To get truly high-quality and beautiful photos from an artistic point of view, it is not enough to get an expensive SLR camera. Ask any professional photographer, and he will confirm that it took him more than one month to study all the intricacies of handling equipment. It’s unrealistic to highlight in one article all the nuances of using a camera. To start, it will be enough to deal with two terms - aperture and shutter speed.
What is a diaphragm? How to use it?
Translated from the Greek word "diaphragma" means "partition". You have probably heard - different lenses may have different aperture. This means that through themselves they transmit an unequal amount of light. In fact, the diaphragm is a device that controls the diameter of the hole through which light penetrates the matrix (photosensitive camera element). Aperture is determined as the ratio of the diameter of the hole of the lens to the focus distance. To indicate the aperture value, use the
Latin letter F.
Changing the value of F by one position, we 2 times change the amount of light penetrating the matrix and change the value of the indicator to 1.4. The standard F values are between 1.0 and 32.
Lenses with significant aperture can be used to photograph moving objects, people and animals, and also to create beautiful and spectacular images in dimly lit rooms and in the dark. In various camera models, the size of the aperture is adjusted through the device menu, or using the rings on the camera body and the lens itself.
In addition to all of the above, correctly configured aperture and shutter speed make it possible to obtain the desired depth of field (DOF). DOF shows how clearly the area around the focus object looks. With f / 1.8, the space around will be more blurry than, for example, with f / 22.
An open aperture with low values allows you to get great macro shots. In turn, with a large aperture number, the hole becomes narrow and allows you to get a picture with good clarity on all planes, including on the background. Therefore, a clamped aperture is recommended for shooting landscape photos.
What is shutter speed and how to set it correctly?
The aperture and shutter speed form the so-called exposure pair, since it is due to them that the exposure of the image is determined. Shutter speed itself means a period of time during which light rays penetrate through a given aperture diameter onto the matrix. The shutter speed is calculated in seconds and fractions of a second - 1/30, 1/125, 2 ”5 (2.5 seconds), 10” (10 seconds), etc.
There are concepts such as short exposure and long. Short shutter speeds are ideal for shooting moving subjects. There is also a “golden rule” for choosing the best shutter speed - it should be directly proportional to the focal length. If the distance is, say, 80 mm, you should not set the shutter speed to be slower than 1/80 second. Slower shutter speeds will cause interference and image defects as a result of camera movement.
Long exposure in photography is most often used for shooting landscapes (including night). True, in the second case it is better to use a tripod and a fast lens. To further reduce vibration, you can use the remote control instead of the usual buttons on the camera body.
Aperture and shutter speed are the foundation of any composition. Having built them correctly, even with a simple camera you can make real masterpieces.