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Aperture and Shutter Priority Modes

Aperture and Shutter Priority Modes
Over the last few weeks we’ve been looking at different elements of exposure and how to move out of the ‘Auto’ mode on your digital camera. We’ve looked at Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO and have discovered what each of them is and what impact changing them will have on your images. Now that we’ve looked at the theory of how changing these elements impacts an image I’d like to move into how to use them by examining two shooting modes that many digital have on them that allow you to take a step away from the automatic settings that you might be spending a lot of time in. The two shooting modes are Aperture Priority Mode and Shutter Priority Mode. A Quick Reviser We’re looked at how the three elements of the exposure triangle impact one another. Priority Modes Aperture and Shutter Priority modes are really semi-manual (or semi-automatic) modes. Aperture Priority Mode (often it has a symbol of ‘A’ or Av’ to indicate it’s selected) When would you use Aperture Priority Mode? Shutter Priority Mode

Learning about Exposure – The Exposure Triangle A Post By: Darren Rowse Bryan Peterson has written a book titled Understanding Exposure which is a highly recommended read if you’re wanting to venture out of the Auto mode on your digital camera and experiment with it’s manual settings. In it Bryan illustrates the three main elements that need to be considered when playing around with exposure by calling them ‘the exposure triangle’. Each of the three aspects of the triangle relate to light and how it enters and interacts with the camera. The three elements are: ISO – the measure of a digital camera sensor’s sensitivity to lightAperture – the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is takenShutter Speed – the amount of time that the shutter is open It is at the intersection of these three elements that an image’s exposure is worked out. Most importantly – a change in one of the elements will impact the others. 3 Metaphors for understanding the digital photography exposure triangle: The Window Aperture is the size of the window.

Introduction to White Balance A Post By: Darren Rowse White Balance is an aspect of photography that many digital camera owners don’t understand or use – but it’s something well worth learning about as it can have a real impact upon the shots you take. So for those of you who have been avoiding White Balance – let me introduce you to it. I promise to keep it as simple as possible and keep what follows as useable as I can: At its simplest – the reason we adjust white balance is to get the colors in your images as accurate as possible. Why would you need to get the color right in your shots? You might have noticed when examining shots after taking them that at times images can come out with an orange, blue, yellow etc look to them – despite the fact that to the naked eye the scene looked quite normal. The range in different temperatures ranges from the very cool light of blue sky through to the very warm light of a candle. Adjusting White Balance Preset White Balance Settings Manual White Balance Adjustments

Automatic Exposure Bracketing (AEB) A Post By: Darren Rowse Have you ever been photographing a subject with tricky lighting or lots of variation between bright and darker areas but were not sure what exposure setting to go with? One way to work in such situations is to manually play around with your exposure control and take a series of shots – the problem with this is that it takes time and if you are photographing a changing environment (for example a sunset which changes from moment to moment) you can lose ‘the moment’ while you get things right. Most DSLRs (and some more advanced compact cameras) come with a feature called ‘Automatic Exposure Bracketing‘ (AEB) which can be useful to learn how to use in such situations. By selecting it you can quickly take three shots (usually three) at different exposures without having to manually change any settings between frames. This way you end up with the three images in a series with exactly the same composition but at different exposures for you to select the best of later on.

Free family portrait photography cheat sheet Family portrait photography is probably the one genre we all shoot at one time or another. On the other hand, family portrait photography can equally be the most frustrating. While we can’t offer much help in the way of crying babies, we can help with a number of common obstacles we face when taking pictures of family. Within each scenario we’ve crafted a handy little flow chart to get you through each challenging situation and come out the other side with a top-notch family portrait. Thinking of taking your family portrait photography more seriously? To get started improving your family portrait photography, simply drag and drop this infographic below on to your desktop to save as a handy reference the next time you’re called in to action, whether your taking pictures of babies, toddlers or teenagers! Hopefully our flow chart will not only help you save time the next time you’re taking pictures of your family, but improve your technique. Follow Us On Pinterest!

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