Dazecoop – Blog of David Cooper – Photography, Videography, Drifting & modifying cars

Before reading this, all of this information may not be correct or the best advise around! Also, please click on the images for larger versions. It helps to see a larger version to understand what I’m talking about. Comment as you wish

Shutter speeds
Shutter speed is simply the speed in which the shutter stays open for. Its measure in seconds, so 1/125 means the shutter is open for 125th of a second. The higher and faster the shutter speed, the crisper your photo’s will appear, although very high shutter speeds may result in dull life-less looking photo’s, since the subject will be totally frozen.

High shutter speeds = quick camera reaction
Good for capturing "moment" shots and freezing action. Very high shutter speeds won’t work too great in low light.

Low shutter speeds = slower camera reaction
Good for capturing the "movement" of an object. Can be used to freeze the object, while motion-blurring the background.

Quick shutter speed An example of a quick shutter speed. I shot this to capture the water going over the ducks back as he washed himself.	Slow shutter speed This example was taken in a car and shows the streaks of light created from street lights, etc.
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) Aperture: f/5.6 ISO Speed: 100	Exposure: 4 sec (4) Aperture: f/5.6 ISO Speed: 100

Aperture
Aperture is the size of the "eye" within the camera. A large aperture means the eye or iris is open wider and will allow more light to enter the camera. Aperture is measured by f-stop numbers and the lower the f-stop number the wider the iris is open. A low f-stop number will result in a shallow depth-of-field and therefore making the subject stand out from the background.

Low f-stop number = large aperture = wide iris = shallow depth of field
Large apertures are good for separating the subject from the background.

High f-stop number = small aperture = small iris = large depth of field
Small apertures are good for making sure everything in the shot is clear and in focus.

Large aperture A low aperture used here to have very little in focus, which creates a shallow depth of field	Small aperture This shot has a small aperture and large depth of field to make sure everything was in focus
Exposure: 0.125 sec (1/8) Aperture: f/4 ISO Speed: 400	Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400) Aperture: f/6.3 ISO Speed: 80

ISO settings
ISO is the setting of how light sensitive the camera will be to the light around it. A low ISO setting is less light sensitive than a high one, so if shooting without a flash in a dark area then a high ISO setting will be required to maintain fast shutter speeds. The downside is that the higher number ISO setting you go, the more noise will be found on the final shot. As a general rule, automatic settings on camera and point & shoot cameras will always try and find you the lowest ISO they can achive while maintaining a reasonable shutter speed.

Low ISO number = less light sensitive
Good for shooting in daylight, where there is lots of light. Lower ISO makes sharper photo’s

High ISO number = more light sensitive
Good for maintaining high shutter speeds in low light while not using flash. Downside is more noise as ISO increases.

Depth of field
Depth of field is what part of a photo which is and is not in focus. Depth of field (DoF) is great for making your subject stand out from the background, since the subject will be in focus and the background will be blurred.

Shallow depth of field (DoF) = Not much in focus = Low f-stop number = Large aperture
A large aperture is required to gain a shallow depth of field. The lower the better in case of portraits or anything in which you want to isolate. Shallow DoF can also be gained by using a zoom lens, zooming in, and making sure your subject is far away from the background.

Large depth of field (DoF) = Everything in focus = High f-stop number = Small aperture
small aperture and high f-stop number is required to get a large DoF. This can also be achieved by not using a zoom lens and/or not zooming in.

Here’s a couple of tips to achive a shallow depth of field:

• Use a small aperture if possible
• Zoom in and place yourself far from the object
• Seperate the subject from the background further

Shallow depth of field example A shot of some random wild dasyies. I used a large telephoto lens zoomed in a long way to force the shallow DoF.

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500) Aperture: f/8 ISO Speed: 200

Long exposures or long time exposure (LTE)
Long time exposure’s are usually taken at night or in dusk and are one of the most fantastic things about photography. Long exposures can show things on photographs which is impossible to show any other way. An LTE photo is composed by manually setting the shutter speed very slow, the speed of the shutter will vary depending on what you’re taking, your personal taste and the current lighting.

Here’s some pointers when taking an LTE shot:

• Tripod is almost certainly required for LTE’s, unless you’re being really creative!
• Low ISO number will be best to use to reduce noise
• Manual focus would also be best since Auto Focus (AF) system’s aren’t too great in low-light
• Wide angle is also preferred to reduce noise and widen the effect
• Small aperture (high f-stop) is best to use so that everything in frame is is in focus.

Long exposure example An 8 second exposure of a motorway at night shows the light streaks from cars.

Exposure: 8 sec (8) Aperture: f/3.2 ISO Speed: 100