what effects can be achieved by playing with the shutter speed and perture settings? i have superzoom camera (yes i know its not a digital slr, that’s on my christmas wish list this year) and i want to do a bit of experimenting. nice one bruv!
aperture*
thanks shea shea, awesome advice, it does have manual exposure, there’s actually many settings on it to the point its quite daunting where to begin etc
Playing with the shutter speed will affect how much motion blur you will get in the final image – fast shutter speeds will ‘freeze’ motion, slow shutter speeds will blur it ( an extreme example is light trails from cars where the exposure is over several seconds). Don’t forget the relationship between shutter speed & aperture – if you have your shutter open for longer, you’ll need to ’stop down’ the aperture (ie go to a bigger number) to prevent over exposure. If your shutter speed is very fast, you’ll need to open up the aperture (ie smaller f number) to get enough light to prevent under exposure.
Aperture is one of the factors that controls depth of field (the others are focal length of the lens and the distance from the camera to the subject). Depth of field is the amount of your picture that is in focus, in front of and behind your actual point of focus.
A small aperture (eg f16, f22) will produce a large depth of field (everything from the foreground to the background will be in focus – good for landscapes). A large aperture (f2.8, f1.8) will produce a very shallow depth of field (your subject will be in focus, but things in front and behind will be blurred – this is good for portraiture or any situation where you want to isolate the subject from the background which might be distracting).
I can thoroughly recommend Bryan Petersons book;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Exposure-Photographs-Digital-Camera/dp/0817463003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271321372&sr=8-1
which offers simple advice and good examples.
9 Responses to “What photography tips would you offer to a complete novice?”
Pick one thing to focus on at a time: manual exposure (if your camera can do that). Once you feel you have that down, then move on to something like composition, rule of thirds, etc. move on to the next thing after that, like lighting, etc etc.
Take your time, don’t rush it, and just keep trying to get better. I’d also advise you to find a critique group or site, post some of your work on there and take into consideration what others say. If you keep their constructive criticism in mind when you shoot again, your shots will get better.
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Read the User’s manual and try all the settings to know your camera capabilities.
For ISO, aperture and shutter speed go to this site and play with the sliders;
http://www.kamerasimulator.se/eng/?page_id=2
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be creative, that’s my advice.
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Before you waste the funds on an expensive DSLR my I suggest that you enrole on a course to lean the basics of Photography.
The Best Camera Is THe One That’s With You !
From this grounding in the fundamentals of the Art, you could then join a Club or Society. These have talks and competitions to build on your knowledge base.
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Pro Travel & Marine Photographer
try learning the basics of the camera before spending a fortune in accessories…
http://creativelive.com/course.....otography/
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Only two ,
Tripod and be there…
Tripod to hold the camera still for sharper images more of the time and just go out and be there to make the images. That in it’s self will make you better . All the other advice about reading the book etc. also are very good ideas.
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Here are some useful links:
Composition and Rules: (includes mean and rule of thirds)
http://photoinf.com/General/Ro.....Design.htm
Basic Photography:
http://www.digital-cameras-hel.....-tips.html
Workshops and DSLR tips:
http://www.cameralabs.com/feat.....hops.shtml Model and
Model and Portrait photography:
http://www.modelmayhem.com/
Good Luck!
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Photographer (email me for more help)
Just three words: Use your eyes. Since you have a digi cam, you can experiment without cost. If possible go out on a photo expedition accompanied by someone who knows his stuff technically, to answer your questions as they arise.
References :
Playing with the shutter speed will affect how much motion blur you will get in the final image – fast shutter speeds will ‘freeze’ motion, slow shutter speeds will blur it ( an extreme example is light trails from cars where the exposure is over several seconds). Don’t forget the relationship between shutter speed & aperture – if you have your shutter open for longer, you’ll need to ’stop down’ the aperture (ie go to a bigger number) to prevent over exposure. If your shutter speed is very fast, you’ll need to open up the aperture (ie smaller f number) to get enough light to prevent under exposure.
Aperture is one of the factors that controls depth of field (the others are focal length of the lens and the distance from the camera to the subject). Depth of field is the amount of your picture that is in focus, in front of and behind your actual point of focus.
A small aperture (eg f16, f22) will produce a large depth of field (everything from the foreground to the background will be in focus – good for landscapes). A large aperture (f2.8, f1.8) will produce a very shallow depth of field (your subject will be in focus, but things in front and behind will be blurred – this is good for portraiture or any situation where you want to isolate the subject from the background which might be distracting).
I can thoroughly recommend Bryan Petersons book;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unders.....amp;sr=8-1
which offers simple advice and good examples.
References :