How the Camera Works

How the camera works is important as it will make it easier for you to master it and take photos.

Light through the camera

Understanding Light.

RGB Colours.

The Exposure Triangle.

Light is the fundamental element in photography and life in general. You create an image by capturing the reflections of light particles on a light sensitive medium. Without light, it would not be possible for the sensitive medium to capture the reflections of the light unless the camera is equipped with a flash.

Our sun is the source of light (daylight), and when it gradually disappears under the horizon, so is the light.

The camera in its simplest form is a box with a whole covered by a lid. Inside the box and opposite the whole is a sensor.

The sun sends light rays( photons) to the earth and we capture the reflections of the rays through the retina of the eyes. Our brain then translate these reflections into what we see.

The same with the camera box, the reflection of light particles are captured on the light sensitive media through that hole, but the box doesn't have a brain so it records the coloured photons (RGB colours) without knowing what they represent. ie, if the hole of the box is directed towards a normal tree with a blue sky, the sensor will record the reflective light rays of blue (for the sky) and brown and green (for the tree) in their different range intensity of their colours, but the camera box will not know what these colours represents (RGB). Only you will know what the camera box recorded.

It is important to know that.

RGB colours.

RGB is 3 primary colors - Red, Green and Blue. The different intensity of these colours is translated into integral number between 0 to 255 on the spectrum that human eyes can see.

The Exposure Triangle.

It is associated with Light. Exposure is when you direct the camera to what you want to photograph and press the shutter button enabling the reflective light from the subject to pass through the camera and record it on the sensor. It explains the three main elements - aperture, shutter speed and ISO - combined to produce the correct exposure.