Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter: Get Professional Quality Photos with Your Compact Camera

Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter: Get Professional Quality Photos with Your Compact Camera

Released January 2010
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9780470565070

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Book description

Top photographer and Canon Explorer of Light Rick Sammon shares his best tips and tricks for getting high-quality images with your point-and-shoot camera

Prolific author and renowned photographer Rick Sammon shares essential tips, tricks, and advice from years of vast and unique photography experiences. Packed with pointers and helpful hints, this handy, full-color guide can travel with you on your journeys for getting stunning photographs taken with point-and-shoot cameras. You'll learn how to capture proper exposure, create depth of field, use the appropriate flash settings, and much more.

More than 100 techniques show you how to improve your compact camera skills and hundreds of lavish photos serve to motivate and inspire you. Aim your sights at taking stunning photos with this helpful guide by your side!

  • Top industry expert, Canon Explorer of Light, and bestselling author Rick Sammon shares invaluable advice for taking amazing photos with a point-and-shoot camera

  • Explains how to capture proper exposure, create depth of field, use the appropriate flash settings, and more, all using your point-and-shoot camera

  • Boasts hundreds of beautiful photos with accompanying explanations as to the various techniques Sammon used to get a specific shot

  • Motivates and inspires you to improve your compact camera skills to a whole new leve

You'll be grateful for the amazing advice Rick Sammon confesses in Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Preface1
  3. Credits
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Foreword: Full-Featured Compact Digital Cameras
    1. Point-and-Shoot is a Different Category
    2. Megapixels and Sensors
    3. Size as a Choice
    4. Lenses and Focal Lengths
    5. LCD Viewfinder
    6. EVF Viewfinder
    7. Other Factors to Consider
    8. Handing Over Your Camera
  6. Preface: Compact Camera Photo Gallery: Believe It or Not
    1. Believe It: Inspirations for a Compact Shooter
    2. India
    3. Royal Kingdom of Nepal
    4. India
    5. Royal Kingdom of Nepal
    6. Cuba
  7. Introduction: Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter
    1. Confession
    2. Keep It Clean
    3. See the Difference?
    4. Noise
    5. Lens Appeal
    6. Check It Out
    7. Uh Oh ...
    8. The Rescue
    9. Plug In for Fun
    10. Save As ... What?
    11. Compact Shooter's Gear Bag
    12. A Heavier Load
  8. I. Compact Camera, Pro Results
    1. 1.1. People Pictures
    2. 1.2. Animals
    3. 1.3. Landscapes and City Scenes
    4. 1.4. Snow and Nature
    5. 1.5. Pro Studio
    6. 1.6. Tell a Story with Pictures
    7. 1.7. The Answers
  9. II. What Your Compact Camera Can and Can't Do
    1. 2.1. Image Quality
    2. 2.2. Digital Noise Difference
    3. 2.3. Getting Close to a Subject
    4. 2.4. Sunsets—and More on Subject Size
    5. 2.5. Maximum Wide-Angle View
    6. 2.6. Close-ups
    7. 2.7. Action Sequences
    8. 2.8. Shutter Lag
    9. 2.9. More on Shutter Lag
    10. 2.10. Always Ready for Fun
    11. 2.11. On-the-Spot Creativity
    12. 2.12. Know Your Camera
    13. 2.13. Good News!
  10. III. Top Tips for Great Digital Pix
    1. 3.1. An Interesting Subject is Key
    2. 3.2. Go for Good Composition
    3. 3.3. Pick an Interesting Vantage Point
    4. 3.4. Focus on Auto Focusing
    5. 3.5. Fine-Tune Your Exposures
    6. 3.6. Be Aware of the Background
    7. 3.7. See the Light
    8. 3.8. Create a Sense of Depth
    9. 3.9. Control the Light On-Site
    10. 3.10. Check Your Exposures
    11. 3.11. Check Your Camera Settings
    12. 3.12. Watch for Lens Flare
    13. 3.13. Subtle Lens Flare
    14. 3.14. Use Your Radar
    15. 3.15. Dead Center is Deadly
    16. 3.16. See Eye to Eye
    17. 3.17. When You Think You Are Close Enough, Move Closer
    18. 3.18. When You Think You Are Done Shooting, Shoot More
    19. 3.19. Always Look Up, Always Look Down
    20. 3.20. The Name of the Game is to Fill the Frame
    21. 3.21. Don't Forget the Details
    22. 3.22. Frame It
    23. 3.23. Don't Just Stand There
    24. 3.24. Do It In the Digital Darkroom
    25. 3.25. Look for Pictures within a Picture
    26. 3.26. Be Ready for Fun ... and the Not So Fun
    27. 3.27. RAW Rules
    28. 3.28. Make Pictures, Don't Just Take Pictures
    29. 3.29. Always Carry a Camera
    30. 3.30. Don't Get Stuck
    31. 3.31. All Together Now
    32. 3.32. Develop Understanding
  11. IV. Light: The Main Subject in Every Photograph
    1. 4.1. What Our Eyes See vs. What Our Cameras See
    2. 4.2. Scene Brightness and ISO Settings
    3. 4.3. Photographing People Indoors in Low Light
    4. 4.4. Reducing and Increasing the Light
    5. 4.5. More on Increasing the Light
    6. 4.6. Contrast and Outdoor People Pictures
    7. 4.7. Diffuser in Action
    8. 4.8. Contrast in Scenic Pictures
    9. 4.9. The Color of Light
    10. 4.10. The Direction of Light
    11. 4.11. The Quality of Light
    12. 4.12. Finding the Light: Part I
    13. 4.13. Finding the Light: Part II
    14. 4.14. Controlling the Movement of Light
  12. V. Understanding ISO
    1. 5.1. Bright Light and Low Light Settings
    2. 5.2. Digital Noise Degrades Image Quality
    3. 5.3. Set Higher ISO to Stop Action
    4. 5.4. Increase ISO to Stop Your Movement
    5. 5.5. Lower ISO to Blur Subject Movement
  13. VI. Get the Best Image Quality: RAW and JPEG
    1. 6.1. When RAW Rules
    2. 6.2. When JPEGs are Okay
    3. 6.3. Settings for JPEG Image Quality/Compression
    4. 6.4. The Importance of Seeing the Light
    5. 6.5. RAW Really Rules with Panoramas
  14. VII. A Case for White Balance
    1. 7.1. Individual White Balance Settings
    2. 7.2. Auto White Balance
    3. 7.3. When White Balance Goes Wrong
    4. 7.4. When the Wrong White Balance Can Actually be Right
    5. 7.5. Correcting White Balance in Camera RAW
  15. VIII. Flash Settings: On, Off and Partial
    1. 8.1. Sunny Day Flash Shots
    2. 8.2. Fill Flash Outdoors in the Shade
    3. 8.3. Add Just a Touch of Flash
    4. 8.4. When Flash May Not Be Good
    5. 8.5. Adding an Accessory Flash
  16. IX. The Zoom Lens Advantage
    1. 9.1. Closer or Wider, It's Your Choice
    2. 9.2. Compose Creatively
    3. 9.3. Blur the Background
    4. 9.4. Blur the Background by Changing Position
    5. 9.5. Cool Close-Ups
  17. X. Setting the Mode
    1. 10.1. Fully Automatic Picture/Exposure Modes
    2. 10.2. Full Auto Mode
    3. 10.3. Portrait Mode
    4. 10.4. Sports Mode
    5. 10.5. Landscape Mode
    6. 10.6. Close-up Mode
    7. 10.7. Night Portrait Mode
    8. 10.8. Flash-Off Mode
    9. 10.9. Creative Exposure Modes
    10. 10.10. Program Mode
    11. 10.11. Shutter-Priority (Tv) Mode
    12. 10.12. Aperture-Priority (Av) Mode
    13. 10.13. Manual Exposure (M) Mode
    14. 10.14. Exposure Bracketing
    15. 10.15. Metering Modes
    16. 10.16. Average
    17. 10.17. Center-weighted Average Metering
    18. 10.18. Spot Metering
    19. 10.19. Focus Modes
    20. 10.20. One-Shot
    21. 10.21. Focus Lock
    22. 10.22. Focusing Tracking
    23. 10.23. Manual
    24. 10.24. Drive Modes
    25. 10.25. Single Frame Advance
    26. 10.26. Rapid Frame Advance
    27. 10.27. Self-Timer
  18. XI. The Wonders of Infrared Imaging
    1. 11.1. From Drab to Fab
    2. 11.2. Black-and-White IR
    3. 11.3. Have Fun with Filters, Too!
    4. 11.4. Seeing in IR
    5. 11.5. Panos in IR
  19. XII. Photoshop Elements Confessions
    1. 12.1. #1: Quick Look at the Quick Mode
    2. 12.2. #2: The Full Mode is Full-Featured
    3. 12.3. #3: Save a Copy
    4. 12.4. #4: Crop Creatively
    5. 12.5. #5: Love Those Adjustment Layers
    6. 12.6. #6: The Touch of a Brush
    7. 12.7. #7: A Look at Levels
    8. 12.8. #8: Brightness/Contrast Basics
    9. 12.9. #9: See What Hue/Saturation Can Do For You
    10. 12.10. #10: The Super Shadow/Highlight Control
    11. 12.11. #11 : Select Your Selections Carefully
    12. 12.12. #12 : Do It with the Dodge/Burn/Sponge Tool
    13. 12.13. #13 : Resize the Right Way
    14. 12.14. #14 : Check-Out Canvas Size
    15. 12.15. #15 : Heal with the Spot Healing Brush
    16. 12.16. #16 : Copy and Fix with the Clone Stamp Tool
    17. 12.17. #17: Wow 'em with Black-and-White Images
    18. 12.18. #18 : Have Fun with Effects
    19. 12.19. #19 : Play With Plug-ins
    20. 12.20. #20: Sharpen As The Final Step
    21. 12.21. #21: Reward of RAW Files
  20. XIII. Expand Your Vision with HDR Imaging
    1. 13.1. Take at Least Three Shots
    2. 13.2. Generate HDR
    3. 13.3. Do It with Details Enhancer
    4. 13.4. The Fun Never Stops
    5. 13.5. Take HDR Inside, Too
  21. XIV. Shooting Panoramas
    1. 14.1. Getting Started
    2. 14.2. Pano from Adobe Bridge
    3. 14.3. Shoot Verticals
    4. 14.4. More Fun Awaits You
    5. 14.5. Expect Surprises, Too
    6. 14.6. A Truly Amazing Match
    7. 14.7. Shooting Panos in a Tight Spot
    8. 14.8. Experiment with Layouts
    9. 14.9. Expect to Crop
  22. XV. HDR + Panos = Way-Cool Imaging Fun
    1. 15.1. Shooting for an HDR Pano
    2. 15.2. Generate an HDR Image for Each Set of Images
    3. 15.3. Enter Photoshop Elements
    4. 15.4. Play in Photoshop Elements
  23. XVI. Make a Better Print
    1. 16.1. Shoot It Right
    2. 16.2. Calibrate Your Monitor
    3. 16.3. Adjust Your Photo
    4. 16.4. Size your Photo for Printing
    5. 16.5. Sharpen your Photo
    6. 16.6. Working with the Printer
    7. 16.7. Test Your Print

Product information

  • Title: Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter: Get Professional Quality Photos with Your Compact Camera
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: January 2010
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470565070