Digital Photography in Available Light: Essential Skills, 3rd Edition

Book description

Digital Photography in Available Light is an inspirational guide as well as a structured learning tool for mastering the essential techniques. Learn how to choose the most appropriate digital camera for your workflow, manage your image files and process images using camera RAW. Try key capture techniques including exposure, framing the image and how to work with the available light in all situations. Explore different styles: panoramas, landscapes, environmental portraits and photo journalism. Understand ethics and law, how to plan a shoot and sell your work. Throughout you’ll learn the importance of image design, communication of content and essential techniques for competent and consistent image capture and creation. Includes a full glossary of terms.

* Everything you need to know to photograph in available light using a digital camera
* Learn all the essential skills and try out the invaluable activities and assignments
* Covers the whole workflow, including choosing a camera, asset management and camera RAW, shooting techniques, ethics and law and selling your work

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Full Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Contents
  6. Foreword
  7. Introduction
  8. Digital Cameras
    1. Introduction
    2. Megapixels
    3. The need for speed
    4. Prosumer digicams — closing the gap?
    5. Choosing a system
    6. Check list overview
  9. Asset Management
    1. Digital asset management
    2. Workflow sequence
    3. Conclusion
  10. Exposure
    1. Introduction
    2. Intensity and duration
    3. TTL light meters
    4. Interpreting the meter reading
    5. Reading exposure levels
  11. Camera RAW
    1. Introduction
    2. Processing RAW data
    3. Processing activity
    4. White balance
    5. Tonal adjustments
    6. Noise reduction and sharpening
    7. Choosing a bit depth
    8. Choosing a color space
    9. Save or open
    10. Additional information
  12. Framing the Image
    1. Introduction
    2. Communication and context
    3. Format
    4. Content
    5. Balance
    6. Subject placement
    7. The decisive moment
    8. Vantage point
    9. Line
    10. Depth
    11. Summary of basic design techniques
  13. Creative Controls
    1. Introduction
    2. Focus
    3. Duration of exposure
    4. A creative decision
    5. Perspective
    6. Summary of basic camera techniques
  14. Light
    1. Introduction
    2. Light source
    3. Intensity
    4. Quality
    5. Color
    6. Direction
    7. Contrast
    8. Exposure compensation
    9. Filtration
  15. Lighting on Location
    1. Introduction
    2. Fill
    3. Reflectors
    4. Flash
    5. Choice of flash
    6. Guide numbers
    7. Flash as the primary light source
    8. Diffusion and bounce
    9. Fill-flash
    10. Flash as a key light
    11. Slow-sync flash
  16. Post-production Editing
    1. Overview
    2. Sequential editing
    3. Stage 1 — Global adjustments
    4. Stage 2 — Local adjustments
    5. Stage 3 — Final adjustments
    6. Converting images to black and white
    7. Advanced tone control — part a
    8. Advanced tone control — part b
  17. Panoramic Photographs
    1. Introduction
    2. Core steps in creating panoramas
    3. Shooting panoramas
    4. Producing panoramas
  18. Landscape
    1. Introduction
    2. History
    3. Personal expression
    4. Expressive techniques
    5. Detail
    6. Night photography
    7. The constructed environment
    8. Assignments
  19. Environmental Portraits
    1. Introduction
    2. Design
    3. Revealing character
    4. Connecting with new people
    5. Directing the subject
    6. Character study
    7. Assignments
  20. The Photographic Essay
    1. Introduction
    2. Visual communication
    3. Capturing a story
    4. Working styles
    5. Editing a story
    6. Ethics and law
    7. Distribution and sale of photo-essays
    8. Assignments
  21. Glossary
  22. Index

Product information

  • Title: Digital Photography in Available Light: Essential Skills, 3rd Edition
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: April 2006
  • Publisher(s): Focal Press
  • ISBN: 9781136105654