(CAMERA SONY A390) ~ Mr K

BASIC THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY
.
Photography is a combination of technical aspects, composition and story.
I. Technical aspects - shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, focus, metering, flash intensity and other equipment and settings.
II. Composition - Rule of Thirds, Golden Mean, Geometry etc.
III. Story - what can you say about a photo.

A. SHUTTER SPEED

1/4000 s: The fastest speed available in consumer SLR cameras as of 2009. Used to take sharp photographs of fast subjects, such as athletes or vehicles, under good lighting conditions and with an ISO setting of up to 800.
1/2000 s and 1/1000 s: Used to take sharp photographs of moderately fast subjects under normal lighting conditions. 1/1000 s is the slowest speed that will reliably prevent image shake in unstabilized handheld shots.
1/500 s and 1/250 s: Used to take sharp photographs of people in motion in everyday situations. 1/250 s is the fastest speed useful for panning; it also allows for a larger aperture (up to f/11) in motion shots, and hence for a narrower depth of field.

1/125 s: This speed, and longer ones, are no longer useful for freezing motion. 1/125 s is used to obtain greater depth of field and overall sharpness in landscape photography, and is also often used for panning shots.
1/60 s: Used for panning shots, for images taken under dim lighting conditions, and for available light portraits.
1/30 s: Used for panning subjects moving slower than 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) and for available light photography. Images taken at this and slower speeds normally require a tripod or other camera support to be sharp.
1/15 s and 1/8 s: This and slower speeds are useful for photographs other than panning shots where motion blur is employed for deliberate effect, or for taking sharp photographs of immobile subjects under bad lighting conditions with a tripod-supported camera.

1/4 s, 1/2 s and 1 s: Also mainly used for motion blur effects and/or low-light photography, but only practical with a tripod-supported camera.
30 s: Used with a mechanically fixed camera in astrophotography and for certain special effects.

Shutter Speed	Typical Examples
1 - 30+ seconds	Specialty night and low-light photos on a tripod
2 - 1/2 second	To add a silky look to flowing water Landscape photos on a tripod for enhanced depth of field
1/2 to 1/30 second	To add motion blur to the background of a moving subject Carefully taken hand-held photos with stabilization
1/50 - 1/100 second	Typical hand-held photos without substantial zoom
1/250 - 1/500 second	To freeze everyday sports/action subject movement Hand-held photos with substantial zoom (telephoto lens)
1/1000 - 1/4000 second	To freeze extremely fast, up-close subject motion

Now, the tricky part is to choose the right shutter speed for your DSLR. First, you have to look at the type of lens that you use. Generally speaking based on my personal experience, your shutter speed should not be lower than your zooming capability as it 'may' produce blurred, shaky photos unless if you use a tripod. Again, I use the word 'may' indicating a possibility. For instance, if you use a 50mm prime lens, your shutter speed should be higher than 1/50. That is why many people love to use a prime lens when taking photos. For shooting indoor with low light or adequate light and night photography, you can set your shutter speed to 1/50, 1/60, 1/80 or 1/100. For outdoor during daytime (bright or cloudy), you can set you shutter speed starting from 1/125 to1/300, and even higher. So, I just need to change my shutter speed based on the amount of available light.

Comparably, if you use a telephoto lens like 55-200mm or 75-300mm, you have to keep on changing your shutter speed based on zooming range. As for my Sony SAL75300 lens, I normally use shutter speeds of 1/160- 1/250 because I rarely zoom in up to 250mm and 300mm. This lens does not have any built-in stabilizer which makes me difficult to focus steadily starting from 200mm and above (handheld). Here, I have to change my shutter speed not only based on the amount of available light but also the zooming capability. More work, right?

As for a kit lens (18-55mm), you can always set your shutter speed to 1/60 or higher, but this lens is meant for normal usage, not for creating 'astonishing' photos. I am not saying that a kit lens is not good or you don't use a kit lens at all. You can also capture excellent photos using a kit lens with proper settings and when your timing is perfect. In the end, it is always be about the photographer to think and plan properly.

B. APERTURE

The lens aperture is usually specified as an f-number, the ratio of focal length to effective aperture diameter. A lens typically has a set of marked "f-stops" that the f-number can be set to. A lower f-number denotes a greater aperture opening which allows more light to reach the film or image sensor. The lower the F value, the wider the hole that lets the light pass through. So, it is for portrait shooting where the background is blur but the close object is sharp. However, the higher the F value, close and far away objects appear sharp. So, it is good for landscape shooting.

C. ISO SETTING

In digital photography, ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. The same principles apply as in film photography – the lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds (for example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze the action in lower light) – however the cost is noisier shots. 100 ISO is generally accepted as ‘normal’ and will give you lovely crisp shots (little noise/grain).

Situations where you might need to push ISO to higher settings include:

Indoor Sports Events – where your subject is moving fast yet you may have limited light available.
Concerts – also low in light and often ‘no-flash’ zones
Art Galleries, Churches etc- many galleries have rules against using a flash and of course being indoors are not well lit.
Birthday Parties – blowing out the candles in a dark room can give you a nice moody shot which would be ruined by a bright flash. Increasing the ISO can help capture the scene.

D. METERING MODE

Spot metering
With spot metering, the camera will only measure light in a very small area of the scene (between 1-5% of the viewfinder area). This will typically be the very centre of the scene, but some cameras allow the user to select a different off-center spot, or to recompose by moving the camera after metering.

Center-weighted_average_metering
In this system, the meter concentrates between 60 to 80 percent of the light sensitivity towards the central part of the viewfinder. The balance is then "feathered" out towards the edges. Some cameras will allow the user to adjust the weight/balance of the central portion to the peripheral one. One advantage of this method is that it is less influenced by small areas that vary greatly in brightness at the edges of the viewfinder; as many subjects are in the central part of the frame, consistent results can be obtained.

Average metering
In this metering mode the camera will use the light information coming from the entire scene and averages for the final exposure setting, giving no weighting to any particular portion of the metered area.

Multi-zone metering
This mode is also called matrix, evaluative, honeycomb, segment metering, or esp (electro selective pattern) metering on some cameras. On a number of cameras this is the default/standard metering setting. Here the camera measures the light intensity in several points in the scene, and then combines the results to find the settings for the best exposure. How they are combined/calculated deviates from camera to camera. The actual number of zones used varies wildly, from several to over a thousand. However performance should not be concluded on the number of zones alone, or the layout. In general, the most advanced metering is found on single-lens reflex cameras.

E (1). FOCUS

Multi Auto focus - focuses on a subject in all ranges of the finder frame automatically. Useful if you have many subjects.

Center Auto Focus - focuses on a subject in the center of the finder frame automatically. If you have only one subject or you want to focus on the subject in the middle of the frame.

Flexible Spot Auto Focus - focuses on an extremely small subject or a narrow area; with a tripod and the subject not in the center of the frame .

Semi Manual Focus - Automatically and quickly focuses on the area around a set distance. E.g. shooting images through a window.

Manual Focus - Allows you to focus on the subject manually. E.g. shooting images through a window.

E (2). DEPTH OF FIELD
Depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance at a time, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on each side of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions.

Quick Reference Guide: Depth of field is governed by three factors: aperture, lens focal length and shooting distance. Remember the following relationships:

The smaller the aperture, the deeper the depth of field (the other two factors remaining the same). For example, if the lens focal length and the shooting distance stay the same, the depth of field is much deeper at f/16 than at f/1.4.
The shorter the lens focal length, the deeper the depth of field (the other two factors remaining the same). For example, comparing a 28mm lens with a 50mm lens at the same aperture and shooting distance, depth of field is deeper with the 28mm lens..
The greater the shooting distance, the deeper the depth of field. i.e. other two factors remaining the same). For example, if the subject is photographed from three and then from seven meters away, the zone of sharpness in the foreground and background is greater at seven meters.

Another characteristic of depth of field is that it is generally deeper in the background than in the foreground. (READ HERE)

F. WHITE BALANCE
Many people hate this part and choose Auto WB. There is nothing wrong with it, sometimes, your DSLR detects correct WB, sometimes it doesn't.

The common settings are Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten and Fluorescent. Many DSLRs allow you to customise WB. So which one is the right one for you? I don't know. You have to try and run WB until you get the right colour. If outdoor, you use Daylight or Auto WB. If indoor, look at the type of light dominating the room.

Read 1, Read 2, Read 3,

G. PHOTOGRAPHY IMAGE COMPOSITION

These are the common rules used in photography.
Read more; Read more; Read more; Read more; Read more;

However, you can still break the rules if you know what to focus or you want to be creative. Regardless of the method that you use, make sure that the eyes and face of a person are sharp for portraiture. Likewise, you must make sure that the main focus or object in your photo is sharp and bright for non-portraiture. For instance, if your main focus is a beetle on a leave of a plant, make sure the beetle and the nearby area around the beetle is sharp. Other parts of the plant / leave can be blurred (out of focus) a little bit. For landscape photography, I guess everything must be sharp.

H. MESSAGE / STORYLINE / PURPOSE

I guess that this is the most difficult part in photography. Many photographers love to take photos of models in many poses just like the ones in many fashion magazines. Is there anything wrong with it? Of course not. The main objective is not to show the model but to show what the model is wearing - dress, shoe and make-up - as part of promotion. The same goes when taking photos at free events like pc fair, motor show or fashion show or at a paid private shooting session (normally 1:5 ratio). Any stories to tell? Nothing to tell. Just shoot for fun! I also do the same thing, shooting for fun without any purpose at all.

Do these photos have a unique quality in which you can describe what you see? Of course not. A quality or good photo always has a story to tell just like a painting. Well, I don't like it because I have to think and plan. That is why almost all my photos are not 'good' in terms of purpose or objective.
So, ask yourself these questions before taking a shot?
---What do you want to say about a photo?
---What do you want to accomplish before taking a photo?
---What kind of mood that you want to show in a photo?

Some of the objectives that can create a quality shot which can both for organized photo shooting sessions or real life public candid shots.
---People at a meeting.
---Boyfriend-Girlfriend Arguement
---A loving wedding couple.
---A mother taking her child to school.
---Anything else??? Write in the comment box.

I. EXTERNAL FLASH

There are so many guidelines on how to use your external flash for your DSLR.
Read more 1;Read more 2; Read more 3; Read more 4;
Reflector for flash: 1, 2, 3, 4

Many people get confused when to use flash. Basically, you use flash in order to capture all sharp and bright photos of objects in the foreground. As long as you can take sharp photos in ISO100-ISO400, you don't need to use flash. Normally, higher than ISO400 may produce a lot of noise if you view at 100%. Yet, not many people view a photo at 100% unless you want to upload your photos to stock photography sites.

Sometimes, I love taking photos with my f/1.8 50mm lens at ISO1600 without flash indoor especially at pc fair or fashion show, provided the place is bright. Surprisingly, photos do look sharp if I don't view them at 100%. But, if the place is not very bright, I definitely use my F43AM flash and ISO400/ISO800.

Personally, these are the conditions that you need to use flash:
1. You need to use flash when you want to take photos indoor like your own house or shopping malls where the place doesn't normally have enough light.
2. If you use ISO400 and higher ISO outdoor during daytime (maybe in a cloudy environment and under shade) and the photos show a lot of noise, use flash. The good thing about flash is it can compensate the amount of noise even if you use ISO400, ISO800 and higher.
3. Taking photos outdoor at night, very straightforward.
4. You don't want to create moody and silhouette photos. Similarly, if you want to take vintage photos in sepia or black/white with a lot of noise, don't use flash.

J. LENSES

There are so many types of lenses out there. Want all of them? You can if you have a lot money.

As for me I only use two types of lenses - 50mm prime lens and 75-300mm telephoto lens - since I only love taking portraits at aperture f/7.1 or f/8.

At the moment, I own Sony SAL50f18 (50mm aperture f/1.8). I normally use it for taking shots at my private shooting sessions, PC fairs and motor shows as I can move myself near or far away from a model. It allows me to focus quickly in any conditions - from sufficient light to low light. I rarely use aperture f/4.5 or bigger because I prefer to take sharp foreground subjects.

Even though my Sony SAL75300 (75-300 mm aperture f/4.5-f/5.6) produces similar quality to SAL50f18, I can only use this lens for outdoor shooting during daytime especially at fashion shows or photography events. At these events, there are so many photographers, and of course I can't be near the model as I may block other people. This lens is not suitable for indoor shooting or night portrait photography because it does not have any stabilizer plus the aperture is quite small i.e. f/5.6.

Sometimes, I cannot run away from that "ordinary" kit-lens, 18-55mm, which always be as part of the package when I bought my camera. Not much I can expect from the lens, but it is very useful for taking photos of a group of people in a small room where your 50mm cannot cover all the people. Need to use flash!!! I do not want to spend more money purchasing a wide angle lens like 18mm or shorter length since it is very expensive and I rarely take group photos.

There are many other types of lenses depending on your photography objective. Read more.

Sources/Recommended sites:

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665789079
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/fototech/apershutter/shutter.htm
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-exposure.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutter_speed http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/fototech/apershutter/aperture.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/fototech/apershutter/exposure.htm
http://www.photoxels.com/digital-photography-tutorials/tutorial-exposure-compensation/
http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_iso.html
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/iso-settings
http://digital-photography-school.com/iso-settings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metering_mode

http://www.photoxels.com/digital-photography-tutorials/tutorial-area-focus/
http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_center-af.html
http://www.photoxels.com/digital-photography-tutorials/tutorial-fill-in-flash/
http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_white-balance.html
http://www.digicamhelp.com/glossary/35mm-equivalent/
http://www.snapjunky.com/digicam-features/35mm-equivalent-lens.shtml
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080115174800AAakMHN (18-55mm lens)
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cameras-photography/digital/digital-camera6.htm
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-lenses.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/fototech/htmls/depth.html
http://www.emmettlollis.com/tutorials/digitalphotography/shallow-depth-of-field.php
http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/camera/lens/autofocus.shtml (AF troubleshooting)
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-the-Manual-Focus-on-an-SLR-Camera
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/5-situations-when-manual-focus-is-better-than-auto-focus
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/when-is-manual-focus-better-than-auto-focus
http://www.diyphotography.net/nine-reasons-to-manually-focus-when-taking-pictures
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/two-factors-for-perfect-focus
http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/camera/settings/focus-infinity.shtml
http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/10-top-photography-composition-rules
http://www.jakegarn.com/the-rule-of-thirds/
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds
http://photoinf.com/Golden_Mean/John_Longenecker/Rule_of_Thirds.htm
Rule of Thirds on http://www.google.com.my/
Correcting telephoto lens distortions using Photoshop
http://froknowsphoto.com/photography-tutorial-aperture-and-f-stops-explained-part-1/ (sample)
http://www.digisniper.com/2006/10/16/photography-basics-1-what-is-aperture-or-f-stopsf-number-depth-of-field/
http://digital-photography-school.com/aperture
http://www.digitalslrphoto.com/Portraits_People_Gallery/ (Photos)

My tips for Sony DSLR-A390

(REVIEW)

Gadgets: DSLR-A390, and SAL50f18 portrait lens (aperture f/1.8) - review 1, review 2.

Generally, you should not use too many drives and built-in scene modes of your camera.
I normally use Manual mode when taking photos. In Manual mode, you can make many changes to the default settings of aperture, shutter speed, flash, metering, focus, colour, continuous shots, white balance and many more.

Compositions for portrait shots

My tips for Sony DSC-HX1 (superzoom point and shoot)

Notes:
After buying Sony A390, I normally use Sony DSC-HX1 as my camcorder at formal events since it can take good quality 1080p MP4 videos and zoom up to 560mm / 20x optical zoom.

Use REAL color mode to emphasize more on people, STANDARD color mode on buildings/scenery and VIVID color mode on fruits/objects. (REVIEW)

DSC-HX1 uses front-CMOS sensor with the lowest ISO of ISO125. Because of that, this camera produces noisy images and less sharp details at ISO200 and above even with the built-in flash. This camera is good for taking non-commercial images like family and school events since it can take up to 10 photos per second. So, you should only use ISO125 or ISO200 with its built-in flash.

1a. For normal usage (still object / or with minor movements), use P mode or Easy mode. ---Go to menu settings, choose NR+ (More noise reduction), and DRO is off. ---Color setting: standard or real. Press the jog dial, use ISO125. --- Focus: multi. Metering mode: multi. Enable detect faces, and detect slight smiles.

Portrait (indoor)
---You won't get bokeh background with HX1 - the sensor is too small. The only thing that you can do to blur the background (a little bit only, not very noticeable) is as follows:
1. Manual exposure
2. f/2.8, ISO800-ISO1600, shutter 1/50-1/100
3. do not use zoom

Portrait (outdoor, daytime)
---You won't get bokeh background with HX1 - the sensor is too small. The only thing that you can do to blur the background (a little bit only, not very noticeable) is as follows:
1. Manual exposure
2. f/2.8, ISO125-ISO200, shutter 1/200-1/1000

3. do not use zoom

Moving object (outdoor, daytime)
---You won't get bokeh background with HX1 - the sensor is too small. The only thing that you can do to blur the background (a little bit only, not very noticeable) is as follows:
1. Manual exposure
2. f/2.8, ISO125-ISO200, shutter 1/500-1/1000

3. do not use zoom

--- you can also use Continuous Shooting Mode at 10FPS, 5FPS or 2FPS.

Moving object (indoor or at night)
--- same like A390 but never expect excellent quality of photos. If possible, avoid taking photos in low light situations.
---- you can also use Continuous Shooting at 10fps, 5pfs or 2fps.

Landscape at night

--- same like A390 but never expect excellent quality of photos.
--- or change the dial to Scene(SCN), choose ISO mode.
--- or change the dial to Handheld Twilight mode.

Landscape / Scenery during daytime

--- same like A390

Notes
1. Special effect: 70s. ------- Go to menu settings, choose NR- (Less noise reduction), and DRO is off. ------Color setting: Sepia or Black/White. -----Use M mode - Shutter from 1/80 to 1/125, Aperture (lowest value). -----Press the jog dial, use ISO125. -----Focus: centre or multi. Metering mode: Spot. -----Use flash the lowest flash intensity OR disable flash. use ISO800. ----You can also use Warm filter.

2. When to use the Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) feature? When the sunlight is behind the object . You need to use the built-in flash at the same time.

3. HX1 has 3 options to adjust the noise settings which are more noise (NR-), standard (NRstd) and less noise (NR+). In normal situations, just use NR+ which produces good image quality with less noise. However, if you wish to take photos with old or classic effects, you can use NR- or NRstd with ISO800 / ISO1600 without flash with Warm color filter.

http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_tv.html

http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial-night-photography.html

http://www.photoxels.com/digital-photography-tutorials/tutorial-fireworks/

Photoshop - actions, plugins: http://www.ps-actions.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/sets/72157601339945649/with/476181737/

My tips for Sony DSC-P100 (compact point & shoot)

Notes: This is just a basic camera that you can carry with you wherever you go. (REVIEW)

1. For normal usage INDOOR. Set to M, adjust aperture to f/2.8 and shutter to 1/60, ISO400. You have to enable the built-in flash, set the flash intensity to normal or -. Use spot metering mode, fine photo quality, auto white balance, multi AF. You can also set color to B/W or sepia.

2. For normal usage OUTDOOR / DAYTIME. Set to M, adjust aperture to f/2.8 and shutter to 1/250 TO 1/500, ISO100 or AUTOISO. You have to enable the built-in flash, set the flash intensity to normal or -. Use spot metering mode, fine photo quality,auto white balance, multi AF. Enable red eye reduction and illumination.

3. For normal usage OUTDOOR / NIGHTTIME . Set to M, adjust aperture to f/2.8 and shutter to 1/40, ISO400. You have to enable the built-in flash, set the flash intensity to normal or +. Use spot metering mode, fine photo quality,auto white balance, multi AF. Enable red eye reduction and illumination.
Hold your hand steadily or use a tripod. If not, tell the subject not to move at all since this camera does not have any anti-shake or anti-blur function.

4. Just set the dial to P or Auto mode if you are not sure how to adjust aperture, shutter speed and ISO.