 Technical aspects of taking a photograph

 Accurate exposure
 Accurate focusing
 Understanding resolution
 Artistic aspects of taking a photograph
 Composition
 Choice of shutter speed and aperture
 These control exposure
 Control areas of the picture that are in focus
 Aperture and lens focal length affect this
 Post-processing possibilities

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 Three things control exposure
 Aperture and shutter speed control the amount of
light hitting the sensor:
 Aperture: How open/closed the lens is, controlling how
much light passes through it
 Shutter speed: time light is allowed to fall on the sensor
 ISO sets the sensor’s sensitivity
 More or less light is needed to get the exposure right

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When you half-press the shutter button:
 The camera’s light meter measures the incoming light and
calculates the ‘correct’ exposure
 The camera then sets and locks the appropriate aperture,
shutter speed and/or ISO
 Auto-focus occurs at this time, too
 Typically, the camera tries to keep the shutter speed
fast enough to avoid camera shake
 Fully press the shutter button to take the picture with the
selected settings
 Remember to squeeze the shutter rather than jab at it
 minimises camera shake

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 Aperture is measured in f numbers
 f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32
 May be written 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6…

 Small f numbers = wider opening (more light)

 Each step is called a ‘stop’
 Changing by one stop halves or doubles the amount of
light passing through the lens
 May also move in fractional stops (1/3 or 1/2 stop)

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 Shutter speeds also move in stops
 Changing by one stop halves or doubles the amount of
time the shutter is open for
 2s, 1s, 1/2s, 1/4s, 1/8s, 1/15s, 1/30s, 1/60s, 1/125s, 1/250s,
1/500s, 1/1000s, 1/2000s, 1/4000s
 May be written 2", 1", 2, 4, 8, 15, 30….

 May also move in fractional stops (1/3 or 1/2 stop)

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 Several combinations of shutter speed and
aperture will give a correct exposure
 High and low light levels will restrict your choice
 Change ISO setting to increase choices available

 Automatic modes: camera chooses for you

 As your skills advance, you will probably want to exert
more control yourself
 The different automatic modes give a hint to the
camera about the picture you want to take
 Enables a better choice of aperture/shutter speed

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 1/125 second
f/8

This is what
the camera
program mode
selected

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 1/125  1/15
f/8  f/22

3 stops

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 1/125  1/30
f/8  f/16

2 stops

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 1/125  1/60
f/8  f/11

1 stop

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 This is what
the camera
program mode
selected

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 1/125  1/250
f/8  f/5.6

1 stop

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 1/125  1/500
f/8  f/4

2 stops

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 1/125  1/1000
f/8  f/2.8

3 stops

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 ISO values based on conventions established for film
 ISO 100 or 200 were typical values for film bought from a shop
 Doubling/halving the ISO changes exposure by one stop
 If correct exposure is 1/15 sec at f/2.8 at ISO 100 but you
want to avoid/reduce motion blur
 Change to 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400
(1/151/60 two-stop reduction, ISO 100400 two-stop increase)
 1/15, f/5.6 or 1/30, f/4 at ISO 400 would also be correct
 Modern cameras now offer very high ISO settings
 3200, 6400, 12800 or even higher
 Once you go above 1600 or so, watch out for noise (grain)
 Older cameras may be at ISO 400

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 Correct exposure requires a combination of
shutter speed, aperture and ISO setting
 You can trade aperture, shutter speed and ISO setting while
keeping exposure the same
 Faster shutter speed -> wider aperture and/or higher ISO
 Smaller aperture -> slower shutter speed and/or higher ISO
 Lower ISO setting -> slower shutter speed and/or wider aperture
 Fast shutter speed: Freeze action
 Slow shutter speed: Motion blur
 Wide aperture (smaller f number): Narrow depth of field
 Small aperture (larger f number): Wide depth of field
 High ISO setting: Noise!!
 Focal length (zoom) of lens and distance to your subject affects
DoF too!

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