An Introduction to Digital Photography Session 4

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An Introduction to Digital Photography Session 4

• By Paul Emecz

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Session 4

• Tidying up a Digital Photo

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Aims

• By the end of this session, you will be able to
• Brighten up pictures and change contrast
• Change the colour of a picture
• Clean up an image in various ways
• Select parts of a picture to alter

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Taking the best picture

• This is not a photography course for tips about
  how to take better pictures, see
  http//www.shortcourses.com
• Digital cameras come in many shapes and sizes if
  you are not an expert photographer, you will
  probably need a camera that chooses the right
  settings for you (most do!)
• When you depress the button half way, the camera
  will focus your shot. If the subject moves
  closer or further away or the lighting changes,
  release the button and try again. Make sure you
  focus on the subject!
• Digital cameras need a lot of light even a good
  camera may struggle in the dark. If using the
  camera indoors, think carefully about the lighting

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Some Suggestions

• Dont just take pictures for the sake of it ask
  yourself what you are trying to get across in
  each picture
• Use the elements in the photo to draw the viewer
  in to the subject (and be aware of the
  background!)
• Avoid putting the subject smack in the centre
  let the viewer find the subject
• Dont just take photos of people looking at the
  camera and smiling
• With a digital camera, you can afford to take
  dozens of photos, so experiment with different
  viewpoints
• Remember, you can create the photo later on when
  you edit it!

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Examples
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Some that didnt work
Take the photos YOU want to these are YOUR
memories
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Cropping

• Cropping can be used to tidy up a picture or
  create an entirely new picture
• When you crop a picture, you make a smaller file,
  so in effect you are reducing resolution
• Remember always have a back-up copy!

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Examples
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Lighting

• Try to keep the source of light behind you
• Avoid bright objects in the background, as the
  camera will darken the shot
• Use a manual override for tricky pictures
• Play with your camera try changing the shutter
  speeds particularly with night-time photos
• Use the flash but not if the subject is more
  than 20 feet away
• If its really important to get a good photo
  indoors, bring in extra lighting and think about
  bolting on another flash lamp

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How to brighten up a picture

• Once youve taken your pictures, a photo-editing
  program will allow you to alter your images
• Adobe PhotoDeluxe has Extensis Intellifix,
  Auto Brightness, Auto Contrast and Auto
  Sharpen options
• You can manually change the brightness, contrast
  and colour balance, using a preview to see if you
  have got it right

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How bright?
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Selecting only part of a photo

• One way to change a photo is to select only part
  of it to change
• You can select a shaped area, or define your own
  shape
• Once selected, you can make changes to the
  selected area, or even cut it out

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Examples