I’ve started to put together this tutorial section as a place where I can share my thoughts, opinions and techniques on the fundamentals of photography. I don’t pretend to know it all or to be the best in this game, so please don’t take what I say as gospel. Do however use it to add to your own learning process. Being a motorsport guy, this tutorial does lean towards those of you who are looking to pick up a camera and use it for similar purposes. That said, I’m sure there is something here for most people. If there is anything you would like me to cover or if you have a question about anything photography related, please don’t hesitate to e-mail on paddy@pmcgphotos.com where I will get back to you as soon as I can.

I’ll be updating this as often as I can, so please keep checking back.

Part One : Choosing a camera that is right for you.

Buying a digital camera can be quite a daunting experience. The amount of makes and models on offer can be a bit off putting, almost forcing you to just buy the first camera that appears in front of you.

There are two simple things you need to decided on before rushing out (or logging on) to buy your next camera : 1) Budget and 2) intended purpose.

I would nearly always recommend a person to buy a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) when looking to advance their photography skills. A DSLR is based on a traditional 35mm film camera with interchangeable lenses. There is a huge market of used and new DSLRs available to you (I’ve included some links at the bottom of this part to sites which I personally use) and there is almost always a camera to suit everyones budget. I primarily shoot Canon, so most of my experience is based around this brand but I would always tell people once it says Canon or Nikon on the front of a DSLR, you can’t really go wrong. There are other options (Sony, Samsung etc.) but Canon and Nikon have always lead the way in my honest opinion, especially when it comes to lenses and accessories.

Once you’ve decided on your budget and what you will primarily be using it for, you can begin searching the market for the most suitable option. Don’t get too sucked in by megapixels as contrary to popular belief, a high megapixel (MP) count does not always equal a higher quality image. A Canon EOS 1D MKII N’s 8.2MP would result in a far, far superior image compared to a 12MP point and shoot for example. There is also a lot of jargon involved in the DSLR industry, here are just some of the terms used and what they mean to you :

• MP – Megapixel – The amount of pixels a camera is capable of capturing
• FPS – Frames per Second – This simply means how many images the camera can take in a second. The speed of your memory card will determine for just how long this burst will last.
• ISO – International Standard for Organistation – At the heart of your DSLR is a piece of digital film called a sensor. The ISO determines just how sensitive your sensor is to light. The higher the number, the more sensitive. There are drawbacks however for using a higher ISO, as the resulting images will contain significantly higher noise levels (which manifests itself as small coloured dots across the image), will be slightly softer and the colours will be a little muted also. You should always try and use the lowest possible ISO for any given situation.
• Crop Sensor – Most DSLRs will have what is known as a crop sensor. Nearly all digital SLR’s have a crop sensor, with Canon usually being 1.6x and Nikon 1.5X. This refers to the magnification of a lens’ focal length onto the small sensor. A 100mm lense will become a 160mm lense on a 1.6x crop and a 150mm lense on a 1.5x crop. Some professional level DSLRs feature a full frame sensor. This is a sensor with zero crop.

Canon arrange their model lineup in quite a simple manner. A xxxD (350D,500D etc.) would be Canon’s entry level DSLR. These are often the cheapest and most easily accessible DSLRs and are aimed at newcomers to the DSLR market. The next step on the ladder is the xxD (20D,60D etc.) lineup. As you can imagine these are slightly more advanced than the xxxD but are still quite user friendly. Next would be the xD series of cameras which come  in 7D, 5D and 1D variants. Unlike the xxxD and xxD there is no progression in the name (i.e. the successor to the 5D is the 5D MKII and not a 6D) If you own any of the xD cameras you will more than likely know what the differences are and won’t need any further descriptions. The xD series would be described as Canon’s professional line of DSLRs.

Once you’ve picked up a body, you will more often than not need a lens. Most cameras, even used ones will come with a cheap ‘kit’ lens which is fine for mucking about on but is definitely the weakest point of your setup. For around €100 you can buy a 50mm F1.8 lens new from any decent retailer. The body of this lens maybe cheap and the AF slow but the quality of the glass inside is absolutely fantastic and will really help you get the most from DSLR. Here are a few terms that may help you when buying a lens :

• Focal Length – This is how much ‘zoom’ a lens has. The lower the number ( measured in mm) the wider the field of view and vice versa. 50mm would be considered the most honest focal length. Under 50mm would be considered wide angle and over 50mm would be considered telephoto.
• Aperture – The dreaded F/Number. Talk of aperture numbers usually scares the bejesus out of most photography newcomers but it is actually quite simple. The aperture (latin for opening) is simply a measure of how much light a lens can leave in. A lens like the above mentioned 50mm F1.8 will allow in huge amounts of light where as a lens with a maximum aperture of F5.6 will allow considerably a lot, lot less (over three times less). The aperture also dictates how shallow the depth of field is.
• Prime – This is a lens with a fixed focal length i.e. Canon 50mm F1.8
• Zoom – This is a lens with a variable focal length i.e. Canon 17-40mm F4 L
• IS / VR – Image Stabilization /  Vibration Reduction – Two names for what is essentially the same technology. IS / VR is a feature built into a lens to help counteract camera shake. IS is Canon’s variant whilst VR is a Nikon trademark.
• AF – Auto Focus – Electronic focus assist. There are three main types of auto focus which I will go into in more detail in a future part.
• Distortion – Wide angle lenses suffer from what is known as ‘barrel distortion’. This is an effect (desired by some, despised by others) where the corners of an image begin to bend towards the centre and where lines that are normally straight become curved. As a personal note, barrel distortion is something I do my best to avoid when shooting cars as the distorted perspective alters the shape of the car detrimentally.

(A notes on lenses. Cheaper zoom lenses tend to have a variable aperture. For example, a Canon 18-55 F3.5-5.6 will have a maximum aperture opening of F3.5 at 18mm but this maximum aperture is reduced to F5.6 at 55mm. More expensive lenses tend to retain the same aperture at either end of their focal length i.e. Canon 24-70 F2.8 L)

Now that you have an approximate idea of what you are holding and hopefully a better understanding of what to look for when shopping for equipment, we can move onto the next part where I will talk you through the basic operations of a camera.

Part Two : The Basics of Photography

The capture of an image is determined by a combination of three main factors: 1)Aperture 2)Shutter Speed and 3)ISO

1. Aperture Latin for ‘opening’, the aperture mechanism is housed inside the lens. In most cases it is simply an electronically controlled iris that can be opened wide or closed down to control the amount of light passing through the lens into the camera. When wide open (which equates to a low F/Number) the lens is allowing the maximum amount of light it is capable of to pass through. An effect of a wide aperture is a much narrower depth of field (less objects in focus). In contrast when the aperture is closed down to its smallest opening (which equates to a high F/Number) the lens is allowing the least amount of light to pass through. This results in a wider deeper depth of field (more objects in focus).
2. Shutter Speed Inside your camera, between the lens and the sensor is a vital piece of your camera, the shutter. The shutter performs two simple operations, to open and to close. Once opened, the shutter allows whatever light is passing through the lens onto the sensor. It’s easier to speak of this in film terms as the principals and results are the same, just the technologies vary. If you can envision that once the shutter opens, the light immediately begins to burn the sensor, imprinting an image onto it. The shutter closes and the image is burned onto the sensor. Now if you can imagine the shutter opening for a longer period of time, not only is more light burning the sensor but the available light has more time to move about on the sensor. This can result in an overexposed (too bright) image or a blurry image. If you open the shutter for a shorter amount of time, the light may not have enough time to burn an image to the sensor resulting in an underexposed (darker) image.
3. ISO The ISO determines just how sensitive your sensor is to light. The higher the number, the more sensitive. There are drawbacks however for using a higher ISO, as the resulting images will contain significantly higher noise levels (which manifests itself as small coloured dots across the image), will be slightly softer and the colours will be a little muted also. You should always try and use the lowest possible ISO for any given situation.

Photography really is as simple as these three factors. You don’t need to memorize f/numbers, shutter speeds and ISOs for any situation, just be aware of the results of adjusting any of the factors in any direction. It all boils down to allowing more light into the camera or less light into the camera.

Part Three : Applying the Basics

I’ve a small pet hate when it comes to photography – people asking me what settings I used to take photograph. First of all, I can never remember. Secondly, it doesn’t really matter a whole lot because the settings you use will only be suited to the exact conditions that photograph was taken in. I’ve always tried to push the point across to people that you need to stop worrying about the numbers and concentrate more on what you are trying to achieve and how the basics can help you achieve your photographic goals. I’ve put together a couple of different situations below, what I wanted to achieve and how I went about achieving it.

Example One : Racetrack, Touring Cars, Head-on Shot, Overcast.
When shooting a car head-on coming towards you, it’s pretty hard to show any sort of movement in the photograph. In this situation, I always aim to get some nice bokeh (the quality of the out of focus area) behind the cars to help separate them from the background. To throw the background out of focus, I’ll need a shallow depth of field (low f/number). By shooting in Aperture priority mode, I leave the camera work out what shutter speed I’ll need to get a good exposure. Looking at our basics, I know that if I’m shooting at the widest aperture my lens will allow, I’m going to be leaving in a lot of light. Because of this I know that my camera will use a relatively high shutter speed which is perfect for what I want to achieve.
Sample Photograph for Example One

Example Two : Racetrack, Drift Cars, Panning Shot, Sunny.
It may seem similar to the first example but how you go about it is quite different. A panning shot should emphasize movement. To show movement we need to concentrate on shutter speed, so I would set the camera to shutter priority mode (Tv or S depending on make). The trick with achieving sharp panning shots is a steady hand and starting high. Start with a fast enough shutter to stop the car dead, then slowly and one click at a time, reduce the shutter speed until you find a balance where the car body is sharp but the wheels and background show a respectable amount of movement. Panning isn’t easy but can be mastered by practice, practice, practice.
Sample Photograph for Example Two

Continued Soon …