Complete Photography: The beginner's guide to taking great photos

by Chris Gatcum

Overview

A complete and accessible guide to photography, bringing fantastic photography within everyone's grasp

Whatever your level of photographic experience, this incredibly in-depth guide is guaranteed to raise your game. Take the guesswork out of your photography and understand not just what to do with your camera, but how and why this affects the photos you take. 

You'll learn how to compose a shot for visual impact, focus it to attract the viewer's eye, expose it so every detail is captured and so much more. Photography never stands still so it doesn't matter what camera you have, whether you own an SLR, film camera or a compact digital camera, Gatcum will teach you how to take the best photos possible. As well as Gatcum's own expertise on the subject, Complete Photography is packed with tips and masterclasses from other inspirational professionals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781781578537
Publisher:	Octopus Books
Publication date:	10/26/2021
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Chris Gatcum has lived and breathed photography for over two decades, working as a pro photographer, journalist, specialist magazine and book editor, and best-selling author. A passionate advocate of experimental digital and traditional photography, he is as comfortable conducting technical camera tests as he is demystifying the art of photography for the rest of us.

Table of Contents

Introduction 5

Jargon Buster 6

Part 1 Exposure

Before You Begin 22

File Formats

Image Size 24

The Exposure Trinity 26

Aperture

Shutter Speed

ISO 27

A Question of Balance 28

Filling the Bucket 29

Stop! 30

Masterclass: Landscape David Taylor 32

Aperture & Depth of Field 36

Wide Aperture 38

Small Aperture 40

Mid Aperture 42

Bokeh 44

Masterclass: Portraits Ben Anker 46

Shutter Speed & Movement 50

Camera Shake

Freezing Movement 52

Panning 54

Exaggerating Movement 56

Night Sky Exposures 58

Masterclass: Sports Ian MacNicol 60

ISO & Noise 64

Types of Noise 66

Noise Control

Shooting Modes 68

Auto

Scene Nodes 69

Program 70

Priority Modes 72

Manual 74

Exposure Metering 76

Metering Patterns 77

Ultimate Accuracy 80

Histograms 82

Exposure Compensation 86

Bracketing 87

Dynamic Range 88

High Dynamic Range 89

Holding the Highlights 90

HDR Imaging 92

Silhouettes 94

High Key 96

Low Key 97

Masterclass: Interiors Adrian Wilson 98

Part 2 Light & Color

Basics of Light 104

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Quality of Light 106

Hard Light

Soft Light 108

Changing the Quality of Light 110

Direction of Light 112

Front Lighting

Side Lighting 113

Backlighting 114

Top Lighting 115

Masterclass: Food Stuart Ovenden 116

The Color of Light 120

Auto WB 122

Preset WB 123

Custom WB 126

Grey Target 127

Color Space 128

CIELab

sRGB 129

AdobeRGB

ProPhoto RGB

Theory vs. Practice 130

Masterclass: Still Life Daniel Brooke 132

Flash 136

The Fundamentals of Flash 137

Built-in Flash 140

Hotshoe-Mounted Flash 142

WARNING: Trigger Voltages

Hotshoe Flash Anatomy 143

Controlling Flash 144

Manual Flash 146

Bounce Flash 148

Oft-Camera Flash 150

Continuous Lighting 152

Continuous Lighting Types 154

Masterclass: Fashion - Dixie Dixon 156

Part 3 Lenses

Lens Basics 162

Fixed Lenses vs. Interchangeable Lenses

Lens Anatomy 163

Lens Types 164

Zoom Lenses

Prime Lenses 166

Focal Length 168

Angle Of View

Crop Factor 170

Perspective 172

The Imperfect Lens 174

Chromatic Aberration

Barrel Distortion 175

Pincushion Distortion

Flare 176

Vignetting

Edge Softness 177

Masterclass: Street Photography Brian Lloyd Duckett 178

Zoom Lenses 182

Standard

Wide Angle 184

Telephoto 186

Macro 188

Reproduction Ration

Focal Lengths Working Distance

Macro Accessories 190

Close-Up Lenses

Reverse-Lens Adapter 191

Extension Tubes 192

Bellows 193

Extreme Lenses 194

Fisheye

Mirror 195

Tilt Shift 196

Legacy Lenses 198

Alternative Lenses 200

Pinhole

Holga 201

Lensbaby 202

Filters 204

Polarising Filters

Neutral Density (ND) Filters 206

Graduated ND Filters 208

Masterclass: Wildlife Richard Garvey-Williams 210

Focus 214

Autofocus 216

AF Modes

AF Technology 218

AF Points

AF Point Selection 220

Manual Focus 224

Off-Center Subjects

Moving Subjects

Shooting from the Hip 226

Low Contrast

Shooting Through

Consistent Focus 227

Precise Focus

Hyperfocal Distance 228

Focus Stacking 230

Masterclass: Macro Andy Small 232

Part 4 Composition

What Is Composition? 238

Composition Basics 240

Orientation

Aspect Ratio 242

Viewpoint 244

Classic Rules 246

Rule of Thirds

Golden Ratio 248

Golden Triangle 250

Rule of Odds 251

Central Subjects 252

Lines 254

Physicals Implied Lines

Leading Lines 256

Line Direction 258

Masterclass: Architecture Janie Airey 262

Other Considerations 266

Balance

Weighing In 267

Negative Space 270

Level Horizons 271

Pattern & Texture 272

Minimalism 274

Frames 276

Color 278

The Color Wheel

Color Connotations 279

Harmonious Color 280

Complementary Color 282

Masterclass: Abstrac Ryan Bush 286

Part 5 Post-Processing

Why is Processing Necessary? 292

Software 294

Image Editing

Catalogues & Keywords 295

Specialist Software 296

Plugins 297

Workflow 298

Essential Edits 300

Cropping

Exposure 302

Contrast 304

Adobe Camera Raw 305

Color 306

Retouching 308

The Tools

Resizing 310

Sharpening 313

Masterclass: Retouching Miss Aniela 316

Advanced Edits 320

Bit Depth

Layers 322

Adjustment Layers 323

Lens Correction 324

Curves 326

Noise Control 328

Selective Edits 330

Edge Sharpening 334

Stitched Panoramas 336

Black & White 338

Basic Conversions 340

Advanced Conversions 342

Raw Conversion 344

Dodging & Burning 346

Toning 348

Split-Toning 350

Part 6 In the Bag

Camera Types 354

Mirror less Cameras

Digital SLR Cameras 356

Bridge Cameras 358

Compact Cameras 359

Digital Medium Format 360

Other Options 361

Drones 362

Sensors 364

Anatomy of a Sensor

Resolution 366

Pixel Pitch

Sensor Size 367

Camera Essentials 368

Batteries

Memory Cards

Bags 370

Remote Releases 371

GPS

Wireless

Film Isn't Dead 372

Film Formats 373

Film vs. Digital 374

Film Camera Types 376

35mm SLRs

35mm Rangefinder 378

35mm Compact

Other Small-Format Cameras 379

Medium-Format Cameras 380

Large-Format Cameras 382

Movements 383

Masterclass: Documentary Michelle Frankfurter 384

Developing Black-and-white Film 388

Equipment

Loading Your Film 389

Preparing Your Chemicals 390

Processing the Film 391

Drying the Film 392

What next? 393

Camera Handling 394

Tripods

Other Options 395

Handholding

Camera Care 396

Sensor Cleaning 397

Index 398

Picture Credits 400

Acknowledgments