Lens

Larry Sultan
FILE FORMAT
Jpeg (.jpg) > compresses > opening it = changing it,
saving it = degrading image.
TiFF (.tif) > universal format > high quality good for printing
LOSSLESS
PSD (.psd) > Can opened & edit only in photoshop
Camera Raw (.nef, .crw, .pef & more)
= the most direct representation, no data lost
DNG (.dng) just like camera raw but universal
GIF (.gif) > small web file, good for flat color, drawing
EPS (eps) > good for photo & text, use in publishing
BMP (.bmp) windows & PICT (.pct) mac > these are platform
specific.
PNG (.png) = adobe fireworks > lossless, use for web
The focal length of a lens is defined as the distance in mm from the optical center of
the lens to the focal point, which is located on the sensor or film if the subject (at infinity)
is "in focus". The camera lens projects part of the scene onto the film or sensor.
Focal length controls -magnification -the size of image formed by the lens - the angle of view
The longer lens = the greater size
Normal focal length lens (or standard focal length lens), approximates the
impression human vision gives.
Henry Cartier-Bresson
Normal focal length
A lens that is normal focal length for one camera can be a
Long focal length for another. Film or sensor size determines
What will be a normal focal length.
The larger the sensor size =The longer the focal length of a normal lens for that format
Long focal length lens
-Greater image magnification

-narrower angle of view
-good for zooming
-distance object
-good for portraiture
(prevent distortion when
Shooting up close)
-telephoto or tele
Lou Jones, 2006 Winter Olympics - Torino, Italy
Short focal length lens or wide-angle lens
-Increases the angle of view

-show more of a scene from
the same position
-good depth of field (good
When you are on the run)
-show an apparent distortion
of perspective
David Muench
Zoom lenses combine a range of focal lengths into one lens.
Ex. 28-105 mm = 28mm, 50mm, 85mm, & 105mm
Zoom lenses can be very useful!

Macro Lens is useful for extremely close shots
Fisheye lens = widest of wide-angle view
Fisheye lens distort space

Focusing your lens
Think!
What is the most important part of the scene to be sharp?

Focus critically when shooting image with shallow depth of field
Practice
follow focus -- start with slow moving subject then practice on faster things
Remember
Shutter speed and aperture also control the sharpness.
Additional options
Zone Focus = set depth of field in advance of shooting so you can shoot
quickly without refocusing every shot. (need lens with DOF scale)
Focusing on the hyperfocal distance will give you the maximum

(most possible) depth of field every time. (need lens with DOF scale)
Zone focus
Helen Levitt
Helen Levitt, New York, 1971
Jan Imberi (hyperfocal distance focus)
John Pfahl
John Pfahl
what is the most important part of the scene to be focus
Or what is the most important part of the scene to be un-focus
Sally Mann, The Perfect Tomato, 1990.

Perspective = how we see or judge depth in 2D.
Perspective can be controlled by adjusting lens to subject distance
Perspective is not depth of field.

Depth of field is the area from near to far in a scene that is acceptably
sharp in a photograph.
Andreas Feininger, New York, NY, US Long focal length lens = telephoto effect = exaggerated perspective
Short focal length lens = exaggerated perspective
Jan Dibbets
Jan Dibbets
Remember!
The smaller the aperture = the greater depth of field
The shorter the focal length of the lens = the greater depth of field
The greater the distance from the subject = the greater depth of field
The sizes of the aperture openings are determined so that

at a given f-stop number the same amount of light reaches
the film/image sensor.
F- stop = lens focal length

Aperture diameter
200mm lens = F/4

Ex. 100mm lens = F/4
50mm lens opening
25mm lens opening
Instead of film, digital cameras use a solid-state device called an image sensor.
In some digital cameras the image sensor is a charge-coupled device (CCD),
while in others it's a CMOS sensor.Both types can give very good results.
Digital photographs are actually mosaics of millions of tiny squares called picture elements—
or just pixels. Like the impressionist painters who painted wonderful scenes with small dabs of
paint, your computer and printer use these tiny pixels to display or print photographs.
To do so, the computer divides the screen or printed page into a grid of pixels.
It then uses the values stored in the digital photograph to specify the brightness and color of
each pixel in this grid—a form of painting by number.
When capturing an image, the number of pixels used to capture it (sometimes referred to as
resolution or pixel count) has a big effect on how large it can be displayed on the screen
or printed. At any given size, more pixels add detail and sharpen edges.
Because numbers matter so much, the best approach is to shoot using the largest available
size.
You can always make an image smaller in a photo-editing program,
but you can never make it larger while retaining the original quality.
Square pixels are arranged in patterns to form curved lines and edges in a photo.
The more pixels used, the smoother these curves will be.
Here the same red ball is represented by 4, 12, and then 24 square pixels.
As more pixels are added, edges become more refined and the shape becomes more like the original.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2005/12/08/technology/poguesposts/1194817103335/shutterbugs-rejoice.html?scp=2&sq=digital%20camera&st=cse
Exposure = Intensity (aperture) X Time (shutter speed)
Exposure is a combination of the intensity (brightness) of
Light that reaches the digital sensor of film (brightness is
controlled by the size of the aperture) and the length of time
The light strike that light sensitive surface (duration is controlled
by the shutter speed).
YOU ADJUST THE EXPOSURE OF YOUR PICTURES BY
CHANGING THE SHUTTER SPEED, APERTURE, OR
BOTH
Remember 3 types of exposure?

Manual
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Exposure meters average the tones in a scene,
Average tone = medium gray =18 percent gray
Remember!
Automatic exposure can underexpose
Or overexpose your subject.
You may have to override it to get the
Exposure you want.
Overriding automatic exposure by

-go to manual mode
-Exposure compensation dial
-Backlit button (for backlit scenes)
Tones and Bracketing
Remember!
For digital camera,
Overexposure can lose significant
Detail from highlight area that
CANNOT be added later.
BEST BET?
Bracketing = produces
Lighter and darker versions
Of the same scene
ISO (International Organization Standardization) number
Tells how sensitive a film or sensor is to light
The higher the ISO = the less light is required
But you pay the price:

Increasing the sensitivity of the camera's light sensor (ISO)
introduces noise into the photo--random pixels of color.
In ordinary conditions, stick with the camera's lowest ISO
level, since that'll give you the least digital noise. But when
you notice that the camera is recommending a really slow
shutter speed crank up the ISO.
Just remember to drop it back down to the lower value

when you're done.
Tip: Your camera may have noise reduction!

Iso 50 Iso 100 Iso 400
Sally Mann
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Tokohiro Sato (long exposure)
Jeff Wall, Passerby, 1996
Tina Modotti
An-My Lê
The Daguerreotype
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre invented the daguerreotype process in France. The

invention was announced to the public on August 19, 1839 at a meeting of the French
Academy of Sciences in Paris. American photographers quickly capitalized on this new
invention, which was capable of capturing a "truthful likeness." Daguerreotypists in major
cities invited celebrities and political figures to their studios in the hopes of obtaining a
likeness for display in their windows and reception areas.
The Process
The daguerreotype is a direct-positive process, creating a highly detailed image on

a sheet of copper plated with a thin coat of silver without the use of a negative. The
process required great care. The silver-plated copper plate had first to be cleaned
and polished until the surface looked like a mirror. Next, the plate was sensitized in
a closed box over iodine until it took on a yellow-rose appearance. The plate, held
in a lightproof holder, was then transferred to the camera. After exposure to light,
the plate was developed over hot mercury until an image appeared. To fix the
image, the plate was immersed in a solution of sodium thiosulfate or salt and then
toned with gold chloride.
Exposure times for the earliest daguerreotypes ranged from three to fifteen
minutes, making the process nearly impractical for portraiture. Modifications to the
sensitization process coupled with the improvement of photographic lenses soon
reduced the exposure time to less than a minute.
Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham
Lincoln. Three-quarter length
portrait, seated, facing front
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/daghtml/daghome.html

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Larry Sultan

-Greater image magnification

-Increases the angle of view

Zoom lenses can be very useful!

Fisheye lens distort space

What is the most important part of the scene to be sharp?

Focusing on the hyperfocal distance will give you the maximum

Sally Mann, The Perfect Tomato, 1990.

Perspective is not depth of field.

The sizes of the aperture openings are determined so that

F- stop = lens focal length

200mm lens = F/4

Remember 3 types of exposure?

Overriding automatic exposure by

The higher the ISO = the less light is required

But you pay the price:

Just remember to drop it back down to the lower value

Tip: Your camera may have noise reduction!

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre invented the daguerreotype process in France. The

The daguerreotype is a direct-positive process, creating a highly detailed image on

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