How many photographs have you taken?
Katoomba Falls, The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area Copyright © Len Metcalf
“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”
Apertures, what do you need to know?
Understanding apertures is important... just as important as understanding shutter speeds. The web and books are full of information about apertures so I have no intention of repeating what all ready has been done before. So here you will find a couple of links and a list of things you should know or go and find out about. Then some exercises that you should do.
What I recommend you should know about apertures:
what is depth of field?
what aperture gives you a shallow depth of field
what aperture gives you a deep depth of field
when using a small aperture (large f number) what is happening to the amount of light coming into your lens
when using a large aperture (small f number) what is happening to the amount of light coming into your lens
how does depth of field relate to your different focal length lenses? which lens has the greatest depth of field & which one has the least?
what aperture gives you the sharpest photographs for each of your lenses (if you have zooms this changes with the amount of zoom)
what does bokeh mean?
which of your lenses has the most beautiful bokeh?
in the newspaper press film photographer days the saying to the photographer was "f8 and be there", why do you think they said this?
what is the "sunny 16 rule" - what does that tell you?
what is diffraction? can you see it on any of your photographs? what f stop does it start?
what is the hyperfocal distance? how do you use hyperfocal distance in your photography? how do you calculate hyperfocal distances?
for advanced photographers: what is the circle of confusion?
Reading
Depth of field calculators - lots and lots of good ones
Exercises
photograph an object to create subject isolation with a blurry background
photograph a scene to maximise depth of field so that everything in the photograph is in focus
align three similar objects on a table in a line so that the objects are at different distances from the camera. Photograph lots and lots of photographs with your camera on a tripod in a fixed position. Try focusing on each of the objects and changing the f stops. Try using different focal length lenses
use hyperfocal distance to calculate what areas are going to be in focus in a photograph and then take a photograph where all of the objects are in focus
find some approximate rules for hyperfocal focusing - why might these lead you astray when using them
photograph a still life with all of the objects in the still life are on the same plane that is perpendicular to the path of the light into the camera. use your sharpest lens and your sharpest aperture
Rose - illustrating subject isolation utilising aperture © Len Metcalf 2013
Vigars Well Lake Mungo, illustrating the use of depth of field through the use of appropriate aperture and hyperfocal focusing. Where would you put the focus point in this photograph? © Len Metcalf 2013
Shutter speeds
How well do you know your shutter speeds. Here are some exercises and questions to answer.
Paper bark and fishbone ferns, Myall Lakes National Park, Australia © Leonard Metcalf 2014
Do you know your shutter speeds well enough? To help with this question, consider the following with three lenses (24mm, 50mm 100mm full frame equivalents on your camera)
What shutter speed:
can you comfortably and reliably hand hold
can you comfortably and reliably hand hold after exercise
can you hold with extra support (i.e. a mono pod or leaning against a vehicle or tree)
freezes a person walking
freezes someone running
freezes a car at 50 km / per hour
stops water falling
blurs water in a waterfall
is good for blurring photographs
freezes grass blowing in a gentle breeze
do you need to lock the mirror up when the camera is on a tripod
The answers for these images varies between focal lengths of your lens in some instances and not for others.
The key one is hand hold-ability... You need to clearly know when to be increasing the ISO or changing the aperture so that you are getting sharp photographs.
Can you check your shutter speed in the viewfinder. Do you remember to check it each time you take a photograph?
Working out your hand hold shutter speed is dependent on the lens, your technique and the megapixel count of your camera. The best way to determine this is to test different shutter speeds and physically check the resulting images at 50%. Once you work out what shutter speed you can hand hold for each of your main lenses write it down in your notebook and keep this information with in your camera bag.
getting to know your camera
The original post about camera cuddle. This has also been written up as a weekly exercise.
Learning about your camera until it becomes second nature is one of the keys to becoming a better photographer. There are two tried and true methods of doing this; study and practice. You should do a lot of both. It also helps if you can learn to love your camera. I have written about this before (you can read this here). Reading the manual is an unfortunate place to start as we would love to just pick the camera up and start. Putting the camera in auto mode and going for it, is a legitimate way to progress. Unfortunately you will still need the manual to even work out which mode this is. Many manuals are now included only as pdf files. I put mine on my phone, pad and in a folder in my computer / laptop so that I can reference it wherever I am. Years past and for those that have been lucky enough to get a a printed manual with your camera I recommend packing it into your camera bag and having it handy. It can take years to delve into the full capabilities of modern cameras. You may never even get there.
Some of my students have found the language of these so called manuals to be quiet difficult to understand, which in turn confuses flow charts and settings. This probably is an end product of translating them from their native tongue. Students have reported that third party manuals can overcome this problem. The third party authors task is to write a manual that helps the photographer understand what is going on with their camera and how to use it. I know that a few of my students have found a deeper understanding from these manuals. For some cameras online tutorials / workshops / courses are available for some common specific models of camera. Make sure you purchase the right one for your camera.
Here is a list of things I think you need to be able to do to take your photography to the next level:
Change the aperture or shutter speed when the camera is in various modes
Select aperture priority or shutter priority & change the aperture or shutter speed when the camera is in both of these modes
Set & change ISO
Set auto ISO upper limit
Change exposure compensation
Change & move the focus point /s
Change the metering mode
Change and understand each mode
Do all of these things without removing your eye from the viewfinder
Now if you don't know how to do these things, go and figure them out and practice, practice and practice.
How to practice?
Camera cuddle (adapted from original exercise by Bruce Barnum)
Go and sit or lay down in your favourite couch / lounge / chair or bed even. And hold your camera and play with it. For the first hour don't take a photograph. Just practice changing settings, over and over and over. Change them with your eyes closed. Change them while your looking through the viewfinder. Change them with the camera under a sheet or towel. Changing the aperture / shutter speed combination, exposure compensation and focus points needs to become second nature.
Take some time to really concentrate on each of your adjustment wheels, knobs, etc. Really feel them, can you tell the difference between them by just feeling or by their location. Get to know which way they turn. The more in touch you are with your camera the better.
Bruce describes this process with a large format camera, and this exercise is extended to having it in its bag, putting up the tripod, assembling the camera and adjusting all movements., inserting the film and taking picture with an empty double dark slide. Then putting it all away again and starting again. He recommends figuring out a system and sticking to that system.
Continue to practice until you can change things without thinking or looking.
After photographing most of my life if I don't use a camera for a few months or years I find I have forgotten all of the little nuances of operating the camera. It is amazing how many times I have forgotten to lock down my camera before shooting because it has been a few months since I last used that particular camera. I still practice, practice and practice. Now days the easiest way to practice is to go and take more photographs, regularly.
Lounge lizard
Now you know your way around a little it is time to start practicing taking photographs. The easiest way is to limit yourself with your subject so you can concentrate on your camera and the picture taking process.
For an hour take photographs from your lounge. Take some with wide open apertures, closed apertures, fast shutter speeds and slow shutter speeds. Use exposure compensation to get your exposure just right. Now go and have a look through your images and find a few good ones.. What settings did you have them on. Which images are blurry - check the shutter speed and the focal length of your lens. Make some notes / make generalisations / rules even (ie I can hand hold my 50mm lens at 1/30 second and still get sharp pictures)
Repeat this exercise on another day.. and even another one
If you must try a different chair in a different room in the house and repeat.
Len Metcalf with his Techinica III circa 1950