Composition
When it comes to photography, don't ever forget to check the basics:
Have I charged up my camera? or Do I have film and batteries that work in my camera? (Don't laugh. It's happened to us all.)
A camera's main function is to help you capture a scene the way you see it. Focus to get the scene sharp where you want it to be. Expose the film so the picture is not too dark and not too light. Okay, knowing that is the easy part.
If you're digital, you can correct images via computer and programs such as Adobe's Photoshop. If you're using film, gauge the light you have available. [If your film is sold in a box (package of 1 or 4) look for the expiration date on the box. Film that has expired can be damaged by excessive heat or an extra-long shelf life.]
To create a dramatic composition, keep it simple and focus on the most important part of your scene to insure sharpness. When photographing an individual, focus on their eyes. Look through any major magazine and if you are drawn to a photograph of a person's face, look at their eyes. Usually, it's what is highlighted for attention.
When photographing a thing, focus on the most interesting part. Is it the handle of a jug? The door of a house? The unique mailbox?
Most of us photograph from too far away. Get in, get up, get closer! Whatever caught your eye first, focus on that. How is it framed by your viewfinder? Are you interested in a person's expression? Their shoes? Their hands? If you ask politely, most people will oblige you. I once photographed a girl's shoes at a subway station. They were so bright colored, and it was a great contrast against the dirty floor of the station.
To get a photo that is exposed to light correctly, set the aperture (lens opening) and the shutter speed (how fast the lens opens and closes) based on your film speed and how well-lit the subject is. The aperture size determines how much light will pass through the lens; the shutter speed determines the length of time that the light hits the film. More detail (and exercises!) on this later.
Camera shake is one of the deadliest things that can happen to a photo. Your subject is still and the aperture seems to open and close with no problem, but when you see the finished result it's more of a blur. What happened? Even the most minute shake of your hand or your arm, can jolt the entire picture.
For horizontal photographs, keep your arms against your body to steady the camera. One hand is clicking the shutter release button and other one should be under your lens to steady that.
For vertical photographs, support the camera in either hand, but keep your elbow against your body to steady the camera.
A tripod is a guarantee that your camera will be steady (unless, of course, the ground is shaking). A tripod also allows you to use slow shutter speeds which is great for night shots or other dimly lit spots.
Keeping a record of your exposures (this is where the small notebook is handy!) helps the learning curve immensely. Write down the frame number, the subject, the aperture, and shutter speed settings, and any other relevant information like location or weather condition. When you see your finished photo, you now have a record of the written components. (This is great when sending submissions into photo magazines...they always like to have that technical data.)
Some things to keep an eye out for...(I'd recommend printing this out and going around your house, your yard, or your neighborhood with some of these things to look for.)
When you see something you'd like to photograph, just put your camera up to your eye to check it out through the viewfinder. Having the scene before you framed allows you to see it more clearly. I'm constantly putting my own camera up this way to "see" better. People are always amazed because they think I've gone through so much film, but in fact I'm just testing my scenery. I think about what interests me in this scene, as well as why I want to photograph it. Is it the juxtaposition of color? The lines of light?
Another rule of thumb to make photos more interesting is the rule of thirds. Whatever has captured your eye, focus on that and then realign to put the subject in 1/3 of the frame. This allows the eye to travel to the subject of the photograph.
Look at the edges of what is framed within your viewfinder. How do the edges work with your subject? Does it cut into your subject's head? Is the subject at one side of the frame with lots of empty space around it? Look at what you've got and keep re-framing in your viewfinder to find something you love.
Look at the background and foreground of your potential photograph. How does your subject fit in with surroundings? One of the greatest issues on this is...does your subject have something coming out of his/her head due to improper positioning? Towers, trees, and signs are huge culprits...they just seem to show up without our realizing it.
Check your lighting. Is it fairly even? When your subject is against a fairly light background like the sky, a wall, or a sign, they can get bleached out. Find a background that allows contrast.
Hey! Don't forget to have fun and experiment! See what happens when you've got a subject and you shoot him/her/it from a high angle, a low angle, a dead-straight angle, include something bright in the picture. Embracing photography means having fun with what you are photographing!
Woo-hoooo! Next lesson shutter speed and aperture. These two are the heart and soul of manipulating images, the left and right hands of the camera body.
Aperture
The aperture is the opening that allows the light through your lens. Think of it as the eye of your camera, opening and closing.
The numbers that measure the size of the opening are called f-stops. The larger the f-stop (or number) is, then the smaller the opening size is, and vice versa. It’s a lot like fractions, when you stop to think about it. F-stop 4 sounds like a small number compared to F-stop 22 (or f/22), but think of it as a fraction. Would you rather have ¼ of the pizza when you’re ravenous or 1/22 of the pizza when you’re that hungry? Smaller number = more pizza for you (or more of an opening through the camera lens).
The aperture mode controls the depth of field in a photograph. Depth of field is the amount of the picture that is in or out of focus. If most of your photo (the foreground, middle ground, and background) is all in focus, then it has a long depth of field. If just a little bit is in focus (the foreground OR the middle ground OR the background), then it has a short depth of field.
Try pre-visualizing what you’d like your end results to be. Many professional photographers do this and even sketch out a general scene of what they’re trying to capture. All of these exercises help to focus your mind and your thinking. The rule of thumb is to simplify your photographs. You don’t want a busy scene with many points clamoring for attention. If the background is distracting, throw it out of focus by using a short depth of field.
It takes about a roll of film or about 20 shots to understand a photographic concept. Take some shots (and record the readings!) of a gorgeous landscape with every inch in focus (long depth of field). At what aperture were your best shots of the landscape? At what aperture were your best shots of a person?
Try shooting the same subject with different depths of field. What are your results? The key to being successful is to experiment and record the results. Note-takers can learn from their experiments.
A note on depth of field and pre-programmed modes:
The face profile is the portrait mode and that has a short depth of field, so as to blur the background. The mountain is the landscape mode and that has a long depth of field for landscapes. The flower is the close-up mode and that has a short depth of field for extreme close-ups.
Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter remains open once you take your photo. With the manipulation of shutter speed, you can show fast action frozen or blurred to varying degrees. A fast shutter speed - like 1/500 - freezes motion like a waterfall or a child swinging at the playground. A slow shutter speed - like 1/30 - shows water blurred on the waterfall and the child as a blur on the swing.
Each full stop shutter setting is half (or double) the time of the next one, and is marked as the bottom part of the fraction of a second that the shutter stays open.
1 (or 1/1 stands for one second) 2 (1/2 second) 4 (1/4 second) 8 (1/8 second) and so on for 15, 30, 60,125, 250, 500 B (or bulb setting) keeps the shutter open for as long as the release button is held down.
Again, use a roll of film to experiment with various shutter speeds. Using water coming out of the tap or a fountain, try various shutter speeds. Take note. Which ones did you enjoy? The blurred look of water or the frozen-in-time look?
Sporting events are another great place to practice with your shutter speed. Take note, and see where you prefer the action…frozen or a blurred streak across the field? How about people on bikes or someone on a jump shot? All of these will work.
You’ve been introduced to the timing and lighting components within a camera. Use these to think about the structure of a photograph. In our next lesson, we’ll address lighting a subject.
The Importance of Light
Light is all around us. Everywhere we look, light allows us to see things in perspective. When capturing light via photography, make sure you are truly seeing the light.
Quantity of light is important, and this is what we're most concerned with while taking a snapshot. However, when it comes to photography, we should start to think more about the quality of light. Before you shoot, take a minute to think about alternatives. Is this the best way to light this shot? If I stand elsewhere, how is the shot enhanced? Experiment with the light.
There are different ways to look at light: hard vs. soft light and natural vs. artificial light.
In fact, before you even pick up your camera for this lesson, please take a moment to notice the light around your home. Where is it coming in from? How does it change throughout the day? How does this light fall upon you? Look closely at how light and shadow work together to create texure on the objects around you. Seeing with light and really seeing the light doesn't happen instantaneously. It happens over time. Sometimes, it'll stop you in your tracks, and you will be mesmerized by it. Mastering light is the journey of the photographer.
Types of Lighting
Hard Light
This type of light comes directly from the source. Sunlight and on-camera flash are two types of hard light. They're strong types of light that create strong and distinctive shadows. Strong light can eliminate details, flatten a subject, and produce the harsh shadows.
Soft Light
This type of light is indirect. It can be sunlight coming through curtains or the hazy sunshine we often see on a cloudy day. Shadows are not as harsh with softer light. This type of lighting is ideal for portraits.
Natural Light
Pretty self-explanatory, I know, but worth mentioning. This type of light comes from a natural source. Sunshine is the prime example of natural light.
Artificial Light
Artificial lighting comes from photofloods, halogen, "local" light (the lamps in the room), candlelight, etc.
How to Manipulate Light
Light is everywhere, but how do we get it to do what we want it to do? There are a number of ways to manipulate light, based on the vision you have.
Flat reflectors are great and now they come in various colors. Before you go out and get this as equipment, try it out first. A large piece of white poster board or foam board works well. If you’ve got a live (and patient) subject, that helps to see skin tones. If not, an object works well, too.
When you move the board, how does the reflection from the sun affect the subject? How does it change the look of light on a person’s face? Go from side to side…any difference? Kneel down lower and prop the board on the floor. How does that change the light? What about if you stood on a chair and angled the board downward?
What if the light is too strong and gives off harsh shadows? Unlike tanning, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. are not good times for photographing with sunlight as your main source. While you can get a strong tan during these hours, the rays are too strong for portraits.
The best thing to do is to diffuse the light. Softening strong light is a great way to soften shadows. Here are some examples:
Umbrellas are a great way to produce a wide and diffused light.
A diffusion screen (like translucent plastic) helps to soften the light.
A softbox encloses one or more lamps and will produce the desired effect.
The more diffused the source, the softer the light will be. Even a white curtain or sheet draped across a window can help to diffuse the light. Anything to soften the light coming in, natural or artificial, will work.
When you envision what you’d like to photograph, are there adjustments to lighting you will have to make? Waiting for early in the morning or late in the afternoon will naturally diffuse the light.
What are you doing to diffuse and enhance the quality of your light?
Mood Lighting
The mood of a photograph can be enhanced by lighting and the position of light. Side lighting has been used for masculine portraits to show off rugged facial features. Front lighting has been used to flatter celebrities because it smoothes the shadows of skin texture, while sculpting facial contours.
Find the light that fits your subject and your photographs will come to life with your vision.
Front Lighting
A light is placed near the lens and directly in front of the subject. This can be a flash unit attached to the camera or a prop light slightly to the left or right of the camera. This lighting seems to flatten out the volume of the subject and minimizes textures.
Side Lighting
A light is placed at a 90-degree angle to the subject. This can look like the face is split in two. One side is completely in shadow, and the other side is lit up. This type of lighting emphasizes facial features and can reveal textures of the skin.
High Side Lighting
A main light stands at a 45-degree angle to one side and 45-degree angle above the subject defines the “high” and “side” lighting. This is a classic lighting shot for portraits. It can be done outdoors with the sun on top and a side light. This is the most natural of light set-ups and is very flattering, as it allows the face to be sculpted into a 3-D form.
Top Lighting
A light shines down directly on top of the subject. With people it creates deep shadows in the eye sockets and under the nose and chin, such as when trying to photograph someone outside at noon.
For product lighting, the shadows are still present, but it can be quite flattering if detail at the top of the piece needs to be highlighted.
Under Lighting
Lit from below, this produces odd-looking shadows because natural light rarely comes from below a subject. Okay, maybe firelight. In fact, this lighting is now best used for a ghoulish look during ghost stories. Think of the “Blair Witch Project” with the flashlight under her nose when she was getting a bit frantic.
Back Lighting
This is a light coming from the back of a subject. The front of the subject can be left in complete darkness unless a fill-flash is used. This might be a flash shot at the front of the subject to light it up. Snow, sunny skies, or bright windows are all back lighting culprits. With fill-flash to compensate, you can make shadows less dark by adding light
Manual Photography Basics - Shutter Speed
This is the length of time your camera’s eye (image sensor) is allowed to look at the scene. It is measured in fractions of a second, and can range from a short time at a fast speed of 1/1000 of a second, to a longer time at a slow speed of up to several seconds. The rule to remember is that the faster the speed, the less time the “eye” has to look at the scene.
Speeds above 1/250 (and up to 1/8000 on some SLRs) are most often used to shoot objects in motion. The shutter opens and shuts so quickly, it can catch just a glimpse of the image, making it appear to be frozen in midair.
Slow speeds, of less than 1/8 and up to a few seconds can capture movement and record it as a blur. Very slow speeds of up to a few seconds can produce some very unique effects; especially when shooting night photography.
When using slow shutter speeds, you must use a tripod and set the camera to go off on a timer. This avoids pressing down the shutter release which can shake or jiggle the camera.
Shutter speed for general photography usually ranges 1/8 to 1/250. For most still photographs taken in good light, a speed of around 1/125 is a good place to start.
Manual Photography Basics - Aperture Settings
The aperture setting determines how wide the camera lens will open to allow the image sensor to get a look at the subject. It is measured in f stops such as f/1.8, f /2, f/4, and so on. The higher the number, the smaller the lens opens, and the less light comes in; and in reverse, the lower the number, the larger the opening, and the more light is allowed in.
The size is determined by taking shutter speed into consideration. In other words, if the shutter speed is high, allowing the sensor only a brief look at the subject, then the aperture setting will be lower, opening the lens wider so the sensor can get a good look.
It’s fairly easy to remember that as you adjust the lens down the scale, each f stop allows half as much as the stop above it, and as you go up the scale, each one offers twice as much as the stop below it.
Manual Photography Basics - ISO Settings
The ISO setting on your camera indicates the sensitivity of your camera to light. The higher the number, the more sensitive the sensor and the less need for light. Most digitals offer ISO settings from 100 through 400, which is sufficient for just about any picture you want to shoot.
Higher settings can be especially useful in situations where the light is not sufficient and you can’t use a flash. By raising the ISO and opening the aperture wider, you can take good shots in low or no light.
With some of the really high settings offered on SLRs, you might even get away without using a tripod and come out with a very nice print. (But don’t depend on it; do it only in a pinch.)
Don’t forget to return the ISO setting back to a normal number when you’ve finished shooting for the day.
Manual Photography Basics - Depth of Field (DOF)
Depth of field refers to the area of the scene, which will be in focus in the finished print. A number of things affect the depth of field, including aperture setting, distance from the camera to the subject, and the focal length of the lens being used.
To work with a smaller (shallow) depth of field, adjust the aperture to open wider by turning it to a smaller f stop. You’ll have the main subject in focus, and the remaining area will be blurred.
In reverse, by raising the f stop and closing down the aperture, the depth of field will cover a greater area, and more of the photo will be in focus.
Changing the depth of field can also be accomplished by moving closer to reduce the area, and moving away to increase it.
Depth of field can be used to produce very effective portraits in which you want to focus on the person and blur the background.
Manual Photography Basics - Bracketing
Shoot, shoot, shoot. This is an old adage handed down from the pros of days gone by. It is especially handy for people just starting to work in manual settings.
The point is to take at least three shots of the same exact scene changing the light settings in between. Some digitals come with this capability built in; others will have to be adjusted between shots.
Shoot the image with the settings indicated by environment, camera, light, etc., but then move the setting down a step and take it again. Finally, move it up a step past the original setting and shoot again.
The advantage is that you’re certain to get at least one good shot out of the three; but more than that, you have am opportunity to see what can be done with a photo by moderately changing light settings.
Basic Photo Tips: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO
by Bryan F Peterson
Just as it was 100 years ago and just as it is today, every camera—be it film or digital—is nothing more than a lightproof box with a lens at one end and light sensitive film or a digital sensor at the other end. It is of course light that enters through a ‘hole’ in the lens (the aperture), and after a certain amount of time (determined by shutter speed) an image will be recorded (on film or digital media). This recorded image has been called—since day one—an exposure, and it still is.
Sometimes, the word exposure refers to a finished slide or print: “Wow, that’s a nice exposure!” At other times, it refers to the film or digital card: “I’ve only got a few exposures left.” But more often than not, the word exposure refers to the amount, and act, of light falling on photosensitive material (either the film or digital sensor). And in this context, it comes up most often as part of a question—a question I’ve heard more often than any other: “Hey Bryan, what should my exposure be?” And my answer is always the same: “Your exposure should be correct!”
Bryan F Peterson
Although my answer appears to be flippant, it really is the answer. A correct exposure really is what every amateur and professional alike hopes to accomplish with either his or her camera. Up until about 1975, before many auto exposure cameras arrived on the scene, every photographer had to choose both an aperture and shutter speed that, when correct, would record a correct exposure. The choices in aperture and shutter speed were directly influenced by the film’s ISO (speed or sensitivity to light). Most photographers’ exposures would be based on the available natural light. And when the available light wasn’t enough, they’d resort to using flash or a tripod.
The Do-it-all Setting
Today, most cameras, either film or digital, are equipped with so much automation they promise to do it all for you, allowing photographers to concentrate solely on what they wish to capture. “Just keep this dial here set to P and fire away! The camera will do everything else,” says the enthusiastic salesman at the camera shop. Oh, if that were only true! Chances are that most—if not all—of you who are reading this article have a do-it-all-for-you camera, yet you still find yourself befuddled, confused, and frustrated by exposure. Why is that? It’s because your do-it-all-for-you camera is not living up to that promise, and/or you have finally reached the point at which you want to consistently record creatively correct exposures.
The do-it-all camera often falls short of its promise, yielding disappointing results. Use your camera’s manual settings, or at the very least, know how light and shadow interact on film or digital media so that you can be assured of getting it right even when you are in auto exposure mode
Setting and Using Your Camera on Manual Exposure
Bryan F Peterson
I know of no other way to consistently make correct exposures than to learn how to shoot a fully manual exposure. Once you’ve learned how to shoot in manual exposure mode (it’s really terribly easy), you’ll better understand the outcome of your exposures when you choose to shoot in semi- or full auto exposure mode.