Digital Photography

ENTER THE EXCITING WORLD OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY!

Digital Photography allows you to use image editing software to apply special effects, and gain quality control over your pictures. You can output digital photographs to printers, upload to the web or send images by email. In this course, you will learn it all!

• Find out the equipment you need to move to digital photography
• Understand computer specifications and factors affecting computer performance for digital imaging
• Learn to transfer an image from a digital camera onto your computer
• Be able to process digital pictures and output them
• Understand scanners and image editing software
• Be able to utilise your camera to take great digital photographs.
• Basic Principles of Photographic Composition
• Find out about image formats and types of files

COURSE STRUCTURE
This course is divided into eleven lessons as follows:

1. Introduction To Digital Technology
How images are captured and stored, categories of equipment & software, scope of applications

2. Equipment -getting started; deciding what you need
CCD's, Image Sizes, Raster Images,, Video Cards, Colour depth, Computer terminology etc.

3. Digital Technology
Colour, resolution, sensors (how technology enables digital images to be captured).

4. Digital Cameras
Image formation, lenses, camera stability, one shot cameras, 3 shot cameras, terminology (eg.DPI, DVD, Bit, EDO RAM, Plug In etc)

5. Taking Photographs
Principles of Photo Composition, Creating effects, Default Setting, Compression of Data, Dithering, Halftones etc

6. Scanners
Techniques which can be used for digitally capturing images from film photographs, or graphics

7. Uploading Images
How digital images can be transferred effectively from a camera (or scanner) onto another device (eg. a computer, video monitor, television set, etc).

8. The Digital Darkroom
Techniques that can be used to process digital photographs within a computer to achieve improved or changed images

9. Compositing & Imaging - Production & manipulation of images
How digital photos can be manipulated and changed to produce altered images

10. Special Effects
Scope and nature of special effects that can be created with digital photographs

11. Outputs & Applications- Printers, The Internet
How and where digital photography can effectively be used.

WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE

Here are just a few examples of what you may do:

• Investigate software available for processing digital photographs
• Obtain literature on Adobe Photoshop and any two other types of software.
• Compare the different software options which you investigate.
• Develop a check list of what would be required if you were to purchase a digital camera for professional freelance photographic work (such as studio portraits and wedding photography)
• Find five photographs you have taken in the past which have not been as successful as you would have liked. Consider what you might have done to improve the way in which the image was taken in each of these. Consider what advantages digital photography might have offered if you had taken these using a digital imaging rather than film.

EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS

You will need access to a digital camera and some type of storage or output device during the course.

This is required so that you can take some photographs on a digital camera and submit them as a print or as a digitised file. An inexpensive digital camera and a printer or 3.5 inch floppy disk would be a minimum. If you plant o purchase a digital camera, but have not yet decided what to buy, it is recommended that you delay buying a camera until you have completed Lesson 3 and commenced Lesson 4. It is also suggested that you ask your tutors advice as to which camera would best suit your needs. Access to a suitable computer is also advantageous but not essential.

Duration: 100 hours

Aims:

• Describe the scope and nature of digital photography
• Select appropriate equipment for use in digital photography
• Explain how technology enables digital images to be captured.
• Compare different digital cameras and select an appropriate camera for a particular application.
• Control the effects created in a digital photograph which you take.
• Describe techniques which can be used for digitally capturing images from film photographs, or graphics.
• Explain how digital images can be transferred effectively from a camera (or scanner) onto another device (eg. a computer, video monitor, television set, etc).
• Describe techniques that can be used to process digital photographs within a computer to achieve improved or changed images.
• Explain how digital photos can be manipulated and changed to produce altered images.
• Discuss the scope and nature of special effects that can be created with digital photographs.
• Identify how and where digital photography can effectively be used.

MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS:

• THE INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATION AND RECOGNITION COUNCIL
• THE AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL FOR PRIVATE EDUCATION AND TRAINING
• AGP (ACS GLOBAL PARTNER)
• BRITISH INSTITUTE FOR LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
• STUDY GOLD COAST

Learn about digital technology. Develop your ability to produce photographs using a digital camera!

• Select appropriate equipment for use in digital photography. Then learn the techniques which can be used for digitally capturing images from film photographs, or graphics. Identify and use techniques for processing digital photographs. Understand how digital images can be transferred effectively from a camera (or scanner) onto another device (e.g. a computer, video monitor, television set).