“The more you know about your camera, the more it gets out of the way.”
~ Jay Dickman – National Geographic Photographer

Think Visually.

Human beings are visual creatures. Wired to be attuned to movement, colour and contrast; our sight informs us of what is in our environment. We see images on the printed page or computer screen first. A photograph grabs attention and stops the reader before a caption, before a headline, before a lead. Photography is and will always be one of the most important aspects of a yearbook.

Yearbook photographers need to be well trained. They have a momentous task and must always be prepared. Photographers need to understand not only where they need to be, but what they are doing when they get to an event.

Types of Cameras

Knowing when the camera is on, if the lens is open and knowing what button to press to capture the picture is fundamental to the success of any photographer. Understanding how your equipment works will help make each photographer exponentially more successful.

In today’s school environment, most yearbook programs have access to three basic kinds of cameras.

DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex)

This is the standard camera used by most working photojournalists. It has fully adjustable shutter speeds, a family of lenses that offer the photographer a wide variety of shooting options.

DSLR Camera Modes
• Auto/Program – avoid using this if you can
• Shutter Priority – you control the shutter speed and camera controls aperture, use for sports or action
• Aperture Priority – you control the aperture and camera controls shutter speed, use for everything else
• Manual – you control both the shutter speed and the aperture. This is an aspirational mode to work up to.

For new photographers, start by controlling the shutter or aperture and work your way up to manual. Remember that practice makes perfect!

Point & Shoot

This camera is often more compact, has a singular lens and limited zoom capacity. Often it provides a “digital zoom” offering to allow users to increase the size of a subject.

Smartphone/Cellphone

The best camera is the camera you have in hand. Most smartphone/cellphones all have digital cameras on them. These cameras are convenient and often allow us to take high quality images.

Each camera-type offers unique advantages and disadvantages. It is best to evaluate each unique situation to decide which equipment choice is best for your individual photographer.

Once you have selected your camera-type, each photographer should be familiar with the terminology and features that they will need to take the best photographs.

Terminology and Features

Aperture

Aperture refers to the opening diameter of a camera lens; the aperture is the opening of the lens, which allows light to travel through it and strike the light-sensitive surface to create an image. The aperture is like the iris of the eye; it contracts or expands to adjust for ambient light hitting the eye.

The numbers on the lens barrel are called F-stops and refer to the “brightness” of the lens as it is stopped down.
Standard aperture numbers: f/2 – f/2.8 – f/4 – f/5.6 – f/8 – f/11 – f/16 – f/22

The key concept to keep in mind is that the lower the F-stop number, the more light that is coming through the lens. Generally, this is most important to pay attention to when shooting in a low light, because a “fast lens” allows the photographer to stop more action and shoot in situations with low ambient light. A lens with maximum F-stop of 2.8 is usually considered ‘fast.’ For shooting sporting events or stage performances.

Besides controlling the amount of light let in through opening, the aperture also controls the depth of field (DOF). Depth of field is one of the more powerful controls you have as a photographer. The lower the number, the less depth of field, the higher the number, the more depth of field.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is the length of time light can travel through the camera’s shutter before the shutter closes. In order to take a photo, light must travel through a lens, and strike a light-sensitive surface for the right amount of time. The right shutter speed paired with the properly adjusted F-stop, will create a well-exposed image on the memory card.

Shutter speeds are actually fractions of a second: “125” on the shutter speed dial means 1/125th of a second, while “1000” means 1/1000th of a second.

In terms of getting good photographs, a few rules of thumb are helpful:
• When holding a camera (handheld photography), avoid taking photographs at 1/60th, because the movement the photographer makes can show up as camera-shake in the photograph.
• The higher the shutter speed, the faster the action that can be captured as a “freeze frame”. When a picture looks “blurry” and as though someone has moved too quickly in the frame, it happens because the shutter speed was too slow to capture the action.
• 1/60th: Slowest suggested shutter speed for handheld photography. Good shutter speed for a portrait when the subject is standing or sitting still, or for a handheld still life. Not suitable for action photography.
• 1/250th: Good all-around shutter speed that will freeze slow-moving action, such as a person walking or a person giving a speech and moving slightly but not too quickly. This setting is a good shutter speed for providing great variety in F-stop combinations when shooting on standard sunny days outside. Indoors, this might be the highest available shutter speed for an indoor sporting event, such as basketball, and because of the lighting tradeoff, there will likely be motion blur of a player’s hands, arms, or feet.
• 1/500th: Shutter speed that will freeze a high percentage of movement but not all of it.
• 1/1000th-1/2000th: The highest shutter speed on most DSLRs. These shutter speeds will freeze fast-moving action, such as soccer players, moving branches in a high wind or droplets of water.

Exposure and ISO

This is the combination of shutter speed and F-stop that will create a well-exposed image. Memory Cards and ISO Memory cards are made up of pixels, however, the ISO is effectively “set” by the photographer, and the ISO can be set higher or lower at will by the photographer within different frames shot on the same memory card.
Common ISO Settings: Low 100 - 200 - 400 - 800 - 1600 - 3200 – 6400 High

The lower the ISO the less sensitive it is to light, meaning more light is required to get the same image than a “faster” ISO setting. The higher the ISO the more sensitive to light, meaning you can potentially produce good quality images under low light conditions.

In addition to controlling light, the ISO also controls noise, which on a digital file looks like little specks of colour. The lower the number the least amount of noise. The higher the number the most noise. Always aim for as little noise as possible but test your camera to see the amount of noise you find acceptable in your photos.

Extra (Optional) Photography Equipment

Below is a list of extra equipment that you might find useful when creating your yearbook. If you don't know how often some of these items will be used, consider renting them before buying them to determine their value.

• UV or Skylight filter to protect the camera lens
• Portable Light Box to take still life photography (great for cutouts)
• Tripod for your phone
• A ‘Nifty Fifty’ lens...a 50mm lens (an inexpensive upgrade from your kit lens)
• Studio backgrounds and lighting
• Invest in a 70mm-200mm F2.8 lens, popular for action photography (depending on how often it will be used, this might be worth renting at first)
• Daylight balanced LED Lights
• Ring light
• SD card reader that connects to your phone, which can be used to upload photos immediately to social media