Photography 101

1. Photography 101 For People That Like Fish Tanks Content, Design, Photos - Joshua Gunder

3. Tonight’s Discussion • Introduction • Key Photographic Principles • Composition • Exposure • Focus • Macro Photography • Aquarium Photography • Conclusion

4. Introduction • Who am I? • Not a Professional, Just Josh! • I Reserve The Right to be … • Most Certainly Boring, Potentially Educational • Let me Know If You Already Know This Stuff • We Can Watch TV or Watch Mike Kill Corals • Not into Photography? I Won’t be Hurt if You Leave. • Just Wait For Me to Turn Around Please

5. Key Photographic Principles Are Universal Regardless of Subject • Composition • What is in The Scene and Where • Exposure • Lighting, Film Speed, Shutter Speed, Aperture • Focus • What? If these 3 are good, your photo should be good

6. Composition • Get Close / Personal • Don’t Chop Off Parts • Frame The Picture • Correct Focal Length • Zoom in/out • Move close/far • Wait For • The Scene • Stony Corals • Are Stiller

7. Composition • Rule of Thirds • Intersecting Lines/Points on a 3x3 Grid • Creates a More • Interesting Scene • Give the Subject • Room to Move

8. Exposure - Overview • How the Camera “Exposes” The Media to Light • Media is in The Dark • Until The Camera Blinks • Then Camera Gets to See What’s In Front of It • How Much Light the Media Sees is Determined by • How Long The Camera Blinks (Shutter Speed) • How Wide The Camera Blinks (Aperture) • Sensitivity of the Media can Also be Set (Film Speed)

9. Exposure – Overview Cont • Exposure is the Most Important AND Difficult • You Don’t Really Know it Ahead of Time • You Find Out Standing in Line at Costco • Cameras Have Light Meters That • Read/Report Available Light • Reading it Helps You Set Shutter and Aperture • Auto Exposure / Program Mode • Camera Read its Own Meter and • Sets Shutter Speed For You • Sets Aperture For You • Sets Film Speed (if a digital camera)

10. Exposure – “Film” Speed Establishes How Sensitive the Media is to Light Constrains Shutter Speed and Aperture Most Digital Cameras Have Auto ISO Mode Increases Film Speed For You if Not Enough Light • High (ISO 400 – 800) • Pros • Requires Less Light • Allows Faster Shutter • Allows Smaller Aperture • Cons • More Noise • Image May Not Enlarge Well • Low (ISO 100-200) • Cons • Requires More Light • Requires Slower Shutter • Requires Larger Aperture • Pros • Less Noise • Image Will Enlarge Well

11. Exposure - Shutter Speed • How Long Camera Blinks in Seconds • At 1/4000th - Freeze a Hummingbird’s Wings in Flight • At 1/60th - Please Don’t Sneeze Honey • 1/120th - Good Minimum For Fish Photos • Shutter Priority Mode • You Specify Shutter and • Camera Picks Aperture • Shutter Speed and Aperture • Are Dysfunctional Spouses • Dependent But in Conflict

12. Exposure - Aperture • Size of Camera’s Eye - Denoted by f-stop • Low # Larger Eye (f 1.4) • Lots of Light Reaching Media • Shallower Plane of Focus • Requires a Faster Shutter Speed • High # Smaller Eye (f 16) • Not Much Light Reaching Media • Deeper Plane of Focus • Require a Slower Shutter Speed • Aperture Priority Mode • You Specify Aperture and • Camera Picks Shutter Speed

13. Exposure - White Balance • Camera Trying to Make White Look White • Your 6500K Light May Yellow The Scene • Camera Tries To Turn Whites Back to White • Auto White Balance Mode • Is a Crapshoot • Works Well in Higher-End Cameras • Not so Much in Lower-End Cameras • If Photo Looks Too Blue or Too Yellow • Adjust the White Balance Mode

14. Exposure - Putting it All Together • Shutter Speed and Aperture • Are Holding Your Photograph’s Exposure Hostage Typical Aquarium Photo To Expose Media to Enough Light a Low f Stop Was Used, Thus the Focal Plan is Shallow and Anything Behind The Fish is Blurry

15. Exposure - Cheating • Digital Cameras Have LCD Screens • We Can See Right Away if Photo Has Good Exposure • Digital Cameras Show Histograms • The Darkness or Brightness of Pixels in The Photo • Too Much on Left  Too Much of Image is Dark • Too Much on Right  Too Much of Image is Light

16. Exposure - Final Words • OK to Sacrifice Background Exposure • For Good Foreground/Subject Exposure • Don’t Use a Direct Flash • You Can’t Recharge an Anemone Wake up NEMO!!

17. Focus • Auto Focus in Most Cases • A Slow Focusing Camera • Means Blurry Photos • Standard PAS Camera • Slower Focusing • Not so Good For Fish • Manual Focusing • Only in Some Scenarios • Night Photos • Whole Tank Shots

18. Macro Photography • Big Pictures of Tiny Things • High-End SLR Cameras Can Use Macro Lenses • Low-End Cameras Have Macro Mode Built-in • Works Surprisingly Well on Many Camera • Steadiness is The Key • Place Camera on a Surface • Edge of Table, Tripod if You Have One

24. Aquarium Photography • Get Entire Tank in The Shot • Stand at an Angle to Side of Tank to Fit it All In (if needed) • Use a Slower Film Speed (ISO 200) • You Want to be Able to Make a Poster of This Thing Right? • Use a Tripod or Hold Really Steady • In a Full Tank Shot From an Angle Perspective • Refraction and Diffraction is expected and Tolerable • Must Have Enough Light in Tank to Expose For • A Medium Shutter Speed 1/60th - 1/180th • A Medium Aperture f 5.6-8 or Higher if at an Angle So Entire Tank is in Focus • If You Want External Surfaces Visible • Be Careful Not To Add Reflections On Glass

27. Conclusion • Clean The Glass • Halides Provide Good Lighting For Photos • Start with Corals / Fish Too Fast For Most PAS Cameras • Frame the Subject / Lens Perpendicular to Tank Wall • Cheap Cameras Focus Slowly • Exposure is The Key • High-End Camera = Superior Exposure / Focus Control • When All Else Fails  Photoshop!

28. Questions?