Alpha Photography Blog

Here are some intermediate concepts and techniques.

Photography is all about practise and building your skill base.  Because so much is determined by the environment, you become more ‘attune’ to what settings your camera will need in different situations, the more practise you get.

Depth of Field

This can be a complex concept to grasp.  Essentially, depth of field is the distance, away from the camera, to which the subject of the image is in focus, and the background is slightly out of focus.  The tool which determines the depth of field is the Aperture.

Still doesn’t completely make sense?  Let’s try a visual explanation - think about Aperture as a circle.  The wider the circle’s diameter, the more you are able to control what is in focus within the circle, while everything else is out of focus.

The smaller the circle, the less control you have over what is in and out of focus.

It’s important to remember that a small f stop (i.e. Aperture), results in a wide circle.  Yes, it’s a little back to front.

For instance, an Aperture of f2.8 creates a large circle and you are aiming to be very particular about what you want to be the focus of the image - everything outside this circle will then be blurred.

On the other hand, an Aperture of f22 creates a small circle, so you are less particular about what you want to be the main focus, and more will be in focus in the image.

Generally, a good Aperture for landscapes is f22.  For portraits, an Aperture of f2.8 or f4.5.

As with most things, practice is the best way to really learn, so try different Aperture settings with the same subject, maintaining similar lighting conditions, and monitor the results.

Film Speed

Even where you are shooting in digital you can set the ‘film speed’, known as the ISO.

The higher the number, the faster the film, but the more the quality is compromised.

As an example, ISO 50 creates high quality images, but generally takes longer to record the information, which results in a slower Shutter Speed - so, unless the ambient light is bright you would need to use a tripod to avoid camera-shake.

The most common are ISO 200 and 400, as they are considered to operate in lighting situations most people will find themselves in, so are more or less multi-purpose.

Wedding photographers often use ISO 1600 as it allows them to hand-hold the camera in low light.  Because the ‘film’ is so fast, it captures the images at a much faster rate.  As I mentioned though, quality is often compromised and makes the image grainy.

In portraiture however, a slightly grainy feel adds to the mood of an image, so it is often a desirable effect.

Panning

No, this isn’t panning for gold.  If you’ve ever wanted to take a photo of a moving object and show the movement (i.e. blurred background), while keeping the object in focus, this is called panning.

It can be tricky achieving the balance between what’s in focus and what is blurred, so it’s great to be able to test out different settings when working in digital.

Essentially, you as the photographer, become a pivot point, and you follow the movement of the object with your camera, while the shutter is open.

There are 2 things that determine what Shutter Speed to set your camera to:

1. How much movement you want to show; and
2. The speed at which your subject to moving. 

Generally, I’ve found that setting the Shutter Speed to between 1/40 sec and 1/60 sec is a good place to begin.

Here are some simple steps for panning:

• Set your lens to Manual Focus;
• Manually focus the lens, so what is right in front of you is in focus;
• Set your Shutter Speed (try starting with 1/60 sec and work back to a slower speed);
• Set your Aperture so the frame is correctly exposed;
• Make sure you have a solid grip on your camera, and are positioned to pivot smoothly;
• Follow your subject with your camera as it approaches you;
• When your subject is about 45 degrees from being directly in front of you, press and release the shutter and follow the subject with your camera;
• You just panned!

The result should have the subject in focus, and the space in front and behin the object being a little off-focus.

These are just a few techniques and concepts that will help take you to the next level with your photography - enjoy practising!

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