Re: Re: Lesson 1 photos

#21283
Duncan Rawlinson
Keymaster

Hi rubenadad!

Thanks for taking the time to re-submit. I like that you’ve taken advantage of the opportunity and produced a couple of images that are better.

Here is the EXIF data for the images:
[attachment=1:287fk3r9]DSC00209 EXIF.png[/attachment:287fk3r9]
Date Time Original: 2013:06:27 18:50:31
Exposure Time: 1/80
F Number: f / 5.60
Exposure Program: Normal program
ISO Speed Ratings: 200
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 16mm
White Balance: Auto white balance
Make: SONY
Model: NEX-3N
LensInfo: 4
LensModel: E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 4912
Pixel Y Dimension: 3264
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 2
Maker Note: 918
User Comment: 36618
Date Time Digitized: 2013:06:27 18:50:31
Brightness Value: 5.17
Max Aperture Value: 3.62
Light Source: Unknown
File Source: DSC
Scene Type: Directly photographed
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 24mm
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Contrast: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 36748
ExifIFDPointer: 360
Orientation: 1
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 350
Y Resolution: 350
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2013:06:27 18:50:31
Image Description:
Software: NEX-3N v1.00

[attachment=0:287fk3r9]DSC00210 EXIF.png[/attachment:287fk3r9]
Date Time Original: 2013:06:27 18:50:50
Exposure Time: 1/80
F Number: f / 5.60
Exposure Program: Normal program
ISO Speed Ratings: 200
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 17mm
White Balance: Auto white balance
Make: SONY
Model: NEX-3N
LensInfo: 4
LensModel: E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 4912
Pixel Y Dimension: 3264
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 2
Maker Note: 918
User Comment: 36618
Date Time Digitized: 2013:06:27 18:50:50
Brightness Value: 5.91
Max Aperture Value: 3.62
Light Source: Unknown
File Source: DSC
Scene Type: Directly photographed
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 25mm
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Contrast: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 36748
ExifIFDPointer: 360
Orientation: 1
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 350
Y Resolution: 350
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2013:06:27 18:50:50
Image Description:
Software: NEX-3N v1.00

The EXIF data is basically all the settings your camera used (or you told your camera to use) when taking a photography. It’s metadata that gets embedded in the image.

I like to look at it because it often tells the story of why a photograph turned out the way it did. Take a moment and look at just how much stuff goes on behind the scenes in a modern digital camera!

Over time you can learn to manually control these settings to achieve the outcome you are looking for.

For now it might seem overwhelming but do not worry. You will come to understand this whole mess of numbers and data.

For now lets look at these images.

What’s good about these images is that they both have strong color and the are both close. Those two elements if refined over time will certainly improve your images.

What could be improved with these images is that the focus is a bit off in each of them. This could just be that your camera’s lens doesn’t allow you to focus on things that are so close. Or the auto-focus is having a hard time.

A quick take away would be for you to find the minimum focus distance of your camera and lens. You can do this by trial and error by taking pictures of things and getting closer and closer until they are out of focus. Or you can refer to your manual. Some lenses even have focus distances written on them. The smallest distance would be the minimum distance you can take a photo of something and have it in focus.

The main thing I want you to get from this lesson is that everything can be made more interesting to look at with photography. Even seemingly mundane objects if shot well can be made interesting.

This is usually the opposite of what most people think. Most people think it’s the camera. Trust me, it’s not the camera! A good camera can make it easier but if you know what you’re doing you can make just about any camera take great photographs.

In the short term don’t worry too much about settings, worry more about getting close, filling your frame with interesting things and shooting lots of photos!

See you on the next assignment.

😉