GoingManual.com It's time to take control!    Home    Tutorials    Photography Forum  Photography Tutorial Introduction Part I – Gear The Camera  -  Focus  -  Resolution  -  MegaPixels Vs Print Size  -  Sharpening Semi auto settings  -  Aperture Priority (Av)  -  Shutter priority (Tv) Zoom and Focal Length  -  A Note About Sensor Size Other Camera Features  -  Viewfinders  -  Lens Hood  -  LCD screen  -  White Balance Extra Equipment  -  Tripod  -  Cable Release  -  Filter systems  -  Polarizer and ND filter  -  External Flash  -  Studio Lighting  -  Reflectors Part II – Capturing The Scene Your First Manual Photo  -  It's All About Exposure  -  The Light Meter  -  Exposure Explained  -  Controlling Exposure Creative Effects  -  Aperture and Depth Of Field  -  DOF Preview  -  Shutter speed Putting it all Together  -  ISO  -  Ap. & Shutter Relationship  -  Stop for a minute  -  So What?  -  The Bulb Setting Metering the Scene  -  18% of Everything Metering modes  -  Matrix  -  Average  -  Center weighted  -  Spot or semi-spot Taking Meter Readings  -  Expose for your subject  -  Sunsets and sunrises  -  Reflecting sun  -  Night Exposures  -  Moon  -  Green Foliage  -  Bright or White Scenes  -  Dark or Black Scenes Understanding Your Histogram  -  Flash Metering Composition Lead in The Viewer Eye  -  Point of Focus  -  Fill the frame  -  The Rule of Thirds  -  Moving Subjects  -  Print and frame Sizes Different Styles Learn by doing  -  Giving and Getting Critique  -  Portraits  -  Groups  -  Children  -  Shooting Outdoors  -  Silhouettes  -  Macro  -  Products  -  Landscapes  -  Sports and Action  -  Panning  -  Rear Sync Flash  -  Abstract  -  Long Exposures  -  Black and White A few Other Useful Things  -  Blown Out Skies  -  Neutral Density Filters  -  Polarizing Filters  -  Electronic noise You're Half Way There! Part III The Digital darkroom  -  Computer hardware  -  Card Reader  -  Printers  -  Mouse Post Processing  -  The Ethics of Altering  -  Choosing Your Program  -  Tutorials   Photoshop Tutorials   Photoshop Primer   Saving Your Image   Adding a Border   Using Levels   Using Curves   The S-Curve   Correcting White Balance   Improving Saturation   The Clone Tool   Correcting Lens Distortion   Blending Multiple Images   Black and White Conversion   Sepia Conversion   Reducing Noise   Cropping for Different Print Sizes   Sharpening   Working With RAW Files   The Gimp Tutorials   The Gimp Primer   Saving Your Image   Adding a Border   Using Levels   Using Curves   The S-Curve   Correcting White Balance   Improving Saturation   The Clone Tool   Correcting Lens Distortion   Blending Multiple Images   Black and White Conversion   Sepia Conversion   Reducing Noise   Cropping for Different Print Sizes   Sharpening   Working With RAW Files   << Introduction Resolution >> Part I - Gear To use this guide you will need a camera that has a manual setting or at the very least a semi-auto setting. You'll need to know how to change the settings of your camera too so keep your camera's manual handy or look online for the info. This guide assumes you already have a camera, but if you're thinking of upgrading here's a few notes to think about. The two basic type of camera we'll be looking at are DSLR (digital single lens reflex) and fixed lens. SLR cameras typically have interchangeable lenses while fixed lens camera don't. The Camera This is my wife's Canon Powershot A540. A relatively cheap 6Mp camera with 4x zoom and a nice size LCD screen. It can also be set to manual to give you back creative control. You can even change the lens for close up and there's a waterproof case available to take it underwater. The picture quality is perfectly adequate for all my wife requirements. This is my Canon Digital Rebel XT. It has a small body for a DSLR and is a great camera for traveling and backpacking. It is 8Mp and like all SLRs you can change the lens. Here it's fitted with the 18-55mm 'kit' lens that has produced saleable 16x20 images. To completely control how you take your photo you must have a M or manual setting to control the aperture, shutter speed and ISO and manual focus. The pros and cons of different types of camera come down to personal preference, budget and what the camera will be used for. Some point and shoot cameras can offer the same manual control as a SLR when taking pictures but don't offer the same lens flexibility. However some fixed lense camera have built in zooms that are equivalent to 28-300mm or more. Not many single SLR lenses will cover that range. A single camera can save carrying around a bag full of lenses too. Great for backpacking trips or where weight and size are a consideration. Because you get so much in one camera you will make a cash saving too. For less than $400 you can get a fixed lens camera, body and built in lens, while a DSLR body starts at the same price before you buy you first lens. The advantage of an SLR camera is flexibility. You can choose the right lens for the shot you want and there is no restrictions built in. A fixed lens may be a jack of all trades and but is too often a master of none. Focus Focus is often faster on an SLR. Manual focus, if available, eliminates the frustrating delay between hitting the shutter release to the shot actually being taken. Manual focus is useful from time to time but auto focus systems have become so sophisticated, you'll not find yourself needing it too often. Continuous auto focus is really cool. You choose the focus point in your viewfinder and the camera will maintain focus on an object moving toward, or away, from you. Check out the focus options in your camera's manual. The more freedom you have to focus where you choose, the more creative freedom you have to make the kind of picture you hoped for. << Introduction Resolution >>

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