Basics of Photography presentation

1. Level 1
Photo by Dim Hou on Unsplash

2. Introduction & Contents
• Welcome to the photography Open Educational Resource. This is a
short guide to photography basics. The purpose of this presentation is
to quickly familiarise yourself with the camera and photo editing
software.
• Page 3 - How the camera works
• Page 4 - 5 - Principles of Photography
• Page 6 - Photo Editing
• Page 7 - Photography Games & Competitions

3. How the
Camera Works
Camera Image Processing
Image Source:
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While light bounces off of objects, it can also
pass through objects — but, when it does, it can
actually change direction. A camera lens takes
all the light rays bouncing around and uses glass
to redirect them to a single point, creating a
sharp image.
When all of those light rays meet back together
on a digital camera sensor or a piece of film,
they create a sharp image. If the light doesn’t
meet at the right point, the image will look blurry
or out-of-focus. A lens’s focusing system moves
the glass piece closer or farther from the sensor
or film, allowing the photographer to adjust the
lens so that the object is sharp.
https://www.creativelive.com/photography-
guides/how-does-a-camera-work
Play Video

4. Principles of
Photography
Shutter Speed, Aperture & ISO
Image and Text Source :
https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*XitZ-PNOYNKwLjUrgsfTsw.png
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Shutter Speed
This is the amount of time the shutter stays
open. As you may imagine, the longer It is
open, the more light is let in. The difference
between 1/2000" of a second and 30 seconds
are magnitudes in terms of light.
Aperture
Aperture controls how much light is let into your
sensor (technically how open or closed the
blades are). The most confusing things is that
aperture is inverse of the amount of light it lets
in. I.e. f1.4 aperture lets in more light than f16.)
ISO
The last piece of the exposure triangle is ISO.
This is the sensitivity of the sensor to light. On
crop frame (DX) cameras you usually don’t
have the same ability to capture high iso
images as you do on full frame cameras (FX).
The caveat here is the new mirrorless
DSLR’s…as technology is increasing, so is the
ability to handle high ISO.

5. Principles of
Photography
Composition
Play Video
1. Rule of Thirds
With the rule of thirds, you have to train yourself to split your camera screen into a grid. Keep in mind the key points
of intersection and place important elements along those lines for visual appeal. This asymmetric composition in
photography works well for any genre including landscapes, still-life photography, and portraits.
2. Balancing Elements
The Golden Ratio differentiates from the rule of thirds by the balance of the photograph. Here, the focus of the
photograph is more in the centre (with more details)
3. Leading Lines
Take advantage of the structures and the lines of natural landscapes. Use them in proportion to your subjects to
lead the eye into the picture.
4. Viewpoint
One thing about diagonal lines that differentiates it from other composition techniques is that the lines help create
movement in the photograph even when your subjects are still.
5. Background
Try to focus on your subjects and make them stand out by narrowing in on the contrast between the subject and the
background.
Text Source: https://blog.depositphotos.com/back-to-basics-10-composition-rules-in-photography.html
Image Source :
https://www.photopedagogy.com/uploads/5
/0/0/9/50097419/rules_of_composition.png

6. Photo Editing
Key Steps
• 1. Crop your images and clean them up.
• 2. Adjust white balance.
• 3. Adjust exposure and contrast.
• 4. Adjust color vibrancy and saturation.
• 5. Sharpen images
Free Software
• Canva.com
• Pixlr.com
Paid Software
• Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom
• On1 Photo Raw
Image and Text Source :
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/photo-editing-basics.html
Play Video

7. Photography
Games
GuruShots
• GuruShots is a platform for people who love taking photos. Simply Pick Your Best
Photo and Join The World’s Greatest Photo Game. Challenge yourself. Discover your
best photo. Get Featured. Join Now. Styles: Love Taking Photos?, Join & Real Time
Action.
Play Video

8. References
How the Camera Works
• Creative.com (2021). https://www.creativelive.com/photography-guides/how-does-a-camera-work. Creative.com
• Fstoppers (2018). https://youtu.be/z3h1F99woDU. Fstoppers. Youtube.com
Principles of Photography
• Miro.medium.com (2021). https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*XitZ-PNOYNKwLjUrgsfTsw.png. Miro.medium.com
• Photography Life (2020). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-GfbRkFtuw. Photography Life. Youtube.com
• photopedagogy.com (2021). https://www.photopedagogy.com/uploads/5/0/0/9/50097419/rules_of_composition.png. photopedagogy.com
• depositphotos.com (2021). https://blog.depositphotos.com/back-to-basics-10-composition-rules-in-photography.html. depositphotos.com
• Bray, C (2016). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V4uuNdmRHc. Chris Bray Photography. Youtube.com
Photo Editing
• www.rei.com. (2021). https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/photo-editing-basics.html. www.rei.com
• Turnham, A (2020). https://youtu.be/KR7L2oSRlwY. Anthony Turnham .Youtube.com
Photography Games
• www.gurushots.com. (2021). https://www.gurushots.com . www.gurushots.com
• GuruShots (2018). https://youtu.be/KR7L2oSRlwYGuruShots .Guru Shots Worldwide Leading Photo Contest .Youtube.com

9. Be More Creative
Photo by Oscar Ivan Esquivel Arteaga on Unsplash