Day 1 Fundamentals of Photojournalism

Class Notes from Day One of Fundamentals of Photojournalism

Always format the card before taking pictures with a D-SLR (especially if you use the card in different cameras). This can save a lot of time and hassle that might result if not done.

Photography is an art. The picture and the process is the THING.

Great photography is about HiCe:

          Honesty

          Interaction

          Candid

          Emotion

Camera Setting 101: What mood/mode is your camera in?

A- Stands for Aperture mode. The photographer sets the aperture and the camera figures out the rest.

T- Stands for Shutter (Time). The Photographer sets the amount of time the shutter is open and the camera does the rest.

P- Stands for Perfect (Program). The photographer sets this up.

M- Stands for Man Mode (Manual). The photographer does everything for better or for worse.

When using digital cameras, most people take a picture and then see immediately how it turned out by looking at the image replayed on the camera's screen. My professor says we should avoid this as much as possible. He says it destroys the thought process of the photographer and creates a barrier between the photographer and the subject. I totally agree. Instead he says photographers should work an idea, not just take individual pictures. He calls constantly looking at the results "chimping" out. "Don't Chimp!" Look once or twice before the subject arrives to make sure lighting is good, but then go off of the numbers and indicators on the camera, not the replayed captured images.

Depth of Field 101

Below are some notes from my Fundamentals of Photojournalism class at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. I am blogging about this to improve my retention of what I learn in class.

Basic Depth of Field 101

1) Three things affect Depth of Field.
Aperture
Focal length of the lens (i.e. 50mm, 35mm, 135mm)
Distance from the subject (greater the distance the the shallower the depth of field).

2) Focusing should always be done on the eye. The eye always needs to be sharp. For portraits the subject should be in focus and the background should be as neutral/fuzzy as possible. This will bring attention to the subject.

3) Shutter is the duration the camera window is open.

4) All the stops are half or twice as big as the previous. So if you make the shutter faster you need to compensate by changing the aperture or ISO.

New info to me.

Today I actually learned something I have never heard about before. It is called the Depth of Field Preview button. It was mentioned casually in class but I found more about it online. There is a great article here. I am excited to start using this more. It is sad that I haven't heard more about this before, because I have been taking pictures now for almost a year and a half.

Another thing I learned is that the f stops are really not a fraction but rather an logarithm.

How to Choose a Professional Camera on a Personal Budget

Photography 101: How to Purchase a Great Camera on a Low Budget

Common Questions People Ask Themselves When They Consider Buying a Really Nice Camera:

What is the best camera I can buy for the least amount of money? What type of camera should I get if I just want great pictures but don't have time to become a professional? Which camera brand is the best: Nikon, Canon, or some other? Every person that gets into photography has asked these questions. When I was asking these questions, I couldn't find a great post that answered them. Now that I have the answers, I want to share the information.

Cameras 101, What You Need to Understand

When I was getting into photography, I found myself asking many of the questions above. I asked my professor, colleagues and friends. I even searched the internet to find the answers, but I found none. The truth, there really is no one correct answer to these questions. With that said, after many hours of searching, learning, and researching I can offer some advice. It is advice and knowledge I have compiled  from several people and experiences, but I specifically want to thank my friend Lars. Over the years, he has given me great advice and I want to pass it, along with other things I have learned on to you.

My Answer: Buy a Canon T2i with a 18-135mm 3.5-5.6f Lens

The Canon T2i takes great photos!!! It is also the least expensive professional grade camera that I am aware of. If you are just beginning it has totally automated features, but-for those developing their skills as an advanced photographer-it also allows you total manual control. Another great feature about the Canon T2i is it will take amazing HD video.

The Canon-made 18-135mm zoom lens with an aperture of 3.5-5.6f is a great lens! It will make small rooms look big when you are zoomed all the way out, and when you are zoomed all the way in it will get you up close and personal with the subject. It is about as good a lens as you can afford, unless you have thousands of dollars to spend on a lens. It is really versatile and works great for most situations. In low light settings you will need to bump up the ISO to its max (6400), but in all other situations you can get great photos from this lens.

Another Lens to consider getting:

I should mention that if you want to get a bigger aperture than 3.5f you might consider buying a second lens like this one. This is a 50mm fixed lens, meaning you can't zoom in or out (you zoom with your feet). The camera sees things at about the distance as your eyes. The great thing about this lens is its ability to provide a shallow depth of field. That means even if you are in a small room you can get that professional look where the subject is in focus but the background is totally blurred out.

Canon vs. Nikon: Which One is Better?    

Canon and Nikon are definitely the leaders of the D-SLR still camera industry. I have heard that Sony is also on par with them, but I have seen a lot more professionals go with Canon or Nikon cameras. Besides manufacturer, the only real difference between the two is the camera menus and user interface. Each has a unique camera menu system and slight button changes. If you haven't used either, then that won't make a difference. I have heard that Canon is a little more well known for innovation/being on the cutting edge of technology and that Nikon just follows very closely behind, but that isn't really verifiable. Both manufacturers are great and if you buy from either you can't go wrong. It really just comes down to user preference and brand loyalty.

Where Should I Buy a Camera?

BHphotovideo is the best site to purchase equipment from, but definitely check amazon. Both are great! Amazon is nice because you can get really good deals, and use amazon credit card rewards, and/or other discounts. However bhphotovideo.com is where professionals go. I have found BHphotovideo is just as cheap if not cheaper than everyone else and I have heard they give great customer service if you have an issue with your equipment. (I have never had an issue with something I bought from them, but other people have told me that is the case).

To learn more about still camera basics check out these other posts I have written. As always, if you have a question just leave a comment below.
Camera Lens 101 Basics: Things You Should Know or at Least be Familiar with When Buying a Camera Lens.
Light and Photography; a Few Things You Should Understand

My Photos: Winter Storm hits the University of Missouri

Photography, unlike any other medium, can freeze moments in time and tell powerful stories. Apart from doing broadcast news, which is my first choice for story telling, I love photography. This past Friday when a winter storm hit the Columbia campus at the University of Missouri, I went out and captured some stills. Enjoy the show!

Camera Lens 101-Things You Should Know or at Least be Familiar with When Buying a Camera lens

If you are interested in purchasing a really nice camera, there are a few things you should know before you do. Below are some important camera basics to understand so you are a savvy shopper and get the most bang for your buck.

Camera Lenses 101

When it comes to D-SLRs the camera body is one thing and the lens is another. There are two really important aspects when purchasing a lens

1) the mm (millimeters) and

2) the aperture.

Understanding "mm vs zoom": video cameras use "zoom," still camera lenses use "mm"

When it comes to still cameras, the lens "mm" is the zoom. Your eye sees at "50mm" fixed. So 18mm is zoomed further out then your eye sees things. This is great for making a small room look big or taking a picture of a big item without having to walk really far away from it. 135mm could be described as more than double the closeness that your eye sees. Objects will appear much closer and much larger then what your eye sees. (Most outdoor portraits of people are taken at 100mm or more so that the background is out of focus and looks nice.) If you are trying to convert mm to zoom I have heard that you can divide the the mm range to get the zoom. For example 18-135mm lens would be 135/18 or 7.5x zoom. I don't know how accurate that conversion is, but it gives you an idea.

Understanding Camera Apertures: Aperture 101

Aperture is the size of the hole that lets light into the camera. It is a fraction, so it is one divided by the number. The smaller the number the bigger the hole. 1.4f is among the largest possible and is about the size of a 50 cent piece. 29f is about as small as possible about the size of a needle head. Lenses are numbered by the largest possible aperture they can have. That means a 1.4f lens (big aperture) can get as small as a 29 aperture, but you can't have a 5.6f lens (moderate aperture) be a 1.4f. If that doesn't makes sense, don't worry, just keep reading. Remember aperture is a fraction so the smaller the number the bigger the hole and it works exponentially. 1.4f is several times larger than a 3.5f which is several times bigger than a 5.6f.

Things to remember:

1.4 is a huge aperture

5.6 is moderate.  It is nothing to write home about but will work in well-lit areas. Outside 5.6f can take a great picture anywhere...until night time.

Most lenses aren't smaller than 5.6, except perhaps some really huge zoom lenses. Really huge zoom lenses are like 70-200mm or 300mm. This could be good for sports if it is outside and really bright. However, the lens can be really heavy, really big, and often their aperture is small unless you spend thousands of dollars.

A lot of lenses now a days adjust like the one described at the top (18-135mm 3.5-5.6f). That means at 18mm zoomed all the way out the largest aperture possible is 3.5. When I zoom in the largest aperture possible will only be 5.6.

Aperture, ISO and Shutter Speed 101

Light is everything in photography.

There are three things that affect the amount of light when a picture is taken. Below is some basic information everyone should know and understand about photography and picture taking.

1) Aperture- how big the hole is that lets the light in the camera.
2) ISO- "film sensitivity", the larger the number the more "sensitive" and the faster a shot will expose.
3) Shutter speed- how long the hole is open to let light in.

Besides affecting light each item affects other things so the best photos are a good combination of each.

Aperture

1) Aperture affects depth of field-how much of the picture is in focus. Think of a hose with water running out of it. By itself the water doesn't go very far. Similarly with a large aperture 1.4 a very shallow amount of the picture will be in focus. But if you cover the hole of a garden hose with your thumb, the water goes much much further. This is like a 5.6 or greater aperture. Much more of the picture will be in focus.

ISO

2) Traditional cameras had an "ISO of 100." This is the base. Today digital cameras can go as far as 6400. This is huge, but the higher the number the more grainy a picture will look, or the more visible grain you will see. Some people really like the grain others don't. The numbers double each setting so it goes 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, etc.

Shutter Speed

3) Apart from the amount of time light can get in the camera, shutter speed also affects how much blur a photo has. For example The river shots you have seen where the water is all fuzzy and silky was exposed for a long period of time perhaps 5-30 seconds. It is easy and fun to do things like this. However if you are filming dancing or sports you want the person to be crisp and not blurry. This might mean that you need an exposure of 1/640th of a second. That is why the aperture can be so important.