Alan Hess - Exposure Digital Field Guide

Exposure Digital Field Guide

Alan Hess

Exposure Digital Field Guide

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Copyright 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-0-470-53490-8

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Alan Hess is a San Diego based commercial photographer specializing in concert and event based photography, but has photographed everything from portraits to products. He is the author of two previous Digital Field Guides, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 Digital Field Guide and the Sony Alpha DSLR-A200 Digital Field Guide.

His concert and backstage images have appeared in numerous online and print publications and have been used for promotional purposes and music packaging.

He is a member of the National Press Photographers Association and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals and Nikon Professional Services.

Alan is a key contributor to the Lexar Pro Photographer Web site and has written articles on concert photography and technology. Alan has taught concert photography at Photoshop World and has taught photography, digital photography workflow using Adobe Bridge and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom at Essys Studio in San Diego.

Alan can be contacted through his Web site www.alanhessphotography.com where he writes a regular blog.

Credits

Acquisitions Editor

Courtney Allen

Technical Editor

Haje Jan Kamps

Senior Copy Editor

Kim Heusel

Editorial Director

Robyn Siesky

Editorial Manager

Cricket Krengel

Business Manager

Amy Knies

Senior Marketing Manager

Sandy Smith

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher

Barry Pruett

Project Coordinator

Kristie Rees

Graphics and Production Specialists

Carrie A. Cesavice

Jennifer Henry

Andrea Hornberger

Jennifer Mayberry

Quality Control Technician

Laura Albert

Proofreading and Indexing

Cindy Ballew
Ty Koontz

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to my wife for her amazing patience as I wrote this book. I know that I am not the easiest person to get along with when facing deadlines.

I would like to thank my parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, and all the nephews and nieces for being the supporting family that everyone should be lucky enough to have.

Thanks to all my family and friends for allowing me to always be pointing a camera at you and letting me use the photos in this book.

Special thanks to Brian Ross, David Baron, and Maya at PR Photo you all opened new doors and shooting opportunities for me, and I thank you.

My deepest gratitude to Courtney and Cricket for all their guidance; this is our third book together and I am glad for all your help. Thanks to Haje Jan Kamps and Kim Heusel for all their hard work as well.

For Nadra

Introduction

T his Digital Field Guide is not camera specific or even brand specific, it is all about exposure, but what does that actually mean? Exposure is a very simple concept allow the light sensitive sensor (film) to be exposed to the light that is reflected from the scene you want to capture. Thats the basics of taking a photograph. When you press the shutter release the camera opens the shutter and the light travels through the lens and is allowed to reach that sensor and you have a photograph.

As photographers you get to control the amount of light that reaches the sensor by controlling how long the shutter is open and how big a hole the light enters through. You also get to decide how much the signal from the sensor is amplified and it is those decisions that are the essence to taking photographs and getting a proper exposure.

I get a lot of questions about photography both through my blog at www.alanhessphotography.com and in person when out photographing. Most of the time the questions are about how I managed to capture a certain image or what settings I use for my photos. The answer is pretty simple: I use the best exposure settings for the situation.

In this book, I start by covering exactly what an exposure is and what controls you have to adjust it. It explains how your camera measures light and what each of the settings mean, as well as which of the metering modes works best for different situations. It also covers the exposure modes found on most cameras and when the best time to use them is.

Next up is all about light. Because photography is capturing light, it is important to understand the direction, color, and intensity of light in any scene. It is only after you can see and understand the light, that you can really go about capturing it. Shutter speed, aperture, and ISO are also covered in detail. Each of these sections not only cover the controls you have at your disposal, but the pros and cons of each one.