Image Enhancement

Something that I've never done before is use an editing software to enhance an image. I always thought that it took a lot of work and effort. Today, I finally decided to try out a real editing software because in the past I have used phone apps like VSCO, which I have grown out of. 

I used the software called Serif PhotoPlus Starter Edition and I admit that the program did intimidate me at first, but after I got used to the basics, it got easier.

The first thing I learned was applying exposure. In the program, there is something called "levels" and according to Gatcum, "While using Exposure allows you to make universal changes to your images, Level lets you control the shadows, highlights and midtones independently" (Gatcum 170). Keeping this in mind really helps my future photos because my worry for taking very dark/bright photos is less of an issue knowing that I can alter the exposure later on. 

The next setting I learned was adjusting the contrast.  The images below shows my adjustment of the contrast.

Before

After

In the photos above, I followed the author's tips. Gatcum states, "When you open a Curve dialog box, you'll see a straight line running across a box from bottom left to top right" (Gatcum 172). A curve box is the setting that allows you to change the contrast. The basic explanation of the curve dialog box is that if you add a point to the top right of the line, you can alter the highlights of the image by moving the image up [brightening the photo] or move it down [darkening the photo] (Gatcum 172). The same thing applies when altering the shadows, but you must press the left end of the curve (Gatcum 172). The last thing that Chris Gatcum states is, "The simplest way to boost a contrast is to create a shallow "S" shape" (Gatcum 173). I am surprised to say that by following that tip, my image did not turn into a complete mess; the "S" shape really does help!

The last setting I learned was boosting the color. The author talks about how hue is a huge way of boosting the color of an image. The author says, "Adjusting the Hue slider shifts the overall color bias of an image" (Gatcum 174). This means that changing the color of the Hue can change the color of the image itself, so I tried not to alter the hue too intensely since I did not want a yellow or purple tinted photo. Gatcum also states that "Saturation determines its intensity, usually from a scale of 0...to 100" (Gatcum 174). Now, Saturation is the setting I changed the most because I love creating intense photos in my images. The photos below the change of the hue/saturation.

Before:
Hue: 0
Saturation: 0
Lightness: 0

After:
Hue: -3
Saturation: 29
Lightness: -2

  Finally, the images below show the before and after:

Before

After

I am quite proud of how the photo turned out. Before the editing software, the image seemed very dark and gloomy. After the photo, there is much more color standing out and I like the way that it looks. I will definitely be using this program again!

My question to you guys is; Have you ever tried editing a photo using a program? If so, how did it turn out?

Available Light

What is available light? According to Chris Gatcum, available light is, "any light that exists in a location before they set up a flash or other lights." (Gatcum 122). Altering light to fit my photos was another aspect of photography that I found very difficult to accomplish, but after reading the chapter about available light I feel as if I am much more comfortable and have gained some more knowledge about altering light for my photos.

The first thing I learned that I never knew before was that there are two types of ways that light falls; hard or soft (Gatcum 122). What this means is that in soft light, the image looks less intense meaning that there are less shadows and highlights in the photo. Hard light is the direct opposite since it has shadows and creates a seemingly sharper photo. The photos below are an example of hard light vs. soft light.

Hard Light
White Balance: Cloudy

Soft Light
White balance: Tungsten

Notice how in the two photos above, one has more shadows than the other. To change the setting of the light, I changed my white balance settings. White balance is a setting that is related to light and depending on what setting you choose, there are different colors of light. According to Gatcum, the higher the temperature of the photo [measured in Kelvin], the more blue the photo looks (Gatcum 124). In the photos above, there is also the white balance setting written down. The tungsten white balance has a temperature of 3200K meaning that the photo is going to be brighter and have a "sunset/sunrise" tone (Gatcum 124) while the cloudy white balance has a temperature of 6000k meaning that it as an "electronic flash" [or blue-like] type of light (Gatcum 124). By comparing the photos, you can see the differences between the lighting and the significance of choosing a white balance.
In this chapter, I also learned about how ISO and aperture help when taking photos in a dimly lit room. Gatcum states, "Set a relatively wide aperture. An aperture of around f/5.6 will let in plenty of light but still provide a modest depth of field" (Gatcum 136). The author also states to "Increase the ISO" (Gatcum 137), so I raised it to 800. The photo below shows the ISO and aperture working hand-in-hand to develop a reasonable photo in an indoor area.

ISO: 800
Aperture: f/4

Take into account how in the photo above, I used a high ISO and a wide aperture to create a photo that is neither too dark or too light.
Overall, I learned that there are a variety of white balances that I can use to take photos and each white balance has a different shade. On top of that, ISO and aperture also play an enormous role in the lighting of a photo. My question to you readers out there is; Do you prefer a more bright, yellow-orange tint in your photos or a sky, blue tone?

Exposure

"Technically, there's no such thing as the right exposure, just the one that you think looks best, but there's a point at which most people would agree that a picture is overly light or dark." (Gatcum 44). Reading this sentence allows me to see that there is no right or wrong in photography. It amazes me because it allows me to realize that there is no single correct way to take a photo.

In this chapter I learned that "A good exposure involves balancing the aperture, shutter speed and ISO." (Gatcum 45). Shutter speed is shown as a fraction and the higher the shutter speed, the less blurry the photo will be. Aperture is measured like a fraction, but looks like f/2.8 or f/32. I learned that the lower the number of the aperture setting, the more isolated [or focused] the image will be. Finally, ISO is the light sensitivity and also is what causes graininess in a photo; the higher the ISO, the brighter the photo will be. It will also be much more grainy than a photo with a lower ISO setting.

I found it so much easier to take photos during Christmas and Christmas Eve due to the fact that my family believes it is the best time to take photos. During this holiday, everyone is dressed nicely [or in ugly Christmas sweaters] and it made it so much easier to do my job as the family photographer.

The first concept I focused on was the shutter speed [also referred to as "exposure"]. I personally found it difficult to alter this setting because in order for the shutter speed to turn out well, you also must balance the aperture along with it. From experience in the past, I found that if one of the settings is too high or too low, then the photo won't turn out the way you wanted it to be. The author states "There's no reason why you shouldn't take several shots using different shutter speeds, increasing the amount of movement blur as you go, so you have a number of options to choose from." (Gatcum 69).

Here is an example of me changing my shutter speed:

Aperture: f/4
Exposure: 1/4 sec.
ISO speed: ISO-800

Aperture: f/4
Exposure: 1/8 sec.
ISO speed: 800

In the photos above, notice how the first photo was overexposed [too bright] and blurry at the exposure of 1/4, but the second photo was just right at the shutter speed of 1/8. This is due to the fact that the 1/4 is a slower shutter speed than 1/8. That means that the 1/4 sec. will take a longer time to take the photo, allowing you to see the the blurriness caused by the movement of the photographer.

The next concept of exposure that I focused on was the aperture [also known as the depth of field]. The author states, "When you increase the size of the aperture, or open up the lens, you allow more light to reach the sensor. This reduces depth of field, so less of the scene appears in focus..." (Gatcum 46). This means that if the aperture is f/2.8 [for example], then the subject is more isolated or focused on than an aperture of f/16.

In the following photos I worked on the aperture:

Aperture: f/4
Exposure: 1/20 sec.
ISO: 1600

Aperture: f/4
Exposure: 1/15 sec.
ISO: 1600

In the photos above, take notice of how I used a "wide" [low] aperture setting, so the photo was much sharper than any of the background images. In many of my photos I like using a wide aperture setting due to the fact that the image is much more focused on.

The last concept was ISO. I believe that this was the easiest because once you balanced the shutter speed and aperture, you just had to decide on the brightness/darkness of the photo. Chris Gatcum says, "The ISO setting controls how sensitive your sensor is to light: low ISO settings indicate low sensitivity, while high ISO settings equate to high sensitivity." (Gatcum 46). The ISO setting also determines whether a photo will be more grainy or not [the higher the ISO, the more grainy the photo will be] and the detail of the photo [the lower the ISO setting, the more detailed the photo will be].

The following photos is where I focused on ISO:

Aperture: f/6.3
Exposure: 1/30 sec.
ISO: 1600

Aperture: f/4
Exposure: 1/15 sec.
ISO: 800

Notice in the photos above that although they weren't as grainy, they weren't as sharp as they could have been. In the two photos, I used pretty high ISO's and it caused the sharpness of the photo to be lowered. 

Overall, I felt as if the aperture and shutter speed was the hardest to set due to the balance between the two settings. What do you guys think is the hardest concept to master when dealing with exposure and why? Let me know in the comments below!

Focusing

"Focusing in perhaps one of the most important areas in photograph." (Gatcam 88). I couldn't agree more with the author. I truly believe the focus in a photo is an important way of giving a photo more meaning and makes the subject stand out more.

Over the weekend, I decided to take photos with my cousin, Trinette. On Sunday, we had a family gathering and decided to take photos outside and my great Aunt's backward was an absolutely nice place to take photos considering the fact that I love shooting around in nature.

In this chapter, the author teaches the reader to use a single-point auto focus, which is choosing a specific point for the camera to focus on. To do this, you must "select an AF point yourself by pressing the AF point button and turning the control wheel." (Gatcum 91). I chose the middle point because I just generally like to center my subject. This will be really helpful in the future when I choose not to center my subject.

Here are some results of choosing the center focus point:

Another thing that Gatcum teaches us is manual focus, which is focusing on the subject yourself instead of depending on the camera. He states that it is useful because, "...you may need to take over from the camera when low light and/or  low contrast make it difficult for the AF system to lock onto your subject." (Gatcum 88). This was very helpful since we took photos around the time the sun was setting. I also generally like taking photos in dark settings, so I will truly benefit from this tip in the future.

Here is a photo where I used manual focus:

Overall, the chapter on focusing gave me great tips that will help me in my upcoming photo shoots. I believe it's really important to notice these small details because in photography, every tiny detail counts when it comes to executing a photo well.

What do you guys think about the photos? Also, what setting do you prefer for taking photos; nature or urban? Let me know in the comments below!

Brielle Canares- Photography

The Beginner's Photography Guide by Chris Gatcum

Chapter: Equipment

Photography has always been in my life. I wouldn't call my dad a professional photographer, but he constantly took photos during my childhood. I believe his obsessive photo taking of my childhood really sparked this interest of photography within me. It wasn't until my older years [also known as the age of 8 years old] that I picked up my dad's DSLR and actually started taking photos. From then on, photography remained one of my favorite hobbies and I am not ashamed to say that out of school, I still bring my camera everywhere I go. 

The first chapter of the book starts off by going into detail about the anatomy of a camera, the way to hold a camera and even just the basic equipment that is strongly recommended. 

The first thing they teach us is the different parts of the camera and what they're called. Since this book is open to many different types of cameras, the page gives us a general idea of where the parts are. Taking this into consideration, I decided to map out the different parts of my own camera in which I used the book to help me. 

What I found interesting was that the top metal part where external flash goes is called a "hot shoe". Although I found reading about the buttons on a camera was pretty boring, it felt reassuring to refresh my mind of the names of the parts of the camera. 

Another interesting thing about this chapter was the fact that it teaches the reader to hold a camera correctly. The author states, "To keep your camera as steady as possible (without using a tripod), hold it in your right hand, with your index finger close to the shutter release button and your fingers around the camera's grip." (Gatcum 28). I found this very interesting since I didn't know that you were supposed to hold a camera a certain way. Gatcum also states to, "Keep your elbows tucked into your sides for added stability." (Gatcum 28). I believe these simple tips will really help my photography in the future and help be a huge step towards preventing blurriness in my photos.  

Overall, reading the first chapter was pretty redundant for me, but it did help me recall the smaller details like the names of the buttons of the camera and just the posture for holding a camera. I believe that getting to know each of the button's functions will really help me in the future, when I actually start to take photos. Now that I'm finished with the boring part of the book, I'm actually ready to learn how to alter the settings and produce quality photos, which means that I get go out and photograph the world. 

Is there any specific place that you think I should go to take photos? Let me know in the comments below!