Photography Notes

Lighting Controls in Camera

Photography is all about light. The photographs are recorded light. How we control the available
light and add additional light when needed is basis for all photography. There are numerous
controls and methods for controlling light available to today's photographer.

Understanding Your Camera's Light Meter

The camera's light meter is to understanding how your camera sees light. This device takes into
account all of the settings on your camera (aperture, shutter speed, film speed, etc) and tells you
what type of exposure that combination plus the available light will create on film/sensor. The
first step to understanding photography lighting is to understand this tool for measuring light.

Aperture

Aperture refers to the opening of a lens's diaphragm through which light passes. It is calibrated in
f/stops and is generally written as numbers such as 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11 and 16. The lower
f/stops give more exposure because they represent the larger apertures, while the higher f/stops
give less exposure because they represent smaller apertures. This may seem a little contradictory
at first but will become clearer as you take pictures at varying f/stops. Be sure to check your
manual first to learn how to set your camera for Aperture Priority, then try experimenting to get
comfortable with changing the aperture and recognizing the effects different apertures will have
on the end-result image.

Aperture and Depth of Field

Depth of field is defined as "the zone of acceptable sharpness in front of and behind the subject
on which the lens is focused." Simply put: how sharp or blurry is the area behind your subject.
Here's the equation:

The lower the f/stopthe larger the opening in the lensthe less depth of fieldthe
blurrier the background.
The higher the f/stopthe smaller the opening in the lensthe greater the depth of
fieldthe sharper the background.

Choosing the Aperture

Now that we know how to control depth of field, what determines the choices we make in
selecting the aperture? We use focus and depth of field to direct attention to what is important in
the photograph, and we use lack of focus to minimize distractions that cannot be eliminated from
the composition. While there are no rules, there are some guidelines. For classic portraiture we
separate our subject from the surroundings by using "selective focus." Choosing a large aperture
(lower f/stop, like f2.8) creates very shallow depth of field with only the subject, or just a portion
of the subject, in focus. This helps direct the viewer's attention to the subject. In a landscape or
scenic photograph we usually want to see as much detail as possible from foreground to
background; we want to achieve the maximum depth of field by choosing a small aperture
(higher f/stop, like f/8 or f/11). While we can get the maximum or minimum depth of field by
working at each end of the aperture range, sometimes we want a more intermediate level of
depth of field, limiting focus to a specific range of distances within the overall photograph. One
way to do this is to choose a mid-range f/stop, like f/5.6, and shoot a test frame. In image
playback, use the magnifying function of the LCD to zoom in and check the depth of field; make
adjustments if necessary and reshoot.

Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed is one of the three pillars of photography, the other two being ISO and Aperture.
Shutter speed is where the other side of the magic happens it is responsible for creating
dramatic effects by either freezing action or blurring motion. In this article, I will try to explain
everything I know about shutter speed in very simple language.

Shutter speed, also known as exposure time, stands for the length of time a camera shutter is
open to expose light into the camera sensor. If the shutter speed is fast, it can help to freeze
action completely, as seen in the above photo of the dolphin. If the shutter speed is slow, it can
create an effect called motion blur, where moving objects appear blurred along the direction of
the motion. This effect is used quite a bit in advertisements of cars and motorbikes, where a
sense of speed and motion is communicated to the viewer by intentionally blurring the moving
wheels.
Slow shutter speeds are also used to photograph lightnings or other objects at night or in dim
environments with a tripod. Landscape photographers intentionally use slow shutter speeds to
create a sense of motion on rivers and waterfalls, while keeping everything else in focus.

Shutter speeds are typically measured in fractions of a second, when they are under a second. For
example 1/4 means a quarter of a second, while 1/250 means one two-hundred-and-fiftieth of a
second or four milliseconds. Most modern DSLRs can handle shutter speeds of up to 1/4000th of
a second, while some can handle much higher speeds of 1/8000th of a second and faster. The
longest shutter speed on most DSLRs is typically 30 seconds (without using external remote
triggers). Fast shutter speed is typically whatever it takes to freeze action. For me, it is typically
above 1/500th of a second for general photography and above 1/1000th of a second for bird
photography.

ISO Sensitivity

Photography is built on the three pillars of exposure: shutter speed, aperture and sensitivity.
Shutter and aperture are controls for adjusting how much light comes into the camera. How
much light is needed is determined by the sensitivity of the medium used. That was as true for
glass plates as it is for film and now digital sensors. Over the years that sensitivity has been
expressed in various ways, most recently as ASA and now ISO. The "normal" range of ISO is
about 200 to 1600. With today's digital cameras you can sometimes go as low as 50 or as high as
204,800. The number chosen has two important qualities associated with it. First, it sets the
amount of light needed for a good exposure. The lower the number, the more light required. The
more light that's required, the more likely a slow shutter speed will have to be used. That means
low ISOs, like 100 or 200, are most often used in bright situations (like sunlight) or when the
camera is mounted on a tripod. If you don't have a lot of light, or need a fast shutter speed, you
would probably raise the ISO. Each time you double the ISO (for example, from 200 to 400),
the camera needs only half as much light for the same exposure. So if you had a shutter speed of
1/250 at 200 ISO, going to 400 ISO would let you get the same exposure at 1/500 second
(providing the aperture remains unchanged). This is why high ISOs are so often used indoors,
especially at sporting events. Needing a fast shutter speed to stop action, photographers regularly
choose ISO 1600 or above.
The other important quality tied to ISO is the amount of noise in the image. In the days of film,
as you used film with higher ISO values (often referred to as ASA then), your images had more
visible grain. Film grain is what made up the image, and higher numbers resulted in larger grain,
which was more obvious. Most people found visible grain objectionable and so photographers
worked to avoid it when possible. In digital cameras, raising the ISO means a similar decrease in
quality, with an increase in what's called "noise." It's the digital equivalent of grain and results in
a sort of "chunky" look to the image. Very early digital cameras had objectionable levels of noise
at ISOs as low as 800. Today most digital SLRs can make good quality images at ISOs up to
1600 and above. However, several variables affect this. One important factor affecting the
amount of digital noise in an image is the size of the pixels used on the sensor. Large pixels
result in less noise than small ones. That's why digital SLRs perform much better at high ISOs
than compact cameras. The SLRs have larger sensors and larger pixels. Another factor is the
amount and type of noise reduction being applied in the camera. Because all pixels collect some
noise, every digital camera runs processing on every image (although with a NEF, or RAW, file
that can be changed later) to minimize that noise. Newer cameras use newer technology to
reduce that noise, with the result being less noise at similar ISOs than what earlier cameras could
achieve.