The basic concepts of photography you need to know

  • By digitalheadphonecamera
  1. Fotografía

Knowing the basic photography concepts is almost an obligation of anyone who has a camera in their hands.Every good photo begins with the correct exhibition.Even if you get something at the perfect moment with a strong frame, everything is lost if the exhibition is ruined.

If you only shoot in automatic mode, you are used to the camera taking care of all adjustments.But, despite how skilled modern cameras, they are not perfect and are not good to make artistic decisions.

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Basic photography concepts: openness, shutter speed and ISO

Raising the quality of taking photographs from good to excellent requires a general understanding of the basic concepts of the exhibition: opening, shutter speed and ISO.Understanding the interaction of these three elements will help you anticipate excellent shots, instead of waiting for happy accidents.

When you have a basic knowledge of the opening, the shutter speed and the ISO in general, you will be on the way to dominate your camera, even if you never read the user manual of your camera.

What is the opening?

The opening is simply the amount of light that can happen through the lens.By changing that value, the size of that opening increases or decreases, thus allowing more or less light in the camera.

The opening is measured by means of a number known as "f" (f/16 and f/4 are examples), but here is the question: the lower the F number, the greater the opening and vice versa.Then, when you are adjusting the configuration, think otherwise: if you want the less light (small opening), choose a larger F.

NOTE: The maximum lens opening will be part of the name of its model, as 50 mm f/1.8 or 24-120 mm f/4.

The opening size will depend on your lens.Beyond controlling the amount of light, the opening determines the depth of field (DOF), of an image.In a nutsy.

A photo with a large DOF will have a clear approach from the foreground to the back.

When you think about number F, choose a smaller number (larger opening), to achieve a less deep DOF, or a larger number (smaller opening), to increase the DOF.

When should I control the opening?Almost always.The most common examples are portraits and landscapes.The portraits are often more attractive when the subject is separated from the background, which will be achieved with a shallow Dof.

On the other hand, for landscapes, we usually want everything to be well focused, from the foreground foliage to the distant mountains.If you are not sure how much field depth you need, the beauty of digital photography is the ability to "guess and verify".

Simply take a photo, check it on the camera's LCD screen and increase or decrease the opening size to obtain the desired DOF.

What is the shutter speed?

Like the shutters of a window, the camera shutter opens to allow the entry of light and is located just in front of the image sensor.Speed is the amount of time that remains open, for example.

Opening and shutter speed work together.While the opening determines the amount of light that enters through the lens, the shutter determines the amount of time that the sensor will be exposed to that light.

Los conceptos básicos de fotografía que necesitas conocer

When configuring the shutter speed, generally measured in second fractions (for example, 1/30, 1/1,000), you are telling the camera how fast or slow you should open and close the shutter.

A 4/4,000 -second sealing speed is very fast and will let in very little light, while with a 1/2 -second shutter speed a lot of light will enter.In addition to its role in the exhibition, the shutter speed controls how the camera captures the movement.

A rapid shutter speed will freez.

Although a certain shutter speed is required to take a stable image without a tripod, the blur is not necessarily bad and sharpness is not necessarily good.There are many situations in which the election between the two is more creative than technique.

For example, imagine a racing car: some may desire a blurred effect to illustrate their movement around the track, while others would like to freeze it to show a specific moment, such as when he crossed the finish line.

In the first example, you must try a slower shutter rate, such as 1/60, while the last example would require a speed of 1/1,000 or more.

Even slower shutter speeds lead to what is called long exposure photography.This is how you can blur things like waterfalls or create traces of stars in the night sky.

In a tripod, a slow shutter speed will add movement blur to any moving element in the frame, such as water and foliage, while stationary objects will remain crisp.

There are some things to take into account.If you are using a very slow shutter speed, make sure that your camera is stabilized in a tripod or other stable surface to prevent the camera from moving.

When you hold the camera with your hand, the slower shutter speed that you can shoot without introducing shakes depends on many factors, including the focal distance of your lens and if this or your camera, has an image stabilization or not.

In general terms, shutter speeds between 1/60 and 1/125 second (or fastest) are safe for manual shots.

What is ISO?

ISO is the short name given to the International Standardization Organization, but its meaning in photography is unique.Also known as "movie speed", it is a qualification that moves from the days of the film, but means the same in digital cameras.

ISO controls how the sensor responds to the light it receives from the shutter and the opening.A high iso leads to a brighter image, while a low ISO will be darker.

Opening, shutter speed and ISO affects the exposure in a similar way, but while the first two have creative side effects (DOF, movement blur), ISO does not have so much luck.

In general terms, you must keep the ISO as low as possible while achieving the correct exposure, since increasing the ISO also increases the noise.When you listen to someone to describe a photo as "too loud", it is likely that the fault is for the iso used.

The noise is rarely a creative effect that we are looking for, and if so, it is generally better to add it in a publication.

The sensors also work better in low ISO configurations, registering a better color depth and dynamic range.(At the time of cinema, films with Alto were "more granulated".You may think that "grain" and "noise" are effectively the same thing).

In scenes with daylight or illuminated, the ISO can be established at a low value, usually around 100 to 400.In such cases, you can trust only your opening and shutter speed to mark an adequate exposure.

However, in low light conditions, there is no other option to increase ISO.In addition, if you want a rapid shutter rate and a deep field depth (small opening), it may be necessary to increase ISO.

ISO is reflected in a number that, unlike the shutter speed, does not reflect any real world measurement type.Most cameras start at ISO 100 or 200 and can be configured up to 12,800 or more.

Fortunately, mathematics is simple: it doubles iso and double.

Many cameras announce an incredibly high ISO, but do not always believe in the advertising hype.The fact that a camera can shoot at ISO 102,400 does not mean that you should use it.

Is there any way to shoot in dark environments without increasing ISO?Well, there is always flash, but in general, the flash in the camera produces little flattering results.If you prefer the appearance of flash or the appearance of noise is an choice that you can have to take.

Also, you can place the camera in a tripod to allow the use of a slower shutter speed, thus maintaining the low ISO.However, if you are trying to photograph other people about other subjects who are not perfectly still, this may not be an option.

Finally, investing in an objective with a broader maximum opening could be a good idea, since the objectives of the kit included with most cameras with interchangeable objectives have relatively small openings.But, as evidenced in the photo above, sometimes not even a f/1 lens.4 is enough to keep the ISO low.

How do opening, shutter speed and ISO work together?

As you probably concluded, the opening, the shutter speed and the ISO work together to correctly expose an image.A change to one will affect the other two inevitably.

For example, the increase in shutter speed must be accompanied by an increase in ISO or opening size to maintain the same exposure value.Likewise, reduce the opening size (select a larger F number), will require a faster shutting rate or a lower ISO.

In other words, selecting an exhibition will always require a certain degree of commitment.You can choose the exact configuration you want in many cases, but finding a balance of configurations offered.

If all this is too complicated, you might consider trying between totally automatic or manual exposure modes.This medium -term method speeds up and simplifies the exposure process at the same time that gives you a control level.

You can configure the opening using the Opening Priority Mode (A), or Opening Value (AV), to control the depth of field, but you do not have to worry about configuring the shutter speed: the camera automatically handles it by you.

On the other hand, you can manually select a shutter rate with a priority of shutter or time value (S or TV), and the camera controls the opening.The automatic ISO generally turns on or off independently of the exposure mode.Turning it can generate more noise, but it will further simplify the process.

All this may seem a lot if you are new to this, but remember that there is no magic formula to find the best exhibition.Even professional photographers continually change their configuration during the shots to find the perfect image composition, so do not take it as personal if necessary.The main thing is to experience and have fun.

For this scene after sunset, a combination of configurations allowed the sharpness and depth of field that we needed, without introducing too much noise.(1/125, f/5.6, ISO 800).

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