Wignall - Digital Photography FAQs: 365 of your digital photography questions answered

Digital Photography FAQz

Jeff Wignall

Digital Photography FAQz

Published byJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.10475 Crosspoint Blvd.Indianapolis, IN 46256www.wiley.com

Copyright 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

All Photographs 2012 Jeff Wignall, unless otherwise credited

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-27723-2

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization of Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (877) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012940032

Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley and Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Credits

Acquisitions Editor

Aaron Black

Project Editor

Amanda Gambill

Technical Editor

Haje Jan Kamps

Senior Copy Editor

Kim Heusel

Editorial Director

Robyn Siesky

Business Manager

Amy Knies

Senior Marketing Manager

Sandy Smith

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher

Barry Pruett

Senior Project Coordinator

Kristie Rees

Graphics and Production Specialists

Lissa Auciello-Brogan, Carrie A. Cesavice

Quality Control Technician

John Greenough

Proofreading

Evelyn Wellborn

About the Author

Jeff Wignall is a photographer, writer, and teacher from Stratford, Connecticut. He has written numerous books about photography, including: Exposure Photo Workshop Second Edition (also from Wiley), The NEW Joy of Digital Photography, Jeff Wignalls Digital Photography Crash Course, Winning Digital Photo Contests, Focus on Digital Photography Basics, and The Joy of Photography Third Edition.

He is a contributing editor with Popular Photography and Photographers i (http://photographersi.com) magazines, and a frequent contributor to Outdoor Photographer, Shutterbug, American Photo, and the Black Star Rising blog (published by the legendary Black Star photojournalism agency).

You can visit Jeffs website at www.jeffwignall.com, or his blog at www.phototipoftheday.blogspot.com.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to my friend and former student Mark Allin, Senior VP of Wileys Global Professional/Trade business, for encouraging me to write for Wiley. Many thanks also to Barry Pruett, Vice President and Executive Publisher at Wiley, and to Aaron Black, Acquisitions Editor, for helping me turn this idea into a book (and for the fine guitar licks). Thanks, as well, to my Editor, Amanda Gambill, Senior Copy Editor Kim Heusel and Technical Editor, Haje Jan Kamps, for their help you cant publish a book like this without a team of talented editors.

I would like to thank the following photographers for contributing their exceptional work to this book: Lisa Aliperti, Derek Doeffinger, Brett S. Foster, Robert Ganz (and sons and nephew), and Jennica Reis (and family). Thanks also to photographer Laura McElroy for sharing her expertise in zoo photography.

Many thanks also to Jon Van Gorder and John Goldhurst at Van Gorder Studios (www.jonvangorder.com) for their knowledge and boundless generosity. Thanks also to Jim, Jesse, Ray, and Ray at Milford Photo (www.milfordphoto.com) for many years of help and friendship.

I am also grateful to these friends for allowing me to photograph them: Hart Borax, John Corvino, Marcella Eversole, Bill Fedorko, Emily Fedorko, Nick Jacobs, Lynne Perrigo, Rich Sarnecky, and Marie Spinosa from Professor Louie and the Crowmatix (www.woodstockrecords.com).

My great appreciation also to the following companies for providing photography and technical information: Canon, Epson, Eye-Fi, Fotodiox, Hoodman, HP Marketing, Ikelite Underwater Systems, JOBY, Kodak, Lensbaby, Lexar, LumiQuest, Manfrotto, Mumford Time Machine/Mumford Micro Systems, Nik Software, Nikon, Olympus, Novoflex, Photoflex, SanDisk, Sekonic, Sigma, Sony, and Voltaic Systems.

Introduction

I came up with the idea for this book while giving a talk at a local camera shop. Toward the end of the evening I asked, So, does anyone have any questions about digital photography? Two hours later, my voice was giving out (and the shop employees were jingling their store keys loudly), but still, the questions kept coming. In the back of my mind, I thought, I bet I could write a book that answers a lot of these questions about digital photography. So, I did.

This book contains exactly 365 questions about digital photography and digital cameras one for each day of the year. Its actually a great way to take a one-year class in photography. Ive tried to compile questions that appeal to a wide range of photo hobbyists from beginners to the more advanced photographer. This book covers many photography topics, including how to choose a camera, how to set your camera for success, how to take sharp photos, how to use composition and design, how to master light and flash techniques, and much more.