PictureCorrect.com: Aperture Settings in Photography

Most tips relating to exposure advocate the use of the aperture priority mode, and with good reason. The aperture priority mode allows you to control the shutter speed through the aperture settings, which are responsible for crucial picture dynamics that include depth of field, motion blur and freezing action.

Understanding how the aperture and aperture priority work, will help you as a photographer gain control over exposure and these critical picture dynamics.

“waves” captured by PictureSocial member caleb wilson

Setting the camera mode dial to aperture priority puts the camera into a semi automatic mode, which means that you will have to take care of other crucial setting such as white balance, metering and ISO. In this mode the shutter automatically changes to compensate for the different aperture settings.

Aperture and F-Numbers

The aperture is basically a hole behind the lens which allows the light to pass through the lens to the image sensor located within the body of the DSLR. The aperture uses numbers (F-Stops) corresponding to the different sizes of the aperture (or hole if you like).

The F-Stop is derived from the mathematical relationship between the aperture diameter and the focal length of the lens.

A typical range of F-Numbers or F-Stops is:
F 3.5, F4, F4.5, F5, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8, F9, F10, F11, F13, F14, F16, F18, F20, F22

These numbers are the range available when using the 18-105mm AF-S NIKKOR lens, with the lens set to 18mm.When set to the other extreme of the lens (105mm) the F-Stop range changes from F5.6 to F36, and so it will change for each focal length. For example at 50mm the range will be from F5 to F32.

The increment value between F-Stops can be changed on many DSLR cameras. Typically the light is halved or doubled for each F-Stop increment.

Picture dynamics

So what’s the big deal about using Aperture Priority? In most cases the beginner accepts the exposure set by the camera’s choice of shutter and aperture combinations. This still gives a good picture, but does not take into account the look of the picture in terms of depth of field, movement and frozen frames. The aperture setting can be used to control all these dynamics.

Photo captured by PictureSocial member Grigoryev Sergey

Given factors

A wide Aperture (small F-Number):

• Narrow depth of field
• Fast shutter speed

A small aperture (High F-Number)

• Wide depth of field
• Slow shutter speed

Taking into account the factors above one can see how the three picture dynamics can be controlled.

Depth of field: This is the area in front and behind the subject that is in focus. A small F-Number results in a very narrow depth of field, so the background and often the foreground is out of focus. This is great for portrait photography where the attention is focused on the subject. Because the shutter speed is normally high in this mode it is easier to shoot without blurring the picture.

Movement through blur: Using a high f-number will force a slow shutter speed when the camera is set to aperture priority. This is great when you want your picture to show movement. A typical scenario is when shooting a waterfall. The water is blurred through movement while the rest of the picture remains sharp. A tripod is essential for this type of shot. The camera can be panned swiftly to follow a moving subject, keeping the subject sharp but blurring the background.

Freezing the subject: This of course depends on the shot you are attempting. Anytime you want to avoid blurry pictures, a faster shutter will become your best friend. The snag here is that the higher the shutter speed you use the more light you will need. A small F-number (large aperture) will give a fast shutter speed when in aperture priority mode.

When you need a really fast shutter, keep an eye on the warning light in your viewfinder which indicates the shutter speed is cutting off too much light and the aperture range for that lens has been exceeded. This is a common problem.

A good example is when photographing birds. The best time of day to shoot is often when the light is low. A necessary compromise in these poor lighting conditions is to increase the ISO. Why compromise? Well too high an ISO introduces noise into the picture, influenced largely by the quality of camera model. This can be a nuisance when enlarging photos in post production.

Increasing the ISO increases the shutter speed, so one need to make a choice between capturing a great photo that is hard to repeat, or risk introducing noise.

Practice

Practice in manual mode and play with the shutter, aperture and ISO. Some cameras offer an anti blur feature which in essence is automatically creating the fastest shutter speed with the right combinations of the three (aperture, shutter and ISO).

Next time you are photographing the kids indoors, try getting the fastest shutter speed before resorting to your flash, which sometimes is the only way to avoid blurry shots.

Photo captured by PictureSocial member Jason Livingstone

Flexible solution

In summary, aperture priority mode offers the most flexible exposure control when striving to create certain picture dynamics on demand. Experience will teach you when to use another mode such as Shutter Priority, Program Mode or Manual. The ultimate goal is to go manual and take full control of exposure and other features.

About the Author:
Rob Gray brings to the table over forty years of experience in the television and photographic production industry. Visit the Facet Visual & Sound web site (facetmedia dot co dot za) and share your experiences with us, get free photographic tips watch out for Photoshop and Photographic workshops on e-book.

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PictureCorrect.com: 9 Essential Composition Rules for New Photographers

Rules are meant to be broken, and that definitely applies to photography. It’s all about being yourself and showing your own personal style through imagery. But, you have to know the rules first before you can break them. And, in the case of composition, there are some rules that should be followed—at least sometimes. Here, COOPH explains nine essential tips for great composition using the work of world-renowned and influential photographer, Steve McCurry:

1. Rule of Thirds

Place points of interest on intersections or important elements along the lines.

 2. Leading Lines

Use natural lines to lead the viewer’s eye into the picture.

3. Diagonals

Use diagonal lines to create movement.

 4. Framing

Use natural frames like windows and doors.

5. Figure to Ground

Find a contrast between subject and background.

 6. Fill the Frame

Get close to your subjects.

7. Center the Dominant Eye

Placing the dominant eye in the center of the photo will give the impression that the eyes follow you.

 8. Patterns & Repetition

Patterns are aesthetically pleasing, but are best when interrupted.

9. Symmetry

Symmetry is also pleasing to the eye.

For the rushed readers out there, that’s a quick list of the nine essential composition rules, but I highly suggest coming back to watch this video just for the incredible photography work that’s featured. McCurry really is an inspiration.

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 3576: The Statue of Liberty Nebula

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PictureCorrect.com: 18 Serene Morning Views from a Tent

Whenever we see great nature photographs, we are taken aback by the beauty of Mother Earth. But we also know the photo was taken at a certain time of day to capture the best light under the best conditions, then most likely edited to really make it pop. What’s behind each final image is what went into getting that shot—the hike, the weather, the unphotographed scenes that only the photographer witnessed. There is always a story that we’re missing. Here is a little peek into the life of a hiking, traveling, nature photographer and what he sees from his tent when he wakes up each morning in a different place:

Oleg Grigoryev spends much of his time hiking around the amazing lakes and mountain ranges of Tajikistan, where most, if not all, of these pictures were taken. From Big Allo Lake, Chimtarga, Lake Alaudin, and Lake Kulikalon, the Fann Mountains of Taijikistan offer up some of the most breathtaking landscapes imaginable. Grigoryev seems to have the right idea, living a peaceful, serene life among the ever-changing, but always stunning scenery. What a way to wake up every morning!

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PictureCorrect.com: This Post-Apocalyptic Photo Project Was Shot in a Brooklyn Apartment

If you’re the type of photographer who likes shooting entire scenes, you’re probably well-accustomed to the hunt for anything interesting and unusual. But not everyone is into going out and hunting for the perfect shot, especially when it has to do with a future that hasn’t quite arrived. That’s where master scene creators Lori Nix and Kathleen Gerber come in. Instead of seeking out the perfect place to photograph their post-apocalyptic photo series, they turned their living room into a shop and meticulously created every detail by hand:

Specializing in creating and photographing miniature dioramas, Nix and Gerber’s work has found its way onto numerous book and album covers, as well as being used in numerous magazines. The series captured here is a personal project set in a post-apocalyptic landscape called The City. Each scene was built in their living room, with all of the miniature components meticulously created by hand. For example, every book in the scene below was individually created for use in this scene:

Nature taking back what once was ruled by humankind

While creating stunning scenery by hand is by no means new, very few people go to the lengths that Nix and Gerber do to create their shots. The components of their dioramas take up their entire living room and their work table doubles as their dining table. Still, this is how the duo prefers it. In Gerber’s words,

“If I had to go somewhere, I don’t think I’d see it as satisfying.”

Post-apocalyptic scenarios aren’t the only subjects Nix and Gerber create; they actually got their start creating the scenes for a an advertorial video for Portland’s first sustainable sushi restaurant. After that, they went on to illustrate stories, create advertisements for the likes of Ben and Jerry’s, and design a cover for Time magazine—all from the comfort of their Brooklyn apartment.

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PictureCorrect.com: Using Lightroom to Enhance Your Photography Style

Years ago when I first started in photography, I did all of my editing in Photoshop because Adobe had not yet introduced Lightroom. However, once the program was finally introduced, I gradually made the transition as I realized that Lightroom could not only organize and edit my photos, it could also seamlessly publish them to various media outlets and channels with the click of a button. That’s when my work flow completely changed.

In comparison to my early post-processing and editing methods, Lightroom now meets 90 percent of my photography needs with Photoshop only meeting around 10 percent, if even that.

So what makes it my favorite tool?

While its nondestructive RAW editing and dozens of other features make Lightroom a fantastic tool for any photographer, my absolute favorite feature and the one that I use most often is Lightroom’s option to create presets. Also keep in mind the PictureCorrect discount on my Landscape Rapid Editing Preset System ends on September 30, only 2 days left.

First introduced in Lightroom 3, I initially passed over and ignored the preset functionality until I started studying and evaluating how I take and edit photos. Determined to increase my efficiency during the editing process while further developing my personal photography style, I noticed certain patterns in my process and the fact that how I take pictures directly affects the way I use Lightroom. What do I mean exactly?

When I shoot landscapes or cityscapes, I set the exposure for the highlights or the sky, which usually produces an underexposed shadows in the foreground. Using Lightroom, I enhance and open the details of the highlights and add a graduated filter to the sky while also increasing clarity, contrast, vibrance and saturation. Because this almost always produces an oversaturated sky, I only desaturate the blue hues. Then, to avoid any vegetation taking on an electrifying green hue, I shift the greens toward the yellow spectrum before finishing post-processing with sharpening, noise reduction and vignetting.

Lightroom Presets: Efficiency and Style

Over the years, I’ve repeated these steps so often that they’ve become second nature to me especially after doing the same 20 to 30 adjustments to every photo. And, while this may be perfectly fine to many photographers, I knew I needed to increase my post-processing efficiency. That’s where Lightroom’s preset functionality saved the day.

I created my first preset, which I named “Natural,” using the editing steps outlined above. Not only does Natural give my image rich colors, it allows me to save time and steps in creating a well-balanced and natural image that reflects my overall photography style.

Using the Natural preset as my starting point, I created two additional presets: “Sunrise” and “Overcast.” For Sunrise, I mimicked the warm hues of an early morning sunrise by making the color balance warmer and moving it toward the yellow and orange end of the spectrum. For Overcast, I decreased the saturation and increased the contrast of the Natural preset to emulate a cloudy, darker and overcast feel.

Since creating the foundation of my Landscape Collection with the Natural, Sunrise and Overcast presets, I have gradually created additional presets that continue to reflect my photography tastes and style. That’s when I realized that, in creating presets, I am not only defining, evolving and perfecting my artistic style, I am also discovering a variety of artistic opportunities and directions that will undeniably influence my future work.

Now, with the Landscape, Cityscape and People Collections complete, my preset-based editing approach works both effectively to maintain consistency of my artistic style and efficiently by saving a vast amount of time during the actual editing process. What’s even better is that I can continue experimenting with a variety of styles and approaches that can easily be saved to reflect my continuously evolving style and technique.

Take my advice. Give Lightroom’s preset functionality a fair try and see firsthand how your photography style further develops while also saving you an incredible amount of time. You won’t be disappointed!

Getting Started with Lightroom’s Presets

If you’re ready to take my advice and jump into the world of Lightroom presets, you can get started in just a few simple steps.

For photographers who have already built their photo collection in Lightroom, begin by selecting a few of your favorite photos to create your own unique presets. Remember: don’t be afraid to occasionally refine your presets over time to ensure they are truly generic enough to work with a variety of photos. Also, make sure to organize your presets (by topic, style, etc.) in order to make your growing collection more manageable and user-friendly. It’s all about consistency and saving time!

For photographers who are still building their photo collections or are just getting started, use another photographer’s Lightroom presets to begin. Believe it or not, many well-established veteran photographers are happy to share their presets to help aspiring photographers learn and grow in the field. Simply find a photographer whose style you like and use his or her presets as your foundation. Then, adjust the settings until you find a look that is truly unique to you, one that you feel reflects your own photography style.

For an added challenge, you can even reverse engineer presets to learn more about the individual settings and effects.

Whether you’re a veteran photographer who is well-known in the industry or are just settling in behind the camera, developing your personal photography style and artistry is a fluid process that is often long and sometimes chaotic. Through Lightroom’s preset functionality, you can not only record the evolution of your style, you can also save time and simplify your post-processing with a preset-based editing routine. Why not speed up and streamline the process at the computer so that you can have even more time behind the lens?

Exclusive PictureCorrect Deal Ending Soon:

The author of this article, Viktor Elizarov, designed the popular Landscape Rapid Editing System to help photographers spend less time editing and more time out in the field.

New: The Landscape Photo Rapid Editing System (Click to See How it Works)

We were able to negotiate an exclusive 60% discount for PictureCorrect readers until the end of the month September 30, just $19 (normally $49). It also carries a 30 day guarantee, if you are not satisfied with any part of the product just let him know and they will give you a full refund so there is no risk in trying it.

Deal found here: The Lightroom Rapid Editing System for Landscapes at 60% Off

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Jupiters Europa from Spacecraft Galileo

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