Photography - Principles, Tips, Gyan, Yada Yada!

Before we begin, let me clear some things out. I am not a professional photographer or in any way an expert on photography. What I am, is a guy with a camera, who loves to party and travel, who also thinks he's a bit arty. I love clicking pictures! I am writing this to share with people what little I know about photography. That said, you will find elsewhere on the Internet, better and more detailed info on everything that I talk about here. I must give credit to Ken Rockwell, from whose website (www.kenrockwell.com) I have learned a lot! Ken is a great guy, who's been into cameras and photography since he was a kid and he's played with and reviewed almost all the top selling cameras and equipment out there. I highly recommend that you visit his site to find out specific details of cameras / lenses that you have or plan to buy.

OK. so now that we have that out of the way..

What is photography?

You see a moment that you want to keep with you and cherish. You capture it and save it for later. That is the essence of photography. The camera is a tool. People used film cameras earlier, now we're into digital and god knows what tomorrow will bring. But photography, like sex, is in the head! Don't buy into BS from a camera sales guy who tells you to buy a camera that is twice your budget because he tells you that its the one all the pros use and it'll have you shooting like a pro! Like all technology, chances are that your camera will be obsolete in less than 5 years!

What kind of cameras are there?

Today's popular cameras can be classified into 4 categories - DSLRs, Point & Shoots, Mobile Cameras and Micro Four Thirds.

DSLRs – (Digital Single Lens Reflex)

Image Quality: High

Portability: Low

Price: Medium to High

These are the cameras that have an interchangeable lens. They have the biggest image sensors among all camera types and usually the best quality of glass on the lens. With the right settings one can get the best image output from DSLRs. This is the one that all pros would use for most of their shooting. DSLRs are usually priced over $1000. However a lot of manufacturers have been making low end DSLRs for the photography enthusiast and that are priced under the $1000 mark. (e.g. Nikon D3100) If money is not a constraint, then by all means buy the best DSLR and lenses you can find. The greatest advantage of DSLRs is the simple fact that you can change lenses. Cameras can become obsolete in a couple of years, but lenses are where you should put your real money. Initially, its a good idea to make do with the 18-55mm kit lens that comes with your camera. Play around till you get comfortable with the camera and its settings. Then once you find out what kind of photography you are inclined towards, you can decide whether you want to get a prime lens or a macro or a wide-angle.

The disadvantage of DSLRs (apart from higher price) is the size. DSLRs tend to be heavier and bigger than most point and shoots.

Point and Shoots (PS / P&S)

Image Quality: Medium to High

Portability: High

Price: Low to Medium

No really much to say about Point and Shoots. You probably own one or two. This is the most popular kind of 'camera'. Point & Shoots are what average camera buyers go for when they want to click pictures of kids, travel or just partying. Mostly in the price range of $100 to $500, they have smaller image sensors when compared to DSLRs and don't come with an interchangeable lens. But when in comes to quality imaging combined with optimum portability, there is no beating a good point and shoot. Even professional photographers cant do without a good point and shoot and they are know to use it to quickly take pictures to evaluate a setting without having to fish out a full blown DSLR.

Mobile / Cellular Phone Cameras

Image Quality: Low to Medium

Portability: Very High

Price: Low to Medium

This is the most widely seen and used form of imaging technology today. Everybody on this planet owns a cell phone (unless they live under a rock!) and its most likely that they own one with some form of camera on it. The phone is the biggest convergence device of our times and is becoming the go-to device for everything that we want to do. The cameras on cell phones have become a gateway into photography for an entire generation. They are the most widely used (I'm willing to bet that most of the pictures that people have of themselves on social networking sites are taken from mobile phones) and also the most portable (lets see, I need to shop for some milk, do I have my wallet and cell phone? OK we're good to go!) camera devices today. That said, cameras on cellular phones tend to have the smallest and lowest quality of image sensors among the 3 camera types that we are discussing. They also typically don't use the best quality of glass on their lenses and the action of their lens is restricted by the size (they need to fit well into the sleek bodies of the phones that they are part of). So if you are going out on vacation or celebrating your kid's birthday, you don't want to rely on this as your primary camera. Imagine shooting a stunning Mediterranean sunset with the 3.1MP camera on your phone! Ouch! But that said, there are a host of situations where camera phones are indispensable – use it to take notes at meetings, while traveling or just to remind you of stuff. See something interesting, just take a picture of it. Find it hard to remember where you parked your car in a busy mall? Just take a picture of the place where you parked! The list is endless. And some of today's phone manufacturers are putting some serious camera capability into their devices. The Nokia N8 for example, has a 12MP sensor that is on par in size with most Point and Shoots. The image quality is excellent for a camera phone and can give Point and Shoots (and dare I say, some of the Low-End DSLRs?) a run for their money!

There is a saying that the best camera is the one that you have with you. So your $2,000 worth of DSLR camera and lenses are of no use if they are sitting locked away in a shelf at your home when you are witnessing the photographic moment of your life! In such a situation, your trusty mobile phone is your best camera!

Micro Four Thirds

Image Quality: Medium to High

Portability: Medium to High

Price: Medium to High

This is a new and emerging form factor in cameras today. It basically seeks to merge the best of both the DSLR and Point & Shoot worlds. It features a smaller camera body (like a point and shoot) but a high grade interchangeable lens (like a DSLR). So you get a camera that is more portable than your DSLR and at the same time more competent with image quality than the Point & Shoot. However, the sensors are smaller than DSLR grade. So serious photographers might still stay away from this form factor. Currently Sony and Samsung have a few models out in the Micro Four Thirds range. I havent had a chance to play extensively with one, so maybe when I do, I will write in more detail about it!

Photography Principles

Most of us would have read about this in school - normally objects around us don't produce light of their own. They are just bouncing off the light that is falling on them. So, when we ‘see’ an object, we are actually processing the light that is bouncing off it, in our brain! Photographing (Digitally) an object is nothing but capturing this light and saving it into a digital file format, which can then be accessed from a computer for viewing or printing. The most important aspect of photography is getting the amount of light right. Too much light will lead to “over-exposure” (the photo is too bright and everything looks washed out and faded) and too little will lead to “under-exposure” (the photo is too dark and visibility is low)

There are 3 variables that go into getting the right exposure levels for a digital photograph regardless of whether it is taken by a DSLR or Point and Shoot or a Mobile Phone Camera.

Exposure = (Shutter Speed + Aperture + ISO)

Shutter Speed and Aperture control the amount of light falling on the camera’s image sensor and ISO refers to the sensitivity of the sensor when it comes to processing the light that falls on it.
Let us see what each of these mean and how they matter to us in getting the right exposure.
Shutter Speed:

This is the speed with which the ‘shutter’ behind the lens operates. To be more precise, the shutter speed number denotes the time for which the shutter remains open, allowing light to fall onto the sensor, when the camera button is clicked. Shutter speed is denoted in seconds, generally ranging from 1/4000th of a second up to 30”. Notice that time under 1 second is denoted as just a fraction while time greater than 1 second is shown as a number followed by (“)
Smaller fractions indicate faster shutter speed and are generally used to capture moving objects by freezing them in time. For example, you can freeze the blades of a moving fan if you shoot with sufficient speed.
Larger fractions and whole numbers (multiple seconds) indicate longer exposures with slower shutter speed and are generally used in low light photography or to get artistic effects with light trails. It is generally advisable to use a tripod stand for the camera when shooting at slow shutter speeds. This helps in avoiding blurring of the image due to camera shake that can occur when shooting handheld.
Aperture:

This refers to the size of the opening that allows light to fall onto the sensor in a camera and is denoted by an “f number” (e.g. f1.8, f3.5, f5.6, f11, etc.) The smaller the f number, the bigger (or wider) is the opening and greater is the light gathering ability of the camera at the given shutter speed and ISO. As the f number increases, the opening becomes smaller and the light gathering ability falls. When shooting in lower light conditions, normally one would use lower f numbers and increase the width of the aperture; much in the same way that the pupils in our eyes dilate when we move from a bright to dark environment.

Aperture also controls the “depth of field” in a picture. This in simple terms refers to what components of a picture stay in focus during a shot. At very wide apertures (small f numbers) the plane of focus is very narrow and only the subject remains in sharp focus and everything else appears out of focus or blurry. Photographers normally use this kind of setting when shooting portraits where they want to draw attention to the subject and blur away the background. Good lenses also render the blurry-ness in a very arty way which is called bokeh. On the contrary, when using smaller apertures (bigger f numbers) the camera tends to widen the plane of focus and brings more of the picture (subject and background and things in between) into focus. This brings about less blurring or bokeh and more of the picture appears to be in sharp focus. Typically, photographers use this kind of setting for landscape shots where they want everything to be in focus.

ISO

This refers to the sensitivity of the image sensor on the camera and is measured in numbers ranging typically from 100 to 3200. Normally the sequence goes as 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 to 3200. Lower numbers indicate lower sensitivity and higher numbers indicate higher sensitivity. In simple terms, higher ISO increases the light sensitivity of the sensor and allows the camera to capture a “brighter” picture in the same light setting as compared to a lower ISO. So, one would want to use lower ISOs in brighter or outdoor daytime shots and higher ISOs for low light or night time or indoor shots. But the trouble with most sensors is that when the ISO is increased beyond a certain level (800 – 1600 and above) the images they capture tend to have digital “noise” and colors can be distorted. As an extension of this principle, images shot with lower ISOs tend to be “cleaner” with less noise and distortion.

Now going back to exposure. As mentioned earlier, one of the key things about taking a picture is getting the exposure right. And as we have just learned, we can use a combination of settings on shutter speed, aperture and ISO to accomplish this. The exact combination that is needed would depend on the desired effect that the photographer is looking for.

Most modern cameras come with an Auto-ISO setting where the chip in the camera automatically chooses the best ISO for a shot. This might be a good option for beginners where you can leave the ISO part of exposure to technology and work on getting the shutter speed and aperture right. Sometimes it is possible to set the ISO to auto with a cap on the maximum value that it can take.

In bright light one can use faster shutter speeds, smaller apertures and lower ISO numbers. (small shutter speed numbers, generally bigger f numbers and smaller ISOs).

For example:

An outdoor landscape might use settings like 1/80, f 11, ISO200.

An daytime / outdoor portrait might use settings like 1/200, f 3.5, ISO100.

In low light / night time / indoors, one can use slower shutter speeds, wider apertures and higher ISO numbers. (bigger shutter speeds numbers, generally smaller f numbers and bigger ISO numbers)

For example:

A night portrait might use settings like 1/40, f 1.8, ISO 800.

A night landscape setting would look like 1/5, f 9, ISO 400. In this case we would use a tripod to avoid camera shake since we are looking at slower shutter speeds.

Well, thats enough theory for the day. Get out your camera and start shooting! Practice makes man perfect! :)

Some jargon, tips and tricks

• As mentioned earlier, the best camera to shoot with is the one that you have with you! So if you want to make good of your photography hobby, carry your camera wherever you go and practice practice practice!
  
  
• SHOOT! Unlike film cameras which had a limited number of shots per roll, digital cameras can shoot endlessly as long as you have a big / spare memory card and spare battery. There is also no cost involved in developing photographs. So there is nothing holding you back from clicking away to your heart's content! I normally leave my camera in 'burst' or 'sequential' shutter mode so I can click multiple shots back to back. When you are not in control of your subject, the more shots you take, the greater is the chance that you will get a perfect shot. If there are others that you don't like, you can always delete them on your computer later.
  
  
• Avoid shooting with the light source behind your subject. Unless you are planning a silhouette, this can lead to bad shots with poorly lit faces. If you must, try using flash.
  
  
• Avoid the mid-day sun when shooting. Its harsh on your eyes, harsh on the subject, harsh on your camera sensor and it will show on the pictures that you shoot.
  
  
• MOVE! While most cameras come with zoom, it sucks when you see somebody trying to shoot everything around them by standing in just one spot! Walk around, if you want to get closer to your subject, walk closer to them instead of zooming! Also, don't do all your shots at eye level. Try high shots (hold your camera above you or climb onto something – works well when shooting a crowd) and low shots (get on your knees and crawl! :P good when shooting kids) You will get different perspectives and end up with some interesting images! :)
  
  
• DO NOT USE DIGITAL ZOOM! DSLRs that I know of don't come with digital zoom but unfortunately a lot of camera manufacturers put this as a key 'feature' in Point & Shoots and mobile phones. Unlike optical zoom where there is no deterioration in image quality, digital zoom merely crops your existing image, and blows up the pixels to fill the screen resulting in bad looking images. The cropping is something you can do on a computer later anyway. If you are out of optical zoom, walk closer to your subject to get a better shot. Some cameras (like newer Nikon Coolpix P&S) come with an option to turn off optical zoom. If your camera supports this then please turn it off!
  
  
• Megapixels: Dont get swayed by Megapixels! When you are buying a camera, you might be tempted to get the one with the most megapixels. But trust me, if you are a casual photographer or even an enthusiast like me, 6 – 10 megapixels is more than you would need for normal usage. To put things in perspective, think about the images that you normally upload on websites or social netoworks. These are probably shot from a point and shoot but the original size would be too heavy for uploading. I'm guessing over 2-3 MB per image. So you resize them till they get under 1 MB and upload them. At this point, they are probably the equivalent of a 2 or 3 Megapixel image! People no longer print photos like they used to in the past. Even if you plan to blow up a landscape that you shot, a 6 Meg shot should more than suffice! You might want to consider a 16 MP camera if shoot pictures that you want to blow up onto 30'x40' billboards, but for everything else, pixel quality is better than pixel count. So get a camera that has a sensor with better image quality rather than the highest number of pixels!

• Whitebalance: This refers to the coloration of the pictures and the way the sensor interprets colors. Good whitebalance will result in accurate reproduction of real life colors. Faulty whitebalance can lead to pictures that are too warm (red / orange) or too cold (white / blue). Cameras automatically set the whitebalance to suit the shot but can be off sometimes. So you can use the various other settings like Cloudy, Beach/Snow, Incandescent, etc. or use manual whitebalance configurations to arrive at the desired whitebalance.
  
  
• Flash: Flash can be harsh and throw off the whitebalance and cause overexposed sections to occur in your images if used when there is already ample light for a proper exposure. In such cases, just turn off the flash! But sometimes, when parts of the subject are not lit properly (say when the light source is not correctly aligned), it can be helpful to shoot with flash to 'fill' the otherwise dark areas of the shot. In any case, if you find the flash intensity to be too high for your liking, try using an external flash that you can 'bounce' or use a diffuser or just stick on a piece of 3M scotch tape over your flash to get gentler lighting on your shots.