Course notes

WEST LOTHIAN COLLEGE

Creative Centre

NQ Photography

Tutor: Keith Brame
Digital Imaging – FK8M12[KJ1] 

Assessment Hand-in date- 15.11.2013

 [KJ2] Digital photography is the same as film photography. You use the same controls as a basic film camera to control the amount of light that reflects off your subject, passes though the lens and focuses an image on light sensitive material.

Many digital cameras have many different options and menus that make shooting easier. Switch them off if you want to learn anything.

Your job is to learn how to control the camera, not let the camera control you.

You need to know how to use the camera manually, to focus, frame, take a light reading, set the shutter speed and set the aperture.

In this unit you will learn how to:

·      Shoot digital pictures accurately

·      Scan prints and film

·      Check that the digital files are the correct size and resolution for print, and change the size for internet use

·      Use Bridge to preview and sort your pictures

·      Use Photoshop to enhance and correct your pictures

·      Shoot a series of pictures that show off your camera control and framing techniques

·      Present your finished set of pictures, on time, for assessment

The tasks and activities here will introduce you to some of the necessary skills. These are tools that you should be using continually.

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Link – an online book on digital photography:
http://www.shortcourses.com/

  Targets – Each day there will be a target to aim for. This is the absolute minimum that you should be able to achieve.

Week1

Introduction: light reading[KJ3] 

 Target: Be able to find the aperture, shutter speed controls. Take a light reading, and express it as shutter speed, aperture, and ISO setting.

Before firing the shutter, photographers always pause to focus, frame, and measure the light. Often photographers make a note of the shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings. It is vital to know these settings, and to be aware of them when you are shooting. Often, pictures don’t “come out” because these settings are incorrect.

Practical task

Don’t shoot. Set the camera to manual. Set the shutter speed to 1/60 sec. Set the ISO to 200. Take the camera and frame subjects that have varying brightness. Take a light reading and set the aperture. Write down the results.
Vary the shutter speed or ISO settings and repeat, noting down the results.

Plan, do, review:[KJ4]  Every time you try a new task think: plan, do, review. Think about it and plan it first, do the task, then review what you’ve done. What do you need to prepare before starting this task?

Review Question Look at the exposure modes pages:  http://www.shortcourses.com/use/using1-7.html Explain in your own words the meaning of shutter priority, aperture priority and manual mode.

Your notes – review the task, and add any other useful information that you picked up:

Week2

Introduction: Shooting and uploading

 Target: Control depth of field using the aperture, control subject movement using the shutter speed. Ensure correct exposure at all times.

Always focus, frame and meter before shooting.
Shooting is not random; you are always looking for something specific. For this unit, you are looking to show visual elements[KJ5] , and composition techniques.

Shutter speed and aperture have visual qualities[KJ6] , as well as controlling accurate exposure.

Practical task

Take photographs that show deep depth of field and shallow depth of field by controlling the aperture. Pictures must always be correctly exposed, framed and focussed.
Take photographs that freeze movement by using a fast shutter speed, and try to show movement by panning a moving subject and using a slower shutter speed.

Plan, do, review: What do you need to prepare before starting this task?

Review Question [KJ7]  Look at the shutter speed and aperture pages: http://www.shortcourses.com/use/using1-8.html Explain in your own words the relationship between shutter speed and motion; and the relationship between aperture and depth of field.

Your notes – review the task, and add any other useful information that you picked up.

Week2 (continued)

Introduction: uploading

  Load pictures onto the computer. Store them in a folder, find them using Adobe Bridge. Keep the desktop clear.

Getting the pictures off your camera and into safe storage is called uploading. The many different ways of uploading, storing and backing-up your work safely, then sorting and editing your work before finally printing it out or sending it to a customer is called a workflow.

We usually upload by taking the memory card out of the camera, plugging it into a card reader and transferring files to a Mac. Picture files can be big, and storage in college is often limited. If it is important to you, take important files home and store on DVDs or external hard drives.

Microsoft Sky Drive offers 25GB of free storage online, which you can access wherever you have internet access. I would recommend registering for this. It is worth buying your own card readers, USB keys etc. The responsibility for looking after your own work is yours.

The programme we use for editing pictures is Photoshop. You can browse through files by using Bridge[KJ8] 

Practical task

Use Bridge to browse picture files from your first shoot. Delete obviously poor pictures. Use the star rating options to shortlist pictures. Use file info [KJ9] to add your name and a description of the photographic technique eg shallow depth of field.
Store pictures that are good (keepers) in a clearly marked folder.

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Plan, do, review: What do you need to prepare before starting this task?

Review Question Look at the workflow  pages: http://www.shortcourses.com/workflow/workflow1-4.html What factors control the number of images that you can store on a memory card or other storage device?

Your notes – review the task, and add any other useful information that you picked up.

Week3

Introduction: starting to make image corrections[KJ10] 

 Target: Use Photoshop tools – clone stamp, brightness/contrast, levels, and background layer.

Adobe Photoshop is the programme that we use to edit and enhance photographs. Photoshop is not a tool for rescuing poorly exposed and composed photographs. If you have pictures that are not sharp, or are over or under exposed, the solution it to identify what went wrong, then re-shoot.

The tools t[KJ11] hat you need at this stage are: the clone stamp to remove marks and spots, and these image adjustments: colour balance, brightness and contrast.

All Photoshop work should be done on a copy of the background layer[KJ12] , to allow you to undo any of the work if you make a mistake.

Practical task:

Select pictures from your aperture and shutter speed shoot. Make necessary adjustments using clone stamp, brightness, contrast and colour balance in a copy of the background layer.

In file>info write a description of which tools you used and what you did.
Save the file as a TIFF.

Plan, do, review: What do you need to prepare before starting this task?

Review Question Look at the image size and quality pages: http://www.shortcourses.com/use/using1-5.html Look up and explain these terms: resolution, pixellation, jpeg, compression. What are the characteristics of a JPEG? Can you find the characteristics of a TIFF?

Your notes – review the task, and add any other useful information that you picked up.

Often you have to find information. In the hot topics section there is useful guidance on [KJ13] how to search for useful info on photography: http://www.shortcourses.com/hot/hot1-10.html

Week4

Introduction: Scanning

  Target: Scan a negative, setting the resolution to 300ppi at A4, giving a file size of approx 20mb.

You can digitise traditional pictures by scanning film or prints. Many photographers do this as it combines some of the advantages of film photography with the advantages of digital. If you have an interest in photography you will want to explore both film and digital photography.

When scanning you must set the output size and resolution[K14] , and you will usually have to make image corrections, especially spotting with the clone stamp.

Practical task:

Use the scanners to scan at least one negative and one print that you have produced in the Basic Camera Techniques unit.

You should set the controls to produce an A4 print at 300ppi[KJ15] 

You should name and save the files that you produce in a safe folder.

You should use Photoshop tools to correct and clean these scans.

Plan, do, review: What do you need to prepare before starting this task?

Review Question Look at the image size and quality pages: http://www.shortcourses.com/use/using1-5.html Explain clearly how the number of pixels influences print size and image quality. By the end of the unit you must be able to use terms such as PPI, resolution, file size, megabytes. This topic will not go away.

Your notes – review the task, and add any other useful information that you picked up.

 Week5

Introduction: Shoot2-Window lit portrait

  Target: Shoot a close portrait by window light, controlling the exposure and focus.

A portrait [K16] can be defined as a close-in view of a face, with eyes looking  to camera, and the camera held in an upright (not horizontal) position. It should convey something of the character of the person.

Many photographers use soft light from a north facing window to allow light to fall on the face.

Very good examples of this can be seen by looking at photographs by Jane Bown or Steve McCurry.

Practical task:  Shoot 2 portraits by window light. One should have full-face frontal lighting, the other should be side lighting. Each person in the class must photograph and also sit for a photograph.

High resolution pictures, suitable for printing, are required.

Use clone stamp, levels, contrast/brightness and colour balance controls to edit the pictures.

Pictures that are out-of-focus or over-exposed cannot be edited in Photoshop and must be re-shot.

The name of the sitter [K17] should be typed in Courier 18pt font on bottom left of the picture canvas. (Picture caption)

The name of the photographer [K18] should be typed in Courier 18pt font on bottom left of the picture canvas. (Picture credit)

Plan, do, review: What do you need to prepare before starting this task?

Review Question What is the resolution, file size and file type of these portraits? What is the aperture and shutter speed? On a side-lit portrait, what would the effect be if you took a light reading from the brightest part of the face compared to the darkest side of the face?

Your notes – review the task, and add any other useful information that you picked up.

Week6

Assessment project

  Target: Select one picture style, research examples of the style, shoot it, edit it and save it. Follow the brief

A brief is like a job sheet. It tells you what you need to do. At college we give you a brief that tells you what you need to do for work to be assessed. It has to be completed the way the brief says, and on time. The brief would usually say what is required, how many pictures, technical specifications, hand-in date, and how the images are to be used.

This is exactly the way professional photography works. If a professional photographer does something different from the brief, hands the work in late, or just loses the brief, they don’t get paid.

At college, the risk is that you fail the unit.

Practical task: “Basic Digital Techniques Brief”

Assessment Hand-in date- 15.11.2011

Plan, do, review: What do you need to prepare before starting this task?

Review Question What are the properties of Tiffs and Jpegs? Which is most suitable for web display and why? What is a suitable resolution for web? What does PPI stand for?

Your notes – review the task, and add any other useful information that you picked up.

Week7-11

Assessment work: Shooting to the brief continued

  Target: Select one picture style, research examples of the style, shoot it, edit it and save it. Follow the brief. Consult, discuss, ask, share and look.

From now until the end of Block 1 you will be shooting the pictures listed in the assessment brief. You can (and should) be shooting in your own time too.

You will be assessed on the work that you do.

To do this properly you must have the job sheet (the brief) with you when you are shooting. Without it, you will be guessing.

Before coming to college[KJ19] , check the brief and decide which of the pictures you will tackle, and prepare what you need to bring with you.

When trying to shoot new pictures or techniques, it is necessary to look at examples of the type of work either online or in books and magazines. You can keep a scrapbook of these pictures to help you. This is what research is.

Here is a reminder of the assessment brief:

Practical task: “Basic Digital Techniques Brief”

Assessment Hand-in date:[KJ20] 

Produce 10 digital pictures for a photography text book and web site.
The pictures should illustrate the following techniques:

·      Deep depth of field

·      Shallow depth of field

·      [KJ21] Fast shutter speed

·      Slow shutter speed

·      Window lit portrait using soft lighting

·      A picture from a low viewpoint showing lead-in lines composition[KJ22]  technique

·      A picture showing symmetry

·      A picture showing the ‘rule of thirds’ composition technique

·      An HDR picture, showing a detailed sky and a detailed foreground, using two photographs combined

·      A panoramic picture, combining more than one image

Specs[KJ23] : One picture must be scanned from a negative, and one must be scanned from a print.
All pictures must be clean and colour, contrast and brightness corrected.

Corrections must be made in a copy layer.
Pictures must be saved as high resolution Tiffs, with layers, suitable for A4 prints at 300ppi.

A set of pictures must also be saved as low resolutions JPEGs, flattened, at 72ppi, suitable for a web site.

You should fill in the file info with your name, and a description of the techniques that the picture illustrates. Explain your Photoshop work.
Finished work  must be handed in on a labelled CD or DVD.

Plan, do, review: What do you need to prepare before starting this task?

Review Question What does the term pixellation mean? If you have made a scan from a negative, and you find that is pixellates when you blow it up, what has gone wrong?

Your notes – review the task, and add any other useful information that you picked up.

Before shooting, make sure you can find and re-set these camera features:

• Delete all existing picture files. Go to menu>tools`>format memory card or menu>playback>delete>delete all>ok
• Set Image Quality. Go to menu>camera options>image quality>JPEG fine. What are the characteristics of Jpeg files? You may wish to set RAW.
• Set Image Size. Go to menu>image size>large>3008x2000 6MP>ok. What do these figures mean? Why are they important?
• Set White Balance.  Go to menu>white balance>auto or set for the appropriate light source. What happens if you set the incorrect white balance setting.
• Set ISO rating. Go to menu>iso sensitivity>200 or 400.  What does increasing the ISO rating do? What are the drawbacks?

With digital SLR cameras (DSLR), you view the scene through the eyepiece (viewfinder). To view the LED screen use the Info button. This confirms many of your chosen settings. This also gives a visual graphic display of the aperture.

Basic picture flow:

1-Check settings on camera: resolution, white balance, metering &shooting modes;

2-Shoot - compose, expose & evaluate;

3-Review - exposure, histogram check, composition and expressions. Delete if necessary;

4-Re-shoot if necesary;

5-Load onto Mac - USB to camera, or card reader;

6-Store files in suitable folder. Not on the desktop.

7-Open Bridge/Photshop file browser. Confirm technical settings - file sizes;

8-Rotate,  review,  remove,  rename;

9-Image corrections-exposure, colour, crop, clone – see separate sheet for checklist

10-Star rate best, save as tiffs.

Job done? Or re-shoot.

Back it up. Make sure your work is safe and that you can find it. Save two versions in different locations.

Useful link:

Neil Turner, newspaper features photographer, offers some tutorials about shooting.

http://www.dg28.com/technique/workflow.htm

http://www.dg28.com/technique/north_light.htm

Submitting work for assessment

Digital work on CD or DVD should be:

In neat, identifiable folders,

Named,

Checked – can the files be opened and read?

To burn a CD or DVD, put a CD in the drive. Go to file>new burn folder then drag and drop your files into the burn folder. When you’re ready, click burn.

Always check that your CD is readable on the Macs. Always check that your digital files can be opened.

When you put the CD into a sleeve, add a cover slip with your name and details on it.

Assessment project checklist

Produce 10 digital pictures for a photography text book and web site. The pictures should illustrate the following techniques:

·      Deep depth of field

·      Shallow depth of field

·      [KJ24] Fast shutter speed

·      Slow shutter speed

·      Window lit portrait using soft lighting

·      A picture from a low viewpoint showing lead-in lines composition[KJ25]  technique

·      A picture showing symmetry

·      A picture showing the ‘rule of thirds’ composition technique

·      An HDR picture[K26] , showing a detailed sky and a detailed foreground, using two photographs combined

·      A panoramic picture, combining more than one image

Specs[KJ27] :

·      One picture must be scanned from a negative, and one must be scanned from a print.

·      All pictures must be clean and colour, contrast and brightness corrected.

·      Corrections must be made in a copy layer.
Pictures must be saved as high resolution Tiffs, with layers, suitable for A4 prints at 300ppi.

·      A set of pictures must also be saved as low resolutions JPEGs, flattened, at 72ppi, suitable for a web site.

·      You should fill in the file info with your name, and a description of the techniques that the picture illustrates. Explain your Photoshop work.

·      Finished work  must be handed in on a labelled CD or DVD.

Resizing pictures for web use.

You have to resize your high resolution pictures so that they can be used on the web. They need to be low resolution.

This means a size of approximately 800x600pixels at 72 ppi.

To do this, go to image>size. In the box, click resample image, the set the dimensions. Go to file>save as, and save the file in a named folder.

You should have both a high resolution and a low resolution copy.

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