Almost every family now has a digital SLR camera, but not everyone can figure out how to use it correctly. If you are a beginner photographer, then this article is for you! The exposition in photography is the basics in professional photography. You can’t make a single good shot if you don’t have a clue about it. This is the first thing photographers are studying. They simply must know the rules of exposure in photography. The parameters that make up this concept seem incredibly complex only at first glance.
So, we will understand what the exposure in photography is. How to avoid mistakes for novice photographers? You should first learn the basic terminology, because without it you will not understand any instructions and will not be able to put into practice tips from professional articles.
Terms
The exposition in photography is a list of specific parameters, each of which adjusts to the situation in which the shooting takes place. Your gadget, acting through the lens, measures the amount of light that enters from the outside, and sends commands to the settings. Good light is a vital factor for a good photo.
Expoparameters
We analyze the value of the exposure parameters.
- Aperture (f). The lens of your device has thin petals (plastic or iron) that open and close the hole in the lens. Aperture limits the flow of light that passes through the lens. This value is marked with the letter f, and the number next to it will show a smaller or larger value. There is such a thing as aperture number. It is denoted by f / x. In this fraction, x is the focal length of the lens.
- Exposure This parameter is measured in seconds and fractions of a second. It means the time of exposure of a light beam to sensitive material of the camera.
- Light sensitivity (ISO) displays how a film or matrix responds to light output. The higher the ISO number, the brighter the image.
White balance
Another of the most important parameters when shooting is the white balance. BB is responsible for the color rendition of your frames. This is a complex parameter that can be left unattended during normal shooting. Just auto-tune your gadget.
It happens that the photographer is not satisfied with the color rendition in the frames. This means that you should adjust the white balance yourself. To do this, use a special gray card. If not, just photograph a white sheet of paper. Your gadget will take it as a standard. There is another option, in the settings you can choose one of the parameters: cloudy, incandescent, daylight, and so on.
From professionals, you can also hear the expressions “expopair” and “exposure triangle”.
An expopair is a tandem: aperture and shutter speed. The exposure triangle is all three parameters mentioned above. You should be very careful about shooting in manual mode, since here you can set each parameter separately. You should know: a change in each of the parameters will be displayed in the picture.
Let's play with aperture: bokeh effect
What does this funny name mean? This is when a person is shown in the photo, and around him you see a blurred background, the outlines of colored circles, dots, snowflakes, colorful stripes. The background looks exquisite, and nothing distracts the eye from it. The bokeh effect is able to make a masterpiece from the most boring image! Let's move on to practice.
Your optics settings
On what, in principle, does the bokeh effect depend? If you need to specifically obtain a figured effect, then you can not do without special filters that just put on the lens. To make the background just blurry, you need to work on the gadget settings.
So, bokeh depends on:
- from the depth of space;
- the degree of sharpness of the subject.
The degree of blur is determined by the following parameters:
- Diaphragm. She plays the most important role here. The more the petals are opened, the more blurred the background will become. Advice! Be careful when setting the most open aperture. If one person in such a picture is likely to succeed, then a group of people or buildings are likely to be blurry. Use the bokeh effect wisely; not everywhere is it relevant.
- Focal length. The larger it is, the more noticeable will be the effect. If your optics has a zoom lens, then simply twist its circle.
- The distance to the subject. The closer you are to a person, the greater the likelihood of a beautiful blurred background. Do not overdo it, because the device still needs to adjust the focus. It is optimal if there is a distance of one meter between the person and the background. Then the background will become a masterpiece.
People for whom photography is their bread acquire fast lenses for work. This is expensive professional equipment, but with such lenses the bokeh effect is amazing.
Macro lenses and blurry portrait lenses are also suitable for blurring. The first ones are needed for shooting very small objects.
Bokeh effect and improvised materials
To create a blur effect, it is not necessary to buy many expensive filters and torture the camera with complex settings. Many professionals come to the rescue tools. It could be:
- polyethylene film;
- light tissue (chiffon, organza);
- scarves with an interesting pattern.
These things can be used as a background. Do not forget: it is optimal that there is a meter distance between the background and the object.
There is another option for using a plastic bag. Wrap it around the lens so that there is a small gap in which the subject will fit. You can fix the package in small pieces of adhesive tape.
Cut a circle or other desired shape in a piece of organic glass, cardboard, orgalipta. Such a home-made filter will allow you to make unique photos, only properly attach it to the lens. Cloth or scarves can also be placed around the edge of the lens to get an unusual effect.
Exposure setting
Exposition in photography is very important. Therefore, let's talk about its configuration. Each camera has its own subtleties in arranging exposure. In the instructions you will find how to use the "hot keys" on the case. For example, in Nikon SLRs, you can adjust the ISO using the Fn button. The wheel next to the screen will allow you to adjust the shutter speed. To adjust the aperture, you need to press the small button next to the shutter button.
Semi-automatic modes of SLR cameras
To get photos with different exposures, you can choose one of the semi-automatic modes of the gadget. This is a great option for beginners. Changing only one parameter from the most important three, you will get the correct exposure in digital photography.
For a professional Canon SLR camera, the tv on the wheel indicates shutter priority; av is the aperture priority.
Creative modes at Nicon:
- M - manual mode.
- P - semi-automatic mode.
Advice! Beginners should use the semi-automatic mode, focusing on the priority of the aperture or shutter speed. Manual mode will be difficult at first. Do not simplify your life and use the automatic and settings. As practice shows , this is convenient, but over time you will just be too lazy to understand the settings and you will lose the opportunity to engage in creative photography.
The advice of professionals in this matter is very important, but you will only get great photos after practicing. Shoot as much as possible, record the values of successfully set parameters, as well as indicators that should be avoided.
Advice! Do not ignore the instructions for the gadget. This knowledge will fully give you the opportunity to make excellent shots.
Exposure scale
The exposure scale is a parameter that tells you how correctly you set the values of the triangle. Find the exposure level indicator on your camera using the instructions. Look at him. Values rejected right? The photo will be too light. When deflected to the left - overexposed. The correct exposure in a photograph is when the mark is at zero.
The exposure scale can also be adjusted manually. If the exposure compensation is at zero, and the photo is not light or dark enough, then play with the indicator slider.
Metering in a photograph (modes)
There are three exposure modes in photography. It is a matrix, dot and weighted average. Consider each of them:
- Matrix is also called multi-valued, evaluative or multi-valued. In this mode, the camera itself measures the exposure in the photo. To work, you need uniform lighting. This is the most hassle-free mode.
- Center-weighted. The mode makes metering in the center. The edges of the image remain out of work. Great mode for working on portraits.
- Point. The most difficult mode. A beginner will not cope with it. Similar to the previous one, but only 5% of the image is measured. To work, it is necessary that the subject is well lit and contrasted.
Metering Methods
Metering types were listed above, but they all have a significant drawback. The result does not depend much on illumination, it is affected only by the subject. For example, take two plates with vegetables. One of them will be orange, the second blue. The lighting in the room is the same, and the light evenly falls on the dishes. Using spot metering, we find out the exposure value of each object. Interestingly, the blue plate has a lower brightness, and the yellow one has a larger one. But if you look, it should not be so, because the lighting conditions for the objects are the same.
How light affects metering
The reason for such differences in exposure under the same lighting conditions is the reflectivity of different colors. You can continue the study and change the dishes to white and black. Illumination should not change. Naturally, exposure for a black plate is needed more than for snow-white dishes. Conclusion: when metering, it is not the illumination of the subject that is taken into account, but its reflective characteristics.
Smartphone camera exposure
Understanding the exposition in photography means taking beautiful pictures on any gadget! Modern smartphones are equipped with an excellent camera, and pictures are often obtained no worse than with a professional camera. And the mobility of the device is a huge plus, because it is not always possible to carry a voluminous mirror gadget.
Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to influence the exposure in the built-in camera. The built-in function itself takes measurements and distributes the flow of light.
Gaunt L. “Exposition in Photography”
The book deals with the installation of the exposition as a creative process. The author enthusiastically tells how close this process is to art, because this is far from a boring collection of measurement indicators!
In the book “Exposition in Photography” by Gaunt, it is said that with correctly selected parameters, the main thing is that the tonality in the picture is observed. White and black should be clear and intermediate shades should not be distorted.
What does the book teach? The author will tell you that the correct exposure in the photograph is the decision on what key will be given to the picture. This book will help to understand for yourself how important the exposure in photography. How to avoid mistakes in this matter, the famous author of the book will tell.
Discover the capabilities of your camera. When a person first picks up a SLR camera and begins to understand the settings, the most difficult step is to study the basics of exposure in photography. Having dealt with this issue, you will become one step closer to the art of professional photography.
From this article, you learned what information can be seen in the camera viewfinder and how to use it correctly to take pictures with the correct exposure. Having bought sophisticated equipment, which is a SLR camera, you must learn the instructions as a mantra. If you don’t know what the majority of the buttons on the gadget are for, then by going into the settings you will only get confused. So study, and your family albums will be filled exclusively with high-quality pictures.