Digital Photography and Imaging: Week 11

31/10/08/2021 - 6/11/2021 (W10)
Evaleez Voo Lian Yun/ 0350275
Digital Photography and Imaging/ Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Week 11

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Lectures

Exposure Setting

• In photography, exposure is the amount of light which reaches your camera sensor or film.
• The main parts of a camera:
• Camera body
• Shutter
• Image Sensor
• Camera Lens
• Aperture/ Iris
• The camera body is a light proof box.

Fig 1.0 Camera Structure (1/11/21)

There are only two camera settings that affect the actual “luminous exposure” of an image: shutter speed and aperture. The third setting, camera ISO, also affects the brightness of your photos.

1. Iris

• Iris/Aperture is control the flow of light entering the lens.
• Measured by f-stop, indicated by sequence of f-number: f/1, f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, /4, ...
• The lower the f-number, the larger the lens opening

Fig 1.1 Iris/ Aperture (1/11/21)

2. Shutter

• The small plastic sheet that opens and closes to allow light onto the film or prevent light from reaching the film. 
• Shutter speed is measures in seconds: 1/1000 s, 1/15000 s, 1/ 250 s, ...

Fig 1.2 Shutter Speed (1/11/21)

3. ISO

• Originally referred to the sensitivity of film—it's "light gathering" ability.

• For digital photography, ISO refers to the sensitivity—the signal gain—of the camera's sensor.

• Common ISO: 100, 200, 400, 640, ...

• The lower the number, the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain.

Fig 1.3 ISO (1/11/21)

Lens Perspective

• There are wide angle lens, standard lens and tele lens.
• Appropriate lens provide desired framing, lens choice affects angle of view.
• Can be categorized by focal length
• The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle of view and vice-versa
• The measurement (in mm) from the optical centre of a camera lens to the camera's sensor. 

Fig 1.4 Focal Length (1/11/21)

• Depth of field
• The proportion of the image that is reasonably sharp and in focus.
• The smaller the aperture you use, the greater the depth of field
• Wide angle lenses
• Ideal for fitting a large area into your frame.
• Useful for landscape photography/ street photography
• Almost everything is in focus, unless your subject is very close to the lens.

Fig 1.5 Wide Angle Lenses (1/11/21)

• Standard lens
• Fairly accurate representation of what the human eye sees, both visual angle and perspective.
• More natural

Fig 1.6 Standard Lens (1/11/21)

• Tele lens
• Great for isolating a subject that is far away
• Allows you to photograph subjects from a ditance thanks to their magnifiation. 

Fig 1.7 Tele Lens (1/11/21)

DSLR vs Smartphone

DSLR

• Designed to capture images
• Larger sensors and lenses

Smartphone

• Designed to carry a multitude of functions
• Very limited by size (lens and sensor)

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Practical: Final Project Idea Development

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Reflection

At first I was quite confused with how cameras work, especially with DSLR because I don't have one myself and only used it less than 10 times in my life (my friends'). So, being taught on how the lenses work, the shutter, etc was eye opening.