[Reference] Controlling Exposure

If you’re new to photography, you will want to read over this section thoroughly at least a couple times to better understand some of the things I talk about on this blog. If you already have an understanding of your three basic exposure controls (aperture, shutter speed, and ISO) you can skip over this section without missing anything.

Understanding exposure is the basis of everything in photography. Every single technique you do involving a camera will hinge on your understanding of exposure and how to control it. Discussing aperture, shutter speed and ISO can get dry and boring, but trust me, once you understand it, you’ll be able to do so much more with your camera. Every photographer needs to have at least a basic understanding of exposure. With practice, controlling exposure becomes second nature.

There are three controls every camera everywhere uses to control exposure. That's shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Each of these has their own effects on the photo besides exposure when you change them, but I won't get into that here.

It's very handy to quantify exposure in a camera because each of the controls I mentioned can be adjusted in something called "stops." A stop is a quantity of light on a scale. One stop brighter means doubling the light, and one stop dimmer means halving the light. In this way it's easy to quantify the relative amount of light in a photo in terms of stops.

Shutter speed refers to the amount of time the camera is exposing the sensor (may be a piece of film or a digital sensor or whatever) to light. An example of a "normal" exposure time is 1/250 second. If I wanted to make the picture darker, I would take away a stop of light by halving the amount of time the sensor is exposed to light. That would mean I would expose the sensor for 1/500 second, which is half the time of 1/250 second. If I wanted to make the picture lighter, I would add a stop of light by exposing for 1/125 second, which is twice as long as 1/250 second.

Common shutter speeds in 1 stop increments: (in seconds)
1 1/2 1/4 1/8 1/15 1/30 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000 1/2000 1/4000
(There are a couple points where the numbers don’t exactly match up here. That’s OK, it’s to make the other numbers nice and pretty and round.)

Aperture refers to the size of the hole in the lens that lets light through during an exposure. This one's harder to understand in terms of how exactly it works, but know that it works the same way as shutter speed in terms of stops. In the aperture, a bigger hole lets in more light, and a bigger hole has a smaller f/number, and vice versa. The specific order of numbers are harder to remember, but know that each number is one stop, which either doubles or halves the amount of light, and therefore the exposure. For example, if I'm shooting at f/8 and I want to make the picture darker, I would halve the light by moving to f/11, and that would make the picture darker. If I'm at f/8 and I want to make the picture lighter, I would double the light and go to f/5.6.

Common apertures in 1 stop increments:
f/1.4 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22 f/32

ISO refers to the sensor's sensitivity to light. A more sensitive imagesensor will be able to take the same amount of light and make a brighter exposure. Again, ISO works with the same double/half stop system as shutter speed/aperture. If I'm shooting at ISO 400 and I want to make the picture darker, I would halve the light by moving to ISO 200, and that would make the picture darker. If I'm at ISO 400 and I want to make the picture lighter, I would double the light and go to ISO 800.

Common ISOs in 1 stop increments:
50 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400

These three controls working together give you a huge amount of control over your photo. Learn how to make exposure work, and learn the benefits of moving up and down the range of each of the three controls. Then you can start making your camera work for you.

Photobooths?

In the past couple weeks, I’ve been asked to shoot a couple of christmas-related events. Not by a traditional method of photography, but with a photobooth. Photobooth-style photography, while definitely not the ultimate method of capturing an event, definitely has its place in today’s culture.

A photobooth generally involves an area of an event set aside specifically for photography. This is an area where the photographer has a special backdrop, lights, and often props for people to use in photos. The idea is that people can step into the photobooth and quickly and easily get some quality, well-lit photos taken.

When a photographer sets up a photobooth, most of the creative power in the photographic process is put into the hands of the subjects in front of the camera. What the photographer can still do in this case to make creative photos involves setting up the photobooth.

One photobooth I did was for a Christmas play my church was putting on. The idea was that each family would pose for a quick photo, and the photos would be posted on the church website for free download to get more people looking at our church website. It wasn’t my idea, but people seemed to really like it. I set up my backdrop, which was two decorated Christmas trees, outdoors under a balcony. My lights came in the form of two off-camera flashes. (We’ll get more into lighting and how flashes work later.) After I set up the studio area, I could quickly cycle families through for their portraits, and they each got a nice free family portrait!

My other photobooth was one for my highschool group at the same church. I had a small room to set up in. One wall was covered with a plain white backdrop, and I set up my camera against the opposite wall. This photobooth could have been covered easily by a single flash, but I decided to shoot it with three, because I could! Who doesn’t like a little overkill, eh? Lots of photos were shot that night.

A photobooth can limit a photographer’s creativity, but when executed right, they can really add fun and value to an event!

How To Make Good Photos with Any Old Camera: Composition

There are countless rules and regulations that apply to the art of photography. You should learn them so that you can know how to break them well!

When I’m shooting photos, a lot of people assume I’m a good photographer because I have a big camera. While I may be a good photographer (and that’s always up for interpretation!) it’s not because of my camera. A good photographer is not reliant on his equipment; he can make interesting photographs with any camera- a camera being as little as any lens positioned correctly in front of a light-sensitive recording medium of some variety.

All SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras offer full manual control of exposure (and usually many other settings), and even a lot of digital point-and-shoot cameras offer some level of manual control over some of the decisions the camera would make about your image if it was set on fully automatic shooting. BUT! No camera can ever have control of the most important element of the picture: what you put in front of the lens. Because of this, it really is the photographer that makes the difference in a good photo.

Every camera lets you see a preview of the image you’re about to take before you trigger the shutter. This (usually) rectangular view is known as your frame. The way you arrange different objects within your frame, and what you choose to include and exclude in the frame, is called your composition. This is how you control what’s included if your photo- remember, that’s the most important element in making a good photograph!

Next time you’re out taking pictures, try to consciously think about your composition, or what you’re showing in your frame. Show your viewer something they don’t see every day. Most successful photographs have a single subject, or a central focus point in the image, or what that photo is “of.” Make it obvious what your subject is. Tell your viewer through your image, “Look at this X! Look how dramatic/lonely/exciting/drab/powerful it is!” Some compositions will work better than others. The way to find out what works is to get out and experiment!

Get up high, or get on your belly to get a different angle of view of your subject.

Try standing far away from your subject and zooming in close on it, then walk closer to the same subject and zoom out and shoot the same photo. This can make a huge difference in perspective.

Position your subject away from the middle of the frame. A general guideline is called the “Rule of Thirds.” Imagine a standard tic-tac-toe board drawn across your frame. Put your subject on any one of the four intersection points of the lines. If you’re shooting a landscape, put the horizon line on one of the horizontal lines on that tic-tac-toe board. This is often the easiest way to make your photo more visually interesting.

Look for interesting lines and patterns to include in your composition.

Include contrasting colors in different areas of your frame.

Keep your composition simple; try to eliminate elements from the frame that don’t add to what you want to do with the image. Sometimes the most powerful compositions are the most sparse and basic. K.I.S.S.- Keep It Simple Stupid!

Remember, there are no steadfast rules in photography!

Hi there.

Welcome to a photography-oriented blog for everybody. This is not a place to find super complex technical ramblings, or extensive reviews of the latest digital photography equipment. In writing this, I hope to help you, the photographer, gain a better understanding of what the art of photography is, and how you can create awesome images using whatever equipment you happen to have, along with a little creativity.

You may have never touched a camera before, you may be just learning the craft, you may love shooting photos of friends at parties with your digital camera, or you may be a seasoned photographer used to a variety of settings. My goal in writing this blog is to offer something to everybody. I’ll write so that anybody can understand what I’m saying. You won’t get a straight-up lecture on f-stops and shutter speeds here. Photography is an art, and thanks to the widespread availability of relatively cheap gear, an art that literally anybody can participate in.

My name is Andy Sutterfield. I’ve been working with various cameras for maybe a decade. In the past few years, I’ve honed my skills at West Valley College under the outstanding instruction of Brian Tramontana and several other great photographers teaching there. I’ve studied and practiced a lot on my own and with friends as well. I’ve been fortunate enough in the past year to turn this passion into something of a business. I’m definitely not an expert, but I’ve made some good images over the course of my career. The great thing about photography is there is always something new to learn. Because really, if it was possible for someone to master a subject, any subject, would it really hold an interest for them anymore?

So. This’ll be a fun blog to keep up with, and for me to write! I’ll write about anything relating to photography, and I’ll answer questions. I’ll post examples of my work and explain how you can make similar images. I may even write about pieces of gear I’ve had good luck with that I can recommend to you. When I get to work on an interesting project, I’ll explain it all here. And of course, I’ll dish out practical advice on how you, whatever level photographer you are, can improve your photos and have a good time doing it. That’s what it’s all about, right?

Thanks for reading!