Photography for Beginners
by Siti Nabilah Azman
by Siti Nabilah Azman
Assalammualaikum and hello! Photography - what does it mean to you? To me, it's kinda like an art, as a picture can tell so much, depending on the capturer and the person viewing the picture. It contains motions, emotion and mood and so much more. This time I'm gonna share some of my knowledge regarding photography, just simple basic knowledge! I am not the best photographer or whatsoever, just sharing what I know here :)
1. Rule of third
First, we're gonna start with the rule of third. Basically, rule of third is for the composition of the picture you are taking. Most cameras (including phone cameras) comes with Grid-on option. Even without the grids, imagine that the frame of your picture contains grids, which divide into 9 areas.
Example of grids on camera.
Different cameras have different ways to set the grids, you can just google how to change the settings for the grids to appear on your camera! The basis of the lines are to guide you. In capturing pictures, it is best done by putting the subject of your picture on the line of the grids. For example, if the subject is the sky, divide the horizontal grids into 3, one third of the picture contains the land while the other two thirds is the sky. Same goes for vertical grids, set your subject to be on the grid instead of putting the subject at the center of the frame. Few examples are shown as follows ;
The focus is the Sun.Note that the Sun is on the vertical grid while the boundaries between land and sea is on the horizontal grid. Two-third of the picture consisting the sky as that is the main focus. Picture taken at Dingle, Ireland.
Photo taken during Summer Training Camp 2014.
2. ISO
Next, we'll move on to ISO. Depending on your camera, some cameras allowing you to adjust the ISO while some can be automatic. ISO basically to control the sensitivity of the lens to the light. Low ISO is best to be used while taking pictures. However, in certain circumstances, you have to increase the ISO, for example, night photography requires higher ISO to capture the limited light present or during cloudy day, as compared to during a sunny day where you can set the ISO to a minimum. The problem with high ISO is that it will make your picture to be "grainy." Hence it is best to use the lowest ISO possible while taking a picture.
Note that the first picture is taken when it is sunny, hence a low ISO is enough. However the next two pictures are taken when it was not that sunny hence a higher ISO is required. Pictures taken at Paris, France.
ISO also allowing you to take pictures when there is not much light i.e at night and also when it is indoor and there is not much light ;
3. Aperture
In explaining about the aperture, imagine the human eye (fourth med peeps must remember this from our Ophthalmology rotation right :p) in which the iris controls the size of the pupil and hence - control the amount of light that enters the eye. The same concept is used for aperture. Aperture is determined from the focal length , the smaller the number, the bigger is the aperture. Aperture is always in f-stops format, it can be illustrated as follows ;
Not only it determines the amount of light that enters the lens, it also determines the depth of field of the picture. Smaller f-number will make the picture less deep, making the subject to be more focused with more blurred background while a larger f-number blends in the subject and also the background of a picture.
f-stop = f/25
Example of high depth of field.
Examples of smaller f-stops, with shallow depth of field, causing the subject to be more focused and the background to be blurry. Photos taken both at Bird Park, KL.
Different lenses offer different range of aperture that can be set. For lower aperture, usually the lens costs more than average but provide better, in-focus pictures with it.
4. Shutter speed
Last but not least is shutter speed. Shutter speed is basically the amount of time that you let light to get in the lens, and how long the shutter remains open. Shutter speed is useful especially when you are trying to capture pictures that is in motion (faster shutter speed required) or capturing light trail (slower shutter speed required). The format of shutter speed in the camera is measured as compared to a second for example 1/4 of shutter speed means a quarter of a second. Hence, the higher the denominator, the faster the shutter speed. It can be fast or slow such as 30 seconds shutter speed, written as 30 instead of in fraction form like the fast ones.
1/4000
1/1250
Fast shutter speed used to capture objects that are in motion.
Longer shutter speed is used in capturing the stars, to allow enough light from the stars to enter the lens. Exposure time ; 13 seconds
Another example of long shutter speed. Shutter speed ; 20 seconds
All the concepts of ISO, aperture and shutter speed should be balanced it depends on the subject and also the environment. To keep it simple, here's a guide to help your understanding on the concepts.
I hope the explanation is clear enough! My advice is just play around with the settings, try different settings and see how the pictures and from there, you will learn. Plus, spring is almost here and the weather will be better for photography insyaAllah!
While we're capturing our view with our camera, the eye is actually the best camera and what has been created for us is always the best picture isn't it? Don't forget to be grateful and also appreciate the beauty that we can see :)
