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KODAK
Self-Teaching Guide to
Using an Adjustable
35 mm Camera
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Contents INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 3 EXERCISES ................................................................................................................................. 3 MORE INFORMATION................................................................................................................. 3 SOME CAMERA BASICS ............................................................
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INTRODUCTION You have a 35 mm camera and want to take clear, colorful, snappy pictures. That’s easy. In addition to the camera, all you will need is the camera’s instruction book, this guide, some film and . . . practice. EXERCISES The exercises were designed to let you see how the various camera settings are used in taking different types of pictures. Try each exercise, make a copy of the page and paste your pictures with each exercise. When you are finished, this book of pictures will be a han
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera All cameras have three basic settings. They are: Shutter Speed Lens Opening Focus To get a good picture, you need to adjust the shutter speed and the lens opening settings to control the amount of light entering your camera. The shutter speed controls the length of time the shutter will stay open to allow light to reach the film. A slow shutter speed lets light in to expose the film for a long time. 1/125 sec, f/11 A fast shutter spee
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera To get good pictures, the film in your camera needs to be exposed to the same quantity of light for every picture. On a normal sunny day, you will use a fairly fast shutter speed and a medium lens opening so that the correct amount of light will reach the film and you will get a properly exposed picture. 1/250 sec, f/11 On a cloudy day, the light isn’t as bright and you need to either let light into the camera for a long time, 1/30sec
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera Find the shutter speed settings on your camera and learn how to change them. Your camera instruction book will explain how to do this. Shutter speed settings are usually numbered 30, 60,125, 250, 500—or on older cameras 25, 50, 100, 200. The numbers refer to fractions of a second, such as 1/30 or 1/500. All further reference will use only the settings for newer camera (30, 60, etc). If you have an older camera, just remember that 30 i
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera THE LENS OPENING Set the shutter at its lowest speed. Use the B setting if your camera has one. Set the lens opening at its largest opening. Open the camera back and hold the camera up as you did before. Press the shutter release and notice how big the opening is when light comes through the lens. Now set the lens at the smallest opening, advance the camera once and repeat the exercise. Notice how small the opening is when light comes
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera Here’s how to load film in a camera step-by-step. Open the cardboard film carton. Inside you will find a plastic can that protects the film from humidity. Remove the metal container of film. A piece of film sticks out of the metal container as though the film is sticking out its tongue. Put the metal container into the camera so that the small spool sticking out of one end of the film container is pointing to the bottom of the camera.
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera EXERCISE #1 The one most important thing to remember about taking a picture is to hold the camera steady. Pick a subject in bright sunlight. Set your shutter at 125, your lens opening at f/16 and the focus at 10 feet. Set the camera on a solid, flat surface and take a picture of a solid subject that has some detail in it. Be sure that everything shown in the picture is at least 5 feet away from the camera. Try to avoid anything that m
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera Now take a picture of the same scene holding the camera in your hands. Stand with your feet firmly on the floor or ground and your weight distributed evenly so that you’re not balancing on one foot. Now press the shutter release as smoothly as possible—don’t jab at it. A firm grip on the camera is important. If possible, brace your camera against your face to help keep it steady. Many cameras can be held so that one finger of your rig
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera EXERCISE #2 We adjust the size of the lens opening to control how much light goes into the camera. The size of the lens opening also controls how much of the picture is sharp. A small lens opening makes more of the space in the picture appear sharp. A large lens opening makes a smaller portion of the space in the picture appear sharp. Let’s demonstrate this. Your eye usually has a medium lens opening. Take a piece of paper and punch a
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera EXERCISE #3 Select a scene to photograph that has something near the camera as well as far away. For instance, a tree branch or a person 5 or 6 feet away from the camera and a house or other scene in the distance. Be sure that you can see both in your viewfinder. Use a large lens opening to take the picture. For this exercise set the lens opening at f/2.8, the camera shutter at 250 (or as fast as your camera will allow) and the focus
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera Using the same scene take the same picture but this time use a small lens opening. For this exercise set the lens opening at f/16 or f/22, the shutter at 60, and the focus at infinity. (Put your example here.) Result: Everything in the picture near the camera and in the distance will appear sharp. (A small lens opening gives you a long depth of field.) 13
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera EXERCISE #4 Sometimes it is nice to have the background out of focus. For instance, take a picture of a flower blossom that stands high enough off the ground so that you can see both the blossom and a background scene when you look through the camera. Take the picture about two feet from the blossom. For this exercise set the lens opening at f/2.8 and the shutter speed at 250 (or as fast a shutter speed as your camera will allow). Set
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera Now take the same picture but set your lens opening at f/16 and your shutter speed at 125. (Put your example here.) Result: Both the blossom and the background will be sharp. The background probably takes your eye away from the flower. 15
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera EXERCISE #5 Take a picture in full sunlight. Avoid all shadows, shade, or dark backgrounds. Have someone doing something about 10-12 feet away from you with the sun shining on him or her. The basic exposure settings should be set at about 250 with a lens opening of f/11 focused at 10-12 feet. If you have a meter in your camera, use it. (Put your example here.) 16
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera Now take a picture of someone in the shade. There is not as much light in the shade so you’ll have to let more light in to the film. The setting will probably be set at about 250 with a lens opening of f/5.6, or wider if it is really dark, focused on the subject 1-12 feet away. If you have a light meter, use it. (Put your example here.) 17
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera Now take a picture with a combination of sunlight and shade. Here is where a light meter is really handy. If your camera has a light meter, use it. If you do not have a meter, you want to let enough light into the film to see things in the shaded part of the picture. Open the lens up by one stop more than you would use for sunshine. The general setting would be 250 at f/8, focused on your subject. (Put your example here.) 18
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera EXERCISE #6 One of the advantages of being able to adjust your own camera settings is that you can use very fast shutter speeds to get sharp pictures of moving subjects. Try this by taking a picture of someone running in a sports game, or a pet running or jumping in the air, or someone bouncing a ball, or a car passing by on the road. Set your camera at the fastest shutter setting it has and adjust the lens opening accordingly. (Basic
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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera EXERCISE #7 Just to prove to yourself how nice it is to be able to use a fast shutter speed, try taking the same type of picture (as in Exercise #6) but using a shutter speed of 30. Your subject should be in the shade, so you can use this shutter speed and a small lens opening on your camera. Remember to focus properly and if you have a light meter use it. Hold steady—this is a very slow shutter speed.* (Put your example here.) *30 is
