Photography Tutorials
- Depth of field defines the amount of distance between the nearest and farthest objects that appear in acceptably sharp focus in a photograph. What affects the DOF is the aperture and the focal length. Generally, the bigger the aperture (eg. F1.2), the narrower is the DOF. The same aperture on a longer focal length lens(400mm) will have a narrower DOF compared to one with a short focal length (17mm).
Aperture
- The aperture controls the amount of light that reaches a digital camera sensor. An aperture acts much like the pupil of an eye that opens wider as light decreases to let in more available light. The pupil gets smaller when light increases to reduce the amount of light entering the eye. The combination of aperture and shutter speed are related, and effect the exposure value. The faster the shutter speed, the larger the opening of the lens and visa versa. (source : http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/advanced-settings/aperture.php)
Shutter Speed
- Shutter speed is very much like the aperture, it controls the amount of light to pass through to expose the sensor inside the camera. A shutter is like a curtain which open and close when the shutter trigger is pressed. Generally a faster shutter speed (1/500 sec) will freeze motion and a slower shutter speed (1/8 sec) will allow a motion to appear blur.
ISO
- ISO stands for International Standards Organization and is an indicator of the sensitivity of film (or the receptor in a digital camera that takes the place of film) – that is, how fast it reacts to light. So a high ISO (like 400, 800 etc) doesn’t need much light to get an image, whereas a low ISO (such as 50) needs more light (thus a longer exposure) to get the same image. ASA (American Standards Association) is an older term that is still sometimes used – but ASA and ISO are exactly the same. (source : http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_ISO_stand_for_in_cameras)
2nd Curtain Flash Sync
- Also known as rear curtain sync. This technique is useful when you want to have a long exposure, and yet you want to freeze the motion of some subjects that are infront of you. When the shutter is activated, there are 2 curtains. The first curtain will open, and depend on the shutter speed, the second curtain will close the exposure. During a 2nd curtain flash sync, the flash will fire 1.5 milliseconds before the 2nd curtain starts to close. This technique will allow the background of your photos to expose properly (but may not be sharp), and then the flash will expose and freeze your subject just before the 2nd curtain close.
- Example of a 2nd Curtain flash sync :
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What is Bokeh?
Bokeh (from the Japanese boke ボケ, “blur”) is a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens. Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject. (Source : Wiki)
