outdoor photography

Guitarist Michael Raitzyk If you haven't already gathered from my other posts on the three exposure elements : aperture , shutter speed and ISO , photography is an art of compromise.  You can't always get what you want most without giving up something you want less.  This is a dance we all must learn.  Let me explain the need for compromise with a couple examples. Bright Light Situations. Suppose you want to get that nice, silky effect on a waterfall on a bright, sunny day mid-afternoon.  The sun is shining directly on the the falls, and it looks so pretty you have to get the picture.  Here's the problem.  On a bright, sunny day, there's so much light that can be impossible to make your ISO slow enough and your aperture small enough to get your shutter speed in the 2-3 sec. range.  If, on top of that you want a narrow depth of field (large aperture), well, you may as well ask for the moon. This situation forces a compromise--the best solution...

Whenever you take a picture, your camera focuses somewhere some distance away from the camera.  We always hope that this "somewhere" is the subject we want in focus.  Thankfully there is always some distance in front of and behind the place where the camera is focusing that appears to be in focus.  That distance is called depth of field.  The following diagram illustrates the concept. Wherever your camera is focused, there is a distance closer to and farther way from that point that appears to be in focus. Notice in the above photograph, the grass at the bottom of the picture in front of the river otter is out of focus.  The grass at the top of the picture behind the otter is also out of focus.  Even the back of the otter is a little out of focus.  My depth of field for this photograph was just wide enough to cover the otter's head and neck. The depth of field of your photograph will change depending on three factors: F/Stop .  The above pho...

Aperture is the adjustable size of the opening in your lens that allows light to be recorded on your camera's sensor.  The aperture can be set larger or smaller depending on your needs.  The larger the aperture, the more quickly light is recorded on the sensor, allowing you to shoot with faster shutter speeds .  The smaller the aperture, the less quickly light is recorded on the sensor, requiring you to shoot with slower shutter speeds.  Cameras measure aperture by a number called an f/stop.  And unfortunately, here's where common sense comes to a screeching halt.   The way f/stops are calculated, the larger the aperture, the smaller the f/stop number.  So f/4 is a larger aperture than f/8. And to make matters worse, doubling the f/stop number decreases the exposure by 2 stops  (1/4) instead of by 1 stop (1/2).  It's good to be familiar with the following sequence of numbers.  As you move from left to right in this sequence, you are dec...