Technical Expertise and Photography

CREATING TECHNICAL COMPETENCE WITH YOUR CAMERA

You are alone with your camera. Your photography is limited by yourself, because what we see is what we are.

—Ernst Haas

Such a straightforward box, yet the complexity of modern cameras is astounding. All serious photographers can now achieve precise exposure with just a half-press of the shutter button. Even the poor PHD ("push here, dummy") cameras, which account for the vast bulk of sold cameras, have technical capabilities that a decade ago were unimaginable.

Thousands of example images are stored in the camera's memory, which the internal computer scans to determine the expected shooting conditions for each snap. Suppose, for instance, that

A photographer utilizes cutting-edge technology in a high-end digital SLR: a 50–200mm lens at 137mm, 1/20 second at f16, and 100 ISO.

Your white dog is being shot against a snow bank. The maker of the camera has previously captured a similar image, and those conditions are recorded in the camera's inbuilt computer for comparison.

The conclusion is this: In all of its splendor, your camera is still a box with a little hole in one end and a thin strip of light-sensitive material in the other. This box's primary purpose is to allow a fraction of a second's worth of light to reach the light-sensitive substance. Even the most advanced technologies cannot alter this fact.

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce exposed the very first photographic plate, a heliograph, in 1827. Since then, trillions upon trillions of photographs have been captured by trillions of cameras.

Niépce's camera consisted of a box with a lens and a metal plate that had been treated. Compared to the state of the art at the time, the exposure lasted just around eight hours. The view from his window at Le Gras, France was of a dovecote.

A fast-forward to the present day Dad is organizing a family photograph at the Grand Canyon. The camera is raised and the shutter button is depressed, initiating a series of events. The camera reads the light levels and delivers the data to the onboard computer in a matter of milliseconds. The processing chip then sends a signal to alter the lens aperture and opens the shutter for the appropriate amount of time. If necessary, the flash will fire, and the pulsating light will be measured during the exposure and switched off at the precise moment to achieve the correct exposure. In addition, throughout this age, from the simplest disposable camera to the most advanced digital SLR, a variety of photographic devices were developed.

line Nikon D3x 24.5-megapixel camera; auto-focus determines correct focus, and auto-white balance adjusts exposure. All of this occurs in the time it takes Dad to put the camera to his eye and press the shutter button.

What elements comprise this circumstance? Obviously, the camera, the flash, the tripod, and so on; but, the photographer's comfort and familiarity with his equipment also contribute to better images. This chapter examines the components of your camera, its settings and controls, as well as essential accessories. Then, we'll examine some principles for building the technical expertise that enables your creativity: various media, white balance, file kinds, and all the available tools that help you become a better photographer.

COMPONENTS OF YOUR CAMERA

Over the years, you've probably owned cameras of varying complexity. These have all shared some characteristics.

A digital or film-based camera will include a shutter that opens and shuts to allow a predetermined quantity of light to reach the camera sensor. Additionally, some form of a viewfinder will be available. The simplest is an optical viewfinder, a small window above the lens that provides a fairly accurate preview of the scene being captured. Next, the single lens reflex (SLR) camera (see Chapter 2) employs a set of prisms and mirrors to "see" exactly what the lens sees as it sights through it. This type of viewing mechanism is included on nearly all digital cameras designed for professionals. Another

The electronic viewfinder is the viewing system (EVF). This small screen displays an electronic image of what the lens is seeing, similar to a mini-TV. Some individuals require some time to become accustomed to the EVF, as it does not visually match reality very well. These viewfinders are employed on consumer- and prosumer-level cameras, primarily with lenses that have an extensive zoom range or very wide-angle capabilities, for which an optical viewfinder could not provide a realistic image approximation.

Modern digital SLR (DSLR) cameras are ideal for general photography. This sort of equipment is characterized by its exposure precision, quickness of operation, and high image quality.

A camera's LCD display screen gives information on the majority of its settings. All user-controllable settings, including shutter speed, ISO, and file type, are listed here. Technically speaking, the photographer is aware of his or her position at a look.

In addition, a variety of contemporary DSLRs now have a live view function.

It allows you to compose shots using the LCD display and viewfinder. The display is capable of displaying the image as it was "seen" by the camera. At the extreme end of the spectrum of monitor features is the articulating monitor. This appears to be a typical LCD monitor display on the back of the camera, but it is hinged so that it can move out and away from the camera body, allowing the photographer to place the camera at ground level, hold the camera over their head (referred to in the industry as a "hail-mary"), or shoot from waist level while using the Live View monitor to frame and compose the image.

On the camera's body are numerous buttons that control a variety of digital-specific settings, including white balance, file type, monitor review, menu access, erase, auto-exposure lock, and information. Such environments will be described later in the chapter. You must know and comprehend the functioning of these buttons in order to comprehend the photographic process. Developing proficiency with these essential components will allow you \sto focus on the shot, rather than the process.