BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Photography Question 

Tammy L. Newcomb
 

I Need ((((((((Help))))))))


I have a confession to make:


I have no idea what-so-ever what I am doing when it comes to the controls on my camera. I just change them around and take several differnt pictures in each setting...

I am taking decent pictures without understanding.... Kinda like my daughter who has Aspergers...

I want to know what


ISO is and what it means
f stop and what it means
composition means

and I always have settings on my camera that look like this:

1/3, 1/4, 1/6, all the way to 1/1000.

I have actually seen it 1/1200 or 1500 but I have not seen it again since I took a picture in this setting..

Another thing is: I cannot seem to get the blured background in some of the settings...


I have in manual mode an (M) setting, (S) setting and (A) setting which lets me change things within my camera.


I know what you all might say...READ THE BOOK THAT THE CAMERA CAME WITH. Well, I would but I can't find it...


Please will someone help me understand better?



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June 21, 2006

 

Debbie Del Tejo
  google and do a search for beginning photography...there are tons of basic easy stuff for beginners out there. there are even sites with visual aid for you to follow along......also try a community college in your area that is giving a beginning class in photography........also try a camera club if a class is out of the question.....


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June 21, 2006

 

Tammy L. Newcomb
  Thank you very mcuh for stopping while taking the time to point me in the right direction. I am a visual learner and tend to learn things by studying others (kinda like people who can play music by ear).

Again, Thanks

Tammy


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June 21, 2006

 
- Gregory LaGrange

BetterPhoto Member
Contact Gregory LaGrange
Gregory LaGrange's Gallery
  That's true, some of those questions can be answered.
ISO is a measure or indication of how sensitive film is to light. Or the sensor of a digital cam. Like nocturnal animals can see better than humans at night.
F/stop is the ratio of the apeture, or the size of the opening that light comes thru in the lens. Think size of a window.
Composition is the relation of subjects/objects in a picture, how they play off each other, how the affect the overall appearence and appeal of the picture. Think how you decorate your room. You place furniture in places so the room just looks right, balanced.
The fractions are the different shutter speeds you ended up using for some particular pictures. A camera on auto will pick the shutter speed, depending on how much light, what you're taking a picture of. Yours seems to be picking those.
Blurred background; that depends on which apeture is used. If your camera is a point&shoot type, because of the way they are with small lenses and small sensors, they make pictures with what is called a wide depth of field. And depth of field is the amount of the foreground and background that appears to stay infocus. Not much blur to the background.
If you have a SLR type camera, you need to shoot with a wide apeture. Which will have a f/stop number that is small, f/2.8, f/4
Depth of field is also affected by focal length. Long focal lengths have shallow depth of field, blurred background.


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June 21, 2006

 

Debbie Del Tejo
  Yes...If it were me...I would need to see what you are talking about and there are web sites with visual aids that while explaining it just like above (wonderfully)would also point out and give examples i.e. different F STOPS..and appertures. I think they would help trememdously as well as maybe getting some beginner books at the library or bookstore....Good luck!


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June 21, 2006

 

Debbie Del Tejo
  http://www.photonhead.com/beginners/


for starters


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June 21, 2006

 

Tammy L. Newcomb
  Thank you very much and I really appreciate all of your help...

I will check out the link..

BTW: how do you all get that little icon to appear beside of your name?


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June 21, 2006

 

Debbie Del Tejo
  When you log on, go to MY MEMBER INFO AND click on mini-pic...then upload the pic you want to appear next to your name.


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June 21, 2006

 

Jon Close
  Re: "I know what you all might say...READ THE BOOK THAT THE CAMERA CAME WITH. Well, I would but I can't find it..."

Link to Kodak CX7525 user manual, including an interactive tutorial.
Link to Kodak Z740 user manual
Link to Kodak EasyShare System Interactive Tutorials.


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June 21, 2006

 

Jon Close
  P.S.
Link to Kodak's Taking Great Pictures.


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June 21, 2006

 
chrisbudny.com - Chris Budny

BetterPhoto Member
Contact Chris Budny
Chris Budny's Gallery
  Tammy, it will sound like a plug, but before I even knew about BP.com, I bought the "BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Photography" by Jim Miotke at Border's. (Found the website while reading that book cover to cover.) I bought it 2 days after buying my first-ever camera (ie, the one I currently use.) I was a 99.99% beginner last September, having only used my dad's old film camera as a teen, and a friend's point-and-shoot (on Full Auto Mode) a few times.
I found the book to be clearly written, with lots of pictures to illustrate the topics. And for me, it provided a much needed, invaluable, quickly-grasped education on all the basics of using my camera's settings. (I've not used Auto Mode since reading that book!) Everything you've asked about here, is covered in the book in "plain English" terms, along with suggested exercises. I'm sure you can buy it here, but also Amazon, etc.


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June 21, 2006

 

Debbie Del Tejo
  Tammy, take a look at Christopher's gallery and I'd RUN AND GET THAT BOOK.....He is incredible and in less then one year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

run girl, RUN!


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June 22, 2006

 
chrisbudny.com - Chris Budny

BetterPhoto Member
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Chris Budny's Gallery
  Debbie, wow... thanks so much for such a compliment! I've got much yet to learn, but I really believe the book gave me a huge headstart, and a comfort level with all the settings, that I otherwise would've struggled to achieve on my own.


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June 22, 2006

 

Debbie Del Tejo
  Well, I only spoke the truth. Your work shows it. But you have to have the passion in your heart and you GOT IT!!! (not to mention the EYE for it, and you got that too)


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June 22, 2006

 

Oliver Anderson
  I just looked on Monday and discovered my camera had different settings as well but Christopher let me borrow "BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Photography" by Jim Miotke and now I know what P Mode is.JK I second Christopher's excellent recommendation. The book is a must have and it shows plenty of illustrations to back up the examples of what Jim is referring to. I've given the book to 2 well established photographers making the move to Digital from Film and they loved it. It is actually useable as a big quick reference guide.


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June 22, 2006

 

Tammy L. Newcomb
  OMG.... Thanks so much for all the feedback and advice and I looked at all the galleries and you all have some wonderful pictures with your own since of style and accomplishment.... I love it....

Not to change the subject, but the reason I had not responded sooner was that it's been a rough two days. I had a severe allergic reaction to a food I ate or the antibiotic I am on. The thing is that I have already been on the Antibiotic for seven days with no problem. They cannot figure out which caused it. I broke out in huge hives that itched like you would not believe. I swelled up and started wheezing. I spent several hours in the emergency room last night with an IV needle in my hand. They gave me all kinds of medication then sent me home at about 4:00 AM. I got up this morning and took my four-year-old across town to get his hair cut off and I started itching and swelling up again and to top it off I had chest pain. I rushed myself with my four-year-old and six month old sons to the doctor and they had to give me three more shots. I am home now but I still have the allergic rash, itching and still not feeling well.

Anyway,

Thanks Again for all of the help....


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June 22, 2006

 

Debbie Del Tejo
  sorry to her all that.....but I just have one question....DID YOU HAVE YOUR CAMERA WITH YOU?


FEEL BETTER.


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June 22, 2006

 

Oliver Anderson
  WOWWWWW!!! I'm thinking you better just buy the Cliff Notes Version...JK I had that same reaction to one of my ex's but she's moved on and I'm feeling better now. Well the good news is while you're healing you can read that book but you might want to buy it on Amazon and let it be delivered.


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June 22, 2006

 

Debbie Del Tejo
  Oliver, I laughed so hard at your answer I nearly split my spleen....and still laughing!
Thanks


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June 22, 2006

 

Oliver Anderson
  Yeah, I'm told i'm a bit of a smarta**.


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June 22, 2006

 

Tammy L. Newcomb
  Debbie & Oliver

Thanks and no I was so itchy I could not hold on to the camera....LOL.... YSF!!!!

Hey Oliver, you have a great sense of humor and I just about died laughing and completely could relate to the part where you said, "I had that same reaction to one of my ex's but she's moved on and I'm feeling better now." You must be a real character.

Well, I took a long nappy and felt a little better but it's now late again and I am starting to swell and itch real bad again. I have to figure out what is causing it or I am going to be a walking drug store... Who would have thought at age 33 that a person would have an allergic reaction to a common food that one has been eating all their life...I prefer sameness and it will not be to hard to figure it out, if it's food. I did eat more blueberries tonight (which is not a typical food for me and it?s been a while since I had any blueberries) I am kind of thinking that may be the culprit.

I am so breaking back out into hives tonight and I be d*mnd if I am going back to the ER and sit all night. Man is it going to be a long night since my medications are not working.

Again, thanks(EVERYONE) for all the help and I can?t wait to learn all I can and maybe I will get more comments on my photos?


PS. At least my extremely smart Autistic/Aspergers child (Boy-4years) loves my pictures and he makes an awesome fan?. You gotta love him since he is one of a kind.

Tammy


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June 22, 2006

 

Pat Worster
  Hi Tammy, I had the same problem when I first turned to digital, I took a course here at Betterphoto just to learn how to use my camera. I learned that my camera could do things I knew nothing about. It was the best Money I have ever spent. Pat


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June 23, 2006

 

Jane M
  Chris - Wow, only since September? From your images I'd thought you'd been doing it years! Great inspiration for all us beginners. Are there any other books you'd recommend beyond the very basics?


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June 23, 2006

 
chrisbudny.com - Chris Budny

BetterPhoto Member
Contact Chris Budny
Chris Budny's Gallery
  Thank you, Jane! I think that I may have been "refining my eye" unawares for years before buying my camera--both my dad and my best friend take really great pictures; I've probably been picking up composition and subject ideas for years!
The BP book is the only one I've read on the basic concepts of photography, so far. (I hope to read more, on the subject of exposure, soon... the Peterson book, I think?)
I've enjoyed two for Photoshop Elements (I use PSE2)---Richard Lynch's "Hidden Power..." and Scott Kelby's book for PSE4 (mostly transfers ok to PSE2.)


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June 23, 2006

 

Ann Kittelsen
  I found a book called Complete Digital Photography by Ben Long that is very detailed but easy to read and lots of pictures for examples of what he is explaining. He starts with basics and goes all the way into Photoshop work.
I got my first digital camera for Christmas and was in same boat, still learning but got a lot from this book as well as a tutorial on www.photoworkshop.com which is for Canon Rebel but they give all the basics for any digital camera that you could learn a lot.
Good luck.


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June 23, 2006

 

Bob Chance
  The last time I saw someone have a reaction to blueberries, she swelled up to the size of a helium balloon.
Of course, that was only a movie. Something about a chocolate factory and some kid named Charlie.


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June 23, 2006

 

Bob Chance
  Tammy;

A real simple analogy that helps people to understand the mechanics of photography is this.

Consider your kitchen sink faucet. You can use this faucet to fill a glass of water. How far you open the faucet would be like the aperature setting on the lens. How long you leave the faucet open would be like the shutter in a camea.
Lets say you open the faucet all the way and it takes 5 seconds to fill your glass. Now suppose you only open the faucet halfway. Logic tells us that it would then take twice as long to fill that same glass. Ten seconds.
In photography, the principle of halfs and doubles is the same.
If for a correct exposure your shutter is set at 1/125 sec and your lens opening or aperature is at f/8.0. By simply remember the faucet example, by closing the aperature to the next stop, you are effectively halving the amount of light allowed to pass through the lens. In order to get the same exposure, you must double your shutter speed. So, f/11 @ 1/60 sec. would give you the same exposure.
The reason for different settings, even though they give you the same exposure, is to control shutter speed in order to freeze motion or to deliberately create a motion blur. Or you may want to control the lens aperature which affects depth of field. DOF is basically the distance in front of and behind your subject that will be in reasonably sharp focus. For portraits, you would want a shallow DOF so your subject stands out. While for landscape or close ups you want the most DOF you can get.
Going back to the sink. If the faucet opening is like the lens aperature, and the length of time the tap needs to be open to fill the glass is like the shutter, then the ISO is the size of the glass.
Naturally, it would take much less time to fill a smaller glass. In the same way, film and digital sensors have varying sensitivity to light. Film is rated by ISO (International Standards Organization) and they typically come in ISO 50, 100, 200, 400. However, to change ISO in a film camera, you have to change the film.
A sensor in a digital camera can be changed at any time.
The higher the number, the more sensitive to light and the less exposure is needed. The down side is, digital noise in from sensors or graininess from film. There is a price to pay for everything.


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June 23, 2006

 

Slim Brady
  Best bet is to get your ISO as low as the light allows (by your light meter). Then think about the speed of your subject (shoot more in TV mode at first). Then when you fell you've got that move into the AV mode and see what the f/stops do). Then when you've got that in the bag. M = "master" of the idot box. Its all on you so think of all 3 now speed,f/stop and the right ISO then

"Learn as you go and become a pro"

Learn from your mistakes and you will learn well. If you love the art, the technical sense of shadows and highlights will soon be yours.

- Go Beyond


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June 23, 2006

 

Debbie Del Tejo
  OMG......lmao


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June 23, 2006

 

Slim Brady
  I don't believe you're opinion is arrogant, you see it the way you see it.


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June 23, 2006

 

Mike Rubin
  The book, "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson is awesome and very easy to understand.It may be one of the best books for beginners. I highly recommend it. When using a P&S camera it is more difficult to obtain a shallow DOF than with an SLR.
I hope you are feeling better now.


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June 25, 2006

 

Pete H
  Hello Tammy,

All the advice you have received is good, so I won't add to that. The technical aspect of photography is actually one of the easiest aspects to grasp...In my opinion, YOU have embraced one of the most difficult parts already; that being a good "eye."

I looked at your gallery..you DO have an "eye" for composition; and THAT, is not easy to teach.

When Tiger Woods was a small kid, his coach told him to swing as hard as he could, control and details would come later.

Keep developing your "eye." While ISO, f/stops, speed, DOF are all important to a understanding in photography, NOTHING beats composition. One can be taught to be more aware of composition, but it is my belief one either has it, or they don't..YOU have it.

All the Best,

Pete


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June 25, 2006

 

Bob Chance
  Ditto that Pete.

The technical aspects may give you technically good photographs, but without the eye, your best photos will only be akin to snapshots.


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June 25, 2006

 

Pete H
  Double ditto Bob!

I have seen people with very expensive cameras, yet their photos look like everyone elses photos...to quote you, "snapshots" indeed.

I call these people "equipment junkies."
They think all the best equip will make them better..and for some odd reason, they actually believe they are better! LOL

I love to play golf..and I will admit, I am a pretty good golfer...but if I said it once I've said it a million times; Tiger Woods on his worst day could whup me good with a 100 dollar set of K-mart clubs!

I've seen photos that while NOT technically correct, (exposure etc) were of such high value compositionally coupled with story telling, caused me to easily overlook the tech deficit.

Pete


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June 25, 2006

 

Tammy L. Newcomb
  I am so overwhelmed at all the wonderful response to my question. I can't thank everyone enough for all the tips. I learn fast and when given the right opportunity, I will excel at this.

I have to agree with pete with the aspect of what he is calling composition. I do understand that you either have an eye for or your don't.

Hee Hee.... I still do not fully understand all the technical stuff but understand enough of what I am doing without understanding if that will make any sense to anyone here.

I usually do most things pretty well, just don't ask me how I did it......LOL..LOL.....

Tammy


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June 25, 2006

 

Bob Chance
 
 
 
Even though there are certain guide lines to go by and many books written on composition, the plain and simple truth is, there are no real hard and fast rules. A classic example is the rule of thirds, which states that your subject should not be in the center of the frame, but should be in one of the quadrants of the frame if divided into three equally spaced sections horizontally and vertially. I have seen many upon many photographs that break this rule and make excellent photographs.
That's what Pete means by 'you have the eye'. There are times when the subject simply stands out better in the center. There are times when holding the camera off kilter makes for a more interesting shot than if holding it perfectly level.
Having 'the eye' isn't so much knowing all the guide lines out of a book as it is knowing when to break the rules.
I scoped out your gallery and was impressed. One of your images, the yellow flower reminded me of one of my own and I was wondering if it was a typical thing for Kodak easyshare cameras to sometimes turn green foilage blue? Mine also had a problem with colors in the violet range, often times converting them to blue also.


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June 25, 2006

 

Tammy L. Newcomb
  Hey Bob!!!!

I seen your gallery too and you have a wonderful gallery yourself. I am not sure about the Kodak cameras turning green foliage blue but it sure seems that way. I personally love the blue effect but all my photos do not do that by any means. I have tried doing it again in different situations and it just does not happen.

I took this picture close to dusk so that may have a little to do with it...not sure... I am addicted to close up pictures and have a hard time backing up as you could see with my photos. I tend to chop to tight and I tend to obsess with the sharpening button.... I also get bored with the point and shoot straight ahead and love taking pictures in angles that are not typical.

I would love to hear some opinions on what settings to use outside when taking pictures in the mountains; you know the scenic type....

Tammy

PS... Thanks for saying you thought my gallery was decent.... I really appreciated it....

It made my day ****Smiles*****


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June 25, 2006

 

Slim Brady
  Its amazing to watch people shoot themselves in the foot and not even know it. My gun has no name on it, so you can't see the invisible, but still people pay me for the way it shoots.


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June 26, 2006

 

Bob Chance
  Huh?


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June 26, 2006

 

Bob Chance
  Hi Tammy:

Thank you for visiting my not-so-well kept gallery. Been working too many hours and haven't really had the time or money to do any traveling anywhere to do some new uploads. I've pretty much exhausted everything in the local area.
The yellow flower was taken in the afternoon, so I don't think the time of day had anything to do with it. The leaves were wet though, so it's possible the blue cast is acutally the sky reflecting off that wetness as not all the foilage is blue.
For mountain scenics, you would probably want a small aperature to give you a good depth of field. You don't have to stop all the way down, but somewhere in the f/8-f/16 range should do well. You probably won't be using a long telephoto, but would rather want a wider focal length to take in the grandeur! And at those distances, you;ll have plenty of DOF anyway with a wide focal length.
If possible, try including some field flowers in the foreground to give the picture a little more depth. If doing this type of shot, you would definitely want to stop the lens down, focus on the foreground and use a wide angle setting. Some P&S cameras only stop down to f/8, but because they have a small sensor, there lenses tend to be of small focal length, so even f/8 should give you plenty of depth. When I say foreground though, I don't mean to get on top of a single flower in macro mode and still expect the mountains in the background to be in sharp focus. Keep your foreground subjects a good ten to twenty feet away and you should be alright. Remember DOF is affected by three things. Lens aperature. Focal length. And subject distance. The close you are to the subject, the shallower your DOF. So, don't get too close, you'll want the background to be in focus too. You might even experiment with several shots, positioning the foreground at different distances to make sure you get the shot you want.


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June 26, 2006

 
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