Computer Science E-7: Exposing Digital Photography

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You may find some of the following resources useful in your exploration of digital photography.

Getting Started

There is a lot of software that helps you organize your photos. If you are just getting started, we recommend the following software and tutorials to help you get your photos onto your computer. From there, you can submit them as part of a homework assignment, send them to your friends and family, print them, or just post them online to share with the world!

• Picassa for Windows is free photo management software by Google. Once you have downloaded and installed the software, you may want to take a look at their Getting Started Guide.
• iPhoto is part of the iLife suite by Apple for Macintosh computers. Some version should already be installed on your Mac. When you are ready, take a look at Apple's iPhoto video tutorials to get going.
• Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS X: tutorials for downloading pictures from a digital camera.

Camera Reviews

• DPReview: Contains in-depth reviews of many cameras.
• Imaging Resource: "Find the Best Camera For You" may assist you in picking a camera.

Color

• Color management and color science: "Obtaining predictable color reproduction in the digital darkroom can be a challenge because each device-- digital camera, scanner, monitor, or printer-- responds to or produces color differently. If you limit your operations to your own well-characterized equipment and follow the procedures outlined in Monitor calibration and Printer calibration, you can get reasonably good results without color management. (The operating system performs a certain amount covertly, in the background.) But you may want to go further-- to push the envelope."
• Overview of Color Management: "'Color management' is a process where the color characteristics for every device in the imaging chain is known precisely and utilized to better predict and control color reproduction. For digital photography, this imaging chain usually starts with the camera and concludes with the final print, and may include a display device in between."
• Web Browser Color Management Tutorial: "This on-line demonstration and troubleshooting guide in a color managed web browser is a simple and clear explanation to learn technical information about why how digital color management works - it may be worth your time now to find and load a color-managed browser and study this color evaluation tutorial until my basic points are fully understood."
• Working Space Comparison: sRGB vs Adobe RGB 1998: "Adobe RGB 1998 and sRGB IEC61966-2.1 (sRGB) are two of the most common working spaces used in digital photography. This section aims to clear up some of the confusion associated with sRGB and Adobe RGB 1998, and to provide guidance on when to use each working space."

Composition

Although not discussed in great detail in class, some basic composition knowledge is certainly helpful to get your photos noticed. Remember that rules can be broken and we encourage you to use your creativity!

• The Rule of Thirds is one of the most common rules people refer to when talking about composition. This site has examples with overlayed grids demonstrating the rule of thirds well.

Depth of Field

• Bokeh Test: "Some photographic styles commonly use selective focus to bring the viewer's attention to the subject. That means the subject is focused but the non-subject areas are not. If those unfocused areas are busy and distracting, the objective of bringing attention to the subject is lost. That's why portrait photographers in particular care about bokeh."
• DOFMaster: "Use DOFMaster to print depth of field scales to take into the field. Rotate the dial to set the focus distance on the scale, and quickly read the near focus distance, far focus distance, and the hyperfocal distance."
• Lens Babies: "Lensbabies are selective focus SLR camera lenses that bring one area of your photo into sharp focus with that sharp area surrounded by graduated blur." It is a commercial variant of a tilt-shift lens.

DIY

• Build a Tilt-Shift Camera Lens for Peanuts: "One of the fancier lenses in the world of SLR and digital SLR (DSLR) photography is the tilt-shift lens. You might not know what these lenses look like, but you probably have seen their effects. Architectural photographers use tilt-shift lenses to eliminate the perspective distortions that sometimes give buildings the appearance of falling over. Aerial photographers use them to make large cities look like toy models. Art and portrait photographers use them to control exactly where the focus falls."
• Beauty Dish for SB-800: "I was researching on line for light modifiers for speed lights and ran across Viewfinder Photography based in England. They sell a kit containing several attachment for speed lights, the kit includes a snoots with grids, a beauty dish with grids & colored gels and a diffusion globe. The complete kit sells for 139.99 pounds, with today's current exchange rate that equals to $275.00. dollars U.S. That's a bit to much to pay for in my book."
• DIY Digital Stereo Camera: "When I first saw the Dakota disposable cameras at a locals camera store I knew I'd be buying a few so I could make a camera that only exists in my dreams, a digital stereo camera."
• DIY Lighting Hacks for Digital Photographers: "Lighting can be the difference between a good shot and a great one. Walk into most professional photographerÕs studios and youÕll be confronted with truckloads of lighting equipment. To the average hobby photographer itÕs enough to make your mind boggle - and for your stomach to turn as you think about the cost of it all."
• The Fring: "This is a fibre-optic flash extension for your DSLR's popup flash. Totally easy! Works great! Durable! Designed specifically for K20D with 100 2.8 DFA lens but adaptable to other lenses (see Tamron Adaptall 90 2.5 example at the end.) Build your own!"
• Time Lapse Intervalometer for SLRs: "I found a great guide to time lapse photography that covers all the details before and after this Instructable. They mention the use of an 'intervalometer' (a new word to me) which can cost $60 to $150 dollars. That's way too expensive for the casual photographer I think. So I made my own!"
• How to Build a Panoramic Tripod head for $10: "Stitching software and digital cameras make panoramic photos far easier than ever before. However, to get the best results, you need a special tripod head. These can cost hundreds of dollars, but making your own isn't that hard. Even better, it's dirt cheap."
• Medium Format Pinhole Lego Camera: Build your own pinhole camera out of Legos.

Filters

• How To Use A Polarizing Filter: "Of all the filters available, a polarizing filter is the first one you should buy to improve your landscape photography. So What Does It Do?"
• Neutral Density Filters: "The main purpose of using neutral density (i.e., ND) filters is to reduce the amount of light that can pass through the lens. As a result, if a shutter speed is kept the same, after adding a neutral density filter, a larger aperture must be used to obtain the same exposure. Similarly, if an aperture is kept the same, after adding a neutral density filter, a slower shutter speed must be used to obtain the same exposure."

Flash

• Nikon's Creative Lighting System (CLS), An Overview: "With CLS, we now have full control over flash like never before. Few photographers realize the incredible sophistication of this system which actually has two different components; one for standard shooting and the other for macro work."
• Flash Photography with Canon EOS Cameras: "Here's some information that may help you understand some of the mysteries of flash photography with Canon EOS camera equipment. Much of the information presented herein is fairly general in nature and thus covers similar flash systems used by other manufacturers, but much is very specific to Canon EOS products.
• makezine.com Homemade Strobe Photography: "Take pictures of popping balloons, breaking glass, and water droplets."
• Strobe Trigger Voltages: "Some strobes (and infrared strobe triggers) use high voltages in the trigger circuit. For mechanical cameras, this is fine - but many newer, electronically-driven cameras (especially electronic 35mm SLRs like the EOS or digicams - or for that matter, EOS digicams, like the 300D) can be damaged by excessive strobe voltages. How much is too much? What voltage might my own strobe generate? This page tries to help answer those questions."
• Strobist: "This website is about one thing: Learning how to use off-camera flash with your dSLR to take your photos to the next level. Here, you'll find everything you need to know about how to more effectively use your small speedlights. There are more than 800 articles about lighting. Over a million photographers from around the world have learned small-flash lighting techniques from this site. We're thinking you can, too."
• Strobist Preliminaries: A short slideshow with voice-over to get you started with off-camera flash photography.

Focal Length

• Canon Mirror Lens 5200mm 1:14: "This is the only ultra-telephoto lens in the world capable of taking photographs of objects 18 to 32 miles away." (See an additional image here)
• Focal Length Comparison: "Whether it's a dramatic close-up or a stunning wildlife shot from a 100 yards away, focal length will determine if you get the shot you want. See below to see just what a difference focal length can make in an image."
• Perspective from DPReview.com Glossary: "If you photograph a subject with a tele lens and want it to have the same size on the film or sensor when photographing it with a wide angle lens, you would have to move closer to the subject. Because this would cause the perspective to change, lenses with different focal lengths are said to 'have' a different perspective. Note however that changing the focal length without changing the subject distance will not change perspective, as shown in the example below."

Fun

• What the Duck is a hilarious web comic about photography and photographers. You will undoubtedly see strips from this comic throughout the course as many put a humorous spin on relevant topics.
• You Suck At Photoshop is a web series of wonderfully comical Photoshop "tutorials".

Histograms

• A little more detail about Histograms: "We want to measure the range of brightness of tones in our image, to help in setting shadow and highlight points. But absolute brightness is not very meaningful, because human eyes don't detect brightness linearly with color. Basically, we see Green as brighter than Blue. So, the term Luminance was invented, which is brightness adjusted to indicate appropriately what we really see."
• Camera Histograms 1 (Tones & Contrast): "Understanding image histograms is probably the single most important concept to become familiar with when working with pictures from a digital camera. A histogram can tell you whether or not your image has been properly exposed, whether the lighting is harsh or flat, and what adjustments will work best. It will not only improve your skills on the computer, but as a photographer as well."
• Camera Histograms 2 (Luminance & Color): "This section is designed to help you develop a better understanding of how luminance and color both vary within an image, and how this translates into the relevant histogram. Although RGB histograms are the most commonly used histogram, other types are more useful for specific purposes."

Image Stabilization

• In-lens Image Stabilizers: A website from Canon with animation and explanation on the fundamentals of in-lens optical stabilization. Many of the same concepts apply to other lenses (such as Nikkor lenses) that have image stabilization.

Photoshop

• Obtaining Photoshop. There are several ways to get Photoshop. FAS offers it as a keyed download from FAS Software Downloads. You may also purchase Photoshop at a reduced rate with an education discount from UIS Technology Services.
• Adobe Creative Suite Video Podcast: "Welcome to the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast with tips and tutorials by Terry White. Learn how to unlock the power and potential of the Creative Suite with the visual examples here. I'll try to cover all the products evenly, but I do have a passion for InDesign and Photoshop."
• Adobe Video Workshop: "You can use the Adobe Video Workshop to start learning about any application you're interested in, whether you own it or not. The Video Workshop shares expertise from across Adobe and the Adobe community-you'll learn tasks, tips, and tricks from leading designers, developers, and Adobe experts. There are introductory videos for new users, and more experienced users can find videos on new features and key techniques. Many videos show you how to use Adobe applications together."
• Digital Graduated Neutral Density Filter: "Digital photographers can use the same graduated neutral density filters that film photographers use. However, digital photographers also have an additional option. This option is often referred to as a digital graduated neutral density filter. In reality, it isn't a filter at all, but rather a technique that involves shooting the scene with two different exposures. [...] The two shots are then combined in Photoshop (or another image editing program that supports layers) with the use of a mask that will blend the images. This allows for the highlight detail to be taken from the image that received less exposure and the rest of the detail to be taken from the image that received more exposure."
• HDR: High Dynamic Range Photography: "High dynamic range (HDR) images enable photographers to record a greater range of tonal detail than a given camera could capture in a single photo. This opens up a whole new set of lighting possibilities which one might have previously avoidedÑfor purely technical reasons. The new 'merge to HDR' feature of Photoshop CS2 allows the photographer to combine a series of bracketed exposures into a single image which encompasses the tonal detail of the entire series. There is no free lunch however; trying to broaden the tonal range will inevitably come at the expense of decreased contrast in some tones."
• Introduction to the Photoshop Curves Command: "I'm going to start this essay with a provocative statement: Anyone who is, or wants to be doing image editing at a professional level needs to be as comfortable with Curves as they are with breathing. Is that bold enough? Do I have your attention now? If I were forced to give up all but one image adjustment tool, the one I would keep would be Curves. Think of Curves as your one-stop-shopping source for improving images the way the pros do."
• Noise Reduction By Image Averaging: "Image noise can compromise the level of detail in your digital or film photos, and so reducing this noise can greatly enhance your final image or print. The problem is that most techniques to reduce or remove noise always end up softening the image as well. Some softening may be acceptable for images consisting primarily of smooth water or skies, but foliage in landscapes can suffer with even conservative attempts to reduce noise."
• Photoshop for Digital Photographers (Podcast on iTunes): "Quick tips and time saving techniques for today's digital photographer. Adobe Photoshop is an extremely comprehensive graphics design and image editing program. So much so that it tends to dissuade photographers from using it. Well fear no more, this podcast gives today's digital photographers the details and knowledge on how to simply and effectiely use Photoshop in their everyday workflow without having to learn the entire Photoshop application."

Sensors

• Sensor Sizes (Digital Photography Review Glossary): "This diagram shows the typical sensor sizes compared to 35mm film. The sensor sizes of digital SLRs are typically 40% to 100% of the surface of 35mm film. Digital compact cameras have substantially smaller sensors offering a similar number of pixels. As a consequence, the pixels are much smaller, which is a key reason for the image quality difference, especially in terms of noise and dynamic range."
• The Depth of Field Myth and Digital Cameras: "A commonly cited advantage of smaller digital cameras is their greater depth-of-field. This is incorrect."

Sensor Cleaning

• How to Clean Your Digital Image Sensor at UltimateSLR.com: "Review these articles to learn more about how to clean the digital image sensor of your digital SLR camera." Always be very careful when cleaning your sensor!
• Visible Dust is a company that makes the Sensor Brush. Its use was demonstrated in class for cleaning a dusty digital SLR sensor. They also have a range of products that vary in price and ease of use that can help you clean your dirty digital SLR sensor.

Social Photography Sites

• Flickr is one of many sites that allow you to post your photos and view the work of other photographers around the world. Features such as tagging and groups make it easy for you to find other photos and for others to find yours!

Software Tools

• ImagesPlus: Software well-suited to astrophotographers. "ImagesPlus 3 x32 and x64 image processing provides a comprehensize set of raw conversion, calibration, alignment, stacking, and enhancemnet functions for processing DSLR, one-shot color, and CCD image sets."
• Neat Image: "Neat Image is a filter designed to reduce visible noise and grain in photographic images produced by digital cameras and scanners. Neat Image is indispensable in low-light (indoors, night, astro) and high-speed (sport, action) photography. It is a tool for both professional photographers and digital image processing enthusiasts."
• Noise Ninja: "Noise Ninja is the most effective and productive solution for removing noise and grain from digital photographs and scanned film images. It is a must-have tool for anyone shooting in low-light or fast-action situations -- including news, sports, wedding, and event coverage -- where high ISO photography is required and the resulting noise compromises the image."
• Photomatix: "If you have ever photographed a high contrast scene, you know that even the best exposure will typically have blown out highlights and flat shadows. Photomatix offers two ways to solve this problem: Exposure Blending: Merge differently exposed photographs into one image with increased dynamic range. Tone Mapping: Reveal highlight and shadow details in an HDR image created from multiple exposures. The tone mapped image is ready for printing while showing the complete dynamic range captured."

Tilt-Shift Lenses

• How Shift Lenses Change Your Life: "Simple formula for poor pictures: put a building in the shot, then don't aim level. You end up with what is called 'converging lines.' The left and right side of the building seem to meet somewhere above the picture. If that's what you wanted, fine. If not, get it under control."

Tutorials

• Digital Photography Tutorials (from Cambridgeincolour.com): "Below are tutorials on how to acquire, interpret and process digital photographs using a visually-oriented approach that emphasizes concept over procedure. Please visit again to view new additions."
• Learn: Digital Photography Review: "Welcome to Learn Digital Photography on Digital Photography Review,the aim of this section of the site is to provide beginners and advanced users alike an areafor reference and a place to learn new techniques and help improve their digital photography techniques."