Lesson 1 - AWCL Photography group

1. Photography
How to go beyond Point and Shoot
Presented by: Heather Jones

2. How to go beyond Point & Shoot
The three main areas that you can adjust are:
Aperture,
Shutter speed, and
ISO.

3. 
Aperture
What is an "aperture" ?
Aperture is referred to the lens diaphragm opening inside a
photographic lens. The size of the diaphragm opening in a camera
lens REGULATES the amount of light that passes through the
camera the moment when the shutter curtain in camera opens
during an exposure process. Aperture size is usually calibrated in fnumbers or f-stops, like f22 (f/22),16
(f/16), f/11, f/8.0, f/5.6, f/4.0, f/2.8, f/2.0, f/1.8 etc.

4. Aperture – A visual reference
Source: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/fototech/apershutter/aperture.htm

5. Aperture
Photo credit: http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/2/2663464/camera-buyers-guide

6. Aperture and Depth of Field (DOF)
Depth of field is just technical term used to describe the 'zone' of sharpness' between
nearest and furthest of a subject in focus (to be more exact, distance of sharp focus in
front and behind, subject on which the lens is focused).
There are a few elements that will affects Depth of Field in a picture
(Note:- Factors on lens ONLY, shutter speed never affects depth of field):
1. The lens opening (diaphragm inside the lens) - the bigger the apertures used, the zone
of sharpness is shallower or vice versa i.e. smaller aperture used will has extended depth
of field
2. The focal length of the lens (50mm as standard, 80mm above as telephoto; 35mm or
shorter as wide angle) wide angle lenses have extended field of sharpness than a longer
focal length telephoto lenses and/or longest reach focal length on your zoom lens), and
3. The distance from the lens to the subject - the nearer the subject is, the shallower the
zone of sharpness and vice versa.

7. Depth of Field
F 2.8
F 5.6
(All taken with a 200mm lens)
Source: http://tricksnclicks.com/aperture-dof/
F 8.0

8. Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter is open.
Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or in most cases fractions of seconds. The bigger
the denominator the faster the speed (ie 1/1000 is much faster than 1/30).
In most cases you’ll probably be using shutter speeds of 1/60th of a second or faster. This
is because anything slower than this is very difficult to use without getting camera shake.
Camera shake is when your camera is moving while the shutter is open and results in blur
in your photos.
If you’re using a slow shutter speed (anything slower than 1/60) you will need to either
use a tripod or some some type of image stabilization (more and more cameras are
coming with this built in).

9. Shutter Speed
Some cameras also give you the option for very slow shutter speeds that are in not
fractions of seconds but are measured in seconds (for example 1 second, 10 seconds, 30
seconds, etc.). These are used in very low light situations, when you’re going after special
effects and/or when you’re trying to capture a lot of movement in a shot.
Some cameras also give you the option to shoot in ‘B’ (or ‘Bulb’) mode. Bulb mode lets
you keep the shutter open for as long as you hold it down.
When considering what shutter speed to use in an image, you should always ask yourself
if anything in your scene is moving and how you’d like to capture that movement.
If there is movement in your scene, you can freeze it (so it looks still) or let the moving
object intentionally blur (giving it a sense of movement).

10. Shutter speed
Source: http://www.exposureguide.com/exposure.htm

11. Slow shutter speed to portray movement
(motion blur):
Photo Credit: ©H.C. Jones Photography

12. Fast shutter speed to freeze
movement/action:
Photo Credit: ©H.C. Jones Photography

13. ISO (or film speed)
ISO is the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light.
The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive it is to the light.
The higher the ISO number increases the sensitivity of your camera to light.
With increased sensitivity (higher ISO), your camera can capture images in low-light
environments without having to use a flash.
But higher sensitivity comes at an expense – it adds grain or “noise” to the picture.
The most common ISO’s are: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, and 3200.

14. ISO
Source: http://www.exposureguide.com/exposure.htm

15. Exposure
Source: http://www.exposureguide.com/exposure.htm

16. Rule of Thirds
The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image
down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts.
With this grid in mind, the “rule of thirds” now identifies four important parts of
the image that you should consider placing points of interest in as you frame
your image.

17. Rule of Thirds
Photo Credit: ©H.C. Jones Photography