Digital Photography Basics

The key to better images is understanding and mastering the digital photography basic concepts.

New to learning photography or in need to understand the digital photography basics ? Just got a new camera? Maybe you just want to brush up on your theory. Then you have come to the right place...

People take photographs for many different reasons.

Some are drawn to photography because it is a quick and convenient way to capture special moments.

Others shoot for the enjoyment and artistic expression a photograph offers.

Some make their living with photography, shooting different subjects.

         

Others are attracted by the equipment and technology itself.

All of them though are in search of taking better pictures.

The solution to a better photo is rarely in just getting a new
camera or better equipment. The secret lies in getting a little
technical guidance and help with the photographic technique.

If you are just beginning in photography, it is inevitable that you will come across terms you have never heard before. Grasping the technical jargon can feel daunting at the beginning and can intimidate you, thus concepts that are quite simple can appear incredibly complex. Rest assured that we will do our best to explain the jargon here in an easy to understand way so this does not happen to you but be prepared to learn some new words.

So Where Do We Start ?

Photography is often referred to as "the art of painting with light". Since light is the foundation block of photography, discovering its basic features and how light is made to form images is the best place for us to begin on our journey to better photographs. The outcome we want to achieve with this exploration is to understand and master how to control light .

Having these skills will allow us to combine them together with different composition and subject techniques to improve our photography. After that is all figured out, we will move to evaluating the right camera and lens choice.

To get better result from your digital camera, it is essential
to understand traditional photography controls, such as
exposure and focus options.

The exposure level controls the tonal and colour quality of an image - how light or dark an image is. It can be used as a tool to give emphasis in an image or help its interpretation. The exposure of an image is determined by a combination of the aperture opening and the shutter speed settings of the camera.

What did I tell you - you will come across technical terms... but do not panic, we do explain them in an easy to understand way in the Digital Photography Basics section.

One of the easiest way for a photographer to compose an image is to control which portion of the image will be in focus. The area in the picture that appears in focus from foreground to background is also called depth of field and is controlled by a combination of the aperture opening and the focal length of the lens. Limiting the depth of field of an image can help , for example eliminate clutter in the background and bring the attention of the viewer on a subject that is chosen to be in focus.

Understanding the basics of these important camera controls is key before we can use them creatively to make better images. So let's explore the digital photography basics in more detail here in the following order...

Light

Focal Length of a Lens

Exposure

Aperture

Shutter and Shutter Speed

Depth of Field

When dealing with digital photography, it is also important to master digital-only features such as white balance, image resolution, and image file formats.

For those of you interested in discovering the history of photography, you can explore how it all began and the key milestones by reviewing the timeline of the history of photography .

More recently, photography has undergone a massive change with respect to how images are recorded marking the beginning of digital photography. The new technologies are allowing us to capture the image not on film but with the help of small electronic sensors onto a digital file. We will explore the advantages of the digital vs film photography which might be useful for those of you still not convinced with the digital photography.

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