Images from the Id: A little planning goes along way or it’s the Holiday Season.

Last week, we were talking about exposure. What does that has to do with the Holidays and planning? One of the most important parts of the exposure triangle is the f-stop or aperture. Learn to use it and you will experience significant growth  in your ability to create your vision. This is why advanced photographers always set their camera mode to A for Aperture Mode or even M for Manual Mode. P or Programmed Mode can be usable but more complex. Why all this trouble? It has to do with focus. There is a property of any instrument that produces an image called Depth of Field. If there is one thing you learn to use correctly this is it. Depth of Field is the distance (or depth) of the image, foreground to background that is in focus and it must be controllable and controlled.  The smaller the aperture (Bigger number – Remember it’s a fraction and bigger denominators mean smaller numbers) mean greater depth of field. DON’T forget that. The problem with a typical point and shot camera is there is very little control of the depth of field. It drives me nuts because that is the first thing I try to do. Now my iPhone like most Smart Phones has no control because it has a huge depth of field  because its lens focal length is extremely short. It is an advantage for that type of photography.

Rules

1 – Get the camera out of Automatic and into A (Aperture) so you can select the aperture

2 – Learn to control Depth of Field with the f-stop. The greater the f-stop the greater the Depth of Field.

3 – Keep the exposure you want by observing the Exposure Triangle (Last week)

4 – Change the “normal” exposure to create your vision

A modern camera will select the exposure by comparing what the camera sees with a tiny computer perception of what it is. Usually this is a decent average but not necessarily what you want. Change that to get the depth of field you want then look for the expose you want.

Holiday shots can be more creative if you try some different ideas. Example, use a lower view point, kiddingly called getting down. Try a low shot of the turkey with the camera close to the bird and the family around the table. The bird will look very big and with a small aperture (big f-stop number) like f-18+ and everything in focus. This is one place where the smart phone may out do a point and shot. Now how about a picture of the turkey with the background out of focus. Hint – large aperture (small f-stop number). Get the idea? Impossible with the smart phone. This is one of the highest priorities in good photography.

Exposure – This is a little more difficult but learn how to override the camera’s exposure choice. Most of the time this is a button marked +/-, somewhere on the top of the camera. This is why most pros and advanced amateurs use the Manual Mode. In the Manual Mode you ca easily see the camera’s choice and adjust it to want you want. I find this is good for many situations but not for fast shooting, such as wildlife.

If you want something moody cut down on the exposure. Snow sense might need a little more exposure for white snow. Next week: So all this is interesting but who do I judge exposure or Why are those guys always looking at the back of their camera?