Beginning to Blog Week 5: Camera Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed

Oh, I have finally figured it out! Hooray! The image above is my first attempts to capture a moving subject- snow falling. Shutter speed changes the way a moving object is recorded by the camera.I had to adjust my ISO and Aperture to let in more light. I did not use a flash.

Fast Shutter Speed

Use a fast shutter speed to catch or to freeze moving subjects. Use a flash and adjust aperture and ISO in low light or the images will be too dark like the one above.

Luckily, we are having a snowy day and I am able to demonstrate the freezing (no pun intended) of snow falling by setting my shutter speed to 1/40000.


In the images below, I have the shutter speed set to 1/40000 - ISO 100 - Aperture f/5.6. I was trying to capture snow falling. In one of the images below I captured a spinning fan and a light bulb filament. Some still too dark, but I am learning!

Slow Shutter Speed

Low shutter speed makes objects that are moving look like they are in motion,  like a blurry trail of that moving image is recorded by the camera. The images below show the static objects in the restaurant in focus and the objects in motion are blurred. It looks like a fast paced environment, and it is!

Beginning to Blog Week 4: Camera Aperture

The picture above was taken with ISO 100 - Macro - f\3.3

The picture above was taken with ISO 100 - Macro - f\6.3

Guess what I got for Valentine's day? A mini tripod! Woot. I am so psyched to see if I can get some better
focus. That being said, we are going to look at aperture today.

Aperture and Depth of Field

Aperture can be compared to the pupil of the eye. The higher the aperture number (f/6.3), the smaller the pupil - letting in less light. The lower the aperture number (f/3.3), the bigger the pupil, letting in more light. Aperture also controls depth of field. Depth of field allows us to bring specific parts of the image into sharp focus. For example, the lower the f number (my point and shoot camera has the minimum at f/3.3) the lower the depth of field. This setting brings the closest object into focus and blur the background. The larger the f number (f/6.3) the higher the depth of field. This setting brings closest objects and background objects both into focus.

In the image above, notice how the background is blurred and the foreground is focused. This image was taken with aperture f/3.3.

In the image above, the background and foreground are both in focus. This image was taken with an aperture of f/6.3.

Here are some other pictures I have taken with high aperture and low aperture. I definitely see an improvement in the quality of my photos. I think my little point and shoot is pretty fun, but secretly I am feeling the need for a new camera!! And a couple thousand bucks! I have made a monster of myself. :) The incandescent light setting is on for some of these, hence the blue color.

Next week, we will talk about the scary, elusive shutter speed. :)

Beginning to Blog Week 3: Camera ISO

Here, kitty, kitty.

Finally! I finally got some vivid photos. And, luckily I had the cutest little muse. These are the best I have taken yet. I was able to get these results by adjusting the ISO on my camera to the lowest setting. Adjusting the ISO (or sensitivity) allows the camera to let in more light without using flash. The less ISO, the less grainy the photo. In my opinion, it allows me to have that intense feeling I am looking for in each picture. 

I do not have a digital SLR. I have an Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10. These photos are all taken in natural light using an ISO of 100. they were not digitally enhanced. I have found it was absolutely necessary to have my camera set on a solid surface to get clean, unshaken photos. A tripod would have been useful. I still think I need to work on focus. They still seem a tiny bit blurry to me. 

PhotographyLife.com has a great article about ISO. 

Stay tuned for posts about aperture, focus, shutter speed, light settings and more!

Beginning to Blog: Week 2 - Setting Up a Light Box Studio

Let's do this thing! I am ready to go. I bought some regular white tissue paper at Big Lots. I have a cardboard box, some scissors, and tape. Woot.

I followed the technique outlined in Strobist's post about How to DIY a $10 Macro Photo Studio. It takes about a half an hour to create and it is easy and cheap. The results are much better (see elephant above), do you agree?

Tools:

• One Cardboard Box
• White Tissue Paper
• White Paper (Tracing Paper, Butcher Paper or any paper that is nto transparent)
• Scissors
• Masking Tape (I used blue painter tape)
• Box Cutter
• Two Bright Lights

Steps:

• Keep the bottom of the box taped shut. 
• Cut off one of the flaps on the top of the box (the one that would be positioned at the top when the box is complete - see images).
• Using the box cutter, cut out a large window in three sides of the box. Please be careful not to cut yourself. Stay out of the path of the box cutter. I almost got cut a couple times. I escaped unharmed!
• Cover each window with a piece of white tissue paper and tape it to the box. 
• Tape a piece of paper draping like a photo studio on the inside of the box. Do not use tissue paper on the inside (as shown). Use butcher paper or another type of paper that is not so transparent. 
• Point a light into the box on both sides and place your subject in the box to be photographed. 

Verdict: 

I like this technique much better. I may try some different lights. I also want to take some photos using my flash. 

Stay tuned for more experiments: Creating a Light Box out of Foam Board, Camera Settings, Fluorescent Lighting, Natural Lighting, Butcher Paper, Tracing Paper.