Understanding digital photography : techniques for getting great pictures

Using his popular bad image/good image pairings of real-life examples, Bryan Peterson takes the reader through all the techniques needed to succeed with digital photography in every popular genre: nature, people, sports, interiors, travel, low-light conditions, travel, weather, commercial portraits, macro, and wildlife—even how to use creative tricks such as reflections. As a bonus, Peterson explains, in straightforward text, the techniques of Photoshop as well as the basics of publishing, printing, and archiving and storing for personal or professional use. Full of great examples for beginners and serious photographers, Understanding Digital Photography makes it easy to create great digital pictures every time. Title Page 2 Acknowledgments 3 Copyright 4 Dedication 8 Contents 9 Introduction 11 All That Digital “Stuff” 19 What’s a Pixel? 20 The Three Digital Image Formats 23 ISO 32 White Balance 37 Infrared “Film” 41 Aperture 45 Aperture’s True Importance 46 F/22, Storytelling, and the Wide-Angle Lens 48 Isolation Apertures 59 “Who Cares?” Apertures 65 Shutter Speed 74 Interpreting Motion 75 Panning 81 Painting with Shutter Speed 84 Zooming 88 Light 92 The Importance of Light 93 Frontlight 96 Sidelight 99 Backlight 102 Diffused Light 107 Dusk and Low Light 111 Taking a Meter Reading 116 Backlit Portraits 120 Backlit Nature Subjects 123 Composition 127 Filling the Frame 128 Backgrounds 138 The Rule of Thirds 146 Horizontal vs. Vertical 150 Working Your Subject 153 Scale and the Landscape 157 White Backgrounds: An Exercise in Composition 160 Themes 164 Good Macro Subjects 175 Macro Depth of Field and Lenses 178 Specular Highlights 182 The Photoshop Digital Darkroom 186 Photography and Photoshop: It’s Like Driving 187 Opening and Cleaning a Digital File 191 Sharpening 197 Cloning 199 Adjusting Color 203 Black and White, Sepia, or Steely Blue 206 Color, Black and White, or Both 209 Digital Sandwiches 212 Composites 220 Photoshop as Graduated Neutral-Density Filter 225 Multiple Exposures in Photoshop 228 Correcting Keystoning 230 Panoramas 234 Cropping and Resizing 241 Workflow 245 Index 249