'Basic Photography' Workshop by Kewal Gala - 26-09-09

“Basic Photography” Workshop
Kewal Gala
Aperture, IIM Indore
What Can A Camera Do?
26/09/2009 Basic Photography Workshop - Kewal Gala 2

Capture Memories…

Help save Time & Effort…

Make a Change…

Generate Global Attention…

Pay your Bills…

Make you an Artist…

…or Destroy your Life!

Yet a Camera by itself does nothing.
YOU DO!
Do you know what to do with this thing?

Workshop Outline
• Basics of Equipment
• Busting the Megapixel Myth
• Photography Jargons Explained
• Concepts: Aperture, Depth of Field, Shutter
Speed, ISO, Noise
• Understanding Digital Photography
• Styles/Modes of Photography
• Tools & Techniques of Composition
Speed, ISO, Noise
Choosing the Best Camera
• No longer a once-in-a-lifetime purchase
• Select one which can do the job you want
today + for the foreseeable future
• Some kinds of cameras do
some kinds of things better or more easily
e.g., Sports photography vs. Close-up portraits
• Price isn’t the best indicator

CAMERA CATEGORIES

Web Cameras & Phone Cameras

Point-and-Shoot Cameras

Advanced Consumer Models

Prosumer dSLR Cameras

Professional Cameras

Speed, ISO, Noise
Megapixels: How much do you need?
• Often, cameras are categorized by the no. of
Megapixels they can capture
• As if that resolution figure is the only measure

of the camera’s value
• This value can be quite misleading

Optical vs. Digital Zoom
• An optical zoom uses the optics (lens) of the digital
camera to move you closer to your subject
• A digital zoom simply enlarges the existing image
digitally. It is not really zoom, in the strictest definition
of the term
• Enlarging the image digitally reduces picture quality,
and should therefore usually be avoided.
• Some manufacturers label their lenses with the "total
zoom" by multiplying the optical with the digital.
Ignore It.
• When comparing digital cameras:
Go for higher optical zoom. Digital zoom can always be
achieved later in an image editing software.
Megapixels: What to keep in Mind
• What you plan to do with the photos you take:
8 x 10” Photo Prints vis. a vis. 20 x 30” Posters
• Do most of the photos you take end up as

your wallpaper or Facebook/Orkut photos?

Resolution & their Print Sizes
Resolution Avg. quality Best quality Resolution
0.5 megapixels 3x5 in. N/A 800 x 600
2 megapixels 8x10 in. 3x5 in. 1600 x 1200
10+ megapixels 25x40 in. 13x17 in. 3888+ x 2592+

Questions to Ask:
• Do you plan to manipulate your photos?
• Are you a photo hobbyist?
• How often do you plan to upgrade?

Speed, ISO, Noise
Anti-Blur
Anti-Shake
Image Stabilization
Vibration Reduction
• A technology that stabilizes the lens to

effectively reduce blur due to camera shake.

Histogram

Bokeh (BOH-KEH)

Depth of Field
• The distance wherein objects are in focus. The
smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of
field achieved.
MORE ABOUT IT IN “APERTURE”

Metering
How the camera measures the amount of light
available to expose a picture
• Centre-Weighted: Readings are taken at
various part of the picture, with a special
emphasis for the centre.
• Spot: Readings are taken at a specific point.
• Each camera manufacturer has its own
variations (Evaluative Metering)

White Balance
• The ability to adjust colours based on white as
a reference colour to give as true a white as
possible
• All other colors are corrected accordingly
• Auto WB (AWB): the camera determines and
selects the correct colour temperature for
white.

White Balance
• Some preset white balance settings are
daylight, cloudy, tungsten, or fluorescent.

[ Ev +/-] Exposure-Compensation
• Also popularly known as Flash Compensation

• Concepts: Aperture, Depth of

Field, Shutter Speed, ISO, Noise
Aperture
• a hole or an opening
through which
light travels
• It causes variations in
the Depth of Field
within the image

f16
vis. a vis.
f2.8
Shutter Speed
• Amount of time the
picture is exposed
• Short/Fast shutter speed
• Long/Slow shutter speed

1/8th

1/30th

1/60th

1/500th

Results of Varying Shutter Speeds

USING THE TECHNIQUE OF….
PANNING
Which shutter speed is the best?

ISO
• the measure of a digital camera sensor’s
sensitivity to light
• a higher number indicates higher sensitivity
• This is usually expressed as a range,
e.g. ISO 100 - 1600.
• A higher sensitivity allows us to take pictures
in low light without using flash
• Higher ISO causes more "noise" than lower
ISO
ISO 100

ISO 1600

Speed, ISO, Noise
• Understanding Digital
Photography
First off…
• Understand how your camera works
• Know some Photography fundamentals
• Find out how to use an image editor

The Exposure Triangle

Far from Perfect / Meant for Illustrative Purposes Only
METAPHORS

Sun Bathing

Open Window

Speed, ISO, Noise
Pre-set exposure control (shutter/aperture combination, plus other
adjustments, such as white balance, exposure compensation, etc.)
SCENE MODES

Shutter Priority
• Shutter Priority: Allows you to decide the
shutter speed (e.g. fast at 1/500 sec. for stop
action photography, or slow at 2 sec. for night
photography), and the camera decides the
best aperture.

Aperture Priority
• Aperture Priority: Allows you to choose the
aperture (e.g. large at F1.8 for portrait, of
small at F16 for landscapes).

Manual
• You have complete creative control in
selecting both the shutter and aperture.

Auto
• All digital cameras usually have an Auto mode:

the camera decides for you the best shutter
speed/aperture settings.
AUTO
Landscape Photography
• Primary function is to allow a large depth of
field
Landscape mode tells the camera to default to a:
• Large Depth of Field (Small Aperture) –f16

Portrait Photography
• This mode is not well suited for full-length
portraits or groups of people
Portrait mode tells the camera to default to a:

• Small Depth of Field (Large Aperture) – f1.8

Sports/Action Photography
• tells the camera to default its settings toward
capturing images faster
This is done by:

• Increasing Shutter Speed
• Increasing ISO

Night Photography
• This preset slows down the shutter speed to
allow a lot of light into the camera
• Both the foreground and background of the
image are properly exposed.
• very useful in taking low-light
images where you do not want
the background to be black

Macro Photography
• This setting works with your camera lens to
allow it to focus from a very short distance.
• Depth of Field becomes very Small
(Large Aperture) – f1.8
• Does not have

a lot of alternative uses

Speed, ISO, Noise
• Tools & Techniques of
Composition
About Composition
• Create the picture
• Decide what is in and what is left out
• “Convince” the eye to glance at it a moment

longer
• “Composition" means "Putting Together"

Subject
Predicate
Background
Rule
of
Thirds
Rule of Thirds
• The theory is that your photo becomes more
balanced and will enable a viewer of the
image to interact with it more naturally
• People’s eyes usually go to one of the

intersection points most naturally rather than
the centre of the shot
• It works with this natural way of viewing an

image rather than working against it
More of a suggestion than a rule?
• Important to experiment to overcome the natural
tendency to centre everything
• But, sometimes you may find situations where it's

difficult to follow the rule of thirds
• If you know why you're doing it -feel free!
• But when you're first starting out it's a good idea

to try to follow it whenever you can 
Converging Composition
• leads the viewer’s

eye into the depth
of the photo
• Usually, centre it and create a symmetrical

composition leading to the centre.
Shooting angles
• try new angles, POV
• When taking pictures of

live objects, try to be at
eye’s level with the
subject.
If we are higher – it
diminishes them, if we
are lower – it augments
them.
What does the eye like?
This is the million-dollar question
• The eye is drawn to three things (A, B, C):

A. Acutely sharp elements

B. Bright elements

C. Colourful elements

Breaking the Rules
• Sometimes breaking the rules creates that unexpected
shot that the viewer doesn’t quite know how to take in
and this is what fascinates him/her even more.
• But my suggestion is, before you break the rules, learn

them well and then you’ll know how and when to
break them. Learn it before you Break it.
• One of the best tests for a good picture is how long the
viewer stalls to look at it. A fascinating subject helps, of
course, but a good composition will take it to a whole
other level.
Your Photos
by Rajeev Verma
Your Photos
by Rajeev Verma
Your Photos
by Rajeev Verma
Your Photos
by Ram Prasad
Your Photos
by Arnav Mukherjee
Your Photos
by Arnav Mukherjee
Your Photos
by Arnav Mukherjee
Your My Photo
by Kewal Gala
Your Photos
by Aashish Mylapally
Your Photos
by Aashish Mylapally
Your Photos

REMEMBER,
THIS WORKSHOP IS NOT AN END OF

PHOTOGRAPHY LEARNING!
BUT WE HOPE IT SURELY WAS ONE
WHERE YOUR JOURNEY BEGINS.....

Happy Clicking!!
Kewal Gala
Club Aperture – The Photography Club
IIM Indore

'Basic Photography' Workshop by Kewal Gala - 26-09-09

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“Basic Photography” Workshop

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• Price isn’t the best indicator

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26/09/2009 Basic Photography Workshop - Kewal Gala 15

26/09/2009 Basic Photography Workshop - Kewal Gala 16

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• As if that resolution figure is the only measure

• This value can be quite misleading

26/09/2009 Basic Photography Workshop - Kewal Gala 21

• Do most of the photos you take end up as

26/09/2009 Basic Photography Workshop - Kewal Gala 25

0.5 megapixels 3x5 in. N/A 800 x 600

2 megapixels 8x10 in. 3x5 in. 1600 x 1200

4 megapixels 11x14 in. 5x7 in. 2300 x 1700

6 megapixels 16x20 in. 8x10 in. 3000 x 2000

10+ megapixels 25x40 in. 13x17 in. 3888+ x 2592+

26/09/2009 Basic Photography Workshop - Kewal Gala 26

• Are you a photo hobbyist?

• How often do you plan to upgrade?

26/09/2009 Basic Photography Workshop - Kewal Gala 27

• A technology that stabilizes the lens to

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26/09/2009 Basic Photography Workshop - Kewal Gala 30

26/09/2009 Basic Photography Workshop - Kewal Gala 31

MORE ABOUT IT IN “APERTURE”

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• Concepts: Aperture, Depth of

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• Short/Fast shutter speed

• Long/Slow shutter speed

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• Understand how your camera works

• Know some Photography fundamentals

• Find out how to use an image editor

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