Photography I: Camera and Exposure
Taking control of the camera: lenses, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, metering, focus, white balance, raw workflow, ethics and law, and the photo essay.
PHOT-101 Year 1 3 credits 12 lessons · 5 h 21 min
Offered by HSM University · Photography
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Explain how lenses, apertures, shutters and sensors form and record an image, and choose exposure modes deliberately
- Choose focal lengths and camera positions to control framing and perspective, and recognize common lens flaws
- Use the f-number scale, calculate depth of field and hyperfocal distance, and control background blur
- Choose shutter speeds to freeze or express motion, manage camera shake, and use ND filters and long exposures
- Explain the sources of noise, use ISO and auto ISO effectively, and describe scene brightness with exposure values
- Meter scenes correctly, read histograms, apply exposure compensation, and handle high-contrast scenes
- Select autofocus modes and areas, place focus precisely, and use manual and zone focusing
- Set white balance for any light, use mireds and color-correction gels, and manage color spaces
- Work a scene for viewpoint, background, layering and timing, and see and use the direction, quality and color of light
- Shoot and process raw files non-destructively, organize, back up and export images for screens and print
- Photograph people and places ethically and lawfully, using releases and protecting copyright
- Plan, shoot, edit, sequence, caption and critique a photo essay
Course content
12 lessons · 5 h 21 min total · final exam
- 1 How a camera works 27 min · quiz
- 2 Lenses, focal length and perspective 28 min · quiz
- 3 Aperture and depth of field 31 min · quiz
- 4 Shutter speed and motion 28 min · quiz
- 5 ISO, noise and the exposure value 26 min · quiz
- 6 Metering, histograms and exposure compensation 26 min · quiz
- 7 Focus and autofocus 27 min · quiz
- 8 White balance and color 26 min · quiz
- 9 Seeing photographically: viewpoint, timing and light 24 min · quiz
- 10 Files, raw processing and workflow 28 min · quiz
- 11 Photographing people and places: ethics and the law 25 min · quiz
- 12 The photo essay project and critique 25 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Description
Taking control of the camera: lenses, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, metering, focus, white balance, raw workflow, ethics and law, and the photo essay.
Part of the Film & Photography stream, typically taken in year 1.