Category Archives: Definition

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How digital cameras work – With James May

How Digital Cameras Work?

• How Do Digital Cameras Work •
You don’t have to know how your digital camera works to enjoy it. But knowing a little helps you to enjoy it better.
[Image taken from the video].

Understanding your camera better…

You don’t need an in-depth know how. Just enough to make it easy to learn more. Knowing a bit about how digital cameras work is really useful. Here is a quick and easy intro…

A few words from me

Those who know the world famous TV show, Top Gear How do digital cameras work: link to Top gear on Wikipedia - External link - opens new tab/page know James May External link - opens new tab/page. He has a zany sense of humour. Recently he’s been doing simple science videos. In the video he shows how digital cameras work. Off-hand jokes and jibes at Richard Hammond How do digital cameras work: Richard Hammond - Jibes - External link - opens new tab/page make the fast-paced video fun. Watch and learn how your camera works.

How digital cameras work. With James May.

Head Squeeze  How digital cameras work - from Head Squeeze :: External link - opens new tab/page

Some things to think about…

The history in the video is a bit misleading. How digital cameras work was worked out in the 1970s. By the 1980s sensors were quite advanced. But, it was not until the 1990s that digital image sensors became consumer items. Then camera makers made them small and cheap. To find out more see: A History of Photography (pt.6). The Digital Age.

Mr. May gets the idea of a pixel wrong too. He talks about pixels being on the sensor. Many people have this idea. Pixels are in images on screen. Data for digital images is collected on a digital image sensor. Each point where the data for each pixel is collected is called a photosite. Just remember, photosites collect data on the sensor. Pixels display the data in the image on the screen.

For more information about pixels check these links…
Definition: Pixel; Pixels
Definition: Photosite; Photosites
Definition: Sensor; Image Sensor; Digital Image Sensor

For some more context on pixels in your images check this: Getting down to pixel level.

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Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photographer and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photogs.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.
By Damon Guy see his profile on Google+.

Understanding depth of field

Pebbles

• Pebbles •
Depth of field helps the background lose distinguishing features which makes the subject stand out.

It is an important artistic tool.

Depth of field (DoF) provides a way to isolate the subject from the background. Sharpness inside the DoF is of critical importance to our image. The blur outside the DOF helps divert the eye to the sharp subject. So how does DoF work?

Depth of field defined…

The depth of field (DoF) is an easy concept to remember. The DoF is the sharp part of a picture. It is defined by the out of focus parts of the picture on either side of it. A lens can only focus at one point. It is at that point that the image is sharpest. However, on either side of the sharp point is a zone where, to the naked eye, the sharpness is still good enough to be convincing.

The eye can distinguish sharp detail inside the DoF and we want to ensure our subject is in that zone. However, we also want to compose our picture so the unimportant parts of the picture are out of focus. To achieve these things we need to know how to control the DoF. In fact there are three ways to control it…

  • Change the size of the Aperture.
  • Change the focal length
  • the distance of the subject from the lens

As the aperture changes size so does the zone of sharpness we call the DoF. As we open up the aperture wide the DoF gets shallow. As we make our aperture smaller the DoF gets wider and eventually we get sharpness all through to the horizon. Similarly changes to the distance from the subject affects DoF. If I walk away from a subject (and do not change the aperture) the depth of field gets wider (and visa versa). Focal length changes affect the DoF in a similar way.

A Simple Guide to Depth of Field

In this video Dylan Bennett provides the best explanation I have seen on why the DoF changes with the three factors I mentioned above. He uses a simple explanation and some great diagrams to show what is involved.

Dylan Bennett  External link - opens new tab/page

Just to clear up a point…

The analogy that Dylan Bennett uses, “toothpaste squeezed in a tube”, works well for most people learning the idea of DoF. What really causes the DoF to elongate is related to something called the Circle of Confusion (CoC). For more detail you can see information in: “Definition: Circle of Confusion”.

The CoC projected onto the sensor is (notionally) a tiny point of light representing one point of light from the subject. When that part of the subject is in focus the CoC is very small and individually indistinguishable from those around it. Like this it’s a sharp representation of the subject point of light. However, at a point outside the DoF an individual point of light can no longer be represented by a sharp point on the sensor and begins to blend with points around it. It has lost its sharpness. This is because the lens focuses points outside the DoF slightly before the sensor or slightly after it.

Diagram showing various sizes of Circles of Confusion (CoC).

Diagram showing various sizes of Circles of Confusion (CoC) on the sensor sized according to the focus (not to scale). Only CoCs projected from within the Depth of Field are sharp. Our eyes cannot perceive them well as they form sharp points. Ones projected from outside the depth of field are unsharp to our eyes.

Here is the reason why the DoF widens as the aperture gets smaller. When the aperture is small the angle of light that can pass through it from the subject is also small. As a result the CoC for each point of light is relatively small. This is because it can only originate from a small angle of light.

A very small aperture means that the circles of confusion are never big enough for our eye to see. This allows the lens to focus at infinity (say f11 and smaller). When the aperture is wide open the reverse is true. The circles of confusion can be much bigger. Only those rays that the lens will naturally focus will be sharp (a shallow depth of field).

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By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

How to tackle the problem of reflections and highlights with glass

• Photographing anything translucent requires treatment that defines the shape •

• Photographing anything translucent requires treatment that defines the shape •
Photograph by Phillip McCordall

Make the best of your resources.

Making the best of your resources is important. Expensive equipment is out of reach for many photographers. Using simple equipment and home resources helps. Glass presents particular problems. This tutorial will help you to tackle the problem with glass and learn more about using simple resources.

The problem with glass

By its nature, the translucence and reflectance of glass creates special problems for photographers. Translucence means that the definition of glass is lost against the background. Reflectance means that general highlights and specular highlights in particular can cause problems. Success in photographing glass is about learning to control those things. It is all a matter of using reflectance to define the glass and placing the light in the correct way for it to illuminate.

Using a simple house light and white and black cards, this tutorial helps you to control highlights to emphasise the glass and not create nasty highlights. You learn about good quality composition with a glass and a few tricks of the trade. Win:win I think.

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By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

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Do you really understand what photography is?

A photography definition? The ramblings of a madman…

A photography definition is not easy. What we do with a camera is record part of the world where we point the lens. Right? Then again, you probably realise that is not true. Especially if you have been reading this blog for a while.

The lens does not faithfully record the world. The picture is always slightly distorted. Numerous technical processes are involved in the translation of a scene into a picture. These each add their own distortions and variations on the original scene. The unique approach taken by the photographer in framing the shot creates its own view of the world too. That view will be different to the next man. The perceptive filter of the viewer also affects what is seen. What is finally conjured up is an image beyond the mere recording.

So, what on earth is this thing we call photography? It certainly is not a mere technical record. Nor is it a simple interpretation of a scene. Those two roots are important. They are not the full story for a real photography definition.

Toward a good photography definition

I noticed I had not written a definition of photography in the “Photographic Glossary“. The latter is a collection of articles which has gradually grown with this blog. It’s now a good intro and background to a wide range of words, phrases, concepts and items of equipment. It is still growing. It’s on the menu at the top of every page. Or you can click this image and go there now…
Photography definition :: Link to the general Glossary

I wrote a definition of photography. In it I followed the conventions of most dictionaries. But there is more to a photography definition than technical sufficiency.

Meaning?

While researching a definition for “photography” I came across a whole range of explanations. They amounted to descriptive statements about:

  • derivation of the words related to photography;
  • the photographic act;
  • processes involved in doing photography;
  • post production processing of the image;
  • The history of the subject
  • the technical issues;
  • prediction about the future.

This is all interesting stuff. However, I found it sterile.

It is important for ‘meaning’ to be attached to feeling. A technical description of the process of photography (film or digital) is interesting but devoid of personal meaning. I am a committed photographer. I love to do photography and I invest a huge part of my life in its pursuit. To me it is not a technical process, although I go through a technical process to “do photography”. It is not just the statement about the meaning of a word (see – Definition: photography). Neither is it simply a picture. I am hoping that my picture will stimulate a living, three dimensional image in the mind of my viewers. If that happens then I will have created powerful image for them. That will be a successful image.

Photography is an attempt by the photographer to communicate with the viewer. Each picture may lie somewhere on the continuum between a “record” of the world and an “interpretation” of the world. No matter which end of that continuum the picture lies, it speaks to the viewer in a unique way.

My thinking…

I spent several hours trying to bring life to a photography definition. Through the technical mambo-jumbo, physical processes, history and so on, not one article adequately described our passion. So I resorted to trying to sum up how I feel. Here is what my photography definition is about…

Photography attempts to capture a view of the world with which the photographer communicates their particular meaning and perspective of a scene through a picture and, which if successful, will create a vivid, living image in the mind of the viewer.
Damon Guy, 09/06/2013 – Towards a good photography definition.

I expect to be shot down. What does “photography” mean? You tell me. Have you got a good photography definition?

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Damon Guy - Toward a photography definition.

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photographer and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photogs.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.
By Damon Guy see his profile on Google+.

Simple mistakes to avoid in photography

The quick way to improve:

…Is undoubtedly to listen to the mistakes that others made. Here are some easy things you can do to improve your photography in leaps and bounds. Getting lots of practice is the first step. The more you shoot the more you will get to know what works and what does not. However, going further than that takes a little diligence. So here are some things to do for quick improvements…

1. Not reading the manual

Get the manual out. Learn a technique from the manual. Then go out and use that technique.

2. Not reading the manual again in six months

Repeat (1) in six months. Using your camera will become easier and your memory will be refreshed.

3. Not making friends

The most fun you can have in photography is with friends. Join a club, find some other camera owners, join a website that shares comments… whatever you do – get people to look at your photos and help you with tips and tricks.

4. The equipment you own

Read “Seven deadly photographic sins” and realise that you should concentrate on learning everything about the equipment you own. Once you are an excellent photographer with your current equipment then consider new stuff, but not before.

5. File resolution

Shoot with the largest file size and highest resolution. If you do not know how to do that consult the manual. This is important. Using tiny files and low resolution will really frustrate your improvement.

6. Not checking the image

Beginners often click away without checking the image. Shoot-and-hope mostly fails. Check your screen, check and check again. Reduce the number of shots you take. Concentrate on composition – make the images you do take higher quality. Read up on “Chimping” the gentle art of screen checking!

7. Deleting in camera

Do not delete in camera… There are many good reasons for this…

  • Constant deleting shortens the life of your memory card – only ever format the card.
  • Unless very experienced you are probably not qualified to say if a shot is good or bad.
  • You cannot possibly tell if an image is good enough in the low resolution of a camera screen.
  • As your ‘eye’ develops you will change your idea of what is a ‘delete’. I have seen an image voted Best-shot-of-the-day but listed as a deleter by the author before the vote.
8. Not looking at the image in full size

There is only one sure test of sharpness, look at the image in full resolution. When you pull the image up on screen it is reduced and sharpened. Expand it to 100% to see it as you took it. Read your software manual to see how.

9. Ignoring the light

Find out all you can about light – all types of light and all sorts of lighting situations. You can find a whole range of resources here… Light and Lighting – Resource pages on Photokonnexion. Your knowledge of light will make you a great photographer if you focus on that alone.

10. Not using a tripod

The best sharpness tool is using a tripod. Never forget your tripod and you will always have sharp images!

For more on this subject and some detail of how to get past these mistakes read: Mistakes beginners make and how to overcome them

Here is a short video with four more great tips for you to take on board…

Mistakes to Avoid as a Beginner Photographer

startphotography channel External link - opens new tab/page

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By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

Five great ways to improve your photography

I heart Photokonnexion

The top five posts from 2012

In our first year as a website we learned a lot about our readers and worked hard to provide great content for you. We did some research and identified the most read posts of the year.

Number five

Light is the most important component of our work as photographers…
Six things to know about light.
[Also check out other Light and Lighting resources].

Number four

Composition was an important theme through the year. Simple ideas are the best. This post captured a consistent readership…
The Rule of Odds – Uneven Composition

Number three

This is a great post from my friend Steve Maidwell (imageinnation.com). As a contributing author he made a hit with our readers. He’s promised another post soon…
Creating a Fake Smoke Effect

Number two

I made a personal recommendation for two ideal Christmas presents. They really went down well. These would make great gifts to yourself too…
Two great Christmas gift ideas for photographers

And the top post of the year:

Number one

Street photography has been a consistent success on Photokonnexion. The most viewed post in 2012…
Forty six quick street photography tips

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

Photography phactoids – starting today…

Photography phactoid number 001

Starting today we are going to be running a regular series of quick facts for photographers. The idea is to ensure we have some quick and easy posts for you to learn something at a glance. Today is the first one. Please let us know what you think…

What is a zoom flash?

A Zoom flash is a form of flash unit where the light source in the flash can be drawn further back into the body of the flash housing. As it recedes the beam of light from the flash is narrowed by the sides of the housing. This focussing of the beam tends to make the light look hard rather than soft.

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.