Newsletter March '08

The Digital Imaging Learning Center has opened for business and offers classes about Photography, Digital Cameras and Photoshop. The Center's instructor, Bob Supe, teaches three different classes in each series with an emphasis on learning the basic principles and rules of thumb before focusing on advanced applications. This newsletter is meant to be an added benefit to our students as well as digital photo enthusiasts.

Photography Tip - Get Closer

One of my favorite photographers Ernst Haas once said "the best zoom is the human zoom" and I agree. As a matter of fact I would take it even further to say "If you don't like your pictures you're not close enough." I don't just mean closer physically but also emotionally. Try to become more intimate with your subject. It is good to remember that photography is a form of visual communication. If there is something in your picture that doesn't help to tell the story, get it out of the shot. Whether you change your position or open your aperture to blur out a distracting background, your goal should be to isolate your subject and remove all distractions. Practice developing an eye for detail. Work with your subject and environment to tell your story while being concise and to the point. Remember get closer.

Digital Camera Tip - +/-EV

Perhaps the least used yet most valuable feature available on most digital cameras is Exposure Compensation. One of the most common problems people have is their pictures being too light or too dark. Exposure compensation, usually labeled +/- EV, is much like the brightness adjustment on your TV. Typically you would press your shutter button lightly to activate your camera's meter, press the exposure compensation button +/- EV to activate the feature and then dial in the amount of adjustment you would like. If you add exposure it will brighten your picture. If you subtract exposure it will darken your picture. Just be aware not to make the mistake I make all the time and that is leaving it turned on. You need to make certain to repeat the process and dial it back to zero when you're done. The next time your picture is too light or too dark try exposure compensation to get it just right.

Photoshop Tip - Resolution

Many people struggle to understand why it is their prints look boxy and pixilated, but their pictures look great on the computer, or why their pictures don't fit on the computer screen. The reason is all based on the resolution. The ideal resolution for printing photographs is 300ppi (pixels per inch) or higher while a computer screen typically only needs 72ppi to look great. I recommend you take your pictures at the highest resolution available on your camera and save them, even archiving them on CD, DVD or external hard drive. Then work from a copy. When working in Photoshop you can adjust the resolution by clicking on "Image" on the top tool bar, then "Image Size". You can then adjust your resolution and document size. If you're going to make an 8X10 print you would enter in those values at 300ppi. If you're resizing that image for email or web applications it might be easier to make those adjustments as pixel dimensions at 72ppi. No matter what your reasons are for resizing your image, unless you want distortion, you will want to be certain the "Constrain Proportions" box is checked.

© Copyright 2008
Created by Bob's Web Design