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NOTE: All images and diagrams unless otherwise stated are copyright W.Brooker 2000 and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the author.

 

THE EQUIPMENT:

For the duration of this course, all photographs have been taken using the new Fuji FinePix 4900 Zoom. Because we intend this course to be for photographers of all levels, no special equipment or studio lighting of any kind will be used. All equipment (other than the camera of course) is readily available around the home, or for a modest sum at the local store. The only item in addition to the camera that you may have to pay any real money for is a flash gun, but that is assuming you have a hotshoe facility on your camera at present. If not, then we'll cover ways around that problem too.

OUR AIM:

Out aim throughout this series is quite simple. Digital cameras are rapidly becoming a part of many households, and with image quality now available to rival film cameras, I felt this was the perfect opportunity to cover the basic principles involved in capturing images to be proud of. Over the next 5 or 6 weeks I'll cover a whole range of issues from how cameras work to advanced flash techniques. I'll also uncover some of the tricks of the trade and reveal how the pro's get those magical results.

I will also be reviewing the camera I am using, the Fuji FinePix 4900 zoom, in stages, covering the parts and functions of the camera relevant to each part of the series, and while I am very grateful to Fuji for allowing me to use this camera, I will be pulling no punches. If the camera has a weakness, you'll get to hear about it.

Of course, although this course is titled "The art of digital photography", a great many of the tips, tricks and techniques apply to standard film photography too, so if you don't own a digital camera yet, it is still worth reading on and using these tips with your conventional camera.

Because photography is such a vast subject, it may be worth bookmarking each of the weekly installments so you can go back when you feel you need to and read through a particular section again. Certain imprtant sections will also be highlighted in BOLD to grab your attention, and any advanced tips and techniques will be flagged for you to easily find them.

I'll leave you with a picture of the camera I'll be using, and if it looks like a multi-thousand dollar specialist camera, you're half right. It does boast an impressive array of manual and creative controls, in addition to a fully auto mode for the less experienced, but the price tag is far more affordable. In fact I've read in forums that this unit can be got for around £640incVAT if you shop around the net.

Page 2 - The principles of Photography