Shortcourses-Photo Course: An Interactive Multimedia eText

A ShortCourse Book
Photo Course: An Interactive Multimedia eText

Photo Course: An Interactive Multimedia eText

Finally, a visually oriented book on digital photography designed to be read on the screen or projected for a group using Adobe's free Acrobat reader. The eBook version is a powerful teaching and learning tool because embedded in its pages are 90 clickable links that integrate animations, movies, audio, other documents, and links to Web sites that bring to life the core concepts of digital photography. This text is available as a traditional 308 page large-format (8.5 by 11) spiral bound book printed in black and white with 16 pages of color, and as a full-color, fully searchable PDF eBook you can order on a CD. The eBook also includes links to animations and other resources that bring to life the core concepts of digital photography.

Preface

As a student or teacher of digital photography, this multimedia eTextT may be what you're looking for. Its unique visual approach introduces the core concepts of digital photography using photos, drawings, and interactive animations instead of long pages of text.

In addition to this unique visual, animated design, you may also notice that the eText is titled simply "Photo Course" although it's a text on digital photography. Why is this? Because times have changed and almost all photography now is digital-or soon will be. Descriptive adjectives have to be added to photography books that cover the use of film, not books that cover digital. This is not to denigrate film photography. It is a wonderful media that has served artists, journalists and others well for over a century. As time passes and film leaves the core curriculum it will find a welcome home in courses on alternative and historical processes

Although designed for use as the core text in a semester-length course, this eText is so inexpensive you may find it useful in other settings including:

As a supplement, or projectible teaching aide in courses where you are using "The Textbook of Digital Photography" as the main text.
As the textbook in a short course offered in adult education, community education, or other settings where only part of the material is covered in the course and the rest is read by students on their own or used as a reference during the course and after.
As an individualized learning eTextT on your own computer.
As a source of projects or assignments you can assign your students or yourself (see page 6).

In this eText you are introduced to two major aspects of photography; the underlying concepts and the creative applications.

Typical concepts include how the shutter speed controls the portrayal of motion in an image, how the aperture controls the depth of field, and how flash falls off with distance following the inverse square law. A typical creative application is using slow sync flash to combine all three of these concepts to create photos that are both sharp and blurred with a lighter background. As you'll see there are only a few concepts, but a countless number of creative applications that use these concepts in a variety of combinations.

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1
Digital Images & Digital Cameras ...14

History–Prephotography ...15
History–The Camera Obscura ...16
History–The Very Beginning of Photography ...17
History–It Wasn't Easy at First ...18
History–Some Things Never Change ...19
History–But Some Things do Change ...20
Going Digital—The Dawn of Digital Photography ...21
Going Digital—The First Images ...22
Going Digital—The First Digital Cameras ...23
Types of Digital Cameras-Point and Shoot Cameras ...24
Types of Digital Cameras-Camera Phones ...25
Types of Digital Cameras-Disposable Point and Shoot Cameras ...26
Types of Digital Cameras-High-end Fixed Lens Cameras ...27
Types of Digital Cameras—The Rangefinder ...28
Types of Digital Cameras-The Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) ...29
Types of Digital Cameras-SLR Cutaway View ...30
Types of Digital Cameras-Professional/Studio Cameras ...31
Composing Images-Introduction ...32
Composing Images-Orientation ...33
Composing Images-Optical Viewfinders ...34
Composing Images-LCD Monitors ...35
Composing Images-LCD Monitors, con't ....36
Composing Images-Electronic Viewfinders ...37
Composing Images-Single-Lens Reflexes (SLRs) ...38
Taking Pictures-The Shutter Button ...39
Taking Pictures-Continuous Mode ...40
Taking Pictures-Audio and Video Clips ...41
What is a Digital Photo-Pixels ...42
The Image Sensor—Replacing Film ...43
The Image Sensor—Sizes ...44
The Image Sensor—Types ...45
The Image Sensor—Types, con't. ...46
Digital Color—RGB ...47
Digital Color—RGB ...48
Digital Color—CMYK ...49
Image Sizes ...50
Image Sizes-Pixelization ...52
Image Sizes—Cropping ...53
Image Sizes—Sharpness & Detail ...54
Image Sizes-The Other "Resolution" ...55
Image Sizes—Standard Screen Sizes ...56
Image Sizes—Calculating Screen Display ...57
Image Sizes—Prints ...58
Image Quality-Compression ...59
File Formats ...60
Image Quality-A Dirty Little Secret ...61

Chapter 2
The Digital Darkroom ...62

Storing Images in the Camera ...63
Storing Images in the Camera, Con't. ...64
Transferring Photos-Card Readers and Slots...65
Transferring Photos-Cable Connections ...66
Transferring Photos-Cable Connections ...67
Transferring Photos-Wireless Connections ...68
How Photos are Stored in Your Camera and Computer ...69
How Photos are Stored in Your Camera and Computer ...70
Transferring Images to the Computer-Procedures ...71
Organizing Your Photo Files ...72
Storing Images—Hard Drives & Flash Drives ...73
Storing Images—On the Road ...74
Storing Images—CD Drives and Discs ...75
Storing Images—DVD Drives and Discs ...76
Labeling CD/DVD Discs ...78
Image Management—Thumbnail Viewers ...79
Image Management—Asset Managers ...80
Image Management—Asset Managers, con't. ...81
Photo-editing Tools—The Big Two ...82
Photo-editing Tools—Editing to Improve ...83
Photo-editing Tools—Editing to Change ...84
Photo-editing Tools—Resizing, Cropping and Rotating ...85
Photo-editing Tools—Adjusting the Tonal Range ...86
Photo-editing Tools—Removing Color Casts ...87
Photo-editing Tools—Removing Color Casts, A Word About Neutral ...88
Photo-editing Tools—Sharpening ...89
Photo-editing Tools—Brightness and Contrast ...90
Photo-editing Tools—Hue and Saturation ...91
Photo-editing Tools—Transforming ...92
Photo-editing Tools—Touching Up ...93
Photo-editing Tools—Selecting ...94
Photo-editing Tools—Adding Text ...95
Photo-editing Tools—Layers ...96
Photo-editing Tools—Filters ...97
Photo-editing Tools—Actions ...98

Chapter 3
Controlling Exposure ...99

Understanding Exposure ...100
Understanding Exposure, con't. ...101
Understanding Exposure-The Controls ...102
Understanding Exposure-Why Choices? ...103
Understanding Exposure-The Range of Choices ...104
Understanding Exposure-Analogy #1 ...105
Understanding Exposure-Analogy #2 ...106
Exposure Modes—Selecting ...107
Exposure Modes—Auto & Programmed ...108
Exposure Modes—Scene Modes ...109
Shutter-Priority—Introduction ...110
Shutter-Priority—Types of Shutters ...111
Shutter Priority—Freezing and Blurring Motion ...112
Aperture-Priority—Introduction ...113
Aperture-Priority—Depth of Field ...114
Manual Mode ...115
Manual Mode—Bulb ...116
How Your Exposure System Works—Middle Gray ...117
When Automatic Exposure Works Well ...118
Why Autoexposure Doesn't Always Work ...119
When to Increase Exposure—Light Scenes ...120
When to Increase Exposure—Light Backgrounds ...121
When to Increase Exposure—Foggy and Misty Scenes ...122
When to Decrease Exposure—Dark Scenes ...123
When to Decrease Exposure—Dark Backgrounds ...124
Metering a Scene ...125
Metering a Scene, con't. ...126
Adjusting Exposure—Exposure Compensation ...127
Adjusting Exposure—Exposure Lock ...128
Adjusting Exposure—Exposure Lock, con't. ...129
Adjusting Exposure—Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) ...130
Expanding Your Exposure Range ...131
Evaluating Your Exposures—Histograms ...132
Evaluating Your Exposures—Histograms When Shooting ...133
Histograms—Normal and Good ...134
Histograms—Middle Gray ...135
Histograms—High Key ...136
Histograms—Night Scene ...137
Histograms—Low Key ...138
Histograms & Exposure ...139

Chapter 4
Controlling Sharpness ...140

Eliminating Camera Movement ...141
Eliminating Camera Movement—Holding the Camera ...142
Eliminating Camera Movement—Tripods and Monopods ...143
Eliminating Camera Movement—Tripod Heads ...144
Eliminating Camera Movement—Tripod Quick Release Systems ...145
Eliminating Camera Movement—Shutter Release ...146
Eliminating Camera Movement—Shutter Release, con't. ...147
Eliminating Camera Movement—The ISO Setting ...148
Eliminating Camera Movement—ISO and Noise ...149
How to Photograph Motion Sharply ...150
Shutter Speed and Sharpness ...151
Focus ...152
Types of Focus ...153
Autofocus Facts ...154
Autofocus—Types Of ...155
Autofocus—Focus Points ...156
Focus—Focus Lock ...157
Manual Focus—Ways it's Done ...158
Depth of Field ...159
Depth of Field—The Reasons Why ...160
Controlling Depth of Field—The Influences ...161
Controlling Depth of Field—Checking ...162
Controlling Depth of Field—Shallow ...163
Controlling Depth of Field—Shallow, con't. ...164
Controlling Depth of Field—Shallow, con't. ...165
Controlling Depth of Field—Deep ...166
Controlling Depth of Field—Hyperfocal Distance ...167
Sharpness Isn't Everything—Using the Shutter Speed ...168
Sharpness Isn't Everything—Using the Aperture ...169
Panning the Camera ...170

Chapter 5
Capturing Light & Color ...171

The Color of Subjects ...172
The Color of Sources ...173
White Balance ...174
White Balance, con't. ...175
White Balance, con't. ...176
Color Management-Color Spaces ...177
White Balance and Time of Day ...178
Sunsets and Sunrises as the Subject ...179
Sunsets and Sunrises—As the Subject ...180
Sunsets and Sunrises—As the Light Source ...181
Moonsets and Moonrises ...182
Weather—Snow...183
Weather—Haze, Mist and Clouds ...184
Weather—Rainbows ...185
Weather—Rainbows ...186
White Balance and Mixed Lighting ...187
Photographing at Night ...188
The Direction of Light—Backlighting ...189
The Direction of Light—Backlighting, con't. ...190
The Direction of Light—Backlighting, con't. ...191
Photographing Light Sources ...192
The Quality of Light—Diffuse ...193
The Quality of Light—Direct ...194

Chapter 6
Using Lenses ...195

Lenses—Pinholes ...196
Lenses—Reading Lens Information ...197
Lenses—Fixed or Interchangeable ...198
Focal Length—Definition ...199
Focal Length—And Aperture ...200
Focal Length—Angle of View & Magnification ...201
Focal Length—Image Stabilization ...202
Focal Length–Effect of Sensor Sizes ...203
Focal Length–Effect of Sensor Sizes, con't. ...204
Lenses—OEM or 3rd Party...205
Zoom Lenses—Introduction ...206
Zooming—Fixed Lens Cameras ...207
Zooming—SLRs ...208
Zoom Lenses—Optical and Digital ...209
Normal Lenses ...210
Wide Angle Lenses ...211
Wide Angle Lenses, con't. ...212
Wide Angle Lenses, con't. ...213
Distortion with Wide–Angle Lenses ...214
Distortion with Wide-Angle Lenses, con't. ...215
Long or Telephoto Lenses ...216
Long or Telephoto Lenses, con't. ...217
Perspective ...218
Macro Lenses and Macro Mode ...219
Macro Lenses and Macro Mode, con't. ...220
Macro Lenses and Macro Mode, con't. ...221
Macro Lenses and Macro Mode, con't. ...222
Tilt-Shift Lenses ...223
Lens Accessories ...224
Lens Accessories, con't. ...225

Chapter 7
On-camera Flash Photography ...226

Flash—The Beginnings ...227
Built-in Flash ...228
External Flash ...229
External Flash, con't. ...230
Ring and Twin Flash ...231
Flash Accessories ...232
Autoflash ...233
Flash and Shutter Speeds ...234
Flash and Distance ...235
Red-eye Reduction ...236
Fill Flash ...237
Fill Flash, con't. ...238
Flash Off ...239
Slow Sync Flash —Automatic Modes ...240
Slow Sync Flash—Manual Control ...241
First and Second Curtain Sync ...242
Controlling Flash Exposures —FE Lock ...243
Controlling Flash Exposures—Flash Exposure Compensation ...244
Controlling Flash Exposures—Flash Exposure Compensation ...245
High-speed Sync ...246
Stroboscopic Flash ...247
Flash Guide Numbers ...248

Chapter 8
Studio Photography ...249

Professional Studios ...250
Tabletop Studios ...251
Using Studio Strobes ...252
Using Continuous Lights ...253
Using Multiple Flash Units ...254
Understanding Hard and Soft Light ...255
Creating Hard Light ...256
Creating Soft Light—Reflecting and Diffusing ...257
Creating Soft Light—Reflecting and Diffusing, con't. ...258
Creating Soft Light—Reflecting and Diffusing, con't. ...259
Creating Soft Light—Light Tents ...260
Choosing a Background ...261
Choosing a Background—Dropping it Out ...262
Choosing a Background—Light Panels ...263
Positioning the Camera ...264
Positioning Lights—Introduction ...265
The Main Light ...266
The Fill Light ...267
The Background Light ...268
The Rim Light ...269
Putting it All Together—Exposure and White Balance ...270

Chapter 9
Displaying Photos ...271

Displaying & Sharing Digital Photos—Introduction ...272
Displaying & Sharing Digital Photos—Introduction, con't. ...273
E-mailing Digital Photos ...274
E-mailing Digital Photos, con't. ...275
Instant Messaging ...276
Slide Shows—Direct from the Camera ...277
Slide Shows—Editing & Polishing ...278
Slide Shows—Presenting & Sharing ...279
Home Entertainment Networks ...280
Digital Frames ...281
eBooks—PDF Files ...282
Creating a Photo Web Site ...283
Photo Blogs ...284
Peer-to-Peer Photo Sharing ...285

chapter 10
Printing Photographs ...286

Printing—Introduction ...287
Printing Colors—CMYK ...288
Printers—How an Inkjet Printer Works ...289
Printers—How a Dye Sub Printer Works ...290
Printers—Drivers ...291
Prints—On-line ...292
Prints—Locally ...293
Prints—Printing Paper ...294
Prints—Inks ...295
Prints—Matting and Mounting for Protection ...296
Prints—Matting and Mounting for Protection, con't. ...297
Prints—Framing for Presentation ...298
Prints—Hanging for Display ...299
Prints—Storing Archivally ...300
Photo Albums—Sheet Protectors ...301
Photo Albums—Album Kits ...302
Photo Albums—Outside Printers ...303
Photo Albums—Desktop Publishing ...304
Printing Photos ...305
Printing Photos—Exploring Print Sizes ...306
Understanding Pixels per Inch ...307
Exploring Pixels Per Inch ...308

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