Photography for Beginners
The SLR Camera The term SLR is an acronym for Single Lens Reflex, a type of mechanism within a camera which allows the photographer to see exactly what would be captured on film. The 2 main components of an SLR camera are the mirror and the shutter. The mirror reflects light from the lens to the viewfinder, while the shutter, situated behind the mirror, prevents exposure of the film until it is intended. After the necessary settings have been made, firing the shutter causes the following to happen: 1. Mirror flips up, viewfinder image blacks out 2. Shutter opens for duration set in shutter control knob, film exposed 3. Shutter closes 4. Mirror returns to original position, viewfinder image visible State Mirror / Shutter position Original Position Viewfinder Image
Mirror Flipping
Mirror Up, Shutter closed
Mirror Up, Shutter Open, Film Exposed
Lenses One of the most important component of photography is the lens, and it is commonly referred to by its focal length. Generally, the focal length of a lens is the distance that it should be held from a screen in order to project a focused image on that screen. This is not exactly true for camera lenses which are actually made from complex combinations of lenses. Fortunately a 500mm lens does not necessarily have to be 500mm long! The importance of focal length is the angle of view obtained. The longer the focal length, the narrower the angle of view and the more magnified the image is (at a fixed distance). Short focal length lenses are known as wide-angle with typical focal lengths of 20mm, 24mm and 35mm. Standard focal length lenses are around the 50mm mark and the range 80mm-300mm are considered telephoto lenses. Anything above 300mm is regarded as super-telephoto.
The picture on the left was taken with a wide-angle 24mm lens and the one on the right with a telephoto 300mm lens. Notice how, in both cases, the telephone boxes fill the frame, but the perspective in each shot is very different. Telephoto lenses tend to compress perspective making objects look closer together, whilst wide-angle lenses distort and can make fairly close objects (such as the furthest telephone box) seem very distant.
Film Film speed is defined as an emulsion's degree of sensitivity to light, and determines the amount of exposure required to photograph a subject under given lighting conditions. It is measured by an ISO number (previously known as ASA and DIN). High sensitivity films are often called fast and low sensitivity films are called slow. Standard film speeds are ISO 100, ISO 200 and ISO 400. A film rated at ISO 200 needs half as much light to form the same image density as one rated at ISO 100. Note that ISO 400 is one stop faster than ISO 200 and two stops faster than ISO 100.
Selecting a film speed depends on the application. Low light levels usually mean that a very fast film was required to allow shake free shutter speeds. However, fast films can also be used in daylight to obtain the fast shutter speeds required to freeze action sports. Slow films are best used for subjects which keep still such as landscape, architecture and still-life. The use of a tripod and a cable release is advised to avoid the dreaded camera shake associated with slow shutter speeds. The trade-off between using fast and slow films is that the grain (the crystals from which the image is made up) of fast films is much more visible than that of slow film. Therefore, slow films generally show more crisp detail than fast films, and colours can be much more vibrant and saturated. Exposure The settings for a good exposure are determined by a light meter. (Most 35mm cameras have a built-in light meter that shows you the appropriate settings, or automatically controls them.) Aperture and shutter settings work together. Because the shutter (like the aperture) approximately halves or doubles the light reaching the film with each change in setting, a number of different combinations of settings can result in the same exposure. Aperture F22 F16 F11
F8 F5.6
Shutter 1/30 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500 Any of the combinations shown above would result in approximately the same exposure. But, why choose F5.6 at 1/125 instead of F11 at 1/30 or vice versa? By selecting the right combination for the situation you can control motion blur and depth of field. Shutter Speed - Motion blur and Brightness Shutter speed is one of the factors controlling the amount of light falling on the film. The longer the shutter is opened, the greater the amount of light that falls on the film. The duration of the shutter opening is controlled by the shutter speed control on the camera. By manipulating the shutter speed (with corresponding adjustment to aperture if necessary), a image can turn out dramatically different Brightness of a night scene
Taken at "auto" mode
Shutter speed half (1 step) slower, with same the aperture
Shutter speed one fourth (2 step) slower, with the same aperture
Motion of a scene
1 / 1000 sec.
1 / 60 sec.
1 / 4 sec.
Besides those mentioned in the lesson, some cameras may offer the following setting : T, B or X. T (Time) The front curtain opens when the shutter release button is pressed and remains open even after the button has been released. When you press the button again, the rear curtain travels to close the shutter. This is effective for long-time exposure, which might take few minutes. B (Bulb) The shutter remains open while the shutter release button is depressed and closes only after the button is released. This is a useful feature for shots that require a long exposure time. This is effective for long-time exposure, which might take few seconds. X, or a lightning bolt graphic (sync shutter speed / "X" contact) – Sync speed This is the fastest shutter speed you can select when using an electronic flash. Aperture – Brightness and Depth of field The technical definition of aperture value, or f-stop as it is often known, is the ratio of the focal length of the lens to the diameter of the lens opening. In other words, it is the number of times the diameter of the hole through which the light has to pass will fit into the focal length of the lens. The size of this hole, known as the aperture, may be controlled by turning a collar usually located at the base of the lens. On automatic cameras, aperture priority mode is often denoted by Av which means "Aperture value". Typical values may be f2, f2.8, f5.6 and f16 where the "f" denotes the f-stop, often referred to as f-numbers.
Smaller f-numbers (f2, f2.8 etc.) represent wider apertures (i.e. more light can pass through the lens in a given time) and higher f-numbers (f11, f16, f22 etc.) give narrower apertures (meaning that less light passes through in a given time). Ff-stops are calibrated to allow exactly half as much light through as the previous setting and twice as much light through as the next setting (in a given time of course). For example, a lens set at f8 will allow twice as much light through as one set at f11 but only half as much as one set as f5.6.
Depth of Field Depth of field can be thought of as the amount of the image which has acceptable sharpness. This means that either side of the selected point of focus, there is a region in which the image remains in focus. Moving outside of this band of focus (towards or away from the lens), the image becomes progressively more unsharp and out of focus.
Aperture = F5.6 Shutter = 1/1000 Little/Shallow depth of field Aperture = F22 Shutter = 1/60 Greater/More depth of field
The amount of depth of field is controlled solely by magnification and aperture. Since the magnification is normally fixed for a given subject, the depth of field is usually controlled by aperture alone. Wide apertures (such as f2, f2.8) give less depth of field whilst narrow apertures (such as f16, f22) give much more depth of field. f1.4 f5.6 f22
This control is very important when deciding how to isolate a subject or where to direct the viewer's attention.
This technique of isolating the subject using depth of field is very effective, particularly for portraits or situations which the viewer's attention should be directed to the subject and the background left out of focus to avoid clutter.
Composition Composition refers to the arrangement of your subject and is usually the element that differentiates between an average picture and a great one. These techniques can be applied to everyday photography to quickly improve the quality of your pictures. Space
Allowing some space in front of a portrait will make the picture more comfortable, rather than a claustrophobic feeling. Similarly, if the subject is capable of movement, such as an animal or person, it is best to leave space in front of the subject so it appears to be moving into, rather than out of the photograph. In other words, allocate space in front of the subject’s direction of motion so as not to make it appear squashed will contribute to the composition of the picture. Rule of thirds A principle based on the theory that the eye goes naturally to a point about two-thirds up the page. By visually dividing the image into thirds (either vertically or horizontally) and placing the main subject at the points of intersection, the photographer can quickly capture the attention of the viewer to the point of interest. Although there are many ways a photograph can be composed effectively by basing it on the use of "thirds," the most common example is the placement of the horizon line in landscape photography.
If the area of interest is land or water, the horizon line will usually be two-thirds up from the bottom. On the other hand, if the sky is the area of emphasis, the horizon line may be one-third up from the bottom, leaving the sky to occupy the top two-thirds.
Summary Note that the above mentioned these are only guidelines, not hard and fast "rules." While a novice can achieve quality output quickly with these guidelines, experienced photographers who know the rules often find very creative ways to break them, with excellent results.