(Sorry, no pictures. But will post link!)
Aperture
1. Understand apertureThe
most fundamental element any photographer should understand is
aperture. The aperture is the physical opening within your lens that
allows light through to the sensor (or film in an older camera). The
wider the aperture opening, the more light can pass through, and vice
versa.
The size of the opening, which is regulated by a series of
fins encroaching from the edge of the lens barrel, is measured in
so-called f-stops, written f/2.8, f/5.9 and so on, with smaller numbers
denoting wider apertures. If you find this inverse relationship tricky
to remember, imagine instead that it relates not to the size of the hole
but the amount of each fin encroaching into the opening.
A narrow
opening is regulated by a large amount of each fin encroaching into the
barrel, and so has a high f-stop number, such as f/16, f/18 and so on. A
wide opening is characterised by a small number, such as f/3.2, with
only a small amount of each fin obscuring the light.
2. Aperture measurementsLenses almost always have their
maximum aperture setting engraved or stamped on one end of the barrel.
On a zoom lens you'll see two measurements, often stated as f/3.5-f/5.9
or similar.
Rather than being opposite ends of a single scale
these describe the maximum aperture at the wide angle and telephoto
(maximum zoom) lens positions respectively. Always buy a lens with the
smallest number you can afford in each position.
3. Avoid using aperture to compensate for poor lightingChanging
the aperture has a dramatic effect on the amount of light coming into
the camera, as we have already said. You'll notice this is the case when
shooting landscapes with a narrower aperture (higher numbered f-stop)
as your camera will often want to take a longer exposure -- so much so
that you may have to use a tripod to avoid motion blur.
You should
avoid using the aperture scale to compensate for unfavorable lighting,
however, as it also changes the amount of the image that remains in
focus, as we'll explain below.
4. Use a wide aperture for portraitsAnyone with a cat knows
that when they're hunting or playing their irises contract to enlarge
the size of their pupils. This has the same effect as widening the
aperture in a camera lens: it makes the subject they are focusing on
very sharp while causing everything behind and in front of it to blur.
We call this a shallow depth of field. This is perfect for portrait
photography, as it draws forward your model within the scene, making
them the central focus while the background falls away. Choose f/1.8 or
similar wherever possible.
5. Use a narrow aperture for landscapesFor landscapes, on the
other hand, you want to have everything from close-at-hand foliage to a
distant mountain in focus. This is achieved by selecting a narrow
aperture. If possible stray towards f/22, or whatever the tightest
setting your camera allows.
6. 'f/8 and be there'Static models and immobile landscapes
are easy to shoot as you can predict with a great deal of certainty
which aperture setting you need to get the best out of either. Reportage
and street photography, weddings, Christenings and so on are less
predictable as your subjects will be moving in relation to the frame. In
these circumstances, adopt the pro photographer's adage, "f/8 and be
there".
Set your aperture to f/8 for a practical, manageable
balance of fairly fast shutter speeds and broad depths of field,
allowing you to spend more time thinking about composition within the
frame than you do about optical algebra. When shooting indoors without a
flash, and depending on the lighting conditions, you may need to
increase your camera's sensitivity setting at this aperture, but be
careful not to push it so high that you introduce grain into your
images, unless you are chasing that specific effect.
Filters and lenses
7. What does the ø symbol on my lens mean?After the focal
and aperture ranges, the other measurement you'll see on most dSLR
lenses is preceded by ø and describes the diameter of the screw mount on
the front of lens barrel. Check this number each time you head out to
buy a filter or hood as you can't guarantee that it will be the same for
each lens in your collection, even if they are all designed to be used
on the same camera.
8. If you only buy one filter......make it a circular
polariser. This is the perfect beginner's filter, and one that will have
the biggest effect on your day to day photography, giving holiday skies
a vibrant blue tone and accentuating the contrast between the sky and
passing clouds to afford your images greater texture. Although you can
add blue to your images in Photoshop or a similar post-production
editing tool, the effect is never as believable when done that way as it
is when shot using a lens.
9. Don't confine it to skiesPolarising filters also cut through glare and reflection. Use it to shoot through windows and water.
10. Look for lenses where the zoom control doesn't change the filter orientationRotating
a circular polarising filter changes the strength of the polarising
effect, making skies deeper or lighter, and changing the amount of
reflection they cancel out. If you plan on using such a filter then
wherever possible buy lenses where turning the zoom control doesn't
simultaneously rotate the end of the lens, and with it the filter, as
this will change the effect. If you have no choice, set your zoom first
and adjust the effect afterwards, being careful not to throw the lens
out of focus in the process.
11. Don't forget about white balanceWhen using a filter
set your the white balance on your camera to the appropriate conditions,
rather than auto, to stop the camera compensating for the filter in
front of the lens.
12. Don't rush out to buy a skylight filterPutting a clear
filter on the front of your lens to protect its surface sounds like a
great idea. After all, your lens was an expensive investment. The end of
your lens is stronger than you might think, however, and easy to clean
if you don't let the dirt build up. Dispensing with a skylight filter
will not only save you money, but also avoid the chance of introducing
light problems due to increased reflections or the slight reduction in
the level of illumination reaching the sensor.
13. Cheat's macro mode (add-on filters)Dedicated macro
lenses are expensive, but you can quickly and easily improve your
existing lens' macro credentials by using screw-on magnifiers. They're
not a perfect solution as they decrease the level of light coming into
the lens, but for occasional work they are very effective, easily
sourced and cheap. We bought ours, below, first-hand from eBay, where
you should expect to bid around £15 for a set of four screw-on filters.
14. Avoid stacking up too many filtersIt's tempting to add
multiple filters to the end of each lens to achieve different results,
but bear in mind that although they may look perfectly clear to you,
each one reduces the amount of light passing through by a small amount.
For the best results, use the smallest number of filters possible.
15. Choose a manual lens over a powered oneSome compact
interchangeable lens cameras come with a choice of powered or manual
zoom. The former is a great lazy option, allowing you to press a button
to get the framing you're after, but the latter is often cheaper and
almost always quicker to use as it moves at whatever speed you turn it,
without being hobbled by the speed of an internal motor. You can also
often make finer and more predictable changes when zooming manually than
you can with a powered zoom rocker.
16. Shoot slowly, zoom quickly... At the same timeIf
you're shooting a static display, add some interest by turning the zoom
control while shooting with a fairly slow shutter speed (you can only do
this with a manual zoom, as a powered lens will be locked off when
shooting). This works particularly well when shooting cars and other
forms of transport as it gives them a sense of motion.
17. Try a prime lens for more creativityShooting with a
fixed focal length -- a prime lens -- will make you think more carefully
about how you want to frame a subject to tell a particular story. It
will often also get you a cleaner, sharper result.
18. What do the measurements on my lens mean?Lenses are
measured in terms of their focal length, which broadly describes the
effect they have on incoming light and the way it is focused on the
sensor. A short focal length, such as 24mm, doesn't have a very high
level of magnification, so will focus a broad vista on the sensor. A
long focal length, such as 240mm, has a high level of magnification,
like a telescope, and so will fill the sensor with just the central part
of the view.
19. Understand your lens' true dimensionsUnless you've paid for a high-end dSLR, or a professional camera such as the Leica M9,
your pocket snapper's sensor will almost certainly be smaller than a
frame of 35mm film, the standard point of reference against which all
focal lengths are measured.
The 35mm in a frame's name actually
relates to the space between the top and the bottom of the film strip,
which as well as the frame itself also contains some border areas and
the sprocket holes used to move the film through the camera. A 35mm
frame is positioned lengthwise on this strip, with its shortest
dimension -- top to bottom -- perpendicular to the film's direction of
motion. As such, neither the height nor the width of the frame measures
35mm, but instead 24x36mm.
To understand how the stated focal length on any lens will affect the
shot captured by your camera, you need to factor in the multiplier
effect, which converts the size of your sensor to the size of that 35mm
piece of film. The multiplier is often between 1.5 and 1.7 but varies
between manufacturers and models.
So, if you're buying a lens for the Canon EOS 600D
with its 22.3x14.9mm sensor you'd need to multiply the stated focal
length of the lens by 1.6. This would make a 50mm lens, commonly used in
portrait photography, act like an 80mm lens, thus increasing the
effective zoom and narrowing the amount of the scene seen in each frame.
On a Nikon D5100,
which has a slightly larger sensor (23.6x15.6mm) you'd need to multiply
the lens' measurements by 1.5, in which case an equivalent 50mm lens
would act as though it were a 75mm unit.
20. Save money by opting for a smaller sensorThis means
you can, technically, save money by opting for a smaller sensor, as
you'll be able to buy less powerful lenses to achieve the kind of
results you would otherwise only get with a longer, more expensive zoom.
21. Use zone focusingRelated to point 6 -- f/8 and be
there -- if you have a lens with both f-stop and focal measurements on
the barrel, understanding how they relate to each other can help you
take great spontaneous photos with a high degree of confidence.
In the image below we've set our aperture to f/5.6, as indicated by
the red line pointing to the 5.6 reading on the lower gauge. We've then
set the range on the yellow gauge to around 1.2 meters by positioning
this at the top of the same line. We can now use the green scale to
understand how far away from the camera our subjects need to be if they
are to be accurately focused.
By following the lines running from the two green entries for 5.6 on
either side to their measurements on the yellow scale, we can see that
so long as we're more than 1m away from our subjects they will be in
focus (the green 5.6 on the left is linked to around 1m on the yellow
scale, while the green 5.6 on the right is linked to the infinity
symbol, which is like a number 8 on its side). Anything closer than that
will be blurred.
This gives us a great deal of freedom to snap whatever we want
without making any further adjustments, so long as it's no closer to us
than 100cm. To create a more intimate effect, adjusting the distance
ring so that 0.4 sat at the top of the red marker would mean that only
those objects between around 36cm and 50cm would be kept in focus.
Lighting
22. Invest in a cheap pair of lightsIf you're doing any
kind of indoor photography, invest in a cheap pair of lights. Buy at
least a pair, complete with tripod stands and reflectors to direct the
light. Opt for continuous light rather than flash units, as they're
cheaper, easy to use and great for beginners, as you don't have to take
test shots to see how the shadows fall during setup.
23. Understand color temperatureDifferent colors and
levels of light are measured using the Kelvin scale. For the best
results, look for studio lights with a temperature of around
5,500K-6,000K to emulate bright daylight. Lights with a lower color
temperature often render a color caste in your images that will have to
be corrected in Photoshop or an alternative image editor.
24. Buy a light box -- but don't spend more than £20Minimize shadows in your studio-lit work by investing in an inexpensive light
box. Effectively a five-sided cube with gauze sides and top, you
position your lights so that they shine through the sides of the box,
diffusing the light and softening the shadows. Light boxes usually ship
with a felted back cloth that can be attached using Velcro to create an
infinite field of view by obscuring the seams of the box.
25. Make best use of available light with a sheet of paperIf
you can't afford studio lights, even out harsh contrasts when shooting
with natural light by positioning a large sheet of paper or card to
reflect the incoming light onto the unlit side of your subject. If
shooting people, ask them to hold the card themselves outside of the
framed shot. Alternatively, invest in a set of reflectors. You can pick
up a new, multi-part set with white, silver and gold reflective surfaces
for around £12 on eBay.
