(FDD) Creating Digital Prints Lesson

Creating Digital Prints

In this lesson, we will discuss characteristics that are unique to digital photography and create digital photographs. For this lesson, you will need to use a digital camera that allows you to manipulate the exposure triangle settings manually.

 

Digital Camera Lesson

What Makes Them Unique?

Digital cameras are not so different from analog cameras. Shutter speed and aperture still must be balanced with ISO to create a balanced exposure. The ability to shoot from far away or close up at the macro level is still determined by the lenses used. However, with analog photography, the ISO, exposure latitude (range of values), and color balance are all determined by the film used.

Pick Your Pixels!

Remember - digital cameras are not so different from analog cameras. Shutter speed and aperture still must be balanced with ISO to create a balanced exposure. The ability to shoot from far away or close up at the macro level is still determined by the lenses used. However, with analog photography, the ISO, exposure latitude (range of values), and color balance are all determined by the film used. In digital photography, the sensor is essentially the film of a digital camera. The size of the sensor determines the size of the digital negative and how much information can be recorded, and the ISO and color balance can be changed using internal camera software.

 Understanding Sensor Size

View the video below:

 

What is a Pixel?

When discussing digital cameras one of the first things to come up is megapixels. So then, what is a megapixel? A megapixel is one million pixels. And a pixel is one dot of information on the camera sensor or on a screen.

For a more detailed explanation of exactly what pixels are watch the video below:

 

Take a Look Inside a Digital Camera!

 

Ratios and Formats

Aspect Ratios

The term aspect ratio is not specific to digital photography but is always a part of the discussion concerning sensor size. Aspect ratio is the ratio of height to width. In photography, it can be used to describe the crop of a printed photograph, the size of a negative, or the size of a digital camera sensor. Simply put, a larger sensor allows for more pixels. Of course, it’s not entirely that simple as explained in the videos above. The aspect ratio of your sensor also dictates the size of your digital negative or the file that is produced by the camera. This means that you may have to crop your image if you want to print it and put it in a 5x7 sized frame.

File Formats

JPEG, RAW, NEF, CR2, ARW, DNG, PNG, TIF, PSD, GIF….what does it all mean? These are all file formats that can be used in digital photography. A RAW file is the uncompressed data from your camera. These files can be edited more completely and require software for processing them. NEF, CR2, ARW, and DNG are all camera-specific types of RAW files. Each camera manufacturer has its own brand of RAW file technology. GIMP, Photoshop, and Lightroom can all read the files. Most cameras also come with software made by the camera producer for reading and light editing of their specific RAW files.

JPEG is probably the most common file type for a digital image. These files are smaller than RAW files so you can fit more onto a memory card. But this is achieved by processing the image and compressing the data. This limits your ability to edit the image after the fact.

Master Your Craft

 

 

  

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