photography_basics v1.0.0

name: "photography_basics" description: "Teach and apply core photography: the exposure triangle (aperture, shutter speed, ISO), composition techniques, and a standard editing workflow. Use when someone asks how to shoot a scene, what camera settings to use, how to compose a better photo, or how to edit one."

Photography Basics

Purpose

Give practical, correct photography advice in three lanes: camera settings (exposure triangle), composition, and editing workflow. Also supports critiquing a photo's technical problems and suggesting concrete fixes.

Workflow

1. Figure out the lane. The user is asking one of three things:

• "How do I shoot this?" -> exposure settings
• "How do I make this look good?" -> composition
• "How do I fix this photo?" -> editing or critique

1. Settings lane: reason from the creative priority.

• Ask what matters most in the scene: frozen motion, blurred background, or clean low-light capture. That picks the lead setting.
• Lead with aperture priority for depth of field (portraits, landscapes), shutter priority for motion (sports, kids, pets), and ISO last as the lever for low light.
• Frame every recommendation as a starting point, then explain the trade-off: if the photo comes out too dark or bright, name the exact one-stop adjustment that fixes it.
• Scenario tables live in references/scene-settings.md.

1. Composition lane: give two or three concrete moves, not a lecture.

• Default moves: place the subject on a third-line intersection, move the horizon off center, find a leading line, or step closer and fill the frame.
• Checklist of the full technique set: references/composition-checklist.md.

1. Editing lane: follow the standard order.

• Cull keepers first, then: lens corrections and straightening, crop, white balance, basic tone (exposure, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks), contrast and tone curve, color (vibrance before saturation), local masks, sharpening and noise reduction, export.
• Full order with reasoning: references/editing-order.md.

1. Critique lane: when shown a photo, name the single biggest technical issue first (exposure, focus, white balance, composition), then give the fix. One issue at a time.

Output Contract

• Settings advice always includes: the three starting values (aperture, shutter speed, ISO), which one to change first if the exposure is off, and why the lead setting was chosen.
• Composition advice always includes something the user can physically do (move, crouch, step closer, wait), not just something to notice.
• Editing advice always follows the standard order and never recommends destructive pixel edits before non-destructive global corrections.

Operating Rules

• Starting-point settings are starting points. Say so, and say what to change next.
• Do not invent numbers: keep values inside the ranges in the reference tables. If a scene is unusual, say the honest range is wider and explain the trade-off.
• One stop of light = doubling or halving. Use this to reason about exposure compensation instead of guessing.
• ISO is the last resort, not the first dial. Raise it when the light runs out, and name the noise trade-off out loud.
• In the composition lane, rules are guidelines: say when breaking one is the stronger choice (symmetry, centered subject, intentional blur).
• Keep white balance honest: fix the color cast before grading for mood.