I haven’t had the chance to write down much of what I experienced and accomplished while in Zambia. One of my passions has always been to travel to impoverished nations and be able to bring back just a glimpse of what I saw through my photography.

Africa was by far one of the most challenging photography environments I’ve ever faced—harsh lighting from the sun, intense weather conditions, and a lack of electricity (making preserving battery life imperative). Africa is the opposite of an ideal studio setup, and quite often you have to choose between ‘getting the perfect shot’, and the safety of yourself and your camera. Most of the time, I chose the latter.

The amazing thing about Africa is that you don’t have to go searching for photos (I could take a picture of the bug on the ceiling above my bed and it would be a fascinating picture). The pictures are right in front on you: it’s just a matter of which ones you are fast enough to capture.

And while it’s easy to say that if I had better/faster/more expensive camera that could take 8 photos a second at ISO 3200 with little noise, my pictures would have been better, the truth of the matter is that cameras and lenses are just tools. Sure it would help me shoot faster, but not necessarily smarter. The most essential part of a camera, is the 3 - 4 inches behind the viewfinder—your brain.

The key to taking stunning photos in Africa is getting out of auto mode.

Before I continue, I must recommend that you read the highly popular “Introduction to Photography” written by yours truly. Even if you aren’t a wannabe photographer, it will introduce you to a couple concepts and terms that will help you understand how cameras work.

How Automatic Works

To understand why not to shoot in auto-mode, it’s important to understand just how automatic works. Your camera is basically just a box with a hole in it—in order to get a properly exposed photo (ie. - theoretically perfect exposure), your camera will adjust the Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO allowing the right amount of light to hit the camera sensor.

Most of the time, perfectly exposed photos are what you want. But not everything we see with our eyes is perfectly exposed. Shadows, sunsets, and ambient lighting are all effects that produce stunning photos, but auto mode will often try to make the lighting “perfect” by brightening or darkening it, and thus losing the effect you pulled out your camera to shoot.

The solution is Manual mode. You’ll find this mode on all DSLRs, and higher-end consumer Point-and-Shoots.

Manual mode gives you full control over all the features of your camera—which is very powerful—but which can also be very clumsy and slow to navigate at first. Countless times have I been taking pictures in manual mode, and have had people yell at me to hurry up and take the picture.

Yes, it’s going to be slow—at first. Your cousin’s wedding is not the time to experiment with Manual mode. Experimentation often leads to worse pictures than if you had simply left it on auto mode in the first place.

As much as I wish there was a magic solution, the key to mastering manual exposure is practice. Learn how Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO affect your pictures, and go out and shoot. Take a picture in auto mode, and copy over the settings to manual mode. Then you can tweak the settings to get the result you’re looking for.

Want more shadows? Speed up the shutter a bit. Need more in focus? Close up the aperture. Want a decent sunset picture? Turn the exposure compensation way down.

Once you get used to maneuvering your way around your camera, these features will become second nature to you. No longer is it about the technicals, the terms, or the specs of your camera. Now it’s up to you using everything you know to tell the story in the best way possible.

Remember, the rules of photography are only there to be broken. Some of the most inspirational photos I’ve seen, have been the ones that coloured outside of the lines; the ones that broke the rules, and came up with something truly unique.

Now that is true storytelling.

Dan McCullum just got his first DSLR (congrats!) and DM’d me on twitter asking for my opinion on whether to shoot in RAW or JPEG. If you are completely photo illiterate, I suggest you stop reading this, get a large mug of your favourite drink and start here. Most amateur photographers have probably heard these terms thrown around before, but don’t know which is better for them.

What are they?

Every time you click the shutter, your camera takes a picture and saves it in a file - typically a high-quality JPEG. JPEG compression is a lossy format that throws away the data that you can’t see in order to give you smaller file sizes. RAW on the other hand is lossless. It keeps every piece of data your camera captures - even if you don’t need it. This results in much larger file sizes, and slower write speeds. A RAW file isn’t even technically an image file. It has to be converted by special software on your computer and processed in order to be suitable for print or publishing.

Okay, but I asked what are they?

In essence, RAW and JPEG photos look pretty similar coming off the camera. In some cases, RAW photos can actually look worse as they are not as sharp and contrasty by default, creating the appearance that they are washed out.

So why would someone shoot in RAW if it produces worse shots and takes up more space off the bat?

While I don’t agree with Ken Rockwell’s opinion on this matter, he happens to have a decent analogy for explaining the purpose of RAW:

Cameras all start with raw data and convert this data to JPEG images with hardware in the camera. They then throw away the raw data since it’s no longer needed.

Saving this raw data is exactly like people who save twenty years of newspapers in piles around their house. They know they might need the information sometime, but it sure gets in the way! Other people think they are crazy.

The easiest way to understand why you want to keep the data in your photos is to see some real-world use. I scoured through my Aperture library to find two photos that were atrociously taken (by yours truly) to use as our victims in this experiment.

Example 1: White balance

Yes, that’s me in all my yellow splendor.

This is the photo right out of the camera. I know what you are thinking: horrible white balance. Photo is ruined. Delete. But this photo was shot in RAW, so there is still the original information from the camera saved in this file. Let’s simply tell Aperture to set the white balance from the colour of the shirt - which should be pure white.

After a white balance and a couple contrast and sharpness adjustments, the finished photo looks perfect. No one would have known that I had totally messed up the white balance had I not written this post. I was able to turn this photo from a reject to a rather nice portrait in under a minute.

That’s my secret. Shoot in RAW, and you can fix almost any mistake you make in the camera.

Just for the sake of argument, let’s look at what would have happened if we applied the exact same adjustments to a JPEG version of this image.

Bet you wished you had kept those 20 years of newspapers - you never know when you might need them.

Since the JPEG compression threw away data that you technically couldn’t see, you can’t make very extreme adjustments when editing the photo. All of the original data is lost and the detail in those parts are gone. Photo ruined. Delete.

Example 2: Over-exposed

By now, most of you are thinking that I’m a horrible photographer. There is a reason this photo came out overexposed. In order to blur the car I needed to slow the shutter speed to 1/25 of a second. I closed my aperture to f/22 (the maximum) and set the camera on the lowest light sensitivity (ISO 100), but the image was still going to be overexposed. I had to choose between a normally-exposed capture with no motion blur, or an over-exposed capture with motion blur.

I chose the motion blur. And with a couple adjustments in Aperture I came out with this:

That is the power of shooting in RAW. You can correct things that went wrong in the camera. In this case, I restored data from areas that were totally clipped (pure white) and brought them down to a normal exposure. Again, in order to see how revolutionary this is, you have to see the equivalent JPEG.

While the car and the trees look decent enough, the detail could not be restored from the road or the sky and resulted in turning those areas to pure grey. The photo looks washed out and ‘blah’ compared to the RAW version with the preserved detail

If you want more information on the specifics of RAW and JPEG photography, check out this in-depth post from one of the greatest photo blogs out there - Digital Photography School.

So which one should I use?

There are pros and cons to shooting both RAW and JPEG images. Many people choose to shoot in JPEG because it is a universal format that they can be taken right off the cameras and shared via email or published to the Internet. RAW shooting requires an additional step - and additional software. RAW images need to be processed in a program like Aperture or Lightroom - I prefer Aperture - or even Adobe Camera RAW in Photoshop.

If you are not going to bother processing your photos, RAW is not for you. But even if you view photography as a simple hobby, it is worth investing in photo-management software like Aperture or Lightroom that make organizing, keywording, searching, and editing your RAW photos as simple as working with JPEGs. Flash memory and hard drive disk space is cheap enough nowadays that you can save all the data from your photos - especially if they are memories that you want to last forever.

Over the last few months, photography has become my passion. There is something about photography that relaxes and excites me. There is a certain thrill that I get when taking pictures that cannot be expressed with words.

Many people have asked me how they can get started with photography. Honestly, I have no idea. I learned most of what I know about photography from Google University. Like many things in life, there is no simple “1, 2, 3″ answer. There is no “become an ace photographer in 30 days” formula (at least that I know of).

Despite this, I have decided to write an introduction for those looking to get into photography as a light past-time, or even as a future career. I wanted to write this a) so that people will know what they are getting into, and b) so that they don’t make the same mistakes I did.

If the word “photography” even remotely interests you, print this post out and take it with you everywhere. To work. To school. To bed. Heck, even laminate it and take it into the shower. Drill these concepts into your head, and they will feel as natural to you as brushing your teeth (I’m under the assumption that all readers of my blog brush their teeth).

The best place to start is at the beginning.

The basics

Like any other creative medium, on the most basic of levels, photography is about telling a story. You have to have something you want to say - something you want to express. Your camera is the tool that you use to express it. Sometimes the best pictures aren’t the ones that follow all the rules. The best pictures most often the ones that break the rules and stand out. They are the ones that set your photography apart from the status quo.

Just like blogging, your photography must develop a voice of it’s own. The expression, “a picture is worth a thousand words” is truer than ever. It is your job to take those words and turn them into a voice. Develop a unique style for your photography. Despite the temptation, don’t try to copy someone else’s style (I’m speaking from personal experience here). Create photos that you personally are completely satisfied with, and let them speak for themselves.

When choosing a camera, the most important thing is not the features or the brand or the reviews. The most important thing is that you will bring your camera with you everywhere. Most of the time, my best shots aren’t the ones I went out specifically to shoot. Usually, they were taken in the spur of the moment that I just happened to have my camera by my side. There have been many of times that I missed great shots because I didn’t have my camera with me. When picking the “best camera” for you, remember, isn’t necessarily the one with the most megapixels or features. The best camera for you is the one that you are going to carry with you all the time. I’m a fan of (small) DSLRs, as they give you a lot of control while being fairly portable. Plus, you can expand to them, buy lenses, and “grow into” your camera.

A great way to start learning photography is to buy an entry-level DSLR. Currently, I’m using a Nikon D40x, and have been been as of late December. It is my first DSLR, and has served me well over the months. The comparable camera from Canon is the Digital Rebel XTi. Since then, the Nikon has been replaced by the D60, and the Canon by the Rebel XSi.

Personally, I’m a big fan of Nikon, and like their variety of lenses. Having a universal SD card in my camera that I can easily slide into the card reader in my computer, the family P&S camera, and the even the Wii, is magical. Plus, to put it bluntly, Nikon has far better design and ergonomics than the competition. Picture quality between cameras is similar across the line. When it comes down to it though, you have to go into your local camera store and try them out for yourself. Features and specs aside, choose the camera that feels right for you. Where the buttons are located can make the difference between a great shot, and a missed opportunity.

Share ‘em

If you really want to learn photography, you are going to need to get a second opinion. And a third. And a fourth. Get Flickr. It is the de facto photo/video sharing site on the Internet. Pony up the $25 for a year-long membership that allows you to upload and store an unlimited number of photos. Add friends, comment on people’s photos, and become part of the community.

Flickr is the number one best way to learn photography, and is how I’ve learned the most. I usually browse through people’s photos, see one I like, say to myself “how did he/she do that?” and then click the “More Properties” button on the photo. This lets you see exactly how the photo was taken, and the settings that were used. This is the best way to learn, especially if you understand what all the numbers mean.

The technicals

Now for the fun part - the technicals. I’ll give you a run through of three main elements of photography. These three things create the “triangle” of exposure. Think of exposure as exactly that. It is the amount of light that comes into contact with your camera’s sensor. The higher the exposure, the brighter the image.

There are three settings on your camera that will affect the exposure. They are called Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO.

Shutter Speed is the amount of time your sensor is exposed to light. The longer you open the shutter, the more light enters your camera, the brighter you picture is going to be. Typically, shutter speeds are labeled in fractions. Common shutter speeds are 1/125 or 1/250 of a second. These are for daylight shots where you have a lot of light coming into your camera. When there is a lot of light, your sensor doesn’t have to be open for long, and can open for a very short amount of time. This will create a fast shutter speed. If it’s open for too long, your image will be over exposed and pure white.

When you are indoors and in a low light situation, you have to slow your shutter speed to 1/60 or even 1/20 of the second. The challenge is that a slower shutter speed will produce more camera shake and blur. If your shutter is open for an entire second, chances are your image will be become blurry because your hands will not be able to hold still that long. You may get photos like this.

But shutter speed is just one third of the equation. Next is the Aperture, which is how wide your shutter opens. Think of it this way: the lower the number, the wider your shutter will open, and the more light will enter into your camera. The higher the number, the narrower your shutter, and less light that enters your camera. These numbers are expressed in f/stops. A lower number is better for indoor photography because it lets a lot of light in. These Apertures are usually f/5.6, f/3.5, or even f/2.8. For outdoor, daylight photography, you can set a higher Aperture like f/8, f/11, or f/22. This will barely open your camera’s shutter, and will let less light in.

Aperture does more than that though. It also changes what we call the ‘DOF’ or Depth of Field. The lower the f/number, the wider the lens opens, the narrower the DOF. A narrow DOF means that there is a very small area in focus. If you want the background of a shot blurred out, you need to lower the Aperture (f/3.5). If you want a wider area in focus (a landscape shot, for example), you will need a higher f/stop (f/22). Note: Your lens will determine your Aperture range. All lenses can open up to f/22, but different lenses open wider. More expensive lenses may open all the way up to f/2.2 or even f/1.4. The kit lens that comes with most entry-level DSLRs opens up to f/3.5.

The final element of exposure is ISO. The ISO is the sensitivity of your camera to light. ISOs generally range from 100 all the way up to 1600. Increments include 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive your camera will be to light, and the brighter the image will be. In daylight, you would generally use an ISO of 100 or 200 because there is a lot of natural light. Indoors, however, there is a lot less light (if you are not using a flash), so you can dial your ISO up to 400 or even 800 to allow more light into your picture.

But of course, there’s a catch. The problem with high ISOs (usually 800 or 1600) is that they add a lot of noise to your images. Try to stay away from anything over 800, or even 400, as they make your pictures look grainy. Some cameras are pretty good at handling this, and can shoot up to 6400 ISO with hardly any grain, but they are in the $5000 price range.

Now, it is important to understand that none of these elements can be adjusted without affecting the other. They are all connected. That is why we call them a “triangle”. Your camera will always try to expose your picture properly, but you need to know what settings to change in order to get what you want.

Let’s say you are outside, shooting at ISO 200 at an Aperture of f/8. In order to expose your photo properly, your camera will choose a shutter speed of 1/250 of a second. These are fairly easy conditions to shoot in, as the shutter speed is very fast. You then decide to take a portrait of a person, and wish to blur the background. You have to open your Aperture wider (by lowering the number) to f/5.6. This will let more light into your camera. Your camera will detect this, and speed up your shutter to 1/500 in order to compensate.

Then, you decide to shoot some indoor shots. If you try shooting at ISO 200 at f/5.6 inside, with low light, your camera will need to let more light into the camera and will slow the shutter speed to 1/15. This is too slow, and will introduce camera shake into your pictures. Subjects won’t freeze when you take pictures - they’ll blur. In order to help raise the shutter speed, you can turn the ISO up to 400 (hardly any noise here), and open the Aperture even wider to f/3.5. This might raise your shutter speed to 1/60 which is the minimum you should take pictures at with a normal lens.

As you can see, everything in photography is connected. Over time, you will learn how to use these elements to create photos that tell your stories. Changing settings will become second nature, and you will be free to imagine, dream, and create.

Welcome to the wonderful world of photography.

After writing about some photography tools yesterday, I decided to go out and buy a Wacom Bamboo tablet from my local camera store. While I have not used it extensively yet, I can already see that it is an amazing product. Currently, I am using it as a complete replacement for my mouse. My MX Revolution has been put aside for now, so I can test the Wacom Bamboo exclusively for a couple days. So far, I’m loving it

It is very easy to see the strengths of this over a mouse. Just opening Photoshop or ArtRage will allow you to select items and paint with such precision that would never have been possible with a mouse. At first I thought it would be difficult and clunky to navigate, however, I have found the opposite. For drawing, sketching, and handwriting this tablet shines. It has a small, portable form factor, and looks and feels great as well.

After I play around with it this week, I plan to write up a review on it’s strengths, it’s weaknesses, and what features I find myself using the most. For now, you can check out my Flickr set with some of the unboxing photos.

Photography can quickly grow from a small task, to a profession or a hobby that can require a lot of equipment, time, education, and money. I have already talked about the importance of having a tripod with you whenever you go out shooting. As I spent more time taking photos, and developed a post-processing workflow, I found three essential tools for anyone who takes photography seriously.

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One frustration that I’ve always had with cameras when shooting in low light conditions is camera shake. The problem is that in low light, the shutter must open for a long amount of time in order for the image to be exposed properly. The general rule of thumb, is that you shouldn’t shoot with a shutter speed lower than the inverse of your focal length. For example, if you are shooting with a 50mm lens - which I do quite often - you shouldn’t shoot freehand with a shutter speed lower than 1/60th of a second. When the shutter speeds get down to 1/20 and 1/5 of a second, the human hand cannot hold steady long enough, and your images will be blurry.

Now if you know a little bit about cameras, you will realize that opening the Aperture (which will result in a lower f/stop and narrower depth of field) and raising the ISO (which will result in noisier images) all help to expose the image properly, and reduce the need for longer shutter speeds. The problem is, lenses with very wide Apertures are very expensive, and cannot be used on a point-and-shoot camera. I read blog post after blog post touting the importance of tripods in photography, however, my main concern was the hefty pricetag. A tripod can easily add up to $200+, and was not a necessary investment in my mind.

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Digital photography is quickly becoming one of my favourite hobbies. I enjoy learning about techniques, and practicing different styles in different settings. However, one type of photography that I had never thought of using was Panoramic Photography. In my mind, panoramas needed a precise, level tripod, and pictures on a calculated horizontal axis. Then, they required hours of post-processing in order for them to look somewhat decent. I was so wrong.

While I was at Niagara Falls earlier this week taking a much needed vacation and some photographs, I decided to snap some photos from behind the falls. Not really thinking about it, I took 6 photos, moving my camera from left to right after each one. I didn’t use a tripod. I wasn’t precise. I didn’t even plan it out. After returning to the hotel, my good friend Chad Ohman recommended DoubleTake, a $25 application that makes creating panoramas as easy as dragging and dropping your photos. No Photoshop. No manually stitching of photos together. Just drag and drop.

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One of the best purchases I made in 2007 was my Nikon D40x. I really enjoy photography, and my 5 year old point and shoot simply wasn’t cutting it for me anymore. However, ever since getting the D40x, I find myself taking a lot of pictures. Where cameras used to be only for special events, I began using my camera to take photos every day. While that was great, the real problem was that I would go to an hour-long event and come back with 500 photos. I would treat my DSLR as a point-and-shoot - a very good one at that. But at the speed I was taking pictures, very few turned out good, and many were out of focus. Read More