Creative DSLR Photography: The ultimate creative workflow guide (Digital Workflow)

198 Pages·2009·15.92 MB·English

by  Chris Weston

Digital Photography Workfl ow
Creative DSLR
Photography
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Digital Photography Workfl ow
Creative DSLR
Photography
The ultimate creative workfl ow guide
Chris Coe a nd Chris Weston
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEW YORK • OXFORD
PARIS • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK
30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA
First published 2010
Copyright © 2010 Chris Coe and Chris Weston. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The right of Chris Coe and Chris Weston to be identifi ed as the author of this work has been asserted
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
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Notices
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Weston , Christopher (Christopher Mark)
Creative DSLR photography : the ultimate creative workfl ow
guide.-(Digital workfl ow)
1. Photography-Digital techniques-Amateurs ’ manuals
2. Single-lens refl ex cameras
I. Title II. Coe, Chris
775
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008943845
ISBN : 978-0-240-52101-5
For information on all Focal Press publications
visit our website at www.focalpress.com
Printed and bound in Canada
10 11 12 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii
V isualization and Creativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Section 1: Perception and the Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
The Essentials of Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Light and the Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Understanding Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Tone and Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Understanding Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
The Zone System Applied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
What is Composition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
The Five Elements of Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Deconstructing the Image Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
The Art of Omission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Section 2: Interpretation and Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
The Camera as a Creative Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Lenses and Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Focus , Aperture and Depth of Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Movement and Shutter Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Playing with Time and Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Practical Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Defi ning Your Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Getting Your Message Across . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
T he Defi ning Moment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Developing a Personal Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Section 3: The Process of Image Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Understanding the Photographic Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Advantages and Limitations of Digital Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Color Space and Color Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
RAW Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
Post - Capture Exposure and Color Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
Fixing Digital and Optical Aberrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
Fine - Tuning a Digital Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
v
CONTENTS
Selective Exposure and Color Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Creating a Monotone Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176
S harpening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
T he Digital Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
T he Way to Better Digital Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186
I ndex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
vi
INTRODUCTION
V isualization and Creativity
What is photography? A simple question but one with many
answers. Perhaps the simplest answer is – an individual
interpretation of a visual world. The key words here are visual
and individual. Very obviously, photography is all about light and
without light photography simply doesn’t exist. Light enables us
to see, creating colors and shapes, tones and textures.
With seeing, the interpretation starts. We all see colors and tones
slightly diff erently. Your purple may not be quite the same as my
purple but, unless your vision is impaired by color blindness, we
see colors distinctively enough to be able to distinguish one from
another, then label and identify them.
Photography can be used to record an image of someone
or something. It can create an exact representation in two
dimensions. More pertinently and more excitingly, photography
can be used more creatively to interpret the visual and alter it
either subtly or dramatically. How we each choose to interpret
is the individuality that makes photography so creative and
fascinating.
Photography as a creative process begins in your head not in your
camera. It is tempting to raise the camera to your eye and then
start hunting for an image in the viewfi nder but this misses out
the most vital steps in the making of an image. Learning to see
images is where creativity begins, then learning to visualize and
interpret is where photography becomes most rewarding and
your individuality starts to shine through.
Every photographer, when they fi rst start photography, has
trouble seeing an image and then capturing it. We’ve all returned
from a photo shoot to be greeted with the disappointment
of the photograph, on the computer screen or in the print,
looking nothing like we saw it at the time we captured it. It’s very
frustrating and, at times, it feels like you’re the only person who
can’t get the image you want. You aren’t and you will progress
beyond this point.
vii
INTRODUCTION
In this book we are going to focus on the creative side of
photography and take you into a fascinating world where you
will only be limited by your sense of adventure and creativity. To
achieve this you must fi rst see your camera as nothing more than
a tool, a sophisticated tool maybe, but still just a tool. Like all tools
the end product is determined by the skill of the person using
them so it is essential to understand your camera, how it diff ers
from your own eyes, and what it can and can’t do.
Armed with this knowledge, you become free to explore the
world of photography, to work with light, and to create highly
individual images that other people will want to look at and enjoy.
viii
INTRODUCTION
ix