For those who are interested in Photography,..and also..Criminology students who are taking Police Photography, this is just a download also from sir Melcon S. Lapina, .Sharing is great.. this will help you guys..:) enjoy..

1. PHOTOGRAPHY
In a Nutshell
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2. Why Do I Need an SLR?
The beauty of single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras
is the amount of control they give you over your
pictures. They are system cameras, with optional
extras, such as lenses, flashguns and filters, which
allow the SLR to be adapted to a myriad of
subjects.
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3. The SLR also allows users to adjust shutter
speed and aperture settings. These controls do not
just adjust how much light reaches the film, they
also allow the user to interpret a scene – so that it
can be translated into a photograph that is far
more than a mere snap or record shot.
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4. Viewfinder contains a five-sided prism
Shutter speed dial for controlling that allows you to view the subject
Hotshoe socket for
exposure, reducing camera shake, through the lens itself, so you know
attaching a flashgun
and freezing or blurring movement exactly how it is going to appear on film.
Focus control for adjusting the Aperture Control allows you to
lens and looking in the viewfinder blur distracting backgrounds or keep
to ensure the subject is sharp everything pin-sharp
TTL metering ensures accurate exposure
as the camera meters the light level through Interchangeable lenses allow you to control how
the lens itself. much of your subject appears in the frame.
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5. Choice of lenses
The choice of wideangle,
telephoto and close-up
lenses means you can
tackle any subject.
Freezing the action
By using the appropriate
shutter speed, fast-
moving subjects can be
caught on film.
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6. Sharpness control
By using the right
aperture, you can decide
exactly how much of
your picture is sharp.
Critical focus
As you see exactly what
you are shooting, SLRs
allow you to frame
close-ups accurately.
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7. Pros and Cons of Compact Cameras
Advantages Disadvantages No-go subjects
Small – fits in Built-in lens – Most sports.
pocket longer or wider
lenses cannot be
added.
Simplicity – few Rudimentary Most nature
buttons exposure and focus subjects
controls.
Quiet and Very little creative Most creative
discreet to control. photography.
use.
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8. When to Choose Autofocus
In most conditions, autofocus is more accurate
and faster than focusing manually – although you
still have to ensure that the camera selects the right
subject to focus on. You should also be aware of
the situations when AF is not as effective – so that
you know when to switch to the manual-focus
mode, which is found on all good autofocus
models.
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9. Autofocus Speed
Although all AF SLRs
focus accurately on static
subjects in good light, not
all are as good with moving
targets and low light. The
best AF models can
accurately tackle subjects
moving at speed towards
the camera, using a
predictive autofocus
system.
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10. Using the Focus Lock – An AF system works on a
small area in the centre of the image. If the subject is
off-centre, you should focus on the subject in the
center of the viewfinder, engage the AF focus lock,
and then recompense before firing
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11. Obscured View
AF systems focus on
the part of the picture
nearest the camera within
the sensor zone. If shooting
through glass, the camera
may focus on the glass,
rather than on the subject
beyond.
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12. Contrast Detection – Autofocus SLRs work on
the principle that a sharp image is more contrasty
than an out-of-focus one. Therefore, subjects with
little contrast, such as this white jug and bowl on a
white background, usually require switching to
manual focus.
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13. Pros and Cons of Autofocus Cameras
Advantages Disadvantages
Easier to use and More expensive than
quicker than manual manual models.
focus.
Can cope with fast- Can struggle in low
moving subjects. light and with low
Compensates well for contrast.
failing eyesight. Heavy drain on battery
power.
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14. Which Sort of SLR?
Modern SLRs, particularly autofocus models,
are packed full of labor-saving devices which are
designed to make photography that much easier.
As well as automating repetitive tasks, some of the
features give you instant access to what used to be
quite advanced techniques.
Not all features are found on all cameras, so
you must decide which ones you want before you
go shopping for your SLR.
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15. Fill-in Flash – Built-in flash units are not only
useful in low light. In sunlight they can light up
portraits (left photo) and eliminating unwanted
shadows (right photo).
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17. A sequence of exposures helps ensure
that one of them will be ‘correct’.
Auto-Bracketing – The bracketing feature found on
some SLRs allows a sequence of shots to be taken
automatically, each at a slightly different exposure. Useful
in tricky lighting conditions, or when using slide film
(which needs much more precise exposure than print
film).
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18. Exposure modes –
LCD Panel – This
These control how the
gives information
aperture and shutter
on exposure, film
speed are set. Program
and features
modes will control both
currently in use.
Metering automatically.
Modes –
Some cameras
give a choice
of light meter
system
DX Coding – Most SLRs have a system that automatically sets the film speed
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19. Exposure Modes
Aperture priority mode is one
of the ways in which you can
set an aperture so that you
ensure that all the wanted
detail in your shot is sharp.
Metering Modes
Spot meters measure the light
from a small area of the
frame. They are useful for
images with a very bright or
very dark background.
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20. What are f/numbers?
Aperture and shutter speed are the fundamental
controls available to the SLR user: Varying one or
other of these opens up a myriad of creative
possibilities. Both also control how much light
reaches the film – so if you make the hole through
which the light passes into the camera (the
aperture) smaller; you must keep this hole open
for longer (the shutter speed) to compensate.
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21. Fortunately, on most cameras this adjustment is
made automatically. The size of the aperture is
measured using f/numbers (or f/stops).
Confusingly, as f/numbers represent fractions, the
larger the f/number the smaller the aperture. The
widest aperture on a lens might be f/2, whilst the
smallest aperture available may be f/22.
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23. Minimum aperture – In this shot, the aperture being
used is f/22 – the smallest opening available on a 100mm
lens. As this lets in only a small amount of light, the
aperture was opened for longer than when the opening
used was wider. On this occasion, a shutter speed of 1/30
sec was needed so that the film received enough light to
give correct exposure.
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24. Mid aperture – With each stop that the lens is opened,
twice as much light is let in as the one before. Here the
aperture used was f/8 – 3 stops wider than the f/22 used
above. So the f/8 setting means 8 times more light
reaches the film than with the shot above. To get the
same exposure, the shutter has to be open for just 1/8 of
the time it was before – in this case, just 1/250 sec.
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25. Maximum aperture – Opening the lens a further 2 stops
to f/4 lets in 4 times more light. The shutter needs only to
be open for a quarter of the time compared to the
previous shot – so a shutter speed of 1/1000 sec, the
fastest on many cameras, was used. Notice how changing
the aperture in the 3 shots has affected how many of the
cups are in focus. This is known as depth of field.
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26. Avoiding Camera Shake
Unless you are using a tripod, the first thing you
should ensure when choosing the shutter speed is
that it is fast enough to avoid camera shake.
However tightly you hold your camera, it will
always move slightly as you fire. If you use too
slow a shutter speed this will mean blurred
pictures. The speed you use depends on the focal
length of lens you are doing.
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27. How to hold your camera
To be able to use the slowest possible handheld
speeds, you must hold the camera correctly to
avoid as much vibration as possible.
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29. Low-level
shooting – you
don’t always want
to take your
pictures from
normal eye level.
This kneeling
position allows
you to take shots
at waist level.
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30. Minimum shutter speeds
for handheld shots
Focal length of Minimum shutter
lens used speed
15mm 1/30 sec
24mm 1/30 sec
50mm 1/60 sec
100mm 1/125 sec
200mm 1/250 sec
400mm 1/500 sec
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31. 35mm lens – 1/30 sec – The easy way to work out the
slowest shutter speed you can use when holding the
camera by hand, is to divide one second by the focal
length of lens you are using. Then round the answer down
to the nearest shutter speed found on your camera. With a
35mm lens, a 1/30 sec shutter speed or faster should be
used.
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32. 100mm lens – 1/125 sec – The longer the focal length of
the lens you use, the more the image is magnified.
Unfortunately, the effects of camera shake are also
magnified – so a faster shutter speed is needed than with
shorter lenses. With a zoom, you still will need a faster
shutter speed at its telephoto settings than you will at
wideangle ones.
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33. 300mm lens – 1/250 sec – Use more powerful
telephotos still, and the shutter speed needed to keep the
image sharp keeps going up. With a 300mm lens, the
shutter speed you should theoretically use is 1/300 sec or
faster – rounding the figure again, a 1/250 sec setting will
suffice.
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34. When to Use Slow Shutter Speeds
By using a tripod, or other camera support,
photographers can use slower shutter speeds than
usual. These allow you to use apertures that would
not otherwise be possible when using a handheld
camera – and to shoot in the lowest light. Slow
shutter speeds can also be used for creative effect,
as moving subjects will become artistically blurred.
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36. Maximizing Sharpness – In this shot, the
aperture used is the smallest available (f/22 on 35-
70mm zoom) to ensure that as much of the picture
as possible was sharp. This meant using a shutter
speed of 1/15 sec – which if used handheld would
not have been fast enough to avoid camera shake,
therefore a tripod was used to hold the camera
steady.
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37. Using a tripod
Tripods come in all sizes.
Heavier models are more
stable and can be used at a
wide variety of heights.
Smaller tripods are easier
to carry.
A centre column allows
you to raise the height of
the camera by small
amounts using a crank.
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38. Nightscapes – With a solid tripod exposures lasting several
seconds – or even minutes – are possible. This means that
you can shoot pictures throughout the night. For this
cityscape, the exposure used is 4 sec.
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39. Creative blur – The slower the shutter speed, the more
blurred moving subjects appear in the shot. This technique
adds the appearance of movement to an otherwise still
picture. Here the shutter setting is 1/8 sec.
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40. When to Use Fast Shutter Speeds
Moving subjects require you to consider using a
faster shutter speed than that needed to avoid
camera shake. Some blur may be welcome with
action subjects, but often we want to freeze the
action. Selecting the right shutter speed depends
not only on the velocity of the subject, but also on
the direction in which it is travelling.
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41. Frozen in Mid-Air – It is not just for sport pictures that
you need fast shutter speeds. There is movement in
practically everything we see – and sometimes this needs
to be frozen crisply. In this shot the boy jumped on the
photographer’s command, and the shutter speed used was
1/1000 sec.
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42. Shutter Speed Guide
The shutter speed you use depends on the
subject and the direction that it is traveling in
relation to the camera. The speeds given are the
minimum needed to freeze the action and are for
rough guidance only – the speed of one sprinter is
different from another. The shutter speed also
depends on how large the subject appears in the
frame – the bigger it is the faster the shutter speed
you will need.
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43. Speed Table
Subject Direction of Movement
Towards Diagonal Across
Camera Frame
Pedestrian 1/30 sec 1/60 sec 1/125 sec
Jogger 1/60 sec 1/125 sec 1/250 sec
Sprinter 1/250 sec 1/500 sec 1/1000 sec
Cyclist 1/125 sec 1/250 sec 1/500 sec
City traffic 1/60 sec 1/125 sec 1/250 sec
Racing car 1/500 sec 1/1000 sec 1/2000 sec
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44. Running towards the
camera – If a subject is
heading towards the
camera, you can get away
with a much slower shutter
speed than that needed if it
is traveling across the
frame. In the case of this
hurdler, with the subject
filling most of the frame,
the shutter speed used was
1/500 sec insuring that the
athlete was recorded
sharply.
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45. Galloping across the frame – These racehorses
moved extremely fast across the viewfinder, and
the only hope of the photographer had of
capturing them sharply was to use a 1/2000 sec
shutter speed.
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46. What is Focal Length?
Focal length is a measure of the light-bending
power of a lens. It is invariably measured in
millimeters (mm). The longer the focal length of a
lens, the narrower the angle of view, and the larger
objects appear in the viewfinder without the need
to move any closer to them. Long focal length
lenses are called telephotos – short focal lengths
are called wideangles.
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47. Wideangles
A lens with a focal length of 50mm is known as
a standard lens – the view that it gives is similar to
that of the human eye. Any lens with a shorter
focal length, and wider angle of view, is known as
wideangle. This picture show the views afforded
by common wideangle lenses.
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49. How Focal Length Affects Image Size
Lenses work on the principle that light affecting
from a subject can be bent using the refractive
properties of glass to form a miniature image of
the subject. Lenses with short focal lengths, such
as the wideangle lens, produce a small image.
Telephoto lenses, with longer focal lengths,
produce a larger image, when taken from the same
distance.
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50. Wideangle Lens
– A short focal
length results in a
smaller image.
Telephoto Lens
– Long focal
lengths bring
objects closer to
fill the frame.
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51. Telephoto Lenses
Telephotos are lenses with focal lengths greater
than 50mm. They range from 70mm short
telephotos to ‘long toms‘ with focal lengths of
1000mm or more.
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53. Does Focal Length Affect Depth of
Field?
Aperture is not the only factor that affects how
much of a scene is in focus. You should also take
into account the focal length of the lens being
used and the distance that the lens is focused at
(generally the distance from the camera to your
subject). The longer the focal length, the more
restricted depth of field becomes.
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54. So, all things being equal, a wideangle lens
keeps more of the scene in focus than a telephoto
one. In addition, depth of field becomes
increasingly more limited the closer you are to the
subject that you lens is focused on.
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56. Factors Affecting Depth of Field
These diagrams show how aperture, focused
distance and focal length can individually affect
how much of a scene is in focus. The shaded area
indicates the amount of depth of field in front of,
and behind, the subject.
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57. 1. Aperture – The larger the aperture the less
depth of field. For maximum depth of field, use
the smallest aperture
2. Focused Distance – The closer the subject you
focus on, the less depth of field. Depth of field
is greater with distance subjects.
3. Focal Length – The longer the lens you use,
the less epth of field you will have. Wideangle
lenses give the greatest depth of field.
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58. What Is Selective Focusing?
The aperture is not just used to control how
much light enters the lens. It also regulates how
much of the shot will be sharp.
Small apertures allow you to take shots where
everything in the scene is sharp. Wider apertures
let you restrict the amount of the picture that is in
focus. Selective focusing is a powerful SLR
technique that allows you to vary how much of the
scene is in focus. Unwanted or distracting
elements are made to look blurred by careful use
of aperture.
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59. Background sharp –
Focusing on the tower and
using a 135mm telephoto
with an aperture of f/2.8,
the urn in the middle
ground and the young boy
in the foreground are
thrown out of focus.
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60. Middle ground sharp –
Again a 135mm lens and a
wide aperture of f/2.8. this
time, however, the lens has
been focused on the
decorative urn. The eye is
drawn straight to the point
of focus.
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61. Foreground Sharp –
Here, the focus was the boy
in the foreground, but the
aperture of 135mm lens
was left to f/2.8. note that
the tower is more out of
focus than the urn in the
middle.
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62. Everything Sharp. In
this shot, the smallest
aperture was used to
ensure that as much of
the scene was in focus as
possible. Again, the focal
length used is 135mm,
but the aperture is f/22.
The urn is focused.
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63. How Can You Tell What’s in Focus?
The SLR’s viewfinder shows you the amount of
depth of field available with the widest aperture.
For smaller apertures, some cameras have a depth
of field preview, allowing you to see how much of
the scene is sharp.
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64. Does Focal Length Alter
Perspective?
Perspective is affected by one factor alone – the
distance of the subject from the camera. In theory,
therefore, focal length does not alter perspective.
However, because telephoto lenses are generally
used to shoot subjects that are further away from
the camera than wideangle ones, the choice of lens
frequently changes the perspective of the scene.
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66. 28mm Wideangle from 1 Meter (Photograph in
Preceding Slide)
With a 28mm wideangle lens, the photographer
shots this bust from just a meter away to get it to
fill the height of the frame. Not only is much of
the room included in the shot, but the perspective
is typical of a wideangle lens, with the room
appearing to narrow at the seemingly distant far
wall.
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68. 150mm Telephoto from 6 Meters (Photograph
in Preceding Slide)
Using a 150mm telephoto lens, I had to stand
6m away from the bust to get the same size image
as before. The only detail of the room left in the
shot is the window at the far end. Typically for a
telephoto lens, this appears much closer to the
bust than in reality.
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69. 50mm Standard Lens 85mm Telephoto from 3.5
from 2 Meters – Taken meters – By using an 85mm
with a 50mm standard lens, telephoto lens setting, the
this shot gives the most slide walls are no longer
natural-looking perspective,
matching that which a visible, giving less
person in the room would information about depth
see. than with more wideangle
lenses.
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70. Which Film to Use
Film is available in variety of 'speeds'. The
faster the film the more sensitive it is to light, and
the shorter the exposure needed. Fast film
produces a grainier image.
Film speed is measured on the ISO scale. A
film rated as ISO 100 is four times slower than an
ISO 400 film, and needs four times more light for
the same shot.
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71. Slow Film and Ultra-Slow Film – Slow films are not
just used conditions. For the shot of the sculpture (left) a
tripod was used and ISO 50 film. For the nightscape
(right) ISO 100 film was used as the photographer wanted
a long shutter speed to blur the moving lights.
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72. Choosing the Right Speed of Film
Speed ISO Rating Quality Uses
Ultra-slow ISO 25-50 Very fine grain Where fine
detail is part
of subject
matter – ideal
for still-life
photography.
Slow ISO 64-100 Fine Grain For use in
good light, or
when slow
shutter speed
and tripod can
be used.
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73. Choosing the Right Speed of Film
Speed ISO Rating Quality Uses
Medium ISO 125-200 Medium All-purpose film,
Grain providing
compromise between
grain and speed
Fast ISO 400-640 Noticeable For dull days, or
Grain when fast shutter
speed is essential –
such as with sport.
Super-fast ISO 1000-3200 Very For handheld
noticeable photography in low
grain light – for indoor
sport, for example.
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74. Fast Film – Faster films, with a higher ISO rating, are
needed in low light when faster shutter speeds are required,
either to avoid camera shake or to freeze the action. In this
shot, taken in fading sunlight, the photographer needed a
shutter speed of 1/250 sec to freeze the jogger moving
across the frame, and used ISO 400 film.
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75. Super-Fast Film – The fastest films are designed for handheld use
in low light conditions when the fastest shutter speeds may be
required. For this motorcycle race on an overcast day the
photographer needed shutter speeds of 1/1000 sec or over to
freeze the action, and chose to use ISO 1000 film. The grain on
such films is noticeable particularly in shadow areas and at bigger
enlargements – but this is far preferable to blurred photographs.
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76. How to Use Flash
Flash is not only used to increase light levels,
helping you to take pictures in the dark, it also
changes the quality of the light in the scene.
Without care, the change can be for the worse.
Built-in flashguns found on many modern SLRs
are useful, but the position of the unit means that
the shadows it causes can detract from the picture,
rather than adding to it. Backgrounds can also
disappear, as any flashgun only has a very limited
range and cannot light subjects at different
distances evenly.
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77. Inverse Square Law – The further the subject is from
the flashgun, the less light it receives. If some areas of the
frame are further away than others, these appear much
darker, as in the shot above. The amount of fall-ff is
proportional to the square of distance.
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78. On-Camera Flash – Built-in flashguns, or those attached
to the hotshoe, are convenient. Unfortunately, however,
they produce flat lighting, with hard shadows that form an
unsightly outline around one side of the subject, as seen in
the shot above.
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79. Banishing Red-Eye –
'Red-eye' occurs when light
from a flash reflects off the
retina, illuminating blood
vessels.
 Get closer to the subject
and use a wider-angled
lens if necessary. Move
the flash away from the
lens.
 Brighten room lighting
to reduce the size of the
subject’s irises, so red-
eye is less marked.
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80. Bounce Flash – One way of improving the quality of the
lighting from an on-camera flashgun is to use a unit with a
tiltable head. This allows you to bounce the flash off a ceiling
or wall. The bounced light is softer, with less defined shadows.
If there is no convenient surface to bounce off, a reflector unit
can be fitted to the flash to produce a similar effect.
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81. Diffuse Flash – To reduce the harsh light of an on-
camera flash unit you can fit a diffuser over the flash. This
disperses the light, creating a softer effect. It is particularly
useful for flash shots of close-ups and other subjects
where a mass of heavy shadows would be undesirable.
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82. Off-Camera Flash – The best way to fit a flashgun to an SLR is
with a bracket. This brings the unit well away from the lens,
reducing red-eye and producing a more modeled lighting. The
flash head can then be bounced or diffused as desired. The
remote flash unit is then connected to the hotshoe or the SLR’s
flash socket using a lead. Here, off-camera flash has been used to
provide fill-in on a sunny day, producing a side-lit appearance.
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83. Reference
John Hedgecoe’s 35mm Photography
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