With today`s technology, a Digital SLR camera functions like a computer that records pictures electronically. A sensor inside the camera catches incoming light rays from the subject you are photographing and records everything in the frame and breaks them into pixels.
Each pixel is a small square or dot that represents a device of the photo, and when combined together, they create the image you have taken.
What is Exposure Trinity?
A good exposure is among the most important aspect in determining the quality of your image. Photography is focused on capturing light, and exposure refers to the amount of light captured by your camera’s sensor when a picture is taken.
When referring to exposure, always think in sets of 3:
1. Aperture: Is the hole in your lens opening through which light travels before it hits your camera sensor. Aperture value consist of F-stops.
2. Shutter speed: This refers to the duration of time that the shutter stays open, or how long the sensor is revealed to light. Shutter speed is sized in seconds or fractions of a second.
3. ISO speed: This determines your camera sensors sensitivity to light. It can also have an effect on the quality of your image. The higher the sensitivity, the resulting image will be grainier. This also depends on the type of camera you are using. Professional DSLR camera like the Nikon D700 and Nikon D3x can handle higher ISO with less noise.
All 3 of these aspects work together to determine exposure and every photo you take, requires a combination of these 3 elements.
Most cameras have automatic settings, but the photos can frequently be rather boring or flat, especially when you decide to be a little more creative. If you learn how to control the exposure options yourself, you can easily experiment until you learn how to create amazing and interesting pictures.
What is exactly is Aperture?
Before light reaches the camera sensor or film, it must pass through a hole or opening called aperture. Basically, it is the hole in the front of the lens that determines how much light should pass through your cameras sensor, and by adjusting the size of this hole through your camera, you can increase or the decrease the amount of light passing through your lens. It`s like a pupil in a human eye and you can control the opening by adjusting the size also know as f-stop.
Aperture is also utilized to control what exactly is called ‘depth of field’, or how much of the subject should be in focus. A small aperture means everything from front to back will be in focus, whereas a larger aperture will result in the foreground being sharper while the background will be blurred. By learning ways to use different f-stops, you can easily create interesting photos by focusing on everything or bringing attention to one subject by blurring the background.
What exactly is Shutter Speed?
The shutter is a mechanism on the camera that opens and closes, allowing light to get to the cameras sensor so a digital image can be recorded. The amount of time that this shutter stays open is called as shutter speed. A faster speed means the shutter is open for a shorter time and less light will reach the sensor.
Knowing how to adjust the shutter speed and the affect it is going to have on your pictures is definitely an important component of your photos. For example, if you would like to capture a moving item or freeze anything in motion, a quicker shutter speed will produce a clearer image, whereas a slower shutter speed will offer a blurred photos.
What exactly is ISO speed?
ISO speed refers to the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor to incoming light, this can be adjusted to ensure that you can still take photographs in scenarios where proper exposure might be difficult, like in low light situations or extremely bright sunlight
The higher the ISO speed, the more sensitive your cameras sensor will be to light. This is very useful when shooting in low light situations such as indoors or night shooting but at the expense of image quality.
When shooting in bright conditions or outdoor shooting use low ISO setting for better quality pictures.
Photography is all about capturing light. Use your imagination and don’t be afraid to try new things, and learn how to adjust your exposure settings to different lighting situation. By knowing the fundamentals of digital photography, you are on your way to start taking great images that will be treasured for a lifetime.
