 21 mm	Ultra Wide-Angle
6 mm - 15 mm	Fisheye

Wide angle is great for landscape photography, or for photographs in small, enclosed spaces.

Long Focus/Telephoto Lenses:

Long Focus/Telephoto lenses are any lens with a focal length longer than normal (i.e. 50mm). FYI, the difference between a "long focus" and a "telephoto" lens? A lens that is shorter than it's focal length is considered "telephoto." Generally speaking this fun fact is not really that important - just thought I'd share.

Telephoto lenses are used to photograph objects at a distance, such as wildlife photography. I have a 50-150mm digital lens that I also use to photograph kids at play, so I can get shots of their little faces without me standing directly in their face.

Portrait lenses:

Portrait lenses are usually between 85mm to 115mm. Most articles/blogs I've read discussing portraits find this focal length to be the most flattering for portrait pictures. I recently purchased a 50mm fixed focal length digital lens just for portraits - still learning how to use it, but so far I really love the portraits I've taken with it!

Here's a nifty chart to help you visualize various focal lengths.
And for reviews of various lenses, check out Digital Photography Review. Anyone shopping for camera lenses knows that these suckers aren't cheap, so make sure you do your homework before plunking down some cash for one.

Happy shopping!

Depth of Field

Ah, depth of field. The one concept from my photography class way back when that I can't seem to explain very well. Until now (I hope).

Depth of field is the distance between the nearest object and the farthest object in a photograph that are sharp or in focus. Essentially your lens can only focus precisely at one distance at a time, which means anything before or after that particular point in your image is not as sharp, or even fuzzy.

Look at the photograph above - the bell on the bicycle appears sharp and in focus, but when you look beyond the bell, most of the image is fuzzy or out of focus. So the depth of field is essentially the image immediately around the bell. Notice the change from focused to unfocused is gradual.

Here is a photograph that illustrates depth of field very distinctly:

Depth of field is an important concept. It helps you, the photographer, determine how much of an image will be sharp, and you determine what is "significant" in any given photo. Sometimes you want to focus on a single object and blur the background, such as when you are photographing a baby. Sometimes you want to ensure the entire image is sharper, such as with a beautiful landscape photo.

In a nutshell, there are 2 things that will affect depth of field: (1) focal length (or focusing distance), and (2) aperture setting. Longer focal length and/or larger aperture setting (remember, this means the f-stop number is smaller) will result in a more shallow depth of field (and vice versa). Here's an example:


All 3 of these photographs were taken with a 200mm lens, but at various f-stops (from left to right: f8, f5.6, and f2.8). Notice the differences with respect to how much of the image is sharp versus fuzzy. The depth of field in these images would also change if the photographer changed his focal length.

I found this tutorial on youtube which I think explains it very well. Look - I even provide audio/visual guides in my lessons!

White Balance - A Primer

First, I'd like to report that the fancy pants camera has returned! After 4-5 weeks and some $$$ shelled out by moi, I have my camera back with the autofocus capability in tact, and I have been shooting like crazy.

On to the next lesson - white balance. Understanding this concept will DEFINITELY improve your photos, especially if you do not currently own/use a program like Photoshop, iPhoto, etc. White balance is the process of removing unrealistic color casts in your photos so that objects that appear white in person also appear white in your photo. Here's an example:



The photo on the left has a bluish tinge to it, but with the correct white balance, the photo on the right is a more accurate representation of the scene being photographed. Proper white balance takes into account the "color temperature" of a light source, such as candlelight, indoor lighting, sunlight, shade, and so on. Your digital camera has an automatic white balance (AWB) setting, but there are situations where a white balance adjustment will produce a much better result.

You might have noticed that some of your photos come out with an orange, blue, or yellow look to them, even though to the naked eye the scene looked quite normal. The reason for this is that images different sources of light have a different ‘color’ (or temperature) to them. Fluorescent lighting adds a bluish cast to photos whereas tungsten (incandescent/bulbs) lights add a yellowish tinge to photos. Generally speaking, for cooler (blue or green) light you’ll tell the camera to warm things up and in warm light you’ll tell it to cool down.

Beyond the automatic white balance setting, most digital SLRs (and many digital point and shoot cameras) have the following white balance settings:


(Thanks to Alexis Miller for this nifty diagram).

I know this lesson is a little overwhelming - in fact I may need another cup of coffee just to proofread this post. Try it out, though - any questions email me or leave me a comment (I would love to know who's out there reading this...)

Composition: The Golden Rule of Thirds

I found an free online photography course that I decided to check out, and the first lesson deals with composition, or what makes a photograph a "good" or even "great" photograph? There are many elements of composition (or so I'm finding), but this lesson focuses on the rule of thirds and the "golden ratio" or "golden mean."

First the rule of thirds - imagine your photograph as a tic tac toe board i.e. divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines. If you don't follow here's a diagram:



Now imagine this tic tac toe graphic is placed over your photograph. Proponents of the rule of thirds claim that the important aspects of your photograph should be placed along these lines (vertically or horizontally) or where the lines intersect. The idea is the rule of thirds will help you compose an image that presents more energy and tension than if you simply centered the subject of your photo.

The simplest example - one that I think most photographers have done - is the quintessential beach photograph. You know, a lovely beach sunset photo. We've all done it. So according to the rule of thirds, most of us have placed the horizon (where the sea meets the sand) right in the middle of the photograph. But for a more visually interesting photograph, the horizon should track one of the horizontal tic tac toe lines instead.

As for the "golden ratio," two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio between the sum of those quantities and the larger one is the same as the ratio between the larger one and the smaller To clarify:

Only kidding - I promise you do not need to know any complicated mathematical equation to get this concept. The idea behind the "golden ratio" is that application of this ratio results in aesthetically pleasing art, architecture, etc. This ratio is found throughout nature - the full discussion of this is outside the scope of this post (that, and I want to get the good stuff - the photos...)

Going back to the tic tac toe graphic, the "golden ratio" applies to the intersecting lines of the tic tac toe board:



So today I took a stroll along the beach and tried to apply both of these concepts to some photographs. This first one is a photo of the Seal Beach pier, with the horizon (basically) right smack in the middle:


And here's one with the horizon in the bottom third of the tic tac toe graph:


I definitely like the second one more, but that's just my humble opinion. I like how much more of the sky you see in the second photograph, although I do wish the pier was more towards one of the intersecting lines a la the "golden mean."

Here's another example - I saw these street signs as I walked back from the beach:


So for the second picture I came in closer on the signs (the focal point of the photograph) and alligned the signs with the right vertical of the tic tac toe graphic. I also tried to put the signs at one of the intersecting points:


I love the top sign - essentially if there's a huge earthquake the residents of Seal Beach are screwed. Good times...

Let me know if these composition ideas work for your photos - I'll try to post some more examples this week as I practice more. Ideas for you moms with cameras out there would be to photograph your little munchkin off center, closer to those "golden mean" zones - see what you think.

How Does It Work?

I figure we should start from the beginning - how exactly does a camera work? I realize this is a ho-hum topic for a lesson, but I find that like many other things I've done/learned, you need to know the basics. For example, most dancers would agree that ballet is the foundation for any good dance technique, but when when I younger I thought ballet was boring and I decided not to take it. I regret that decision - I especially wished I had ballet training when I was auditioning in college for dance productions and I simply could not compete with the dancers that had exquisite ballet technique.

So enough of the explanations, let's get some answers. I researched a bunch of websites for the most coherent answer, and I liked this one:

"Let’s say you spot your dolphin and lift your camera to your eye. What happens?

First, light bouncing off the dolphin passes into the camera, through a set of lenses, and onto a mirror. From there, the light bounces up and into a funny-shaped piece of glass called a pentaprism (penta means five, and the pentaprism has, you guessed it, five sides). Once light enters the pentaprism, it bounces around in a complicated way until it passes through the eyepiece and enters your eye.

The dolphin is swimming just below the water, but you have a feeling it’s about to surface. Wait for it, wait for it…there! You snap the picture. When you press the button on the camera, the mirror flips up out of the way. Instead of bouncing into the pentaprism, light from the dolphin passes directly to the back of the camera. There, it either hits photographic film and starts a chemical reaction, or else it impacts an array of light-sensitive cells that release a tiny electric charge in each activated cell. Either way, even though the dolphin’s long gone, you’ve captured its image. Congratulations!"

Here's another diagram explaining how the light enters the camera before the shot (i.e. while searching for the dolphin) and during the shot (i.e. taking the picture of the dolphin).

Lessons for another time would be how to control how much light gets into the camera - or more specifically, lenses, aperture, and shutter speed. But for now I thought just understanding how a camera works is a good starting point.