1. P is not for professional. So you pick up your camera, switch the mode dial to P, or if you are really getting fancy perhaps even shutter speed or aperture priority. But how do you go shooting in manual mode? Are you on top of all the decisions you are faced with? Leaving your camera on manual for a while may feel awkward at first but after a short period you will gain a much better understanding of aperture, shutter speed and ISO and how the three correlate to determine exposure. After you are comfortable shooting in manual there will be situations in which you still shoot aperture or shutter priority however you will be better informed to select the right mode for the situation and to evaluate the decisions you are putting into your cameras hands.
2. The lower your ISO the cleaner your images. Digital photographs contain artifacts known as "Noise". The higher you set your ISO the more noise your images will exhibit. Thus always use the lowest ISO you can, just don't forget to be mindful of your aperture and shutter speed and make sure they are correct for the situation at hand.
3. Flutter, umm, it rhymes with shutter. In deciding upon your shutter speed one essential principle for sharp hand held photos is to shoot with a shutter speed at least as fast as 1/focal length. Arghhh! I hear you scream. Don't fret, it's really easy to grasp and isn't as mathematical as it looks! Essentially if you were to use a 30mm lens the general slowest shutter speed should be 1/30th of a sec. Likewise on a 100mm lens it would be 1/100th of a sec. This is a recommended minimum shutter speed to provide shake free images. If using a tripod there is no need to worry about this rule as the camera will be held steady, you will however still have to consider subject movement and use a shutter speed fast enough to freeze them.
4. Depth of what? Depth of field, or the amount focus extends beyond and in front of the focal point can be used to great effect, as such it is a concept worth your learning. Lets say we are shooting a landscape and we want the viewer to feel like they can look into the scene. We may wish to use a large DOF so that the entire image from foreground to background is in focus. In such a case you would use a small aperture. Small aperture = large f stop number, e.g. f22. On the other hand having an entire scene in focus in a portrait shot may be distracting and steal the viewers eye from the subject. In this case you could reduce the DOF by shooting with a large aperture, or small f-stop number. E.g. f2. I strongly suggest you read further about DOF and experiment with it's role in photography.
5. Fill (flash) me up, baby. We all know that look of outdoor portraits in midday sun, a typical amateur look that leaves eyes dark and lifeless. When shooting in full sunlight it is common to try move people into the shade, this option however is not always suitable. It is now we welcome Mr fill flash. A fill flash is no different to your standard on camera or hot shoe flash, the difference is in how we use it. Rather than having the flash set to fully expose the subjects we let it fire light that is approx 1 stop weaker than the ambient light, as such it works to lighten the shadows and reduce the overall contrast of the subject so that we have an image that contains detail in both the highlights and shadows. Using this technique will allow you to capture pleasing portraits in full midday sun without having your subjects eyes render as black holes.
By understanding a few simple principles and techniques you can push your photography forward in leaps and bounds. Now get shooting!
2. The lower your ISO the cleaner your images. Digital photographs contain artifacts known as "Noise". The higher you set your ISO the more noise your images will exhibit. Thus always use the lowest ISO you can, just don't forget to be mindful of your aperture and shutter speed and make sure they are correct for the situation at hand.
3. Flutter, umm, it rhymes with shutter. In deciding upon your shutter speed one essential principle for sharp hand held photos is to shoot with a shutter speed at least as fast as 1/focal length. Arghhh! I hear you scream. Don't fret, it's really easy to grasp and isn't as mathematical as it looks! Essentially if you were to use a 30mm lens the general slowest shutter speed should be 1/30th of a sec. Likewise on a 100mm lens it would be 1/100th of a sec. This is a recommended minimum shutter speed to provide shake free images. If using a tripod there is no need to worry about this rule as the camera will be held steady, you will however still have to consider subject movement and use a shutter speed fast enough to freeze them.
4. Depth of what? Depth of field, or the amount focus extends beyond and in front of the focal point can be used to great effect, as such it is a concept worth your learning. Lets say we are shooting a landscape and we want the viewer to feel like they can look into the scene. We may wish to use a large DOF so that the entire image from foreground to background is in focus. In such a case you would use a small aperture. Small aperture = large f stop number, e.g. f22. On the other hand having an entire scene in focus in a portrait shot may be distracting and steal the viewers eye from the subject. In this case you could reduce the DOF by shooting with a large aperture, or small f-stop number. E.g. f2. I strongly suggest you read further about DOF and experiment with it's role in photography.
5. Fill (flash) me up, baby. We all know that look of outdoor portraits in midday sun, a typical amateur look that leaves eyes dark and lifeless. When shooting in full sunlight it is common to try move people into the shade, this option however is not always suitable. It is now we welcome Mr fill flash. A fill flash is no different to your standard on camera or hot shoe flash, the difference is in how we use it. Rather than having the flash set to fully expose the subjects we let it fire light that is approx 1 stop weaker than the ambient light, as such it works to lighten the shadows and reduce the overall contrast of the subject so that we have an image that contains detail in both the highlights and shadows. Using this technique will allow you to capture pleasing portraits in full midday sun without having your subjects eyes render as black holes.
By understanding a few simple principles and techniques you can push your photography forward in leaps and bounds. Now get shooting!
About the Author:
If you would like to learn more from Sydney wedding photographer Samuel Burns stop by his site, check out his wedding photography Sydney and his photographic tips and tutorials.
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