Digital Photography

For beginners
Week 5

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In this session:

! Construc<ve Cri<que
! Manual & Auto Focus
! Focal lengths
! Field of View & Perspec<ve
! The correct Lens
! Zoom & Zooming techniques
! Assignment 5

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Manual & Auto focusing

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Single Shot Mode
First o, you have the mode thats probably been around the longest Canons One
Shot and Nikons AF-S. Both of these will do preXy much the same thing. This mode is
predominantly used for sta<onary objects like model shoots (most of the <me more
on when not to use it for model shoots later) and anything that doesnt require your
subject to move around too much in the frame. You half press the shuXer in this mode,
and then you can recompose the image. For example, you focus on the models eyes,
then recompose to put her on the le^ hand side of the image, (see Focus &
Recompose later). This autofocus mode will get you through most situa<ons.

Ac<ve or Con<nuous Focus Modes

Next we have the step up from the single focus to Canons AI Servo, and Nikons AF-C
modes. Essen<ally what this seang does is to con<nuously track your ini<al focus
point and readjust the focus accordingly. This seang is ideal for moving subjects like
ac<ve children, and pets that are constantly on the move.

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Auto Modes
Finally out of the autofocus seangs we have Canons AI Focus, and Nikons AF-A. Both
of these seangs actually leave it up to the camera to decide which is best out of the
other two focusing modes to use. In this mode it will either choose to con<nuously
track your chosen subject should it decide to move, or focus lock if you would like to
recompose. In theory, then I neednt of bothered explaining the other two seangs as
surely this is the best of both worlds? Not quite. I personally have tested this mode a
fair amount with stop-start subjects and although the camera does a good job of
keeping up with them its always more accurate to use con<nuous focus mode. The
same also goes for its ability to determine when a subject has stopped and when to
focus lock for recomposing. Personally I never use this mode as although it has the best
of both, it also has the worst of both.

So, although I have just covered the three basic seangs here very briey, there is, of
course, a whole of host other technological advancements in autofocus that I havent
covered. I know Nikon has extensive, matrix and 3D autofocusing features. As well most
modern DSLR have incorporated the back buXon autofocus which also helps with
focus locking.

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Manual Focus Mode
The last focus mode I wanted to cover and one that is rarely used is the Manual
focus mode. This mode strikes fear into the heart of nearly all modern
photographers and thats simply because theyve probably never used it. Do you
ever need to use it? That is something that only you can decide and is probably
based on the type of photographs you take. If you only ever take portraits of
energe<c kids or fast paced sports, then autofocus is probably always your go-to
mode. If however you shoot s<ll life, architecture, landscapes and other detailed,
rela<vely mo<onless subjects, then manual focus is probably a good way to go.

There are a few reasons for this. Landscape photographers will want to nd the
hyper-focal distance of their scene to maximise the amount of in-focus points
(depth of eld) in the image. This is based on an equa<on so autofocusing on a
specic object is not always the way to go. S<ll life photographers will usually have
their camera locked-down on a tripod so they will not want to focus and
recompose once theyve set up the shot, so its just far easier to focus manually.
There is also another reason to want to use manual mode on some cameras and
certain situa<ons.

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 The diagram on the le^ clearly
illustrates whats actually going on
when you recompose an image a^er
focusing in autofocus mode. The
actual part of the image that was in
focus, is now out of focus.

This isnt normally a no<ceable

problem when recomposing at f/16,
but at f/1.8 that drama<c shi^ in the
focal plane means the resul<ng
image is very so^ around the
models eyes.

There arent too many ways around this issue, especially as you may not no<ce it on the
back of the cameras liXle screen. One thing that did resolve it though was by switching
to manual focus. I could then compose my shot and manually focus on the models eyes,
resul<ng in a fantas<cally sharp image where I wanted it to be sharp.

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Understanding the Focus and Recompose Technique
Digital cameras have an array of squares or dots, that you see when you look through
the viewnder, which represent the points at which it is capable of focusing. Put your
subject on top of one of those dots, press the shuXer buXon, and youll get a nice sharp
image.usually.

But, some<mes your camera doesnt light up the right dot, or your subject is out of the
range of the focus points, or you want to select a specic point but you have trouble
moving the buXons, knobs, and dials on your camera fast enough. If this sounds like
you, or if you just want to check out a new way of using your camera, you might want to
try the focus-and-recompose technique.

Focus-and-recompose is a process wherein you select the focus point, o^en just one
single dot or square in your viewnder, and lock focus with a half-press of the shuXer
buXon. Then with a ick of your wrist you physically move your camera back and forth,
or up and down just a bit, in order to recompose your shot will s<ll keeping the focus
where you locked it. It sounds a bit complicated, but once you get used to this technique
it quickly becomes second nature, and is much faster than ddling with buXons and
dials to select a focus point every <me.

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Lenses
Focal Lengths, Field of View
The focal length of the lens is the distance between the lens and the image sensor when
the subject is in focus, usually stated in millimetres (e.g., 28 mm, 50 mm, or 100 mm). In
the case of zoom lenses, both the minimum and maximum focal lengths are stated, for
example 1855 mm.
As focal length changes, the amount of the subject captured by the lens (the viewing
angle) also changes. The shortest focal length, or "ultra wide-angle lenses, range from
14mm to 20mm, and are followed by "wide-angle" lenses from 24mm to 35mm, and
then "standard" lenses from 45 to 70mm, which are similar to the eld of view of the
human eye. Next are "telephoto" lenses reaching up to 300mm, and nally "super
telephoto" lenses covering focal lengths of 300mm and greater, a total of ve groups.
Furthermore, dierent focal lengths also produce varying levels of perspec<ve and depth
of eld, which in turn have a large eect on the image's expression.

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Focal Lengths, Field of View

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Perspec<ve
Perspec<ve refers to the rela<onship of imaged objects in a photograph. This includes
their rela<ve posi<ons and sizes and the space between them. In other words,
perspec<ve in the composi<on of a photograph is the way real three-dimensional
objects are pictured in a photograph that has a two-dimensional plane. In photography,
perspec<ve is another illusion you use to produce photographs of quality composi<on.
When you are taking pictures, the camera always creates perspec<ve. Because a camera
automa<cally produces perspec<ve, many novice photographers believe there is no
need to know much about it. This aatude is far from correct. When you know the
principles of perspec<ve and skilfully apply them, the photographs you produce show a
good rendi<on of the subject's form and shape, and the viewer is given the sensa<on of
volume, space, depth, and distance. Addi<onally, the photographer can manipulate
perspec<ve to change the illusion of space and distance by either expanding or
compressing these factors, therefore providing a sense of scale within the picture.

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Linear Perspec<ve
The human eye judges distance by the way elements within a scene diminish in size, and
the angle at which lines and planes converge. This is called linear perspec<ve. The
distance between camera and subject and the lens focal length are cri<cal factors
aec<ng linear perspec<ve. This perspec<ve changes as the camera posi<on or viewpoint
changes. From a given posi<on, changing only the lens focal length, and not the camera
posi<on, does not change the actual viewpoint, but may change the apparent viewpoint.

The use of dierent focal-length lenses in combina<on with dierent lens-to-subject

distances helps you alter linear perspec<ve in your pictures. When the focal length of the
lens is changed but the lens-to-subject distance remains unchanged, there is a change in
the image size of the objects, but no change in perspec<ve. On the other hand, when the
lens-to-subject distance and lens focal length are both changed, the rela<onship between
objects is altered and perspec<ve is changed. By using the right combina<on of camera-
to-subject distance and lens focal length, a photographer can create a picture that looks
deep or shallow. This feeling of depth or shallowness is only an illusion, but it is an
important composi<onal factor.

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Using a short-focal-length lens from a close camera-to-subject distance, or viewpoint,
produces a picture with greater depth (not to be confused with depth of eld) than
would be produced with a standard lens. Conversely, using a long-focal-length lens from
a more distant viewpoint produces a picture with less apparent depth.

Rec<linear Perspec<ve
Most lenses produce rec<linear perspec<ve that are typical of what the human eye sees.
This is to say that lines that are straight in the subject are reproduced straight in the
picture. Most pictures are made with rec<linear lenses.

Fisheye lenses and the lenses used on panoramic cameras produce a false perspec<ve. A
panoramic lens produces panoramic or cylindrical perspec<ve. In other words, all
straight horizontal lines at the lens axis level are recorded as straight lines, and all other
straight horizontal lines either above or below the lens axis level are reproduced as
curved lines. The other false perspec<ve is produced by a sheye lens in which all
straight lines in the subject are imaged as curved lines toward the edges of the picture.

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Vanishing Point Perspec<ve
In vision, lines that are parallel to each other give the sensa<on of mee<ng at vanishing
points. When parallel lines, either horizontal or ver<cal, are perpendicular to the lens
axis, the vanishing points are assumed to be at innity. Other lines, those which are
parallel to the lens axis, and all other parallel lines at all other angles to the lens axis
meet at denable vanishing points. Thus lines that are parallel to the lens axis, or nearly
parallel, start in the front of the picture and meet at vanishing points within the picture
or at nite points outside the picture.

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Fast vs Slow Lenses
Lenses are marked with their maximum aperture seang. Short focal length prime lenses
typically have maximum apertures of f/1.4, f/1.8 or f/2 while telephoto lens are more
likely to have maximum aperture seangs of f/2.8, f/4 or even f/5.6.

High-end, expensive zoom lenses are able to maintain the same maximum aperture
seang throughout their focal length range. Less expensive zoom lenses, however, have a
variable maximum aperture seangs.

The kit lenses sold with many DSLRs and compact system cameras o^en have a
maximum aperture of f/3.5-5.6.

This means that at the widest seang the aperture can be opened up as far as f/3.5,
while at the longest telephoto point the maximum aperture is f/5.6.

If you set the lens to f/3.5 at the widest point and zoom in, the aperture changes to f/5.6
by the <me you reach the longest point.

Long lenses with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or greater and shorter lenses with
apertures of f/2 or f/1.8 are o^en referred to as 'fast' lenses.

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This is because they allow more light through than their slower counterparts with
smaller maximum apertures, and this enables faster shuXer speeds to be used.

Fast telephoto lenses are therefore very popular with professional sports photographers
because the long focal length allows <ght framing of the distant subject while the wide
maximum aperture enables movement-freezing shuXer speeds to be used.

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM AF: This

second genera<on upgrade of Sigmas acclaimed
fast telephoto zoom incorporates Sigmas advanced
an<-shake system (OS), 2 FLD and three SLD glass
elements for op<mum image quality and colour
correc<on, any<me manual focus, a minimum
focusing distance of 55.1 inches (1:8 max. mag.
ra<o) and a 9-bladed diaphragm for beau<ful
bokeh. Its also more compact than its predecessor,
measuring only 7.8 inches in length. Price:
1,149.00 with kit in Nikon F and Sony Alpha
mount.

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Stabilisa<on
Some lenses have an element inside them that can move to compensate for those
accidental movements that are made when we hand-hold a camera.

In some cases this stabilisa<on system has several seangs; there maybe one that restricts
the correc<on to ver<cal movements, for example, which is useful when panning to follow
a moving subject.

Some image stabilisa<on systems can also be set to only ac<vate when the shuXer release
is fully depressed to take a shot.

This means that the view through the viewnder isn't stabilised as it would be normally,
but the range of correc<on available at the <me of capture is greater, poten<ally making it
more eec<ve.

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Prime Lenses
In lm and photography, a prime lens is either a photographic lens whose focal length is
xed, as opposed to a zoom lens, or it is the primary lens in a combina<on lens system.

Confusion can some<mes result due to the two meanings of the term if the context does
not make the interpreta<on clear. Alterna<ve terms primary focal length, xed focal
length, and FFL are some<mes used to avoid ambiguity.

Many lens manufacturers produce or produced

prime lenses at or near the following focal
lengths: 20 mm, 24 mm, 28 mm, 35 mm, 40
mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, 105 mm, 135 mm, 200
mm, 300 mm, 400 mm, and 600 mm. For these
lengths many manufacturers produce two or
more lenses with the same focal length but with
dierent maximum apertures to suit the
dierent needs of photographers. Addi<onal
focal lengths can be created by using a
teleconverter.

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The Correct lens for the shot?
14mm
Wildlife
20mm Portraiture
24mm
35mm Street & Documentary
50mm
70mm
135mm Sports
Architecture
200mm
400mm Fashion
600mm Landscape

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Zoom & Zooming Techniques
A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length (and
thus angle of view) can be varied, as opposed to a xed focal length (FFL) lens (prime
lens).

A true zoom lens, also called a parfocal lens, is one that maintains focus when its focal
length changes. A lens that loses focus during zooming is more properly called a varifocal
lens. Despite being marketed as zoom lenses, virtually all consumer lenses with variable
focal lengths use varifocal design.

The convenience of variable focal length comes at the cost of complexity - and some
compromises on image quality, weight, dimensions, aperture, autofocus performance,
and cost. For example, all zoom lenses suer from at least slight, if not considerable, loss
of image resolu<on at their maximum aperture, especially at the extremes of their focal
length range. This eect is evident in the corners of the image, when displayed in a large
format or high resolu<on. The greater the range of focal length a zoom lens oers, the
more exaggerated these compromises must become.

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Zoom Burst
A zoom burst, or zoom blur, is a fantas<c photographic eect which is simple, fun and
easy to achieve. It involves zooming in or out while you take a photo, causing the shot to
blur from the centre outwards, as if the scene is burs<ng towards you.

You can use a zoom burst to add movement and ac<on to your photos, and to give them
an abstract quality.

How to take a Zoom Burst photo

You dont need any fancy equipment to get started with zoom bursts - just a DSLR with a
zoom lens and an op<onal tripod.

Start by moun<ng your camera on your tripod. Well be using a long shuXer speed so
this will help keep the blurry lines straight. If you dont have a tripod you can stand your
camera on a wall or lean against a tree. You can even hand-hold your camera if you dont
mind a slightly wobbly feel to your photo - this can actually look really good, so give it a
go.

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Select shuXer priority mode and choose a shuXer speed of around 1 to 4 seconds. Zoom
fully in and focus on your subject. If your camera allows it, lock the focus and exposure
at this point, so you know theyll be correct when the subject is lling the frame.

Now zoom right out to the widest angle you want to capture. Press the shuXer buXon
and zoom in un<l the subject lls the frame again. Try to zoom as smoothly as possible,
maintaining a constant speed throughout and nishing just before the end of your
exposure.

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Assignment 5
Documentary
Documentary Photography is a narra<ve or story being told through photographs that involves
real events to provide a factual record or report (and some<mes this is complimented with
text). Portraiture, social documentary, documentary landscape, photojournalism, live events,
street photography, self portraiture, sports photography, forms of iden<ca<on, editorial and
many more
For this assignment you are required to document an event of some kind, be it something
simple as a ower dying in a vase or covering an event such as, a demonstra<on, Birthday Party
or something news worthy.

You need to take between 5 & 7 images, each of your documentarys must have a Beginning a
Middle and an End.

Nos are: Candles Burning Down or Matches, Making Breakfast and ea<ng it, or, Making Cakes.
You have 2 weeks to complete this assignment as next week is half term.

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