Foundation Digital Photography – Research Exercise 1

Photoshop management

Complete the following tutorials, to be found in the ‘Tutorials’ folder on the NARC Intranet-

1. basic tone and colour correction tutorial
2. perspective control tutorial
3. lens blur tutorial

Answer the following questions-go to the readings located in the ‘readings’ folder.

1)    What is a megapixel?

A megapixel is a unit of measurement for the number of pixels in a photo. If there are not very many pixels and they are large, the photo will be bad quality. The more mega pixels, the better the photo is. If you blew a photo up and it has lots of mega pixels, the photo would not be as defined but would be still good quality.

2)    How can you compose better images?

Make sure you do your research! Buy a camera that is right for its purpose. For example, will it be for photo shoots or just holiday happy snaps?

The obvious answer for me would be to buy a camera with higher mega pixels, like 8-12, but it’s how the photographer uses the camera also, don’t expect it to produce amazing photos just because it’s a good camera.

3)    How do you avoid camera shake?

Keep the camera steady by resting it on an object. Or use a tripod if you have one.

Only squeeze the shutter button, nothing else. Use a high shutter speed to keep it stable.

4)    How do memory cards work?

A memory card is inserted into the camera and allows you go out anywhere and take numerous amounts of photos and the card will store them so then you can download them onto your computer. Having a few memory card is preferred so if you run out of room, you don’t have to plug it into the computer to download the images to make more room.

5)    Why do you need to be prepared when going on location?

When on location it is essential to be prepared! Make sure your camera is fully charged and you have spare batteries and make sure the camera is on the setting you want. Make sure you have all relevant equipment, i.e Tripod, Flash and memory cards. Otherwise you may make yourself look unprofessional and for example, if you don’t have enough battery, it will die right when you were about to get the perfect shot.

6)    How are images recorded?

Using memory cards and uploaded onto a computer or hard drive.

7)    What is Resolution and how is it recorded? What are the differences in recording for print and for web?

Resolution is the number of pixels that make up a final image. The camera's light sensitive CCD converts the scene into a grid of pixels that make up the end photo.

For print you can have more pixels but with print it is limited.

8)    What are some of the myths about cameras and resolution?

·         More the expensive the camera, the better the pictures

·         Higher pixel count  makes for better image quality

·         Auto mode takes really ordinary photos