Digital Beginnings

Camera Craft | Duration: 4 weeks | Session: 25 June - 5 July 2008

Setting aside your film camera for a new digital model can be an exhilarating process. We'll help make it so by first covering - or refreshing - the basics of the photographic process - controlling light, creating pleasing compositions and anticipating that all-illusive, defining moment, where everything comes together in a powerful way. That accomplished, this course will guide you through capturing your work on digital media, down-loading your pictures to the computer, toning your photographs to perfection and transferring them to your hard-drive for safe storage and future retrieval. As enjoyable as it is practical and valuable, this digital "jump-start" will have you shooting stunning images the digital way in no time flat. In fact - you may never touch another roll of film again!

View from Above

Specifically designed for newcomers to digital photography and for those who could use a "refresher" along the way.
Learn exposure, focusing and depth-of-field - and to shoot using those scary dials.
Learn to transfer your images from camera to computer and to make final enhancing adjustments using your photo-processing software.
Learn to size, store and archive your work safely and conveniently.

Toolbox Needs

A digital SLR camera with aperture- and shutter-priory modes and manual is recommended. Alternatively, a compact camera (e.g. point-and-shoot) will work if it has manual functions.
Recommended, too, to have your camera handbook at hand, as some cameras vary slightly in their operation.
Computer/ laptop and photo-processing software.

Heidiphoto

Heidi Laughton (view profile)

Course Outline

Week 1: What Makes a Good Picture?
Composition, Light, focus, depth-of-field, colour, sense of moment. We’ll take a look at some examples of great photos and decide which elements made them work so well? Inspiration to get creativity flowing. Exposure: what is it, and how do I get it?

Week 2: All the Digital Camera Basics
Loading your camera with batteries & flash card. Formatting the flash card. Menu options and setting the file quality and size. What is the ISO and how does it affect the picture? Using aperture priority and focus points.

Week 3: Working with Shutter Speed and Manual Settings
Try some panning? When to use a Tripod. White balance. How to hold focus, exposure and how to bracket.

Week 4: Editing and Transferring Your Work to Computer
A brief look at using software to store and manipulate images. Saving to disc and bringing it all back again - with pixel-perfect quality.