Photography

I was assigned as the official photographer for CIDOS Inspiring Learning Awards 2015 - eDOLA 2015 event organized by students of Diploma of Event Management semester 6 Polytechnic Merlimau, Melaka. The event was held at Equatorial Hotel on 7 October 2015. The CIDOS Inspiring Learning Awards 2015 is an event that celebrates the online educational practices and rewards those practitioners who have succeeded and able to create quality eCONTENT materials to be used by the Malaysian Polytechnics. The tagline is ‘Changing the Way We Learn!’ There were three separate competition awards; eMICRO CONTENT COMPETITION; SCORMKING COMPETITION and CIDOS Doodles Competition. Each competition focuses on different aspects of eCONTENT development, while the main underlying objective is to address Digital Literacy.  

I used DSLR camera model Nikon version D1300 to capture great moments during the event such the moment of VVIP and VIP arrival, the guests moment during registration, the speech of VVIP, the moments during the event when the organizer committee is on work, the view of the ballroom, the lighting view during the event and others moment that be highlight during the meeting. It was a tough work because there are many of VIPs during the event and I have to be flexible to capture different pictures. 

The protocol during event also is too tight that I have to work properly and don’t make any mistakes to avoid obstructing the view. During the event also I have to take the pictures of our organizer’s work such behind the stages about how our members handling the prizes arrangement and also how our stage manager handling the stage with all of the performance and VVIP speech. I also captured the moment of how our organizer members work at the registration table, the usher work on how they welcoming the guest, and also the moment how our members arrange the seating arrangement for the night. 

After the event, I have to analyze and choose all of the pictures that should be handed to our bloggers and to Jabatan Pengajian Politeknik (JPP) to be uploaded. At the same time I have to finalize the scope and objective that I’ve done is success and the feedback will be heard by lecturer that teaches the subject Event Project 1 as the event planned.

More Details On Photography

Photography is the science, art and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. Typically, a lens is used to focus the light reflected or emitted from objects into a real image on the light-sensitive surface inside a camera during a timed exposure. With an electronic image sensor, this produces an electrical charge at each pixel, which is electronically processed and stored in a digital image file for subsequent display or processing. The result with photographic emulsion is an invisible latent image, which is later chemically "developed" into a visible image, either negative or positive depending on the purpose of the photographic material and the method of processing. 

      About the camera controls in all but certain specialized cameras, the process of obtaining a usable exposure must involve the use, manually or automatically, of a few controls to ensure the photograph is clear, sharp and well illuminated. The controls usually include but are not limited to the focus. The position of a viewed object or the adjustment of an optical device necessary to produce a clear image in focus and out focus. Then, aperture adjustment of the lens opening, measured as f-number, which controls the amount of light passing through the lens. Aperture also has an effect on depth of fielding diffraction – the higher the f-number, the smaller the opening, the less light, the greater the depth of field and the more the diffraction blur. The focal length divided by the f-number gives the effective aperture diameter. Also, the shutter speed adjustment of the speed (often expressed either as fractions of seconds or as an angle, with mechanical shutters) of the shutter to control the amount of time during which the imaging medium is exposed to light for each exposure. 

Then, the shutter speed may be used to control the amount of light striking the image plane; 'faster' shutter speeds (that is, those of shorter duration) decrease both the amount of light and the amount of image blurring from motion of the subject and/or camera. The white balance, on digital cameras, electronic compensation for the color temperature associated with a given set of lighting conditions, ensuring that white light is registered as such on the imaging chip and therefore that the colors in the frame will appear natural. On mechanical, film-based cameras, this function is served by the operator's choice of film stock or with color correction filters.

          Lastly, autofocus point on some cameras, the selection of a point in the imaging frame upon which the auto-focus system will attempt to focus. Many Single-lens reflex cameras (SLR) feature multiple auto-focus points in the viewfinder.

Figure1: Back of the camera

Figure 2: Lens and top of the camera

Figure 3: Front of the camera

The Step

1. Make sure your camera lens is clean and if you are using a Digital SLR, you also need to makesure that the sensor is clean. This is easy to do and will avoid your images having any unwanted dots, smears or marks on them. Use a lens cloth that is only going to be used on the lens. Frstly, breathe on the lens and then clean it with a circular motion. For the sensor, to reduce dirt getting onto it, always turn the camera off before changing the lens and try to do so in a ‘controlled’ environment like the back of a car. Essentially, try not to change the lens on a really windy beach or in the desert. Most DSLR cameras have automatic sensor cleaning when you turn the camera on and off so that helps a lot.

2. Read your camera’s manual. It sounds boring, but 1-2 hours with the manual and your camera in hand will guarantee that you will learn to understand it quickly. The sooner you can operate in full manual mode the better. It is the only way to start pushing your photographic skills.

3. Get your subject in the right spot. If you are shooting a portrait or a group of people, position them where you want them. Make sure there is nothing growing out of their heads and if you want to feature your background then do so. Ask your subject(s) to move forwards or backwards and framing your shot with your subject framed hard left or right can work really well. Never be shy to move your subject(s) around, it is the best way to learn.

4. Framing, this is what 80% of photography is all about. Look at images in magazines, watch movies and see how they are framed. You need to allow enough headroom, but not too much otherwise the image can look clumsy. Don’t crop half a hand or part of their head. Try not to place people directly in the centre of the frame. Soon your eye will get used to framing and you’ll know what looks good.

5. Get the lighting right. Lighting is really important and helps set mood and atmosphere. While using additional flash units can be a little advanced, setting your internal flash to the correct level for your lighting environment makes a big difference. This is where we come back to reading the ‘dreaded’ manual. On most cameras accessing the flash control is only a few clicks away on the menu. Learning how to do this will definitely help. If you have a DSLR, get an external flash and experiment using it off the camera.

6. Control the exposure. Being able to control the aperture size (exposure) and shutter speed manually will mean that you can expose what you want to expose for and not what the camera thinks you want to expose for. When the camera is in auto exposure mode it will expose whatever is largely in frame. For example, if you are taking a picture of your subject and a waterfall is in the background then the camera will close down the iris to expose for the white waterfall and as a result your subject will be under exposed/ dark. By knowing how to use exposure and shutter manually (which each directly affect each other) this will allow you to take control and make decisions on what part of your image you want to expose for.

7. Understand about Depth of Field. Learning the basics of depth of field (DOF) and how exposure (Aperture or 'F Stop') increases or decreases what is in focus will expand your creativity no end. Learning about how slow and fast shutter speeds can affect your work will increase your creativity. Switching to manual focus for specific shots is also very helpful especially with macro (close up) work. This means you can set the focus to exactly where you want it to be.

8. Have your camera to hand. Again this might sound obvious, but Photography is all about catching a moment and moments only last a moment… So leaving your camera in your bedroom or buried deep in your bag is never a winner.

9. Lighting: If you are shooting in daylight and want the best picture possible, then use the sun to your advantage. Backlit photography can look fantastic, and is very helpful to separate your subject from its background and can give a much more 3D image. Just be aware of lens flare entering the lens and decide if you want that effect. You can flag the flare by using a lens hood or simply using your hand. When possible use a piece of white card or a reflector to bounce light back onto your subject's face. You will be surprised how effective this method is and it will dramatically lift the shadows from your subject's face and improve your images.

10. Try to use a prime lens. It doesn't mean you should go and buy an expensive fixed focal length lenses; just set your camera lens on the zoom to about 50mm, which is approximately what our eyes see. Then, rather than zoom the camera in and out, keep it fixed and physically move yourself around. Get close to your subjects and down on their level. Don’t always shoot from standing up, just because it is the most convenient.

11. Don’t be frightened to shoot vertical. Vertical can really suit certain shots, especially portraits. 

12. If you are taking pictures of people you don’t know, then make sure you smile! Sounds simple, but people always appreciate it. You are taking their image so it’s the least you can do. It will help them feel more comfortable and they might even smile back.

Credit to : Khairul Amirin and Jamadil Azra ( DEV5 2015)