Photography Skills21ST JUNE 2013

Depth of Field Depth of field in photography is usually described as the amount

of the frame that is in sharp focus. When we look at a scene with our naked eye almost everything appears sharp. But that is not the case when we compose the same scene with cameras. Some part of it is blurred out. The more the frame is in sharp focus, the more is the depth of field and vice versa.

Depth of field (DOF) depends on two factors: aperture and distance of the subject from camera (magnification). Wider aperture and closer subject give the shallower DOF.

There is an inverse relationship between the aperture of your lens and the depth of field. Narrower is the aperture more is the depth of field. Usually when you set your lens to f/1.2 or f/1.4 (in a prime lens) or f/2.8 (in a zoom lens) a soft blur is created around the back and front of the subject. This is also known as bokeh. When this happens only a small part of the frame (depending on where you’re focusing) is n sharp focus and the rest is blurred out.

When you reduce the aperture the whole frame starts to get into sharp focus. The narrower the aperture the sharper is the image. As you move from of f/4 or f/5.6 all the way to f/11 and beyond the images get sharper and sharper. The reason is the light rays reflected against the subject and passing through the aperture gets refracted by the front element of the lens and meets the sensor at a precise point creating a sharp image. Narrower the aperture more precise is this meeting of light creating a sharper image and thus bigger depth of field. However, after certain point increasing aperture number will give greater DOF, but you’ll start to loose sharpness. This phenomenon is called Diffraction.

Depth of field also depends upon the kind of lens that you use. A wide angle prime lens offers more soft blur because it has a wider aperture. But if you stop down to f/8 and even narrower, a large depth of field can be created. A wide angle lens reduces the perspective of the subject as it fits in more inside the frame; also know as field of view. As such a hut on the beach will appear smaller than the actual real life size when the picture is finally taken. On the other tele lenses have an effect of increasing the size of the subject on the final image. The higher magnification allows you to capture more detail of the subject but also reduce the field of view and the depth of field.

Basic tips to play around with depth of field

Set your aperture to a minimum of f/8 to make sure you have a good platform to start with. Always ensure that you zoom out and exploit the widest limits of your lens, even if you’re using a tele lens. Tele lenses have a narrow maximum aperture so once you have zoomed out completely you may still have an aperture of f/4 to start off. Wide angle lenses can pack in a lot provided you can start at f/8 or even narrower. When shooting landscape or any other subject, never focus on the infinity. Always focus on something closer so that you have a sharp depth of field behind the point where you’re focusing.

Rule of Thirds(ROTH)

What is Rule Of Thirds?

The rule of thirds is simple to describe but is not simple to comprehend why it works. Imagine that your view through the viewfinder is divided by four intersecting lines, two horizontally and two vertically.

The result is that the view is divided into 9 equal rectangles with four points where the lines intersect. Imagine the grid lines of tic-tac-toe and you will get the picture. Right, we are all set. Each intersecting point is also known as the power point (some also refer it as the sweet spot). For some reason the human eye always kind of gets attracted by these imaginary intersecting points. Anything important on or around these power points make the photo look perfect and in balance. This is the part which is difficult to comprehend. Why the human eye does always focuses on the power points? It is hard to imagine why so let’s just accept it as a basic fundamental of a well balanced photograph.

How to apply Rule Of Thirds in Photography? There are three easy ways to apply or playing with rule of thirds.

Actually they are quite simple & easy to master. They are: The Horizontal lines, Vertical Lines & Power points.

The Horizon

Let’s start with placing the horizon, specially if you shooting landscape. The secret is, if you want to emphasize the foreground place your horizon close to the top horizontal line.

This way, the photograph is more balanced because there is enough solid ground in the entirety of the scene without overwhelming the lightness of the sky or the horizon. Same way when the horizon is placed below the second horizontal line, it emphasizes the background (for example sky), there is slightly more sky showing, but the effect is still almost the same.

Vertical lines

Dont forget the vertical lines as well. Simply placing the main subject close to any one of the vertical lines may help you to balance the frame & negative space.

The Power Points The next point is, the key elements of a photograph should be place on

or around these four power points. This automatically balances the photograph and makes it more pleasing to the eye. Let’s take an example. Most amateur photographers have an idea that to shoot a perfect portrait the subject must be positioned bang in the middle.

Well sometimes it works, but sometimes, if you can simply put the main elements such as one of the eyes of the subject or may be something such as the setting sun in the horizon (for a landscape shot) on one of the power points the photograph looks a lot better.

Try this, it works!

Just that, you feel this is worth the while and going to seriously affect your compositions, here is a small background. Even before photographers figured this out, artists, sculptures and painters have been using this for hundreds and thousands of years. So this is something that has been well tried and tested and if you can believe me it really works.

Breaking the Rule Of Thirds

So is the rule of thirds the defining rule of photographic compositions and anything and everything shot with a lens and a roll of film or a sensor must follow this? Not quite. While it does make a more dramatic effect, there are plenty of situations where the rule of thirds don’t apply or simply won’t work. Say when shooting a fast action photo which catches a moment in time and freezes it. The absorbing moment in itself is a source of pleasure. Of course in such circumstances it is impossible to actually follow the rule of thirds (and glad that it is so). Another example is when you want to shoot motion blur. Photographers who understand the rule of thirds never shy away from breaking it in order to shoot more intriguing pictures. In photography at least, nothing is laid down in stone and experimentation is what keeps things interesting.

- See more at: http://digitalphotographylive.com/rule-of-thirds/#sthash.4O7KMaKT.dpuf

The ISO rating is the light sensitivity. (Like Joseph said, it stands for "International Standards Organization"). 

ISO is used for both film cameras and digital cameras. In fact, it was used with film LONG before digital cameras were around. A higher ISO rating means more light sensitivity, and a lower ISO rating means less light sensitivity. So 400 ISO is more sensitive than 200 ISO. 

The overall exposure of a picture is determined by the aperture, shutter speed, and the ISO rating. Let's consider what's called the "Sunny 16 Rule." It's a guideline for how to take pictures outside with manual exposure. The Sunny 16 Rule says that on a clear, sunny day, you will set the shutter speed to the same as the ISO rating, and then adjust the aperture for the lighting conditions. So let's say you are using a 200 ISO film (or you set the ISO on your digital camera to 200). Then on a clear day, you would set the shutter speed to 1/200 and the aperture to f/16. If it's hazy or partly cloudy outside, you would open the aperture to f/11. If you're in the shade, you would open the aperture to f/8. Late in the afternoon, near sunset, you might want to open the aperture to f/5.6. Does that make sense? 

You can also leave the aperture on the same setting, and change the shutter speed. That's helpful, because you might want to have a long depth of field to keep the background clear, so you would want to use a small aperture, like f/16 or f/11. 

Now here's where the ISO rating becomes important. Let's say that you're in low light...maybe you're outside and the sun is starting to go down. Or maybe you're taking pictures indoors. Let's say that you need everything to be as sharp as possible, so you have to use a small aperture. But what if you have to use a fast shutter speed? So your only option in order to still get a good exposure would be to use a higher ISO rating. Either a higher ISO film, or if you're using a digital camera, you would have to use a higher ISO setting, to increase the sensor's light sensitivity. 

A higher ISO rating helps in low light conditions...but it's a compromise. Like Steve said, it's a last resort. It will increase the "noise" in the image. Noise kind of looks like the grain you get if you use a high ISO film, except that digital noise looks even worse than film grain. 

Only use a high ISO as a last resort. Your best option is always to use a tripod and a slower shutter speed, if possible. You will get better pictures if you try to keep the ISO rating around 100 or 200 ISO at the most.

Asker's rating & comment

Fireworks photography tips and camera setting tutorials.

How to shoot Fireworks ?There are many exciting scenes around you that you can take photos of. You can take photos of wildlife, sports actions, nature, or portraits of your friends and family. However, one of the most exciting scenes to capture on your DSLR is a fireworks display. Here are some tips and camera settings for capturing picture perfect fireworks actions. Fireworks Photography TipsLocationGet to the location a bit early and try to collect information on fireworks display timing, set up & from where the fireworks will be coming from. Find the right place with a nice foreground & background view  to position yourself, and take a few photos to get a feel of the focus. You will need to be quick in focusing, especially if the fireworks display is not going to last very long.LensA regular lens will do when you’re taking fireworks photos, so if you’re new to photography and haven’t purchased a wide variety of lenses, don’t worry because the lens that your DSLR came with will be just fine. You don’t need a fast lens to shoot Fireworks. Remember, you are shooting bright light (fireworks trails), not the dark (sky). Zoom lenses are flexible & they make it easier to compose.Tripod & RemoteA good quality tripod is a must for fireworks photography. The beauty of fireworks photography is in capturing the light trail or blurr of the fireworks. To achieve that a long shutter speed (4-10 sec) is required. To keep the camera totally still & shake free for that long exposure a tripod will be very useful. Bulb mode is the best for fireworks photography. So, a remote release would also be very useful.No Tripod?However, if you don’t have a tripod with you, you can make do with something sturdy that you can brace the camera on. You will be shooting from a good distance from the actual fireworks display so you shouldn’t have much trouble finding something sturdy. The top of your car, or any other car, asteel railing or a fallen tree will do. Anything sturdy that you can use will do.FocusFocus manually. One tip on setting your focus settings early is to pick an object about the same distance as the fireworks.This is why it is important to know exactly where the fireworks will be coming from. Once you have a good idea of the distance, you can set you focus to an object approximately the same distance. When the actual fireworks display starts, you will already have your camera focused.ApertureFor your exposure settings, it would be good to set aperture to f/8 to f/16. Confused because you’ll be shooting in the dark? Don’t be because you may be shooting in the dark but your target will be pretty bright.ShutterBest setting for fireworks photography is “Bulb”. To catch motion blur of fireworks 4-10 sec long shutter speed produces the best result. For that “bulb” setting & a remote provides more control. Well, if you dont have a remote or cable release use your camera’s self timer.ISOYou will also want to use ISO 100 to keep down the noise as much as possible.  Fireworks photographs are great if taken without too much noise and an ISO setting of 100 keeps down that noise as much as possible.Composition & TipsOnce you’ve taken the first shot, take a short moment to analyze the photo so you can adjust your settings accordingly. You will most likely have taken quite a number of shots on your first try so you can capture the burst and not just the rocket going up. Quickly move to the frame where you captured the burst and analyze it. Apply the Rule Of Thirds if possible. Avoid too many burst in a single frame. Early part of the display is the best for shooting fireworks. Later the sky becomes cloudy & hazy.Fireworks photography is actually pretty simple, the only thing to really be aware of is to keep the camera very steady. Plan ahead so you can bring a tripod with you, but if you don’t have one and need to take the photos with the camera in your hands, make sure that you find a sturdy spot to brace yourself against.

- See more at: http://digitalphotographylive.com/fireworks-photography-tips-and-camera-settings/#sthash.IVw8h2Im.dpuf