Take Better Pictures with Point-and-Shoot Camera or Smartphone Camera

Take Better Pictures with Point-and-Shoot Camera or Smartphone Camera

A 200-page operating manual is not one’s idea of a leisure activity, if all you want is to get the most out of your camera. In one afternoon, this short hands-on workshop addresses the needs of the layman to squeeze the most out of his compact digital camera or smartphone camera without dealing with technobabble.

What will be covered

  • Using the camera’s built-in flash
  • The only six picture setting you will ever need—three if you can’t count to six
  • Four faults every beginner makes
  • What catches viewers’ attention
  • The only two rule of composition you need to get out of trouble
  • Four techniques for organizing various elements in a scene
  • Three common faults in people pictures
  • Simple techniques to take still life/product shots
  • How in-cam and off-cam editing programs can help you achieve the photos you want

The workshop is for people who:

  • Want to maximize their compact digital camera or smartphone camera for home or school use;
  • Want to achieve better [or “acceptable?”] photos for work/business (company photos, simple product shots, etc);
  • Want to take better photos without investing in expensive, high-end cameras;
  • Intend to graduate to “serious” photography but need to start somewhere, gently
  • Threw out their camera manual in frustration

Prerequisites

Only your enthusiasm. No prior knowledge in photography required.

What to bring

  • A compact digital camera or smartphone camera
  • DSLRs and Mirrorless cameras may be used BUT will be treated as simple compact cameras.

Expected Outcome

At the end of this course, the participants are expected to:

  • Know more about the capabilities of their camera
  • Be more aware of where the light source is or where they place the light source before taking a picture
  • Apply the necessary composition techniques to produce better photographs
  • Focus correctly
  • Understand why they get blurred photos and be able to correct it
  • Understand why they get photos that are too dark or too bright and be able to correct it
  • When to use their built-in flash

Course Outline

  • Proper camera handling and care
  • Most common camera parts and their function
  • Effects of light in terms of:
    • position of light source
    • color of light source
  • Beautiful photograph:
    • Technically good
    • Creatively good
  • Solving common problems when shooting
  • Using the camera’s built-in picture settings
  • Common mistakes that every beginner makes
  • What catches viewers’ attention
  • Two composition rules
  • More composition techniques
  • Common portrait bloopers
  • White balance
  • Still life photography tips
  • How post-processing can help you achieve your envisioned images

Instructor

Dail Deri A photographer, instructor, and writer, Dail combines her father’s technics with her own. Her experiences in running a portrait studio and on-location portrait service, and photographing celebrities and everyday people, have allowed her to understand what new photographers need and want to learn as well as how they can learn those skills the most practical way.

She has shared her knowledge in photography through her photography tutorial articles in IMAG Photography and Manila Bulletin, and through various seminars and workshops in the country. Dail took up Communication Arts, Major in Photography at De La Salle University and is one of the Canon Professionals holding lectures for Canon Imaging Academy events. She is also one of the Key Opinion Leaders of Asus Zenfone. A Photography NC II holder, Dail is also a certified instructor and assessor for Photography NC II.

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