In Photography It’s All About The Light.This is the second in the Photography Basics series. I hope you have been reading your camera manuals and practicing. And you have turned off the “Auto” setting and are experimenting with the manual features on your camera – right? Great! Moving on then………….
Photography is all about the light. A photograph is simply a stored record of light which has been reflected off an object or scene. Your digital camera is the usual device used to accomplish this task these days. When you “take a picture” you push down on a trigger thingy which is actually called a “shutter release.” ( And yes, I suppose you might as well learn the proper photo terms – it will make it easier for you to communicate effectively with others about your photography – if you call it a trigger thingy they might wonder.) This action “opens” the shutter on the camera ( the shutter is always closed unless activated by the shutter release) allowing the light coming through the lens to enter the camera body and to be focused at a point at the rear of the camera. In the days of film photography the light would be focused on the film and would be stored on the film as a result of chemical reactions. In modern digital cameras the light is focused on the image sensor which does this truly amazing thing – converting the light energy into electronic data which is then stored on the camera’s memory card. It’s almost like magic. Today’s cameras are really computers with a lens attached. They convert light energy into digital data which can then be stored, modified, printed, or deleted. I’m not going to go into how all this computer stuff happens – mostly because I don’t understand it myself. Fortunately, it is sort of like gravity – we don’t have to totally understand how or why it works to be able to work with it and use it. Let’s just call it the magic of digital photography and get on to how to use it to make great photos.
Camera Controls —-
Most of the controls on your camera share a common purpose. They are tools which allow you to impact or modify the light as it enters the camera and registers on the sensor. This is important because good images require a Proper Exposure – that is, the right amount of light needs to be focused on the image sensor. If too little light arrives at the sensor the image is Underexposed, and will appear too dark. There will be a lack of detail in the shadow or dark areas of the image. The more underexposed an image, the darker it appears. At the extreme, if you really, really, really, underexpose your shot there is no image at all and what you get is a photo which is totally black. (You could tell your friends that it is your favorite image of a black cat in a cave but they might not believe you.)On the other hand, if too much light arrives at the sensor the image is Overexposed. It will appear too light with colors “washed out” Lighter areas of the image will become “blown out” with overexposure meaning they show only pure white with no detail. The more an image is overexposed the more areas that “blow out.” At the extreme there is no image at all and you are left with a photo which is totally white (white cat in a snow storm?)
There are two primary camera controls which help you attain proper exposure by allowing you to control the amount of light which arrives at the sensor. These are the Shutter Speed Control and the Aperture Control. That’s where we will pick up next time. So get out the manual, read up on Shutter Speed and Aperture Controls, and experiment a bit.
Meantime…………Keep Shooting &………..Enjoy The Adventure!
Dr.B, The PhotoTrekker
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