Photography Basics

Parts of a typical camera

Lighting

• Aperture• Shutter speed• ISO

Depth of Field

Depth of field is the range of distance within the subject that is acceptably sharp. The depth of field varies depending on camera type, aperture and focusing distance

(1) Aperture

1) Aperture:The relationship between aperture and depth of field is quite simple:A large aperture like f/2 gives a shallow depth of field.A small aperture like f/16 will give you a large depth of field.Let’s review the examples shown before:

F1.4 F5.6

F16

If you only want a small part of your image to be in focus, you should use a larger aperture like f/2 or f/4.To have more of the image in focus, use a smaller aperture like f/16

(2) Focal lengthA lens with a 28mm focal length for example, is called a wide angle lens and covers a big field of view. It allows to capture a whole landscape in a photo for example. 28mm is a short focal length.

A 300mm lens is a super telephoto lens and only covers a very small field of view. It allows you to zoom in and isolate your subject, like a flying bird for example. 300mm is a long focal length.

If you stand at a given distance from your subject and take a photo with a 28mm wide angle lens, the depth of field will be relatively large and many things around it will be in focus.Now, if you take a photo of the same subject, from the same distance, but “zoom in” using for example a 300mm telephoto lens, then the the depth of field will be a lot thinner and the background behind your subject is more likely to be heavily blurred.

With a 28mm wide angle lens at F/4 both the bottle and the surroundings are sharp.

With a 200mm zoom lens at F/4 the bottle is sharp but the background is blurred.

What this means in practice is, that in order to get a shallow depth you should zoom in closer to your subject. To get a larger depth of field, zoom out.

(3) Distance

From 3 meters away with a 28mm lens, everything is in focus.

With the same lens, but from only 20cm away the depth of field is shallow.

So in order to get a shallow depth of field, you should move closer to your subject. Moving away will help obtain a larger depth of field.

SummaryHow to achieve the desired depth of field:For shallow depth of field: a) use a large aperture like f/2,b) move closer to your subject,c) zoom in and use a longer focal length.

For large depth of field: a) use a small aperture like f/16,b) move further away from your subject,c) zoom out and use a shorter focal length.

Shutter Speed

The photograph of blurred water shown above was taken with a shutter speed of 0.25 sec (1/4).

Here is a photograph of water taken with a faster shutter speed of 1/60 sec so every bead of water can be seen

Short tips for using shutter speed in digital SLR photography:

Slow shutter speed, slows motion.

Fast shutter speed, takes the image almost instantly as in frozen in time.

Use slow shutter speeds of at least 10 seconds or more for night shots of cities, buildings and streets etc.

When using a slow shutter speed it's also a good idea to use a tripod and remote shutter release to avoid camera shake.

If for any reason you don't want to use a tripod, then a general rule to avoid camera shake is to never set your shutter speed slower than the reciprocal of the focal length value. For example, if your lens focal length is set at 50mm then don't use a shutter speed any slower than 1/60th of a second and so forth.

To photograph a running child or animal while blurring the background, set the shutter speed to between 1/40 sec and 1/125 sec. Then follow the running child or moving animal as you press the shutter button. This is often referred to as panning.

ISO

ISO sensitivity expresses the speed of photographic negative materials (formerly expressed as ASA).

how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of light present.The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the image sensor and therefore the possibility to take pictures in low-light situations.

Noise

On the zoomed in areas, ISO1600 produces much more of the noise or grain effect than ISO100

Rule of thirds

The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally.

Studies have shown that when viewing images that people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the shot – using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image rather than working against it.

Rule of thirds

Camera Lenses

Lens Focal Length* Terminology Typical

Photography

Less than 21 mm Extreme Wide Angle Architecture

21-35 mm Wide Angle Landscape

35-70 mm Normal Street & Documentary

70-135 mm Medium Telephoto Portraiture

135-300+ mm Telephoto Sports, Bird & Wildlife

Types of Shots

ECU - Extreme Closeup The extreme close up is used to reveal very small details in the scene. It might be used to reveal horror in a subject (extreme close up of the subject's mouth as she/he screams). It might also be used in a mystery to show some detail that the detective picks up on or to show some small clue.

CU - Close Up The close up shot is used to reveal detail. If you are shooting just the head and shoulders of a subject this is a close up.

Head and Shoulders The head and shoulders shot is used in news broadcasts. If you think about the television news you will realize that this shot reveals enough detail to see the subject's lips move and the expression on her/his face.

Bust Shot This shot shows your subject from above the knees to above the head. It is often used when the subject of the shot is doing something that requires the audience to see some detail.

MS - Medium Shot The medium shot is from just below the waist to above the head. There is more headroom than in the bust shot. This show is used if the person is animated with their hand movements, etc.

MLS - Medium Long Shot Remember in this shot to not cut ther person off at the knees. With this shot, you can still see expression on the persons face, while getting more information from what is going on around the person.

LS - Long Shot This shot is useful for someone that is walking or moving.

ELS - Extra Long Shot Also known as the Establish shot, this gives the viewer some perspective as to where the subject is. This is very important if the subject is moving to new locations or times. It lets the viewer know where the video is taking place.

2 Shot Two-shots are composed when two people are in the scene and their interaction is important. A two-shot is a good way to introduce a conversation. From the introduction you might cut to an over the shoulder shot of one person talking or a close-up of the other person reacting to what is being said.

OS - Over Shoulder The over the shoulder shot reveals one subject as seen from over the shoulder of another subject. It simulates a view of the subject as seen from the second person's eyes. This shot is often used in conversations between two people where the dirtector wants to focus on the person speaking. Usually these shots are head shots (close ups of the speaker).

Resolution needed for various print sizes

Resolution Avg. quality Best quality

0.5 megapixels 3x5 in. N/A

2 megapixels 8x10 in. 3x5 in.

4 megapixels 11x14 in. 5x7 in.

6 megapixels 16x20 in. 8x10 in.

8 megapixels 20x30 in. 11x14 in.

10+ megapixels 25x40 in. 13x17 in