The Technical Aspects of Photography
posted on 15th of april, 2010
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1. You can have the latest and greatest product of any technology but what good is it if you don't know how to operate or use it?
2. The vast majority of today's equipment still functions on the basis of (very) old and well-known principles.
So, these are the pillar statements of this article. Now, let's apply them to what brought you here (ie. the drive to create photographs and make money form them and spend those money...).
As much as has changed in photography over the past centuries (here's some history for you), today's photographs remain a mere recording of light's reflections in the world around us. We use the aperture, shutter speed and the sensitivity of the recording media to capture a frame in a way we want to. How these are combined pretty much makes or breaks a scene. This is why understanding them is crucial.
You can have the final photo in your mind but if you don't have the theory and practice to make it happen, then what good is it?
A few links that contain the (very basic) explanations of the technical aspects of photography:
Aperture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture
Shutter speed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutter_speed
Film speed/ ISO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_speed
You could also utilize DPReview's brief glossary for these and many other terms used in today's photography.
Why am I writing this blog? Well, I've come to the conclusion that a good number of users would benefit from it. Because technology has become so available to everyone, many people have it at their disposal before learning (about) how to use or utilize it (fully), before having the necessary (basic) theory. That's all fine, but I find it important to eventually go back and learn the basics. This way you know why this or that changes when you flip this switch or click that button.
May this also be a reminder that should you get a camera of a higher class than what you've used so far, you probably should spend the one or two hours necessary to carefully go through the manual. It will pay off. :)
Lastly, let's make this a learning experience for everyone. In the comments, do post your quality sources of technical information, good tutorials of working with the basics, etc. I'll start off by posting a link to a series of very good brief movies/previews on techniques and theory: http://www.youtube.com/user/GreatPhotographyTips. The Strobist Lighting 101 articles are also a good place to visit if you plan on improving your lighting.
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Tags: information technical theory
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Comments (9)
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Thanks for sharing!
- posted by
Jianbinglee
on May 13, 2010 |
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Thats some good and useful tips. We may have an eye for the details, but sometimes having the right equipment does help.
- posted by
Joezachs
on April 29, 2010 |
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Thanks for sharing Petar, and thanks you all for the useful comments and links!
- posted by
Stefaniav
on April 16, 2010 |
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Hi Petar, thanks for the information. I personely learnt a lot of the books of Scott Kelby and I am still learning.
- posted by
Antoinettew
on April 16, 2010 |
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Thanks for sharing Petar. I've found this site here Digital Photography School to be full of useful information. There's photo tips and tutorials, and info on equipment and post production. There's also a community forum for any questions anyone may have. This is another site I have found recently SLR Photography Guide I've also found a lot of good photoshop tutorials and interesting information on facebook. There are a lot of great fan pages on facebook that share step by step tutorials on all areas of photography. Cheers Carol :)
- posted by
Wildmac
on April 15, 2010 |
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Thanks Goldution for sharing this site also! I shared it on my FaceBook :)
- posted by
Mani33
on April 15, 2010 |
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Hi, Peter, and hi, all :)
I personally like THIS LINK where browsing through pages, you learn basics about lighting technics. Easy to follow step by step tutorial with pictures of (home) studio equipment set-up etc.
- posted by
Goldution
on April 15, 2010 |
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Thanks for gathering all these information & sharing them! :)
- posted by
Mani33
on April 15, 2010 |
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Thanks for sharing... good info
- posted by
Egomezta
on April 15, 2010 |
Comments (9) |
This article has been read 3932 times. 10 readers have found this article useful.
Photo credits: Petar Neychev. |
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Petar Neychev
(Petarneychev)
Sliedrecht, NL
>I am a photographer based in Europe. My work includes lifestyle, wedding, portraiture, commercial images, as well as still-life . I gladly photograph Christian, charity or other aid events or projects free of charge. For more information or if you want to see my extended portfolio, please, visit my website.
Since April 2007 I'm a member of Dreamstime's remote image editors team.
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Email us | Phone: +1 615-771-5611
