What do toothache, a crazy schedule and less than perfect health result in? Well, very little use of an excellent camera. And a criminal neglect of a blog. So now, we have resolved the issue of why there have been no updates on this blog for a while - profound apologies for the same, really - let's get on to tackling some terms that almost everyone toting a DSLR uses. Beginning with one that has always, always, scared the Bejeesus out of me:
Aperture.
It sounds pretty intimidating, truth be told. At least to me - I mean, it sort of amalgamates "apparatus" and "torture."
What it actually is, is, well, a HOLE.
Yep, the almighty "aperture" is nothing but a small opening in the lens which regulates how much light gets through to the sensor, and....
Hang on. Jargon alert again.
Sensor!
What the blazes is a sensor? Everyone keeps yakking about them too, sounding very knowledgeable when they do so - heck, even camera phone manufacturers go on and on about them.
Well, truth be told, a sensor is nothing but the digital substitute for camera film! Yes, that is all, really. Just as in the past, images were formed on camera film, they are now formed on the sensor. Yep, as simple as that. No, do not get too obsessive about it right now.
Which brings us back to the aperture. Yes, it is a hole inside the lens that determines how much light hits the sensor to form the image. It is a bit like a tap in the lens that determines the flow of light - make the aperture big and more light gets in, make it smaller and very little does.
And yes, you guessed it, the amount of light that hits the sensor for a period of time is referred to as "exposure. " Simple.
How long you keep the aperture open is determined by shutter speed. And just how wide the aperture is kept open is shown by what is known as f-stops. Really, that's all there is to it.
As a rule, you need fast shutter speeds in bright environments - where not too much light is needed - and slower ones in low light ones. Shutter speeds are generally expressed in terms of percentage of a second - 1/60 is 1/60th of a second, 1/250 is 1/250th of a second. The rule of thumb - if it is dark, just stick to the smaller number in the denominator, and the larger one if it is light enough.
Last stop for the day are f-stops, also referred to as f-numbers by some pundits (the ones with huuuuge cameras). These basically measure how wide the aperture opening is. They are expressed in fractions again (what IS it with photographers and fractions?) - f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8 and so on. The smaller the number, the larger the aperture opening. The larger the number, the smaller the opening. So the larger the number, the lesser the light that gets in.
Grand summary: Aperture is a hole in the camera lens that lets light on to the sensor, the area where an image is formed. Just how wide the aperture is open is determined by f-stops and just how long it remains open, letting light in, is determined by shutter speed. In the case of both f-stops and shutter speed, less in the denominator is more - the smaller the f-stop number downstairs, the larger the aperture opening, and the smaller the denominator in shutter speed, the longer the aperture remains open to let light in.
Makes sense? Am still working out the less is more equations in my head. Will be tackling them again and again in the entries that follow. But egad, enough for now. Hope this helps. Hope also to be more regular on the blog henceforth!!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Day 9: Shooting in the dark lessons, courtesy Diwali
They might call Diwali the Festival of Light (incidentally, that is the reason why this blog entry is coming after a bit of a gap), but the fact is that getting enough light to take pictures during the festival can be one heck of a pain. That said, when you DO get shots right, you end up with stunning results, thanks to the low, slightly golden light of the diyas that mark the occasion. See sample:
Of course, I was all ready with my new-found DSLR (the Canon EOS 600D, in case you have forgotten). Of course, I took lots of shots. Of course, I messed most of them up.
But, ah - silver lining: some of them did come out all right. After considerable analysis (well, more like "HOW did this happen" screaming), I decided that the festival of light had taught me a few lessons about low-light photography. I am sure there are more to be learned, but as of now, I think that if you are out at night with not too much light around, you should keep the following in mind:
Use Program Mode
I talked about not using Auto Mode when it starts getting dark in an earlier post. Well, in spite of being the nutty DSLR newcomer that I am, I was pretty much right in this. All the shots I took in Auto mode turned out way too bright. What is wrong with that? Well, for one - you want shots taken in the night to at least LOOK like they were taken when the sun was down, eh? And for another, because if you are going to be using Auto mode all the time, why bother with a DSLR in the first place? Of course, if you know more about photography, you will know exactly what mode to use for which shot, but if you are just getting to grips with it - rule of thumb: stick to Program mode.
Drive up the ISO
One of the advantages of using the Program mode in the DSLR is that although the camera still handles most things by itself, you can mess around with the ISO settings. Remember ISO? Yep, the same which you can tweak to higher levels to get better shots in the dark. Well, my recommendation would be to keep it at around 1600 if you want decent shots that make the most of the clay lamp lights of Diwali and even ramp it up to 3200 when it gets really dark - there is a helpful button right behind the shutter button marked "ISO" to let you do this. Take my word for it - the results will be pretty decent. Take a look: (a word of caution - do NOT overdo it, else you will end up with some really funny looking pics)
Kill the Flash
One of my photographer friends told me that one part of a DSLR most newcomers should never use is the flash. "It mucks up night shots totally," he snarled. "Yes, it will get you the picture. But not in the way you shot it." Seems a bit mystical? Well, the fact is that try taking a shot with the flash enabled in the dark and the chances are that you will get a nice bright picture. But, as we pointed out, nights are NOT nice and bright. They are dark and dim. So yes, a flash is a very good option if you want people to find out what it was that you were shooting but if you want to show them what YOU saw, keep the flash down please. The following two shots were taken in succession. One used a flash. One did not. Draw your conclusions, folks.
Steady, steady
You HAVE got to keep your hands steady while taking shots in low light conditions. The darker it gets and the farther away you subject is, the more likely it is that the camera will take a bit longer to take a shot - and that results more often than not in a blurry picture. If you are going to take plenty of shots from a bit of a distance (well, anything more than 6-7 feet really), I would advise you to get a tripod. Yes, I have a tripod. No, I did not use it. See what happened!
Get up and close, whenever possible
I am sure you have had better results than me in this regard, but I personally found that shots taken from close range tended to work a whole lot better when the lights dimmed. Yes, am sure there is a way around that, but I have not really worked it out yet, so will tell ye this in my best faith - for best results in low light, try and get close to the subject. I was literally about a foot away and on my stomach on the ground when I snapped this diya - ISO was all the way up to 3200. But the results, ah...
The reflect light effect on faces
One of the biggest things I learnt this Diwali was simply that if you got people close enough to light to get the light reflected off their faces, you would end up with some really decent shots, rather than if you tried shooting them with the light sources (lamps, firecrackers, etc.) in the picture themselves. Seems like common sense? Ah, I just figured out. The results were not too bad really:
Keep checking results!
One of the great advantages of using a digital camera is that you can keep checking the results of your clicks on the LCD on the device. I wish I had done so more often. Unfortunately, I got carried away in an orgy of clicking, and often went on to take shots that were useless. A simple check on the previous shot would have told me that the light was not good enough or that things were getting blurry. Again this is really common sense but when the lights are low - do try to check your shots after you snap them. It does not take too long and ensures that you do not keep shooting duds!!
So, those are the photography lessons I learnt this Diwali. No, not earth-shattering but I daresay they will help me take better shots the next time the festival of light comes calling. Of course, lots more to learn. Will keep writing. Bear with me.
Of course, I was all ready with my new-found DSLR (the Canon EOS 600D, in case you have forgotten). Of course, I took lots of shots. Of course, I messed most of them up.
But, ah - silver lining: some of them did come out all right. After considerable analysis (well, more like "HOW did this happen" screaming), I decided that the festival of light had taught me a few lessons about low-light photography. I am sure there are more to be learned, but as of now, I think that if you are out at night with not too much light around, you should keep the following in mind:
Use Program Mode
I talked about not using Auto Mode when it starts getting dark in an earlier post. Well, in spite of being the nutty DSLR newcomer that I am, I was pretty much right in this. All the shots I took in Auto mode turned out way too bright. What is wrong with that? Well, for one - you want shots taken in the night to at least LOOK like they were taken when the sun was down, eh? And for another, because if you are going to be using Auto mode all the time, why bother with a DSLR in the first place? Of course, if you know more about photography, you will know exactly what mode to use for which shot, but if you are just getting to grips with it - rule of thumb: stick to Program mode.
Drive up the ISO
One of the advantages of using the Program mode in the DSLR is that although the camera still handles most things by itself, you can mess around with the ISO settings. Remember ISO? Yep, the same which you can tweak to higher levels to get better shots in the dark. Well, my recommendation would be to keep it at around 1600 if you want decent shots that make the most of the clay lamp lights of Diwali and even ramp it up to 3200 when it gets really dark - there is a helpful button right behind the shutter button marked "ISO" to let you do this. Take my word for it - the results will be pretty decent. Take a look: (a word of caution - do NOT overdo it, else you will end up with some really funny looking pics)
Kill the Flash
One of my photographer friends told me that one part of a DSLR most newcomers should never use is the flash. "It mucks up night shots totally," he snarled. "Yes, it will get you the picture. But not in the way you shot it." Seems a bit mystical? Well, the fact is that try taking a shot with the flash enabled in the dark and the chances are that you will get a nice bright picture. But, as we pointed out, nights are NOT nice and bright. They are dark and dim. So yes, a flash is a very good option if you want people to find out what it was that you were shooting but if you want to show them what YOU saw, keep the flash down please. The following two shots were taken in succession. One used a flash. One did not. Draw your conclusions, folks.
Steady, steady
You HAVE got to keep your hands steady while taking shots in low light conditions. The darker it gets and the farther away you subject is, the more likely it is that the camera will take a bit longer to take a shot - and that results more often than not in a blurry picture. If you are going to take plenty of shots from a bit of a distance (well, anything more than 6-7 feet really), I would advise you to get a tripod. Yes, I have a tripod. No, I did not use it. See what happened!
Get up and close, whenever possible
I am sure you have had better results than me in this regard, but I personally found that shots taken from close range tended to work a whole lot better when the lights dimmed. Yes, am sure there is a way around that, but I have not really worked it out yet, so will tell ye this in my best faith - for best results in low light, try and get close to the subject. I was literally about a foot away and on my stomach on the ground when I snapped this diya - ISO was all the way up to 3200. But the results, ah...
The reflect light effect on faces
One of the biggest things I learnt this Diwali was simply that if you got people close enough to light to get the light reflected off their faces, you would end up with some really decent shots, rather than if you tried shooting them with the light sources (lamps, firecrackers, etc.) in the picture themselves. Seems like common sense? Ah, I just figured out. The results were not too bad really:
Keep checking results!
One of the great advantages of using a digital camera is that you can keep checking the results of your clicks on the LCD on the device. I wish I had done so more often. Unfortunately, I got carried away in an orgy of clicking, and often went on to take shots that were useless. A simple check on the previous shot would have told me that the light was not good enough or that things were getting blurry. Again this is really common sense but when the lights are low - do try to check your shots after you snap them. It does not take too long and ensures that you do not keep shooting duds!!
So, those are the photography lessons I learnt this Diwali. No, not earth-shattering but I daresay they will help me take better shots the next time the festival of light comes calling. Of course, lots more to learn. Will keep writing. Bear with me.
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