Eng | Pdf | Photo | 198 Pages | 47.5 Mb
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii
Visualization and Creativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Section 1: Perception and the Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
The Essentials of Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Light and the Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Understanding Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Tone and Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Understanding Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
The Zone System Applied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
What is Composition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
The Five Elements of Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Deconstructing the Image Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
The Art of Omission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Section 2: Interpretation and Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
The Camera as a Creative Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Lenses and Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Focus , Aperture and Depth of Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Movement and Shutter Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Playing with Time and Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Practical Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Defi ning Your Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Getting Your Message Across . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
The Defi ning Moment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Developing a Personal Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Section 3: The Process of Image Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Understanding the Photographic Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Advantages and Limitations of Digital Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Color Space and Color Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
RAW Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
Post -Capture Exposure and Color Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
Fixing Digital and Optical Aberrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
Fine -Tuning a Digital Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Selective Exposure and Color Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Creating a Monotone Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176
Sharpening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
The Digital Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
The Way to Better Digital Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
What is photography? A simple question but one with many
answers. Perhaps the simplest answer is – an individual
interpretation of a visual world. The key words here are visual
and individual. Very obviously, photography is all about light and
without light photography simply doesn’t exist. Light enables us
to see, creating colors and shapes, tones and textures.
With seeing, the interpretation starts. We all see colors and tones
slightly diff erently. Your purple may not be quite the same as my
purple but, unless your vision is impaired by color blindness, we
see colors distinctively enough to be able to distinguish one from
another, then label and identify them.
Every photographer, when they fi rst start photography, has
trouble seeing an image and then capturing it. We’ve all returned
from a photo shoot to be greeted with the disappointment
of the photograph, on the computer screen or in the print,
looking nothing like we saw it at the time we captured it. It’s very
frustrating and, at times, it feels like you’re the only person who
can’t get the image you want. You aren’t and you will progress
beyond this point.
Creative DSLR Photography
