The Camera and Exposure

Exerpts copied from Photography by Upton and London

SLR vs. Range Finder Cameras
 SLR – Single Lens Reflex
What You See is What You Get
In the SLR camera both the image previewed
and the image captured are identical

The SRL camera has only one optical path,

and it is into the lens
 It is inside the SRL camera
where the image is diverted
between the preview and
captured modes. A hinged When the shutter is activated
mirror is the diverting the mirror "pops up", and the
mechanism. In the preview light is diverted into the
mode, the mirror reflects the image recording-medium
light up into a prism and out
the preview window
Basic Camera Operations
Keeping Your Lens Clean
Don’t touch the Shutter Blades
Camera Cleaning Tools
 Exposure is a term that is used to
express how much light impacts the
film

f-stop (aperture) and Shutter Speed

are Exposure Combinations
Aperture: Size of Lens Opening
• Controls the brightness of
the light that reaches film –
like the pupil of an eye

• Size indicated by f-stop

• Largest admits most light
• Each stop after admits half
the light of previous one
i.e. f/4 half as much as f/2.8
 Aperture
f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

• Aperture/F-stop
• Bigger f-stop number, the
smaller the lens opening and
the less light that is let in.
As the number gets bigger
(4, 5.6, 8), the aperture size
gets smaller and the amount
of light admitted decreases.
 Depth of Field
Depth of field is a phrase that defines a measure of distance that spans a distance
ahead of and behind a subject focused on; and, within that distance the image is
fairly sharp. The distance ahead of and behind the subject is not equal. Generally
the distance ahead of the subject is 1/3 of the depth of field range. This is illustrated
in Figure 5.1. The depth of field is shown in color. The red line represents the
subject and at the bottom is the camera location.
Aperture and Depth of Field:
“Shallow”

• f/2 and lens

focused on
boy (b) in
middle – about
seven feet
away from
photographer
Aperture and Depth of Field:
“Deep/Wide”

• f/16 and lens

focused on boy
(b) in middle –
about seven
feet away from
photographer
Three ways to control Depth of Field:

1.Smaller the aperture size (i.e. f/16, f/22), the greater

the depth of field.
2.Farther you are from the subject (mountain,
landscape), greater the depth of field.
3.Wider the lends, greater the depth of field
(i.e. 27mm, 35mm lens).
Conversely:

1.Bigger the aperture size (i.e. f/2.8), the smaller

the depth of field.
2.The closer you are to the subject (portrait, object
on desk), smaller the depth of field.
3.The longer the lens, the more shallow the depth
of field (i.e. 85-300mm telephoto or zoom).
Video Clip – depth of field

SNODART.COM – Depth of Field

http://vimeo.com/1136116

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzedefUXARE
 Shutter Speed

The amount of time the shutter remains open

 Shutter Speed:
Length of time light reaches film

• The faster the shutter speed, the more likely a

moving subject will be sharp. i.e. 1/125 or 1/250
 Shutter Speed: Slow

Both the subject and the Camera is steady (possibly on

camera were moving – tripod) during this slow
“panning” – 1/8, 1/15, 1/30 exposure, i.e. 1/15
 Light and the Shutter Speed:

To expose film correctly, so that your picture

is neither too light nor too dark, you need to
control the amount of light that reaches the
film.

In manual operation, you control both the

shutter speed and the aperture (f/stop)
opening.
 Shutter Speed

Small aperture, Medium aperture, Larger aperture,

slow shutter medium shutter fast shutter speed
speed
f/16 1/8 f/2 1/500
f/4 1/30
Equivalent Exposures
Some example images using
minimum depth of field:
Keith Carter
Keith Carter
Keith Carter
Keith Carter
Some example images using
maximum depth of field:
Linda Butler
Linda Butler
Linda Butler
Linda Butler
Some example images using
slow shutter:
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Alhambra
Byrd Theatre, Richmond, VA
Cinerama Dome
La Paloma
Paramount
Union City Drive
Rubidoux