Digital Photography for Dummies®

339 Pages·2009·27.52 MB·English

by  Julie Adair King

Digital Photography
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
6
TH EDITION
Digital Photography
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
6
TH EDITION
by Julie Adair King and Serge Timacheff
Digital Photography For Dummies®, 6th Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2008936362
ISBN: 978-0-470-25074-7
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4
About the Authors
Julie Adair King is the author of many books about digital photography
and imaging, including the best-selling Digital Photography For Dummies. Her
most recent titles include a series of For Dummies guides to the Canon EOS
Digital Rebel XTi, XSi, and XS as well as the Nikon D40, D40x, and D60. When
not writing, King teaches digital photography at such locations as the Palm
Beach Photographic Centre. A graduate of Purdue University, she resides in
Indianapolis, Indiana.
Serge Timacheff is the author of several books about digital photography,
including Canon EOS Photo Workshop, Digital Sports Photography, and Total
Digital Photography. A photojournalist and photographer whose images
have been widely published, he specializes in fi eld and “traveling” photogra-
phy. Since 2003, he has been the offi cial photographer for the International
Fencing Federation, photographing numerous world championships, grand
prix events, and the Summer Olympic Games. Timacheff is a graduate of
the University of Houston. When not traveling, he resides in the Pacifi c
Northwest.
Authors’ Acknowledgments
Julie Adair King: I am extremely grateful to the team of talented profession-
als at John Wiley and Sons for all their efforts in putting together this book.
Special thanks go to my awesome project editor, Kim Darosett, who is the
type of editor that all authors hope for but rarely experience: supportive,
skilled, and amazingly calm in the face of any storm, including my not infre-
quent freakouts.
I also owe much to the rest of the folks in both the editorial and art depart-
ments, especially Heidi Unger, Rashell Smith, Shelley Lea, Steve Hayes, Andy
Cummings, and Mary Bednarek. Thanks, too, to agent extraordinaire, Margot
Maley Hutchison, for her continuing help and encouragement and to technical
editor Dave Hall for his eagle-eyed observations and thoughtful suggestions.
Serge Timacheff: Many thanks to David Hall for being a sounding board and
on-call expert in a variety of digital photography issues, to Margot Hutchison
for being a fabulous agent, and to Kim Darosett for being the ever-patient
editor wrangling two authors at once.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form
located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial Composition Services
Project Editor: Kim Darosett Project Coordinator: Katherine Key
Executive Editor: Steven Hayes Layout and Graphics: Carrie A. Cesavice,
Reuben W. Davis, Christine Williams
Copy Editor: Brian Walls
Proofreaders: Laura Albert, Penny L. Stuart
Technical Editor: David Hall
Indexer: Palmer Publishing Services
Editorial Manager: Leah Cameron
Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth
Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies
Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher
Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director
Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director
Publishing for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
Contents at a Glance
Introduction ................................................................ 1
Part I: Peering Through the Digital Viewfinder ............... 7
Chapter 1: Gearing Up: Does Your Equipment Fit Your Needs? ..................................9
Chapter 2: Extra Goodies for Extra Fun ........................................................................35
Chapter 3: First Steps, First Shots .................................................................................59
Part II: Getting the Most from Your Camera ................. 75
Chapter 4: Resolution, File Format, and Other Digital Details ...................................77
Chapter 5: Controlling Exposure .................................................................................105
Chapter 6: Manipulating Focus and Color ..................................................................137
Chapter 7: Getting the Shot: How the Pros Do It .......................................................163
Part III: From Camera to Computer and Beyond ......... 185
Chapter 8: Building Your Image Warehouse ..............................................................187
Chapter 9: Fixing Minor Photo Flubs ...........................................................................207
Chapter 10: Printing Your Photos ................................................................................233
Chapter 11: On-Screen, Mr. Sulu! .................................................................................257
Part IV: The Part of Tens .......................................... 277
Chapter 12: Ten Ways to Improve Your Digital Images ............................................279
Chapter 13: Ten Great Online Resources ...................................................................287
Chapter 14: Top Ten Maintenance and Emergency Care Tips .................................291
Glossary .................................................................. 301
Online Resource Guide ............................................. 311
Index ...................................................................... 315
Cartoons at a Glance
by Rich Tennant
page 75
page 7
page 185
page 277
www.the5thwave.com
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................. 1
What’s in This Book? .......................................................................................1
Part I: Peering Through the Digital Viewfi nder ..................................2
Part II: Getting the Most from Your Camera .......................................2
Part III: From Camera to Computer and Beyond ................................2
Part IV: The Part of Tens .......................................................................3
Appendixes .............................................................................................3
Icons Used in This Book .................................................................................3
Conventions Used in This Book .....................................................................4
What Do I Read First? ......................................................................................4
Part I: Peering Through the Digital Viewfinder ............... 7
Chapter 1: Gearing Up: Does Your Equipment Fit Your Needs?. . . . . . .9
The Savvy Shopper’s Camera Guide ...........................................................10
Design options: Point-and-shoot or SLR? ..........................................10
Picture-quality features .......................................................................12
Lens features ........................................................................................17
Photo-enthusiast features ...................................................................19
Make-it-easy features ...........................................................................23
Speed features ......................................................................................26
Other fun (and practical) features .....................................................28
So . . . is it time to upgrade?................................................................30
Equipping Your Digital Darkroom ...............................................................31
Sources for More Shopping Guidance ........................................................33
Chapter 2: Extra Goodies for Extra Fun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Buying and Using Memory Cards ................................................................36
Memory shopping tips ........................................................................37
Care and feeding of memory cards ....................................................38
Storing Your Picture Files .............................................................................39
Adding more hard-drive space ...........................................................40
CD storage.............................................................................................40
DVD storage ..........................................................................................42
On-the-Go Storage and Viewing ...................................................................43
Protecting Your Camera ...............................................................................45
Seeking Software Solutions ..........................................................................47
Image-editing software ........................................................................47
Specialty image software ....................................................................51
xiv
Digital Photography For Dummies, 6th Edition
Steadying Your Camera ................................................................................53
Grabbing a Few Handy Extras ......................................................................55
Chapter 3: First Steps, First Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Setting Up Your New Camera .......................................................................59
Adjusting the viewfi nder to your eyesight .......................................61
Exploring basic setup options ............................................................61
Taking Your First Pictures ............................................................................64
Setting the focus mode: Auto or manual? .........................................65
Choosing an automatic exposure mode ...........................................66
Reviewing other critical capture settings .........................................70
Pressing the shutter button................................................................73
Part II: Getting the Most from Your Camera ................. 75
Chapter 4: Resolution, File Format, and Other Digital Details. . . . . . .77
Turning Light into Pixels ..............................................................................77
Exploring the World of Digital Color ...........................................................79
RGB: A new way of thinking about color ..........................................79
Digging through color channels .........................................................80
More colorful terminology ..................................................................82
Resolution Rules! ...........................................................................................86
Pixels: Building blocks of digital photos ...........................................86
Pixels and print quality .......................................................................88
Pixels and screen images ....................................................................93
Pixels and fi le size ................................................................................95
Selecting a File Format ..................................................................................96
JPEG .......................................................................................................97
Camera Raw .......................................................................................100
TIFF ......................................................................................................104
Chapter 5: Controlling Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Lights, Camera, Exposure! ..........................................................................105
Aperture, f-stops, and shutter speed ..............................................106
ISO ratings and chip sensitivity .......................................................110
So how do I set f-stop, shutter speed, and ISO? .............................113
Choosing an Exposure Mode .....................................................................115
Getting good autoexposure results .................................................117
Using “priority” exposure modes ....................................................118
Exploring Even More Exposure Features .................................................120
Exposure metering modes ................................................................121
Exposure histograms .........................................................................122
Exposure compensation ..................................................................124
Exposure bracketing ..........................................................................126