Week Two Theme: Transportation
Welcome back for another week! For those new to The 365 Project, you can find everything you need to know HERE. And if you haven’t already, we strongly urge you to RSVP. When you RSVP, we’ll be able to message you about prizes, special announcements, and discounts on Picaboo products.
Week Two Challenge: Going Manual
Week Two Theme: Transportation
Did you get a new fancy schmancy camera this year? Or do you have one that lives in automatic? Don’t worry. You aren’t the only one. And I’m here to help. This week we are looking at the three major settings on dSLRs: Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and the dreaded Manual Mode. We will cover the other settings that you may have on your dSLR and digital camera another week.
First, a little bit about ISO. ISO is what makes your camera sensitive to light. A low ISO {100} will produce a dark image. A high ISO {800} will give you a lighter image. One important thing to keep in mind when you raise your ISO: You are also creating more noise in your images. Noise is the grainy appearance in your pictures. I typically keep my ISO at 200 or 400, depending on the lighting.
Shutter Priority {S or Tv}: Shutter Priority mode is great for when you are shooting a moving object. For example, if you were taking pictures of your child playing soccer, this would be the setting for you. When shooting in Shutter Priority, you are controlling the shutter speed and ISO manually. You don’t have to worry about anything else. The camera will decide which aperture to use to provide enough light for the shutter speed you choose. Again, a high shutter speed would be used for a fast-moving object, like a speeding car or running children. The object you are focusing on will appear stationary while the background and things around it will be a blur.
Aperture Priority {A or Av} : I personally love Aperture Priority and used it as my baby step to Manual Mode. Just like Shutter Priority lets you chose the shutter speed, Aperture Priority lets you choose your aperture. Again, the camera will choose the correct shutter speed for the aperture and ISO that you have chosen. By using Aperture Priority, you can really control your lighting. The higher the f/stop {the lower the number}, the more light will be allowed into the lens. Also, if you are taking a picture with more than one subject, by lowering your f/stop {raising the number}, you can ensure that you have everyone in focus. A good reminder: The higher the f/stop, the more “blur”, or bokeh, you will have in your picture.
Manual Mode {M}: Oh the dreaded Manual Mode. I promise you, its nothing to be too scared of. When shooting in Manual Mode, you are controlling everything: Shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. The camera will only do what you tell it to. By playing around with Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority, you will get an understanding of what each setting does on it’s on. This will help you when moving over to Manual Mode.
If you are looking for more information on how to use your new camera, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Understanding Exposure. Make sure you read it about 20 times!
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The Challenge: This week your challenge is to pick a setting above and master it. Then, show off what you learned!
I chose to show you how I understand Aperture Priority. Below are four images of the same objects taken at different Aperture settings. I shoot with a Nikon D60 and used a 35mm lens.
As you can see, each image looks entirely different. The first image is a tad over-exposed. By lowering my aperture {raising the f/stop number}, I could make the image darker. Not only do we have better lighting in the middle two pictures, there is less “shake” than with the first. Because I was shooting with such a low Aperture in the first picture, the shutter remained open longer allowing more shake. Also notice that as I lower my Aperture, more of the trains become in focus in the picture.
Now it’s your turn! Which setting are you going to master? When you start experimenting, try and write down your settings before you take each picture. This way, you can see which setting works best for each shot!
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Hi Steph,
I like the idea of the 365 project. I was reading your post about Aperture Priority and some of what you explain in the last paragraph seems inaccurate to me. My understanding of Aperture Priority is that the shutter will automatically adjust to give the appropriate exposure given the aperture you set. Your photos of the train show an excellent example of controlling the depth of field by lowing the aperture, however there should be more camera shake as you lower the Aperture as the shutter is going to remain open longer. It actually looks to me like you took those photos in manual mode as there is quite a bit of exposure difference. I tried reproducing the shoot with my Canon 7d (Aperture Priority) 50mm lens (the only lens I have that will stop to 1.8) and got very similar DOF as you did, however my exposure remained pretty constant.
Rob
Rob –
You are correct. When shooting in Aperture priority, the shutter will set itself based on the aperture that you chose. There is a ton of camera shake in the first picture. I think you can’t see it because of how small the picture is. But trust me it is there! The only reason I can think of why there was exposure difference is because I did use an external flash for these pictures {which I will go and make a note of above}. I am going to re-shoot in the morning with natural light just to see if there is any difference.
Steph
Thanks for the great challenge! I use Tv mode a lot for my kids’ sports, but need to figure out the Av mode. I took a camera class for my Rebel T2i, and the instructor said to think of f/stop like fence posts. The lower the number, the less fence posts will be in focus/more blur elsewhere. Higher number, more fence posts/wider focus/less blur. His analogy really made sense to me! I hope to find just the right photo for this setting this week!
That is a great way to think about f/stops! I may have to steal it!
When I am in shutter priority, how exactly do I chose my shutter speed?
Just turn the dial on your camera. The same one you would use to change aperture. If you are in doubt, consult your camera’s manual!
Hi Steph,
I haven’t been able to practice or post anything all week because my kids have been really sick. Can I still jump back on board on Monday? I was hoping to play around with the camera this weekend and still get my transportation shot up…
Thanks,
Larissa
Hey Larissa! You can jump in at any time. There are no rules here. Just take pics and have fun.
Is there a mistake above? The higher the Fstop the more blur? I thought 2.8 had more blur than 22. Last sentence in Ap priority. Confusing!