Chapter 1
Fast and Easy Picture Taking
In This Chapter
Getting good-quality images
Examining your camera's preset modes
Finding the best light for your subject
Having some fun with your camera
Checking out the photos you've just taken
With camera in hand, you're ready to shoot. In this chapter, you learn enough to jump into using your camera with confidence. Before your first shot, set the image quality and get a sense of your camera's many automatic modes. Check out a few tips about light - photography is all about light and dark. And then take some fun shots before you review the photos on your camera's LCD.
Because of differences between camera makes and models, some setting names and locations may be different from what you find here. Be sure to have your camera's user manual handy, and remember that nothing beats getting out there and running your camera through its paces. Try every setting, take a shot, and see what happens: That's really the only way to truly feel comfortable with your camera.
Setting Image Quality
You want to take great photos, so make sure your camera is working with you. Set the image quality to yield the best photos and to give you maximum flexibility in editing and printing.
Image quality can be affected by two different settings: resolution and file format. For maximum flexibility after you've taken a photo, you want the highest resolution your camera is capable of, although that does produce the largest files. That means fewer photos will fit on your memory card. So you need to find a balance between resolution and file size. Use your camera's setup menu to see what options are available.
Figure 1-1 shows a sample Image Quality menu with quality options listed from highest to lowest (top to bottom) - and, in effect, file size from largest to smallest.
Figure 1-1: Choose a setting from the image quality menu.
You camera is likely to support the following three file formats:
JPEG/JPG: This is the most widely used format for photographs. After all, JPEG originates with the Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPEG is designed to compress images in a very clever way by calculating what information you won't miss. JPEG compression varies by percentage, although most cameras don't specify a percentage. In Figure 1-1, notice the two options: JPEG Fine (which uses little or no compression) and JPEG Basic (which uses greater compression but probably still results in adequate quality except for the highest grade and largest prints). In between the two in size and quality is JPEG Normal.
If file size isn't an issue, you want JPEG with the least compression. On the menu shown in Figure 1-1, for example, you would choose JPEG Fine.
TIFF/TIF: This tagged image file format is an old format originally used for scanned images. There are variations on TIFF, including some with compression, but it is usually a lossless file type - no data is removed during compression - and files are large, which results in higher-quality images but fewer photos per memory card.
RAW: This is the newest format and can vary among cameras. The goal of RAW is to capture more information - everything the image sensor sees. RAW might include additional copies of the image with different exposures or formats, such as RAW + JPEG.
So, is RAW best and JPEG worst? Not necessarily. Remember that you will be viewing these pictures on your computer, attaching them to e-mail, uploading them to the Web, and editing them for hours. Every program for working with or viewing photos handles JPEG easily. Only the latest software handles RAW. If you e-mail a huge RAW file to a friend, she may not be able to see it. JPEG gets points for longevity and ease of use, as well as smaller file size.
So, JPEG is best, right? Hold on. JPEG is lossy - JPEG compresses by throwing away data. If you repeatedly edit and save the same JPEG photo, you compress it more and more, eventually substantially degrading the quality.
For the record, Adobe, the maker of Photoshop and other photo editors, has created a RAW variant called Digital Negative (DNG). Microsoft has its own format, HD Photo. The question remains as to whether camera makers will adopt these formats.
On some cameras, you can shoot both RAW and JPEG simultaneously, thereby giving you more options in postprocessing. Just be sure to have plenty of large-capacity memory cards on hand.
Not to belabor this point, but for flexibility in editing and printing, you want the image resolution plus the file format that together, not coincidentally, produce the largest files (because they contain more information). It's not that you want large files, but that you want the benefits of the information that makes those files larger. Complicating this issue is that large files take up more space (fewer photos per gigabyte), are slower to record to the memory card and to move around, and may not be as easy to work with as smaller files.
While you're rooting around in the setup menu, look for a sound option that controls the sounds the camera makes. A shutter sound may provide good feedback when you're shooting, but it may also be disturbing, especially in a quiet setting. You may be able to turn the sound down or off.
Using Preset Scene Modes
Your camera probably has various scene modes that configure the camera for specific shooting conditions. Using these modes is easy and may produce better pictures - you just have to experiment.
Look for a mode dial, dedicated buttons, or menu options. Figure 1-2 shows a mode dial set to A for Automatic. Your camera may show Auto or a camera icon. The Automatic mode setting is usually the only green icon on the mode dial.
Figure 1-2: Pick from the preset scene modes.
Automatic mode does it all, of course. Don't be afraid to operate on Automatic. However, you will surely shoot in conditions in which other modes produce better pictures.
Landscape, Portrait, Night Sky, or Action/Sports modes may produce better pictures than Automatic under the corresponding circumstances.
Take lots of pictures. Take the same picture several times, switching modes. See Chapter 2 to learn about Manual mode and other advanced settings.
The following steps guide you through taking your first photo. (You've already done this, haven't you?)
1. Set the Mode dial or button to Automatic mode. In Automatic mode, your camera makes all the decisions.
2. Compose your shot in the viewfinder or LCD screen.
3. Press the shutter button halfway down to give your camera a moment to focus. This takes a fraction of a second, in most cases. You may see a green indicator on the LCD or electronic viewfinder (EVF).
4. Press the shutter button the rest of way to capture the image. (Writing the captured file to the memory card takes a fraction of a second - longer for bigger files.)
5. Switch to another scene mode and take the same picture. You can compare these versions later.
Play with different scene modes with the same subject. For more advice on using scene modes, see Chapter 3.
Shedding Some Light on Your Subject
Nothing is more important than light in photography. Or is darkness more important? In fact, a photo captures light and dark, as well as color. Photographers use numerous terms to describe the interplay of light and dark, such as exposure, contrast, and brightness.
Your camera's scene modes are preset for certain conditions of light and darkness. Start with the available light and consider the available modes. Eventually, you may want to add a separate light source (such as a flash) and delve deeper into your camera's controls.
Finding the light
Exposure refers to the amount of light that enters the lens. You can think about light in several ways, such as the direction, intensity (brightness), color, and quality of light. To incorporate these characteristics of light into your compositions, here are a few tips:
Time of day: The best light for photographs is usually around dawn or dusk. The light is warmer and softer, and the shadows are longer and less harsh. Avoid midday light when the sun causes harsh or sharp shadows and squinting. If you must shoot at noon, move your subject into shady areas or turn your flash on to reduce shadows on faces. (This is called a fill flash or forced flash.)
Turn every rule or suggestion upside down to see for yourself whether it's valid. Have a shootout at high noon. Where some see ugly shadows, you may capture something strong or dramatic. (Remember, no one has to see your mistakes.)
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