Hey there! Welcome to another blog here at Boost Ur Biz! Today’s topic; Camera Exposure Settings.
There are 3 parts to setting up the exposure of your camera:
• Aperture
• ISO
• Shutter Speed
You may be wondering what these terms mean? How they work? Let’s continue!
Aperture controls two aspects of your exposure. (On your camera it is measured in 'F-numbers'. e.g F/2.8, F/5.6, F/22)
1 - How much light enters the camera. Your camera lens has a hole within itself that you can adjust the diameter of. A smaller diameter means less lights enters, and a large diameter means more light. The slightly confusing part of this is that the smaller the number, the larger the hole, and the more light enters.
2 - Depth of Field (DOF). A smaller F-number means your focal length is short. The person/object you are capturing will be in focus, however the background will be blurred. A larger F-number means a longer focal length. So your subject is focussed, as well as the background.
Short DOF (Blurred Background)
Long DOF (clear background)
ISO (International Standards Organisation), in basic terms, is artificial light. Adjusting your ISO will either brighten or darken your image. Having a high ISO will brighten your photos, and a lower ISO will darken them. However, be sure not to increase your ISO too much otherwise this will cause what is known as 'noise'. Your photos will look very grainy. Always look for natural light before you result to increasing your ISO.’
ISO 100 (Image Clear)
ISO 5000 (Image has Noise/Grain)
*zoom to see grain*
Shutter Speed (SS) is exactly what it sounds like! Whenever you take a photo, you hear a "click" sound. This is the shutter opening and closing at a super fast (or slow) speed.
Having a faster SS means you can capture fast moving objects clearly - like an athlete running at a sporting event, or a plane flying by. A faster shutter however means less light is entering the camera. So you will need to adjust the other exposure settings accordingly.
Having a slower SS means that more light is entering the camera, however moving objects will begin to become blurred when photographed depending on how fast they are moving. A slower SS is typically used in night photography, however there are plenty of creative ways to use them during the day also. Having a slower shutter speed usually requires a tripod, or a still surface, and an external shutter trigger. This will ensure there is no movement from holding the camera, or pressing down the shutter button on your camera.
Fast Shutter Speed
(Water has become frozen and motionless)
Slow Shutter Speed
(Water has become smooth and silky)
The “Exposure Triangle“ can be a little difficult to understand and to get the hang of. However when you do, your photos are going to look incredible! All of this is before any post-production editing - that topic will be for another blog :-)
Thank you for reading! ‘Til next time!