Photography Tips

Whether you are working with film or digital photography, the factors in correct exposure are the same. The variables include (1) the amount of light coming from the scene being photographed, (2) the shutter speed setting, and (3) the f-stop setting, which controls the size of the aperture.

The amount of light is pretty easy to understand. On a bright sunny summer day there is an abundance of light, and at night light is minimal. Without understanding of how to set your camera for an ideal exposure, your photograph may be washed out (overexposed), or too dark (underexposed.)

I once attended a photography class by Monte Nagler in Birmingham, Michigan, at which he explained that proper exposure is like filling up a bucket of water from a faucet. Thanks for the visual explanation, Monte!

Read on to see why...

You may encounter a stream or waterfall that makes a great shot with your camera's automatic settings. Chances are good that the camera will choose a relatively fast shutter speed to try to minimize blur from movement of the subject (or the camera from hand-holding,) which is appropriate for the majority of situations.

In order to make the running water look smooth, you will need to choose a setting with a relatively slow shutter speed. Either set your aperture and shutter speed manually, or choose a shutter priority setting.

The slower the shutter speed, the blurrier the water will be, giving it that smooth, and sometimes milky look. Try a number of different shutter speeds and decide which shots look best when you get home from the shoot.

Always use a tripod when working with slow shutter speeds, as the jiggle from handholding will inevitably cause the stationary portions of the scene to blur as well.

The photograph above uses the default shutter speed with an automatic camera setting. The photographs below use manual settings or shutter priority with a long shutter speed to make the water appear smooth.

Use the rule of thirds to help choose where to place the subject in the frame to create well balanced and appealing photographs.

The Rule of Thirds is more of a guide than a hard and fast rule, but is very helpful when choosing the placement of the subject in the frame.  A photograph is often much more appealing when the subject is not directly in the center, and occupies a significant area within the frame.

The Rule of Thirds basically divides the frame into thirds in the vertical and/or the horizontal directions.  Take a look at the example below.  A grid has been placed over the image at the thirds vertically and horizontally.  The lighthouse has been placed over the rightmost vertical and centered in the vertical direction.  The lighthouse sign has been positioned in the lower left cell.

Get up close to fill the frame.

Not so exciting.... 

Closer is more interesting...

Framing is more than what you do with your prints! It is a powerful composition technique.

Use leading lines to draw the viewer's eye through the photograph. This is an especially powerful technique to draw the viewer's attention to one or more intended subjects or a single focal point.

Look for irony, humor, and other statements that could be made by putting unlikely elements together in a photograph.

The aperture is the "hole" through which light enters the camera to make an exposure on the film or digital sensor.

The smaller the opening, the less light gets in. Aperture settings are labeled as "f-stops", and the larger the f-stop number, the smaller the aperture opening!

The smaller the aperture, the longer the shutter speed you will need to get a proper exposure (ignoring ISO settings or Film speeds, for now).

The problem with longer shutter speeds is that moving objects become blurred, and if the camera is being handheld (not mounted on a tripod) then the shaking can ruin the shot with blurs.