A small string before starting
People we are dealing with are not beginner actually. Though some points are
there which are
not known to some of us. One lifetime is not enough to learn all actually. At
every point we are exposed to something from where we can learn a lot, not only in the field of
Photography but also a variety of aspects of ‘life’. So why not start the procedure. Hope you will like the
document.
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| Photo Taken by Canon PowerShot SX130IS at Rohtang Pass, Shimla |
Let’s start from the basics
Basic Tips for Beginner Photographers1. Don’t go crazy buying the most expensive equipment right away.
It is often seen that everyone search and wish to have a SLR in hand to take
photo. That SLR will not make you a good shooter if you are not familiar with the basics. A good camera
gives you just a better platform to perform your task. If you don’t know how to perform, the platform
is of no work.
It’s true that it’s possible to get very nice photos with an inexpensive point
and shoot. The more photos you take, the more you’ll know about what kind of camera to get when
it’s time to upgrade.
Each camera has its own limitations. Considering that one should do his job
staying in the limitations.
2. Keep your camera with you all the time.
No one can predict the future. You don’t know when you face a nice frame which
you can shoot brilliantly. But if you do not have your camera with you that frame might lost
forever. So why not keep the camera within your bag on the go. These might not be useful if one uses a
lot of equipment to shoot, but you keep the package compact [like the camera only (and the tripod if you
use it)] the work will be very simple. Even if you are not carrying any bag with you and your pocket
doesn’t give you enough space to place your camera then use your mobile camera (Yes, a mobile camera
can take some good photos too).
When you fell that you should take the frame with your regular camera (which
you are not carrying at that time) take a snap with your mobile if possible and note down or
memorize the frame, location, light condition and other related issues which will help you to take the photo
of that frame in future when you come back with your regular camera.
3. Enjoy the learning process.
The best part of photography like any other hobby is to learn on every move.
Try and fail and you will learn. If you do not fail you will not learn. The surroundings will never run
out of things to learn. There are always something out there. You have to find it out with your fresh eye and
the view of a photographer. Look around and you might find some opportunity which you have
not noticed before.
4. Experiment with your camera’s settings.
There are a lot of settings in your camera you can play with. A simple point
and shoot camera might also have some special power hidden inside. Take a chance with every settings
and compare the outcome. That will also help you to select the correct settings for a specific
condition.
Don’t be afraid of experiments. A failure will let you learn not only the right
procedure but also teach you not to fail again. Take multiple shots. In the era of digital photography
taking a shot is almost free of cost.
5. Take advantage of free resources to learn.
There are lots of open forums and photo sharing platforms. Browse them in
leisure time and
carefully observe. Always try to ‘Observe’ than ‘Look’.
6. Learn the basic rules.
This is the most important part of anything you deal with. If it is photography
one should be flexible
enough to the basic rules and settings. And also the effect of every settings.
The basic Settings that affects the photos are:
Ø Exposure
Ø Shutter Speed (Basic
1): The amount of time the shutter is open to allow the light go in.
Ø Aperture (Basic
2): The size of opening in the lens while shooting.
Ø ISO (Basic
3): The measure of a digital camera sensor’s sensitivity to light.
Ø White Balance (Optional )
Ok
now. Time to start Scratching
About Exposure:
Exposure is the amount of light you
are allowing to fall on the sensor. This is actually the result of the combination of the three basic components i.e.
1. ISO ; 2. Shutter Speed ; 3. Aperture
The resultant of these three gives the final lighting condition.
These three are inter related with each other. This can be described as the Exposure
Triangle.
In practical you cannot isolate any of the element. Changing one element will make you change the other elements to gain the same (relatively) result. Now the question is how they are related. Consider the case when you are shooting a fixed subject where there is no
relative movement between the camera and subject. In this scenario consider if you have set the camera for certain settings where
you have made the subject properly exposed with the accurate lighting.
Now if you Increase the Shutter Speed the amount of light will decrease
and make your subject under exposed. To overcome the situation and make the correct exposure you have to
increase ISO and/or make the aperture wide open to let the sensor have proper amount of light.
Similarly, If you Decrease shutter speed (shutter open for longer
time) you have to decrease the ISO and/or make aperture narrowly open. Try out the other changes yourself (kind off self-learning
process)
Hope this is clear now. Let’s head forward to the 3 Basic Component and
their details.
Brief Illustration of the
impact of the basic settings on the photo.
The Basic 3
i. Shutter
Speed:
This is the time span when the
shutter is open to let the light fall on the sensor. Higher Shutter speed will allow you to shoot in Highly Lit condition or shooting a moving
subject.
Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or in most cases fractions of
seconds. The bigger the denominator the faster the speed (i.e. 1/1000 is much faster than 1/30) Shutter speeds available to you on your camera will usually double
(approximately) with each setting. As a result you’ll usually have the options for the following shutter
speeds – 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8 etc.
Some cameras also give you the option for very slow shutter speeds that are 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.
Shooting in these slow shutter speed condition you ‘Must’ use a tripod or place
your camera on a fixed plat form and use self-timer to eliminate any kind of blur due to
camera shake.
Slow Shutter speed and capturing movement in the photo is not bad always. This
gives you some fascinating view like ‘Light Trail’, ‘Star Trail’, ‘Fluid Motion’ etc.
Remember before changing the shutter speed as that has a direct effect on the
other settings (ISO, Aperture) both at once or any one of them. If you choose a very high
shutter speed for certain shot ( e.g. 1/500 instead of 1/250) you have to compensate the deficit of light by
changing the value of ISO and Aperture. You have to choose higher ISO in this case ( e.g ISO 800 instead
of ISO 400) which in turn impose ‘Grain’ / ‘Noise’ in the photo. And changing the aperture will affect
the DOF.
ii. Aperture:
The opening of the lens while
shooting is roughly known as aperture. A wide open aperture will allow more light to come in and vice-versa.
When you hit the shutter release button of your camera a hole opens up that
allows your cameras image sensor to catch a glimpse of the scene you’re wanting to capture.
The aperture that you set impacts the size of that hole. The larger the hole the more light that gets
in – the smaller the hole the less light.
The aperture also deals with the Depth Of Field ( DOF). A wider aperture makes
a shallow DOF and a narrow opening will result in a deeper DOF.
Well, what is DOF?
DOF i.e Depth Of Field is the area within the focus in the frame you are
shooting. A shallow DOF means a little amount of area will be in focus around your point
of focus. Out of that area will be blurred. The blur amount is directly related with the
distance from focus point. A deep DOF means there will be a lot of thing will be under the focus area.
Aperture is measured in ‘f-stops’. For example f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6,f/8,f/22 etc.
Moving from one fstop to the next doubles or halves the size of the amount of
opening in your lens (and the amount oflight getting through).
A lower f-stop denotes wider aperture and a higher f-stop denotes narrower
aperture.
As mentioned in the Exposure Triangle the wider the aperture you choose the
higher shutter
speed you can set and vice-versa.
Generally a macro shot (macro lens) uses a higher aperture value to make the
subject prominent.
And a lower aperture value is used in case of shooting landscapes to have
entire area well under focus.
iii. ISO:
In traditional (film)
photography ISO was the indication of how
sensitive a film was to light.
It was measured in numbers (you’ve probably seen them on films – 100, 200, 400,
800 etc.). The lower the number the lower the sensitivity of the film and the finer the grain in the
shots you’re taking.
In Digital Photography ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor.
The same principles
apply as in film photography – the lower the number the less sensitive your
camera is to light and the finer the grain. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to
get faster shutter speeds (for example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze the action in lower
light) – however the cost is noisier shots.
The main adverse effect of taking photo with higher ISO is to have a lot of grain
in photo. But in some situations you need to push ISO to higher settings to have a freeze shot.
For general outdoor conditions where you can select the shutter speed properly
and the lighting condition is comfortable to fit within the range of shutter speed which your
camera permits always try to set the ISO manually as low as possible.
Though utmost care was taken to provide correct information human error expected to be ignored.
DeclarationThe data and illustrations provided here are not all of my own. I have collected them from different websites and those holds the copyright of their respective owner. I have no intention to violate the copyright.
Referencehttp://digital-photography-school.com
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