Harvard Extension School's Computer Science E-7: Exposing Digital Photography

Lectures / Lecture 6: The Histogram / Video / QuickTime

Photography has exploded in recent years as digital cameras have become affordable and easier to use. There are many courses that teach students the artistic aspect of "how to become a better photographer" or "how to improve your eye," but this is not one of them. Instead, students—from one-time users to professionals—become better photographers through an understanding of the technical aspects and terms of a digital camera. Learn why photos look blurry at night, why color management is important, what the difference between sports mode and portrait mode on the camera's dial is, and how to manipulate the camera without the need of these modes in the first place. Topics include exposure and metering, flash, dynamic range, CMOS and CCD sensors, color filter arrays, RAW versus JPEG formats, color spaces and profiles, editing photos with Photoshop, and optical and computational artifacts. Through lectures and hands-on assignments, students understand the jargon and compromises of digital photography that ultimately expose the workings of digital cameras. You are not required to own a digital camera, but if you do, one with a manual mode and an option for RAW is recommended. This is OpenCourseWare, licensed by Dan Armendariz of Harvard University under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. Visit http://tv.cse7.org/2009/fall/ for more material, including prior semesters and other courses.

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Harvard Extension School's Computer Science E-7: Exposing Digital Photography