Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    DSLR Photography for Beginners
    DSLR Photography for Beginners
    DSLR Photography for Beginners
    Ebook321 pages2 hours

    DSLR Photography for Beginners

    By Salvatore Ventura

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Take better photos, make better memories.

     

    Have you watched a million videos on YouTube, read a ton of articles, and purchased dozens of books about photography? And yet some things are not quite clear, and you can't put your finger on?

     

    I get it. I was confused like you. Everybody talks about cameras. Very few talk about photography.

     

    This is why I decided to help frustrated photographers like you by putting together a very short book with the concepts that are most important in photography. Nobody tells you that, in the end, there's only a few ingredients to snap the perfect photograph, and a few rules that you can follow to take memorable pictures.

     

    I truly hope that my approach will guide photographers like you on a path of fulfilling discovery and understanding, landing you to your next great photographs.

    Salvatore

     

    INTRODUCTION
    This book is for beginner photographers who have started exploring a more manual approach to photography and would like some help in making better sense of aperture, shutter speed and ISO, the creative flexibility they offer, and the DSLR as a creative instrument.

     

    If you have been shooting photos primarily in AUTO mode, you are not alone! Most people can use a camera that way with no problem, however many become intimidated the moment they hear terms like aperture or shutter speed.

     

    Rather than going to show you every option of your camera, this book will guide you through the principles that rule photography and exposure, giving you the knowledge and tools to perfectly understand the process and fully utilize the power of your camera.

     

    I believe in teaching at the student's pace. That's why I have divided the book in 10 sections, each covering a single topic, further broken up in smaller chapters. You will also find both color photographs and simplified diagrams that will help visualize the concepts. The book extensively covers the process of composition, what makes a good photograph, and tips and techniques that will point you in the right direction.

     

    By the end of the book you will learn:

    • Adjusting exposure to control the brightness of your photos
    • Setting your aperture to blur or focus the background
    • Setting your shutter speed to freeze action or blur motion
    • Setting your White Balance according to the scene
    • Using exposure compensation for tricky lighting situations
    • What P, A/Av, S/Tv and M modes are
    • What camera scenes are
    • What a histogram is and how to use it to take better pictures
    • How to use the camera's light metering system
    • How to use the camera's auto-focusing system
    • The difference between full frame and crop sensor cameras
    • The difference between RAW and JPEG files

    and also, advanced techniques like:

    • Bracketing/HDR
    • Stitching
    • Focus stacking
    • Long exposure
    • Image averaging
    • Camera panning
    • ETTR

     

    Several chapters also include a list of practice exercises that you are encouraged to undertake as a starting point for better learning.

     

    While not overwhelming you with unnecessary jargon, this book doesn't shy away from using the correct technical terminology. I believe that this will ultimately empower you to join future photography conversations that will further grow your expertise and lead you towards capturing your vision into stunning photographs.

     

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSalvatore Ventura
    Release dateSep 18, 2019
    ISBN9781393252474
    DSLR Photography for Beginners

    Related to DSLR Photography for Beginners

    Related ebooks

    Teaching Methods & Materials For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Shoot your Sharpest Shots Ever

      Feb 1, 2023

      Shoot your Sharpest Shots Ever
      5 min read

    • Article

      Street Photography

      Sep 26, 2019

      Street Photography
      13 min read

    • Article

      True Macro Photography

      Aug 26, 2021

      True Macro Photography
      4 min read

    • Article

      A to Z of Night Photography

      Mar 10, 2017

      A to Z of Night Photography
      14 min read

    • Article

      Fine-Art Photography

      Jul 12, 2017

      Fine-Art Photography
      2 min read

    • Article

      Colour Grading Explained

      Sep 23, 2021

      Colour Grading Explained
      2 min read

    • Article

      Shoot Landscape Photography

      May 17, 2017

      Shoot Landscape Photography
      7 min read

    • Article

      10 Tips For Food Photography

      Mar 3, 2020

      10 Tips For Food Photography
      8 min read

    • Article

      Close-up & Macro Photography

      Jun 2, 2020

      Close-up & Macro Photography
      7 min read

    • Article

      Make Cash Shooting Portraits

      Jul 27, 2018

      Make Cash Shooting Portraits
      5 min read

    • Article

      200 Tips & Tricks

      Feb 7, 2018

      200 Tips & Tricks
      36 min read

    • Article

      Set Up A Portrait Studio

      Jul 27, 2018

      Set Up A Portrait Studio
      5 min read

    • Article

      Master Manual Mode

      Sep 24, 2020

      Master Manual Mode
      9 min read

    • Article

      Reaching For The Sky

      Oct 14, 2022

      Reaching For The Sky
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Top 10 Canon Lenses

      Oct 8, 2022

      The best camera isn’t worth much without an excellent lens – fortunately, Canon has these in spades. We’ve come up with ten of our favourite lenses for Canon systems; EF and EF-S lenses for DSLRs, EF-M glass for APS-C mirrorless, and RF lenses for th

      5 min read

    • Article

      Canon EOS 90D

      Sep 17, 2019

      Canon EOS 90D
      4 min read

    • Article

      Canon EOS R5

      Aug 18, 2020

      Canon EOS R5
      8 min read

    • Article

      Alternative Photography Careers

      Mar 31, 2020

      Alternative Photography Careers
      6 min read

    • Article

      Nikon D780

      Mar 17, 2020

      Nikon D780
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Top 10 Fujifilm Cameras

      Oct 8, 2022

      It’s a fantastic time to be a Fujifilm user. As we write this, the Fujifilm X-Summit in New York is drawing to a close, having given us a tantalising glimpse at upcoming lenses, as well as the X-H2 mirrorless camera. Fujifilm has carved out a distinc

      5 min read

    • Article

      Fall Color Fundamentals

      Aug 8, 2020

      Fall Color Fundamentals
      9 min read

    • Article

      100 Best Lenses Of All Time

      Aug 21, 2020

      100 Best Lenses Of All Time
      33 min read

    • Article

      Master The Art Of Manual!

      Jun 6, 2019

      Master The Art Of Manual!
      12 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for DSLR Photography for Beginners

    5/5

    1 rating1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Last summer I decided to start my adventure in photography. I borrowed my dad's camera and lenses and started taking pictures of e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. Some pictures were great. Most of them were dull. No meaning. Or "compelling" as someone would say. That's when I decided it would be a good idea to start reading more. Instagram filters can only do so much! Luckily, there was a free workshop at my local library: I was going to go with a friend but then ended up not going. My friend told me it was great, and the author had also written a book. My friend bought it and liked it so much she recommended it to me. I read a little, and after a few pages I decided that it was easy to read and it costs less that $10!!! Overall very happy. I now understand better what it all means: exposure triangle, composition, and what makes a difference. I think I'll need more lenses now LOL!

    Book preview

    DSLR Photography for Beginners - Salvatore Ventura

    image000

    Copyright © 2018-2019 by Salvatore Ventura

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or sold in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written consent from the author.

    Trademarks

    All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.

    Warning and Disclaimer

    This book is designed to provide information about digital photography. Every effort has been made to make the book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty of fitness is implied.

    This book expresses the author’s views and opinions, and the contents within should not be treated as fact. The information contained within this book is provided without any express, statutory, or implied warranties. The information is provided on an as-is basis. The author shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book.

    Acknowledgments

    This book would have not been possible without the help and support of family and friends. In particular, I want to acknowledge Natalie, for proofreading the manuscript, and dealing with my late hour's habit; my brother Maximilian, for the book design and formatting; my friend Garry, for his constant support and positive encouragement; prof. Marc Levoy, who made his excellent Lectures on Digital Photography [1] freely available on the Internet, and from which I learned the most technical material. I highly recommend you to explore the full content of his lectures.

    I am infinitely grateful for the CC0 community and their selfless contributions which make it easy to find quality images for content producers like myself. Throughout this book I have made use of many CC0 images, to enhance the reading experience, and complement my own imagery in areas where I don’t have valid samples. I have omitted credits on individual images in order to make more compact and focused captions. However, I did include a credits page at the end of the book, where I listed all the photographers whose contributions I have used.

    Introduction

    As I am putting the finishing touches to this second edition of DSLR Photography for Beginners, I keep revisiting my own journey into photography, my learning experience, and the many books, articles, and tutorials that I have read and watched over the past; the many pictures taken, edited, and deleted. There is always so much to learn, practice and refine.

    I keep thinking that photography is as much as art as it is a craft, which is probably why it looks so simple yet it is hard and elusive. Good photographs? They can be done with relative ease. Meaningful, touching, and engaging photographs? That's a whole other level.

    This book is meant for beginners, those who have started exploring a more manual approach to photography, and would like some help in making more sense of aperture, shutter speed and ISO, the creative flexibility that they offers, and the DSLR as an instrument.

    Many people can handle a standard camera with no problems. Yet they start running the moment they hear the terms aperture or shutter speed. In this fast-paced, TL;DR; age, we are all pressed to jump to the end of the story and use infographics to just find the answer to what needs to be done next. You end up with an endless collection of seemingly unrelated recipes; or very superficial material that will make you long for more. That's not the way I think real learning works.

    Some authors of similar books entice their readers with phrases like "let's skip the jargon!, this is a hands-on guide! and all you need to know is in this book!". To me, those messages sound more of marketing gimmicks than a promise they can live up to, especially if they want to introduce their readers into the world of photography.

    My approach is different. As basic ingredients of photography, aperture, shutter speed and ISO are essential technical terminology. I believe it is more important to break down what they are and what they do, rather than skipping the jargon. Learning the technical terminology will ultimately empower you to join future conversations that will further grow your expertise and lead you towards capturing your vision into stunning photographs.

    The book is divided in 10 chapters, each covering a single topic, which is then broken up in smaller chapters. You will find both color photographs and simplified diagrams as a visual aid to more closely connect concepts with reality.

    Chapter 1 is dedicated to the camera body and lenses. You will read about their elements, specifications and important aspects that you should familiarize yourself by using your own camera as a reference point. You will also learn about additional accessories that you might not need right away, but is good to know about. The distinction about wide-angle, normal and telephoto lenses is done in this chapter, as well as the discussion about crop-sensors.

    Chapter 2 breaks down the process of taking a photograph into its fundamental steps, from the moment you look through the viewfinder or screen, to the publishing the finished image. This process is so familiar nowadays and yet so much happens behind the scenes because most cameras automate all of the steps for us. However, in order to take more creative control, it is important to understand the process in each phase. Focusing, exposure, aperture, shutter speed and ISO, are all covered in this long chapter, where all will be reconciled in the exposure triangle. You will also find more about metering and the histogram.

    Chapter 3 touches on photography as storytelling. It purposely is a short chapter, in which I hope to elevate the technical concepts learned in Chapter 2, and give them an artistic meaning by showcasing and commenting on some sample images.

    Chapter 4 goes back to the camera, this time looking more at the ways you can leverage camera scenes and camera modes. Understanding how these modes interpret exposure gives you more power in using them, as well as the right tools to operate in fully manual mode. This is also the chapter where white balance will be discussed.

    Chapter 5 shows nine advanced techniques that make better use of features available on your cameras, or to overcome technical limitations. Surely interesting and downright fun!

    Chapter 6 is a short guide into what steps you can take to improve your photography. You may find it boring, but do give it a chance: it's not too long and the suggestions I share in there are from 100% firsthand experience.

    Chapter 7 turns a little philosophical. In here, I try to shift your focus (no pun intended) into making (rather than taking) a photograph. This shift is essential to understand how much control is actually exercised by the photographer into the final image; hence it will sound a little odd in the beginning. Fear not: the last part of the chapter has a good list of composition tips with sample images that will aid you in framing your next subjects.

    Chapter 8 is for the mathematically inclined. If you want a rigorous (yet summarized) version of the formulas used for depth of field and hyperfocal distance, this is the place. Do not expect a mathematical essay though: it is still meant to be accessible. You can also skip the entire math and still get good information out of this chapter, so don't completely overlook it.

    Chapter 9 is all about file formats, in particular those that your camera produces: JPEG and RAW. It will discuss their benefits and drawbacks.

    Chapter 10 is a recipe chapter, with tables that tackle different type

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1