Light and Pixels

The LAST Principle:

• Light
• Aperture
• Sensitivity
• Time

DSLRs versus P&Ss

• What's the difference?
• Why does my P&S take forever to shoot?
• Why can't I get a live preview on my DSLR?
• Why do my DSLR images seem soft and dull?

All about Histograms

• Clipping
• Contrast
• Curvature
• Calibration

Filters: Software vs Glass

• Polarizers
• Neutral Density
• Infrared Passive

What is the Crop Factor?

If it Can be Seen, it Can be Copied

Legal Rights and Photography

Practices and Techniques

Taking a Sensor Dust Survey

• f/22
• Slow
• Blurry

Tripods, Beanpods, and Stringpods

• Legs
• Heads
• Specialized Brackets
• Quick-Releases

Organizing an Image Library

• The ISO 8601 Date Format
• Organizing with Daily Directories
• Distinguishing Originals from Created Works

Using Multiple Exposures

• Translucent Objects
• Removing Transient Objects
• Overlaying Transient Objects
• Controlling Difficult Lighting
• Blending for Dynamic Range

Quickies

• JPEG Compression
• Proprietary versus Open Formats
• Orienting JPEG Files

Exploring the Toy Chest

Cameras and Lenses

• Canon 10D DSLR
• Canon 20mm f/2.8 USM
• Canon 50mm f/1.8 Mk II
• Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

Lighting and Studio

• Canon 550ex Speedlight
• Canon ST-E2 Transmitter
• AlienBees B400
• AlienBees Medium Softbox
• On the Cheap: Black and white foamcore
• On the Cheap: Muslin dyed blue

Tripod and Heads

• Gitzo G2220 Explorer
• Acratech Ultimate Ballhead
• ideesign Q-Top Quick Release System
• Gregwired Panosaurus
• Fanotec Nodal Ninja SPH-1

Creating the Final Product

Some of the Best Software is Free

The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP)

Panoramics and Mosaics (Hugin)