If you’ve read my Toast Of The Town #1, you’ll know I attended a photography workshop recently. I decided to keep the post focusing on what the day was like, and save the hard core photograph knowledge for a separate post. Obviously, I am still not an expert but the workshop really cleared a few things up for me and I feel a lot more confident that I’ll be able to make the most of having a DSLR camera, and it’s a bit mean if I don’t share the knowledge!
Thanks to Corinne from www.skinnedcartree.com for the picture of me!
Depth of field
The aperture is the bit that the light comes through, and controls the depth of field. A large depth of field will mean that everything in the picture is in focus (in both long shots and close ups) and a small depth of field will mean that the focus is on a particular item, and everything else will be out of focus (again, in both long shots and close ups). For my DSLR, my aperture value runs from f3.5 up to f32 (depending on how zoomed in my lens is), a large f value means a large depth of field, a low f value means a small depth of field. With larger f values (e.g. Large depth of field), there is a longer shutter speed, which means any wobbling can cause blurring in the photos, so it’s better to use a tripod when possible.
To change the depth of field on my Canon 1000D, I half press the shutter button and then spin the cog in front of the button left for a smaller depth, or right for a large depth.
Focal point
The focal point is the sharpest part of the image which the eye is naturally drawn to. If you let your camera choose the focal point, it will tend to go for the closest object which might not be what you are actually trying to be the main focus. You can manually select the focus by choosing single focus (for me, I can access this by pressing the AF button) and then pre-shot, there is a little button that I can use to manually select the focus to one of seven points.
Rule of thirds
The best place to focus for large depth of field is 1/3 of the way between the first point of interest and the last point, and same rule with the small depth of field; focus 1/3 of the way to get a better blurred background. The rule of thirds is also useful in composition, an object is naturally pleasing to the eye if it’s a third in to the picture (from left, right, top and bottom). The cross points between each third is a HOT SPOT for your focus point, ding ding!
ISO
So, you know when I said early having a large f value causes a long shutter speed, which can lead to blurring? Increasing the ISO number increases your cameras sensitivity to light, which in turn creates a faster shutter speed. Good for those without tripods (aka me). This can lead to your image being a bit more grainy, so when possibly choose a lower ISO number but in reality, the grain isn’t noticeable unless your picture is blown up and stuck on the side of a building.
To change my ISO, I literally press the ISO button and then select the ISO I want. I’ve found 200 is fine for good lighting, but in dark rooms I have to vamp it up to like 800 otherwise the shutter speed is ridiculously low.
Exposure and colour casts
This, for me, was a ground breaker. Setting the exposure allows you to brighten or darken images you take (before you take them obvs). My flat is devoid of basically all natural light and pictures can be a bit dark, so being able to change the exposure is a life changer. You can also correct colour casts (aka dodgy lighting) by selecting different lighting conditions, which adds a tinge to the image to counteract different types of lighting.
I change my exposure by holding down the AV button and spinning the cog in front of my shutter. It’s best to up or down it one bit at a time and check to see how it affects the photos, otherwise you might end up with it being too corrected. To change the colour cast, I just go on to WB and select the lighting condition. My go to is Tungsten, which is like the yellow bulbs you get in most rooms, and I normally up the exposure by two as my rooms are all darkly lit.
I hope this has been really helpful to you all, the workshop cleared up so much for me and I’ve been having fun trying out everything I’ve learnt. I’ve gone out and got a tripod (by which I mean, I mentioned I wanted it around my boyfriend on his payday and he kindly got me one) so that I can take clearer pictures as I was struggling with finding the right balance between blurring from having a slow shutter speed, and grain from adapting the ISO to counteract it. This probably won’t be a problem for you unless you have poor lighting, as the shutter speed isn’t as slow in better lighting!
