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Monday, October 16, 2006

Photography! Part One

Grats to Steven on your new camera! I understand that moving from a consumer point & shoot to a better equipped camera can mean a LOT of questions. Things that didn't really play a big part in a point and shoot camera can play a much larger part in a better camera. With my old A520, aperture was mainly ignored. It wasn't a telephoto lens, and with an aperture range of 2.6 - 8.0, it was mainly "set it to 2.6 for macro/portrait, and somewhere around 8.0 for landscapes." I don't know your complete knowledge of photography terms and such, but I'll try to start from the top of what I know and just go with it. Maybe there will be something useful in it all. OH! My grammar and spelling sucks.

1. ISO (also known as ASA or "film speed")

This is known by most that have ever touched a camera, whether it be a film or digital. The "speed" of the film or sensor is how fast the chemicals or sensor reacts to light. 50-200 is considered slow, where as 400-3200 is fast to extremely fast. Ever buy 400 ISO film for a camera? Sure, it does what it says and is great for indoor/outdoor photography. Ever get pictures that look like they have sand all over them? This is called grain and most are already familiar with this. For film, grain can sometimes add to an image and give it a certain desired look of being aged or stressed. However, digital's equivilent "noise" is rarely desired and can really ruin a great shot. For reducing digital noise, I'd recommend doing a google search for "Neat Image." This is an amazing program that actually uses your camera's uniquie noise signature and makes a profile for it. Anyway, the general rule is: the higher the speed, the more grain/noise, especially in low light.

1a: ISO "bloom"

Using a high ISO in non-low light requires a fast shutter speed and a small aperture. I've found that by using a high ISO with a wide aperture, but using an even faster shutter speed, light seems to "bloom" around its source(s). Sometimes an interesting effect can be achieved from this.

2. Shutter Speed

This is how fast the shutter opens and closes in the camera. My camera has the ability to click as fast as 1/4000th of a second or as slow as.. well.. as long as the battery will work. Without using a timer for the "bulb" setting, it goes as slow as 30 seconds. However, by setting it to "bulb" and using a timer, it is possible to hold a shutter open for an hour, sometimes more. This is how photographers grab photos of stars trailing across the sky. General rule: a fast shutter will "freeze" action, while a slow shutter will show the course of the action (motion blur). A tripod, or an extremely steady hand, are required for shutter speeds lower than 1/10th in my experience. Remember, if mounted on a tripod, even the motion of your finger hitting the shutter button can jar that first fraction of a second, causing a loss in detail. Use a timed shot!

3. Aperture

Inside every lens there is a diaphram. When purchasing a lens (in the case of SLR users like me), we tend to look for lenses with a very wide aperture for more versitility. The wider the aperture (say, 1.9f or stops), the more light is let in. However, the more light that is let in through this wider aperture, less detail is captured from the unfocused regions of the shot. This is called depth of field. One use of aperture is getting the full shot. If you want to focus on a foreground subject, like your mom, but also want to capture the distant beach behind her, simply set the aperture to a higher f number. The higher you set it, keep in mind that it will have a drastic effect on the amount of light going to the sensor/film. This is even more pronounced when using a telephoto zoom. Sometimes you simply don't have time to mess with aperture, set it to an aperture priority mode. This will allow you to set it to an f number in the middle, such as f/8, and the camera will choose the shutter speed for the scene. Very handy. Stacking is another fun thing to try with aperture. Say you see a row of.. fence posts. Zoom as much as you can and line up where you see the posts going down the row, seemingly right next to eachother. Set the aperture to a high value (f/11, f/16) and take the shot. If done just right, the posts will appear to be in the same field of focus. Fun trick for the eyes. Aperture is usually the most overlooked part of the lens, but it is very important. Want to turn water to silk? Use a tripod, set the ISO as low as it can go, set the aperture to a higher value, and use the slowest shutter speed you can for the metered scene.

And so ends Part One. It's pretty lame and a bunch of stuff you already know, but hey, it can't hurt. If anything it's resparking my creative interest in photography.
Currently Listening To: Michael Buble - The More I See You - It's Time - 2005


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