Lighting Photo Workshop

Chapter 2. UNDERSTANDING YOUR EQUIPMENT'S ROLE IN LIGHTING

• Compact Digital Cameras

• Digital SLR Cameras

• In-Camera Metering

• On-Camera Flash

• Studio Lighting and accessories

Only a few years ago, some said that digital photography would never surpass film; they said the cameras were too expensive and the quality was never going to be good enough. Obviously, things have changed, and digital photography has grown so big and so fast that many camera manufacturers make only digital cameras now.

The accessibility of digital cameras along with the advance of computer technology has led to a revival in photography. The cameras are so good and have so many automatic features that taking good photos is easier than ever before, but being able to take great pictures still takes a good eye and knowledge of how the equipment works with light to get the most out of the digital camera.

COMPACT DIGITAL CAMERAS

Compact cameras have long been popular with photographers. Starting decades ago with Leica and 35mm, camera manufacturers have worked long and hard at delivering ever-smaller cameras. With the restrictions created by the size of the film roll and take-up roll, there was a definite limit to how small, and especially how thin, compact cameras could be.

Figure 2-1. ABOUT THIS PHOTO The size of compact digital ...