Hello ,
Our picture starts in our head.
And our challenge as photographers is how do we get the picture in our mind to appear as a photograph we make?
During the first meeting of
the Introduction To Photography class, we immediately begin addressing that question.
And we begin by learning how to meter in manual
exposure mode by selecting the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to achieve a starting point known as a standard or mid-tonality.
This is because it gives us a known and consistent tonality value that we can keep or change using aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.
This is our starting point for tonality control.
Still, we've also got other compositional characteristics to think about, like depth of field, blur, and noise.
We've got to consider these settings because one of them will be our primary setting for a specific composition.
Whatever one it is, that's one to pick
first.
And then through metering, get the other two settings to achieve a standard tonality.
For example, if we wanted to control the
depth of field, we would pick the appropriate aperture setting and, through metering, get shutter speed and ISO to achieve a standard tonality without changing the aperture.
And if, for whatever reason, we can't get the ISO and shutter speed to achieve a standard tonality, we need to change the aperture to a setting as
close as possible to the original one we intended.
Previously, with film cameras, we would start by choosing the shutter speed or aperture because the ISO of the film that we loaded into the camera couldnt' be changed.
But with digital cameras, since we can change our ISO whenever we want, we have a lot more flexibility.
And since we have that flexibilty, we can start with whatever setting we want, depending on our primary compositional intent.
We can also get a good amount of control by working in aperture or shutter priority.
But we gotta be careful because we can get unwanted
changes in the tonality due to camera movement.
But in manual exposure mode, unwanted changes aren't possible because whatever aperture, shutter speed, and ISO combination we pick, nothing changes unless we change it.
And that's the great thing about working in manual exposure mode because we can start with whatever setting we want and completely control our compositions.
And if it's that level of compositional control we're
after, working in manual exposure mode is the way to go.
And if that's the way you want to go, the Introduction To Photography class will get
you doing that.
October classes are now scheduled. And since each class is kept to no more than five participants, early registration is a good idea if you'd like a seat in the class.
And remember, we learn and improve by doing, so practice making at least one picture today.
That's all for now; thanks for reading!
Sam
I'll help you be a better photographer—study and practice photography with me.
And what if the timing doesn't work for you in any of my scheduled group classes? If that's the case, let's schedule a one-time lesson or a series of in-person or online private
instruction that covers the same things as my group classes.
Ways to work with me are listed below.
