Phone Photo Tutorial

In this lesson, we learned some basics about Phone Photography. From different photo and video taking options (panorama, slo-mo, time-lapse) to camera settings (flash, frame ratio– like square, self-timer, and filter settings.) we also looked at our camera settings in the main menu and discussed how to add a grid to your photo screen and why, and what a HEIC file format is.

We also talked about how important lighting is when taking pictures. When you want the best and most even light often the easiest way to get a great exposure is to use the sun! Taking pictures outside, especially on cloudy days gives the softest and most diffused light. Diffused light is great for portraits, still lives, taking pictures of your art, and general photography. If you want harder light, often a close single and direct light source, you can choose to highlight a texture or enhance shadows in your image, you can also get hard light with the sun when it’s a bright sunny day and the sun is angled in the sky, usually in mid to late afternoon. When taking a picture we need to be very conscious of where our light source is in relation to ourselves and our subject matter. For example, taking a picture of a person with a bright window behind them will be difficult because the light of the window will often be too bright and blown out and leave their face in shadow. It is much better if you, as the photographer has their back to the window and the subject is facing the window. Then you can utilize the natural sunlight to your advantage.

We also learned how to upload a file to google drive. It is very important to know how to send and share your pictures not only to me and Guido, but you can use Google Drive to store and send/share pictures with your family, with a professional contact, or to a friend. Here is a step-by-step guide just in case you need a refresher. For our class, we will be using this folder to store and share the pictures of our work and to upload our homework.

We learned a little about Instagram, why some artists use it and some benefits to seeing what friends are up to or what artists you admire are doing with their work. If you have an Instagram or decide to make one, feel free to follow me at @cmferrigno.

We talked about different accessories you can use to help take better photos. Like some little tripods you can use with your phone, little lenses that attach over your camera lens, a selfie stick, and an extra battery.

I shared some of my camera gear and we learned some technical terms and basic camera functions. Photography seems to always be about negotiating a give and take of some sort with the light, the look, and your equipment. Here’s a quick rundown

Aperture (the same thing as F stop) is the diameter of the opening of your camera lens. A smaller opening, the higher the number (for example F22 is a very small diameter, while F2.8 is a much larger opening) the larger the opening, the more light comes through the lens, this is helpful in low-light situations.
Depth of Field is related to the focus in your picture and also what aperture you use. Smaller apertures like F22 have a shallow depth of field, meaning the foreground, middle ground and background of your image will all be in focus and all sharp. If you use a larger aperture like F2.8, your image will have a shallow depth of field, meaning that only one area will be in focus at a time. You would likely see this in nature photography, especially macro photography. The ladybug on the leaf is in sharp focus but the background is very blurred as are and closer blades of grass. There are practical and artistic uses for either approach.
Shutter Speed is how fast your exposure is, this number is a fraction of 1 second. So 1/125 is much slower than 1/1000. 1/125 will let in more light than 1/1000. You may want to use a fast shutter speed when you want to freeze the motion of something, like in most sports photography. Using a slower shutter speed will blur motion, sometimes to artistic effect for example, car lights streaking on a darkened street.
Panning is when you move the camera in tandem with a moving object, especially while using a slower shutter speed. Your moving object will be in focus while the background appears to be in motion. Think of the iconic images of NYC taxis that you see, moving through the street. The car itself seems still while the streets seem blurred.
ISO is really about the texture and quality of your photograph. Back in the days of film a higher ISO/ high speed film would allow you to take pictures in lower light without a flash but the film would often look “grainy,” almost like grains of sand. Today, when using digital photography this correlation still holds true but with digital pixels instead of film grain. When an image is pixely, it is difficult to blow up and enlarge while maintaining the quality of the photograph.

Homework for next week:

Upload your doodles to the class folder, upload a picture of something important to you from your house. If you already did those last week, I want you to take a new photo of that object (or a different object that’s important to you) using your new knowledge and skills with digital photography, see how you might be able to improve your shot. Compare and contrast your old photo with your new photo!

https://pr-training-courses.ispring.eu/s/preview/86ca1804-2c28-11ec-9298-d674cbc03a69

https://pr-training-courses.ispring.eu/s/preview/ee095f4c-2c2e-11ec-a838-0e6e236916c4

https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/ways-improve-smartphone-photography/