Photography – Techniques in the art and the jargon behind it

Photography is an art that allows anybody to express themselves. There is no good shot…it’s your shot that matters. Photography has come a very long way with today’s advanced features available in DSLR cameras. It not only allows the capture of the most perfect moment but involves looking at color, art, people or any subject differently. In this article we are going to explore (photography 101) the different techniques and jargon that most beginners come across in photography.

Tips and Techniques

• Camera Basics
• Aperture
• Depth of field
• Shutter Speed
• ISO Sensitivity

Let’s Learn

The Tips and Techniques section has been designed to provide some photography basics as well as provide a general understanding of the camera jargon.

I will start by defining some of the most common words you will hear in the photography industry. I will add to our knowledgebase as often as possible. Don’t forget to bookmark this site and send me your comments or questions.

Camera Basics

Holding a camera in the correct manner is very important. Camera shake is the worst enemy of any photographer. To ensure a steady image it is absolutely necessary to hold the camera still when focusing and taking a snapshot.

Ideally it is convenient for the photographer to use a tripod to ensure a stable image without blur especially in low lighting conditions.

Framing the image is also absolutely important. When not sure a rule of thumb of taking a wider shot is better because this will allow for cropping. Photographers find it convenient to crop an image after the image has taken however this will decrease the dimensions of the image.

Cropping an image on a computer? It is important to hold down the shift key to ensure corresponding dimensions are equal. This will ensure the proper length and width of the picture without distortions.

Aperture

An Aperture is the opening of the lens (also commonly referred as the f stop). This refers to the amount the lens can open or close to admit more or less light. The aperture determines the angle of focus depending on where they fall on an image plane. They are generally referred to as an f stop (for e.g. F2.8). An f1.4 is a larger opening than an f8, Confused? The larger aperture openings are defined to have lower f numbers.

Lenses that have larger aperture are generally faster lenses because for a given ISO speed (see ISO speed) the shutter speed can be made faster for the same exposure. On the other hand a small aperture means that objects can be in focus over a wider range of distance. This is known as the Depth of field (See depth of field).

Depth of Field

In depth of field the lens is unable to focus on a certain area of the image. Unlike the human eye which can choose where to focus at any time on any subject the lens cannot focus on all elements in the scene. The concept of depth of field means that everything in front of or back of the focusing plane will lose sharpness unless multi exposures are used for several focal points. The subject in focus will be the sharpest at this focal point. This is a technique used to be able to draw attention to the specific subject. A multiple exposure technique can be used to be able to focus on all aspects of the frame. A photographer may not want to include all the areas in the frame but draw attention to the specific subject and in this case may use the depth of field concept to blur away (out focus) other areas in the frame.

Shutter Speed

The shutter speed is also known as the exposure time. The shutter is a device that allows the light to enter your camera for a determined period of time. This means the length of time a shutter is open will determine the amount of light entering the image sensor hence forming the image.

The force applied on the shutter button on your camera does not necessarily mean that’s how quickly the shutter will close. In manual mode if you set the shutter speed 1/125th of a second which is the common speed set for photographs taken under sunlight, that’s how long the shutter will remain open to allow light to enter the image sensor inside your camera. In low lighting conditions photographers use slower shutter speeds to let the camera expose for longer lengths of time so that enough light can enter to form the image. In good lighting conditions short times are used which can be determined as sufficient lighting. In fast moving subjects fast speeds can be used to capture the image.

ISOSensitivity

ISO sensitivity is simply indicating how sensitive your capturing device is to light. In today’s world even most basic digital cameras come equipped with 100 to 1000 / 1600 ISO sensitivity meaning under low light conditions faster shutter speeds are available. When the subject is very bright lower ISO sensitivity is used for e.g. at the Beach or Ski slopes.

If the brightness of the subject decreases the camera will compensate with slower shutter speeds to allow more light to the image sensor. This can cause image blur and therefore higher ISO sensitivity can be used in poor lighting conditions to allow for faster shutter speeds.

I hope you find these basics useful and helpful in your photography. Shoot with passion so that you are able to show your work to the world. If you found this article helpful please leave your comments and rate it at the bottom of the page. Let’s share our knowledge because there is no better feeling than teaching. Share this article with your friends and family. Happy Shooting!!! “Shoot for peace make this world a home and not a battlefield”