Photography Class for Beginners

1. Introduction & Objectives

Hello and welcome to the Photography Class for Beginners!

• This class is designed to give you a solid understanding of the fundamental basics of
photography; the ‘nuts and bolts’ stuff that will set you on the path to understanding your
camera and how to create great shots. Armed with these fundamentals, you will have the skills
and the confidence to approach any style of photography, from portraits to landscapes and
everything in between.

• During this course we will cover such topics as the ​Exposure Triangle​, ​Camera Aperture​,
Shutter Speed​, ​ISO​ and ​Composition.

• Photography is a technical exercise and there is a lot to learn, but these basics apply to any
type of photography. However, as we only have a limited time to cover each of these topics,
please keep a copy of this course guide and practice these tricks and techniques over and over
again whenever you can.

• Taking great photos takes time, practice, patience and consideration. In the beginning stages
it is very easy to become frustrated that your images don’t capture your subject as you would
like to. This is perfectly normal and even professional photographers face this same challenge.
Be patient with it, you’re learning and with practice your photography will improve with every
shot.

There will be some technical terms chucked about in this guide, but please don’t
worry if you don’t know what they mean! Your photography instructor will walk you
through each one at the start of the Beginners Class.
2. Equipment

Please bring a digital SLR, even if you need to borrow one.

It doesn’t need to be the top of the range or anything fancy, all digital SLRs will have the
essentials for what we will cover in this course.

A lot of people with an interest in photography feel that by having the best camera they can
get, that they will be able to take great shots. This couldn’t be further from the truth, the camera
is just a tool. Invest time into practicing your photography on whatever camera you have
available and maybe later down the track you can upgrade to a better one if you need to.

Essentials:
Please remember to fully charge your camera battery, and to make sure there is plenty of space
on your camera’s memory card before heading out. If you wish to format your card (this means
to delete everything stored on the card) you will need to ensure you have uploaded and
backed-up all of the photos beforehand.

Lenses
Please bring a standard zoom lens if possible, such as a 24-70mm or 24-105mm. If you have
other lenses please feel free to bring them, but a standard zoom lens will be fine for what we
will cover.
Your choice of focal length is something to consider when taking photos. Focal length refers to
the length of the lens from the image sensor. For example, a 16mm lens is very short and will
provide a wide angle of view. At the other end of the spectrum, a lens with a focal length of
70mm or more is considered a “telephoto” lens because, like a telescope, it magnifies the image
in the camera.

Tripod
If you have a tripod, please bring it, but it is not an essential requirement for this course.
A tripod can be an essential piece of equipment for a photographer. Generally they are needed
for landscapes and night photography because they will hold your camera still while you are
using long exposures due to low light conditions.
3. Exposure

The Exposure Triangle

Photography is about the recording of light, on either a digital sensor or on film. Using an SLR
camera, there are 3 main functions that we can use to control how the camera records the
correct amount of light for the exposure:

Each of these camera functions will have a relationship with the others. So for example if you
adjust the shutter speed for a low light situation, you may have to adjust the ISO and Aperture
as well to ensure the exposure of your photo is correct.

Aperture (F-stop)
● The aperture of your lens is a measure of the size of the opening which lets light in, from
a large aperture to a small aperture. A ​large aperture is represented by a small
f-number​, such as f.1.4, f.2.8 or f.4.
● At the other end of the spectrum, a ​small aperture is represented by a large f-number​,
such as f.16 or f.22. These increments are used to let in more or less light, but also to
control the depth of field in your image.
● A l​ arge aperture (e.g. f.2.8) will give you a very shallow depth of field​, whereas a ​small
aperture such as f.22 will give you a much deeper depth of field​. In other words, a shot
taken at f.2.8 or f.5 will have much less in focus than one taken at f.22:

​Small aperture - Large f-stop number ​Large aperture - Small f-stop number
Shutter speed
In an SLR camera, the shutter speed is another important control for the amount of light that
reaches the sensor. For example, a​ fast shutter speed​ of 1/4000th second lets in a very small
amount of light, whereas a ​slow shutter speed​ of 5 seconds lets in a lot of light. These controls
can be used creatively to freeze a fast-moving subject, or to record movement as motion blur.

Generally, if you use a small aperture such as f.22, a long exposure will be needed to
compensate for the small amount of light coming into the camera. This can work to your
advantage though, because you can use that slow shutter speed to record movement.

Slow Shutter Speed = Blurred Movement

Fast Shutter Speed = Freezing the Action

ISO
The 3rd part of the exposure triangle is the ISO setting.

This setting is a measure of the sensitivity of the sensor (or film) to light.
For example, a low ISO such as 100 is less sensitive to light than an ISO setting of 1600 or
3200.
However, the downside of using a high-sensitivity ISO setting such as 3200 will result in a lot
of “noise” in the image. “Noise” is the digital equivalent of a grainy image if you’re shooting film
and it is generally considered unfavourable, so wherever possible try and use the lowest ISO
setting you can.

4. White Balance
Every light source and environment has what is known as a particular ‘colour temperature’.

In order to take photos that appear to be an accurate colour we need to understand how to set
the camera according to the environment that we are photographing in. For example, when
taking photos indoors with lamp light, your photos can appear very orange.
Cameras have different settings to be able to compensate for this and they can be found in your
menu settings.
5. Composition: Leading lines, Rule of Thirds and Selective Focus

What is great composition?

Generally speaking, a photo with great composition is one which draws the viewer in. Photos
vary enormously in their subject matter, style and effect, but a simple checklist to keep in mind
can be used to create a great composition in any style or genre of photography:

● Think of the term composition as ‘framing’. Use the frame of the photo to guide the
viewer’s eye to the main subject.
● Make sure that your main subject is the centre of attention - this doesn’t always mean
the centre of the frame.
● Look for ways to ‘frame’ your subject. Tunnels, laneways, hallways and doorways can all
be effective for achieving this.
● Avoid distracting elements and anything that will draw the viewer’s eye out of the frame
or compete for attention.
● Think about what you can remove from the shot. The best compositions are often the
most simple.

​Frame within a frame​ ​Filling the frame

 Leading Lines ​ S
​ elective focus

The rule of thirds

Place the main point of focus in your photo 1/3rd the way into the frame, or along one of these
lines for maximum effect.
 Camera Challenges

Exercise 1: Get your camera off auto!

- Put your camera on Manual mode.
- Set your ISO to 200.
- Set your aperture to f.8
- Looking through the viewfinder, turn the dial which controls your shutter speed until the
pointer lines up with “0” (in the middle).
- Take 3 photos of things immediately around you, remembering to set your shutter speed each
time to whatever your camera’s built-in light meter is telling you is the correct exposure.

Exercise 2: Shallow depth-of-field

- Now set your aperture to the smallest f-number it will go to. For example, f.2.8 or f.4.
- Find a subject that you can photograph from a distance of 1 metre away. This might be a
friend, a tree, a lamp-post, it doesn’t matter what you choose to focus on.
- Zoom in as much as possible.
- Focus on your subject and set your shutter speed to what the camera is telling you and take
the picture.
- Now set your aperture to the largest f-number it will go to. For example, f.16 or f.22
- Take the same photo as before, but remember to adjust your shutter speed until you have the
correct exposure.
- Compare the last two images.

Exercise 3: Fast shutter speed

- Set your ISO to 800
- Set your camera to Shutter Priority and dial the shutter speed up to 1/1000th second.
- Find a fast-moving subject. You might want to get one of the other group members to jump in
the air while you capture them mid-air. Regardless of what you choose to photograph, you will
need to take lots of pictures to get the right one.

Exercise 4: Composition
- Referring back to the last few pages, try and find at least 3 interesting compositions that
show:
1. Leading lines
2. The rule of thirds
3. Selective focus

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