Author: No matter if You want to spice up the family Christmas portraits or create more compelling and therefor selling photos - there are ways to control your photos and you will learn how right here, right now. The best way to do this is print this article, bring it with you to a calm place together with your camera of choice. Or just sit there in front of the computer and monkey behind the camera, your choice. Lets begin with the basics. Photography is the art and science of light. Photons hit the film/chip on the back of your camera and that's how the image is created.
There are three main technical aspects of that:
- Aperture size
- Shutter speed
- ISO speed (film speed/how-sensitive-the-sensor-is-to-light)
The aperture size determines how big a splash you let the light hit the film/sensor with - the bigger hole the fuzzier image.
Shutter speed is a creative tool for you in the way that if you choose a long exposure you imply motion, and the faster shutter speed, the more you "freeze time" in your image. ISO speed is important as it gives you the possibility to work in near dark or bright sunlight. That means ISO speed enables you to use the creative tools aperture and shutter speed anytime, anywhere.
Take a look at the following illustration:
if you begin on the left side (nine o' clock) and work your way around you will see all the different creative ways that the shutter speed/aperture size combination's gives you. Try to start with a manual setting on your camera, and dial in a really small aperture (high number like f/22) and adjust the shutter speed so that your light indicator (in-camera light meter) indicates a accurate exposure. See that everything is blurry? Try again but put the camera on a tripod or put it on a table. See how nicely lit the scene seems? well that is the result of slowly letting the light in through a small and neat hole. work your way around the illustration and you end up in a big aperture with a short shutter speed. That gives you a short depth of field and is perfect for certain types of photography, such as food and isolated objects.
Take five minutes and "get" the illustration - after that whenever you need reminding just pick it up from your pocket and spin that "creative photography wheel". Good luck and remember that this is just a startingpoint to so that you can make a solid ground for your creative photography!
Linus Öhman is a full time photographer and art director at http://www.mememe.se and gives lectures and seminars in creativity and image creation. He has ventured in to stock-photography of late and his work can be found here:
http://eu.fotolia.com/p/201046611/partner/201046611
