Basics of Non-Auto Photography

Whether you are using one of the cheapest Point and Shoot cameras available, or you have sprung hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for an expensive SLR (we'll cover the difference later) the basic concepts of how your camera is working are still the same.

 Once you know these basics and have control over these three components of a properly exposed image, you can use this knowledge to create great images in a wide variety of lighting, and not just when your camera happens to guess correctly how you want your photo to work.

In photography, the three main technical components affecting image exposure, depth of field and a whole slew of other really important things are  Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO.  We cover the Terrible Trio in class, but each of these three vital components to photography deserves more time and attention than we can give in class, and so this series, Basics of Non-Auto Photography, we will spend a little time exploring each of these, and hopefully remind you that you are smarter than your camera and you have to tell it what to do. 

So grab your camera and manual, get ready to spin some dials away from Auto, and learn to harness the technology at your fingertips.

Looking for Volunteer Models

Whether you are an aspiring model, need a new head shot for your business website or simply need to send a new photo of yourself to your Grandma- we need your help for the upcoming session of Beginning Portrait Photography scheduled for Tuesday evenings this May. 

These portraits will take place in and around the Fridley Community Center, with an additional day of Saturday, May 21st on schedule for a longer session taking place at a different location, TBD. 

All models would be volunteering their time, but would receive digital files of images taken and edited by students and myself as the instructor of the class.  The purpose of this is to allow students to practice directing portrait subjects and to photograph the broadest range of poses and people.

Everyone is welcome-- if you think that you look and can pose like a supermodel that is great, but I am also looking for a broader range of subjects, such as babies and children (with full parental supervision of course) average adults and seniors.  Please contact Carrie Weston if you are interested and I can give you more information regarding locations and times as well as forwarding you a Model Release.

Don't worry if this is your first time doing this-- it is my student's first time too!

Welcome Students!

Welcome Fridley Comunity Ed Photography students!

Here you will find supplemental readings on topics that I only have a brief time to cover in class as well as information on upcoming class sessions, samples of photographs taken in class, and any important announcements. 

I am so happy that you are interested in learning more about what makes your camera tick, and want to learn to capture better images of your family, friends and the world around you!

Internet Resources for Photography Students- Week One

Camera Settings:

Adorama's Comprehensive List of Creative Settings in a wide variety of cameras.


Shutter Speed:

A pretty good article on shutter speed.  As one of the easiest to understand aspects of camera usage, there are less really great articles that make shutter speed intriguing, but this one does a good basic job.

Aperture:

Digital Photography School's excellent article on aperture.
Another Digital Photography School article, specifically focusing on shallow depth of field in portraits.

Photography Groups:
Flickr has a wide variety of groups, and you can select one that meets your interest.  Some groups may be focused for more experienced photographers, but there are plenty of groups focused on beginning photographers, such as this one that talks about child photography.