Littleton Photography Class - Session 4

My Camera:  We looked at what kind of lens our camera has.  We found the controls for the flash, and looked for flash output compensation.  We also found the white balance, and looked at the different white balance settings.  We looked at different metering patterns available, and discussed when to use them.

Terms:  
contrast - the difference between the darkest dark and the lightest light in your photograph.  The greater the contrast, the more drama your photos have.  Of course, the greatest contrast is going to be with a subject that is absolute black and brightest white.  We talk about contrasty lighting causing harsh shadows. Try modifying the contrast in your photos post-capture, and see what a difference it can make.
normal lens - a normal lens most closely approximates normal human vision.  For 35mm cameras and full frame DSLR's, a normal lens is 50-55mm.  The following definitions assume you are using one or the other.
telephoto - a telephoto lens has a focal length greater than 55mm.  It will magnify your subject and visually compress the space.
wide angle - a wide angle lens is less than 50mm.  The feeling of space or depth of field will be greater.  Its angle of view will show more of your subject out to the sides, but it will not be magnified as much as a normal or telephoto lens.  Wide angle lenses used close to the subject will cause distortion.
fast lens - a fast lens has a larger possible aperture, allowing faster shutter speeds to be used.
zoom lens - a lens with more than one focal length.
histogram - even little bitty point and shoot cameras have them now.  A histogram is a graph that shows you how many pixels there are of each of the possible 255 values.  It looks like a spiky mountain range.  The taller spikes show where you have more pixels.  The graph along the bottom tells you whether those pixels are lighter or darker.