Introduction to Digital Photography in Manual Mode

Introduction to Digital Photography in Manual Mode

“Photography is a great way to be a storyteller or a poet. You can create a language in a single image, a series, or as I did in my Final Project by creating a story of a location. It is easy to fall into the trap of just snapping aimlessly and edit when you go home, and that’s okay, but to get a thoughtful project, you want to tap into your emotions and use the language of photography to show how you feel. There are steps to help you with this, and it is not something that necessarily comes naturally. Patience is key. It is quite difficult to slow down, especially with our digital cameras, as we have the easy option of looking at the back of our cameras. It might be beneficial to stop yourself from looking at the back by taping it down. Walk around your surroundings and understand what it is that you feel about the topic. It could be simply whether you like it or not. The subject could be your cat, architecture, a place you grew up, a flower, a person. All that matters is that it means something to you. That it makes you feel an emotion or you connect with it whether that is positive or negative. How will you show this emotion with the camera exposure, angle, and lens choice? For instance, Fast or slow shutter speed, panning, shallow or deep depth of field, or by using a grainy texture or not. Will you stand on something to get above it or take it at height level, or do you find yourself lying on the ground? How close do you get to the subject? Do you get close with a wide-angle lens and have distortion or stand back? Do you use a trusty 50 mm and get as your eyes see or do you use a telephoto and can be quite far away but zoom in? After you decide on the topic It is time to go through the steps of taking a picture with manual mode. Take your time with this as it can take a few pictures to achieve what you want, and that goes for whatever experience you have at the moment. Practising is fun. 1. Composition (what lens to use and where do you position yourself. What do you want to put in and leave out of the composition? Where is the light, and where do you place yourself about it?) 2. Set your Exposure ISO Aperture and Shutter speed (Grain, Depth of field, Movement or freezing ) How do you want the image to appear? After setting your ISO, what will be the most relevant to your exposure shutter speed or aperture? And do you need a tripod and shutter release, or can you handhold? 3. Choose the Focus (auto/manual) and take the picture! In my final project I chose an establishing shot as my first image. It sets the scene. It gives you an idea of the location, the type of day it is, and the people that are in the area. I was interested in the architecture of Hackney Wick Overground Station. I chose this angle as it allowed me to get a 3d feel in the image. I wanted to also include the graffiti on the left, as it gives you a sign of what the area is like. This clean architecture with graffiti is balanced on the right with the train. I emphasized the train by using a slow shutter speed as it was entering the station and this creates a dynamic feeling in the photo. I also like that a person is standing there which gives the feeling of movement. We can see in the left background that there are building works, so this adds more to the image and hopefully wants to make the viewer want to know more without giving the whole story away

When I left the station, I saw this woman on her phone and I wanted to get a photograph of her standing in front of the graffiti. If you feel nervous asking, just remember the worst thing they can say is “no” - maybe not the worst but! You would be surprised how many people are so happy for you to take their image and you can suggest emailing them a copy of the photograph. Then you feel you are giving something back plus networking. I chose a deeper depth of field so that we can see the background. I used my trusty 50 mm so I could achieve a nice amount of environment while also connecting with the subject. I think this image shows the location, how it is overgrown, and the rubbish, but then you have this super cool woman, so viewers might be asking themselves, “where is this place?” This next image is what I would call a detailed image of this story. We don’t know who Cathryn is, but we can be sure she is important to the community because of the shrine. It might make the viewer research more about Cathryn and what this means. The next image is a panning image. I wanted to get a bit of energy into the story. It is a busy place with lots of bustling. I used the panning technique to achieve this image along with a wide-angle lens so I could get lots of blur in the background. The final image is a nice one to sum it all up. You can see Hackney Wick is beside a canal. There are lots of homes with canal boats. Lots of people walking. A train in the background going into the station - again with slow shutter speed. The water is also smoothed over because of this. It is also graffiti-like, with the first and second images tying all the photographs together and the story in turn. For your final project, recreate a story with five images like this by concentrating on the three steps I mentioned earlier. Start with something or someone you know or like. How will you use the exposure to create this feeling? You might have to go back at a different time for different light or to try it again. It is normal. When you feel that your final project is ready to be reviewed, click on “Create your project” and upload it. I am super excited about reviewing it and seeing what you have chosen to photograph. Most importantly, have fun! I encourage you to reach out to your coursemates and engage in conversations with them. I will do my best to participate as often as possible and to give feedback promptly. Goodbye! ”

Partial transcription of the video

“Final Project Thank you for choosing my course to begin your journey in photography. It's been a real pleasure to share my process with you and I'm really looking forward to seeing what you do for your final project. A photo essay about the street where you live, your favourite part of a city or a place that means a lot to you. Whatever subject you decide to choose, just remember what I taught you and put what you learnt into practise. When you decide on what camera and sensor size you're going to be using, remember what effect your choice of lens will give and how you can use different len...”

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Course summary for: Introduction to Digital Photography in Manual Mode

• Level: Beginner
• 98% positive reviews (195)
• 8100 students
• 4 units
• 14 lessons (1h 45m)
• 11 downloads

• Category

  Photography & Video

• Areas

  Digital Photography, Photographic Composition, Photography