DIGITAL+PHOTOGRAPHY

1. Shooting pics and camera settings
This link gives a great overview of camera settings: http://www.photonhead.com/beginners/cameramodes.php

This video demonstrates how to get set up: media type="custom" key="20622677"

[|Click here] to visit a fun animated website that illustrates the relationship between ISO, aperature and shutter speed

To read in depth about exposure and camera settings you can visit the link below: http://www.photoxels.com/fundamentals.html

[|CLICK HERE] to get a good explanation of the what and how of ISO settings.

Aspects of a good photo: 1. tack sharp focus=steady camera and correct settings for the light available. 2. good design (placement of focal point) and good contrast (pure whites and blacks) Click here to see examples. 3. content: is moving, tells a story, etc.

2. Upload pics
To your hard drive: 1. Connect the camera 2. Turn on the power 3. Set to playback mode (not picture taking mode) 4. Go to "My Computer" on your PC 5. Click on E: drive: camera or other external storage device 6. Select which pics to import 7. Click the "get pictures" command in the left navigation pane 8. Pictures will be saved by default into your "My Pictures" folder on your hard drive, or you can make a new folder, name it and place it wherever you want, e.g., My Desktop.

You can also use any of the following, or any others, to store you photos online. This is a nice backup option in case your computer crashes or is otherwise damaged. Some have photo editors included:

https://www.google.com/intl/en/+/learnmore/index.html http://photobucket.com/ http://www.keepandshare.com/htm/free_photo_sharing.php http://www.shutterfly.com/upload-pictures/?escFlag=1 http://www.snapfish.com/snapfish/uploadphotos http://www.flickr.com/ http://imageshack.us/ http://tinypic.com/ http://www.postimage.org/

This is an album I made in Photobucket to experiment with their editing options: http://s1075.photobucket.com/albums/w439/Catherine_Cain/

3. Editing/manipulating photos
To see a list of web-based photo editing tools click the following link: http://marianweb2tools.wikispaces.com/Photo+%26+Video+Editing+Tools 1. For our practice today, right click the swan photo above and save it to your "My Pictures" folder in your Home Directory on our district server. 2. Rename the photo as you save it, this is an important habit to help you organize. 3. Open[| pixlr], a free online photo editor that functions like Photoshop, and upload your swan photo ** OR ** create a [|Photobucket] account. Here you will use the same tools available in pixlr, but can edit, store, organize and share photos (and videos) for free. 4. Follow my demo and then repeat it. If you need reminders see the link above to practice adjusting levels, sharpening and cropping. 5. Then resave the new image back into your Home Directory with a new name, or use one of the web-based photo hosting sites like photobucket, snapfish, shutterfly or flickr.

4. Saving, file types
Shoot the largest possible file, to give yourself the most freedom when editing. This will be either RAW, or the highest number of megapixels you can select in your settings. When you're sure you're happy with the image after editing, resave it as a jpeg. I still use a high resolution setting, so the image doesn't pixelate when I enlarge it or print it out. If you want to use the pic for a profile image in a website like facebook for example, they set limits on the size. You can duplicate the photo and crop out a tiny part, like just your face and that may work. Or you can duplicate the photo and then resave it on the lowest resolution to reduce the number of pixels and allow you to use a bigger portion of it. I always keep the original large file that I shot, unedited, and then the largest file after editing. That way I can use the pic later in a different way if I want.

5. Sorting and organizing
[|Facebook] [|MySpace] [|PhotoBucket] [|Flickr] [|Picasa] [|Snapfish] [|Shutterfly] [|Phanfare] [|Smugmug] [|Google+] [|Keepandshare] [] [] []

Choose an online storage site from the list above and back up your photos there. I name my faves so they are easy to identify. I also use thumbnails rather than file names for ease in sorting. You can use sites like Photobucket for both editing and storage to keep things simple. I like [|Flickr] because it allows you to create sets and share easily. It also has options for making your photos public or not, and for browsing the public photos of others. Flickr has lots of very high end photography so it's very inspiring, and in many cases you can comment on photos and find out more about the artist or equipment used, etc.

6. Showing off
You can create slideshows of your pics in any video editing program and add commentary or music. Or you can use websites like [|Flickr], Photobucket and Slide to create slideshows easily. The options are very different so you should browse through them and find a favorite.

To get beyond the basics above, there are tons of "how to" blogs and tutorials online that you can google and read forever. I also created a wiki to teach an online photography class that isn't complete but has some excellent resources: http://ccaindigitalphotoclass.wikispaces.com/home