Jeff Revell - Canon EOS Rebel T4i / 650D: From Snapshots to Great Shots

From Snapshots to Great Shots

Jeff Revell

Canon EOS Rebel T4i / 650D: From Snapshots to Great Shots
Jeff Revell

Peachpit Press
www.peachpit.com

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Copyright 2013 by Peachpit Press

Project Editor: Valerie Witte
Production Editor: Lisa Brazieal
Copyeditor: Scout Festa
Proofreader: Patricia Pane
Composition: WolfsonDesign
Indexer: Valerie Haynes Perry
Cover Image: Jeff Revell
Cover Design: Aren Straiger
Interior Design: Riezebos Holzbaur Design Group
Back Cover Author Photo: Scott Kelby

Notice of Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact .

Notice of Liability

The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

Trademarks

All Canon products are trademarks or registered trademarks of Canon Inc.

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-88691-0
ISBN-10: 0-321-88691-7

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed and bound in the United States of America

For all the great folks at Peachpit for putting up with my special brand of insanityyou guys are great!

Walk into any bookseller and you will see countless books on the subject of photography. Look a little further and you will locate the camera-specific books. It is this divide between the camera-specific and instructional photography books that inspired me to write this book. I was seeing a lot of books that were just sort of missing the markespecially when it came to combining actual photographic instruction with the use of a specific brand and model of camera. So with that, I set about to write this book on the Canon T4i, not as a rehash of the owners manual but as a resource to teach photography with the wonderful technology present in the T4i. I have put together a short Q&A to help you get a better understanding of just what it is that you can expect from this book.

Q: IS EVERY CAMERA FEATURE GOING TO BE COVERED?

A: Nope, just the ones I felt you need to know about in order to start taking great photos. Believe it or not, you already own a great resource that covers every feature of your camera: the owners manual. Writing a book that just repeats this information would have been a waste of my time and your money. What I did want to write about was how to harness certain camera features to the benefit of your photography. As you read through the book, you will also see callouts that point you to specific pages in your owners manual that are related to the topic being discussed. For example, in I discuss the use of the AE Lock feature, but there is more information available on this feature in the manual. I cover the function as it applies to our specific needs, but I also give you the page numbers in the manual so you can explore it even further.

Q: SO IF I ALREADY OWN THE MANUAL, WHY DO I NEED THIS BOOK?

A: The manual does a pretty good job of telling you how to use a feature or turn it on in the menus, but it doesnt necessarily tell you why and when you should use it. If you really want to improve your photography, you need to know the whys and whens to put all of those great camera features to use at the right time. To that extent, the manual just isnt going to cut it. It is, however, a great resource on the cameras features, and it is for that reason that I treat it like a companion to this book. You already own it, so why not get something of value from it?

Q: WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO LEARN FROM THIS BOOK?

A: Hopefully, you will learn how to take great photographs. My goal, and the reason the book is laid out the way it is, is to guide you through the basics of photography as they relate to different situations and scenarios. By using the features of your T4i and this book, you will learn about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, lens selection, depth of field, and many other photographic concepts. You will also find plenty of full-page photos that include captions, shooting data, and callouts so you can see how all of the photography fundamentals come together to make great images. All the while, you will be learning how your camera works and how to apply its functions and features to your photography.

Q: WHAT ARE THE ASSIGNMENTS ALL ABOUT?

A: At the end of most of the chapters, you will find shooting assignments, where I give you some suggestions as to how you can apply the lessons of the chapter to help reinforce everything you just learned. Lets face itusing the camera is much more fun than reading about it, so the assignments are a way of taking a little break after each chapter and having some fun.

Q: SHOULD I READ THE BOOK STRAIGHT THROUGH OR CAN I SKIP AROUND FROM CHAPTER TO CHAPTER?

A: Heres the easy answer: yes and no. No, because the first four chapters give you the basic information that you need to know about your camera. These are the building blocks for using the camera. After that, yes, you can move around the book as you see fit because the later chapters are written to stand on their own as guides to specific types of photography or shooting situations. You can bounce from portraits to shooting landscapes and then maybe to a little action photography. Its all about your needs and how you want to address them. Or, you can read it straight through. The choice is up to you.

Q: I DONT SEE ANY CHAPTERS DEVOTED TO VIDEO.

A: I know that one of the reasons you bought the T4i was probably its ability to capture video. I have covered some basic video setup information in , but I really wanted the focus of this book to be the photographic capabilities and possibilities. Dont worry, thoughread the next Q&A and I think you will be happy.

Q: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW BEFORE GETTING STARTED?

A: In order to keep the book short and focused, I had to be selective about what I included in each chapter. The problem is that there is a little more information that might come in handy after youve gone through all the chapters. So as an added value for you, I have written two bonus chapters: Pimp My Ride and T4i Video: Beyond the Basics. The first chapter is full of information on photo accessories that will assist you in making better photographs. In it, you will find my recommendation for things like filters, tripods, and much more. The second chapter will lead you through some video tips and techniques to make your T4i movies even better. To access the bonus chapters, just log in to or join Peachpit.com (its free), then enter the books ISBN. After you register the book, a link to the bonus chapters will be listed on your Account page under Registered Products.