Photography in Cloudy Weather

[Robin Usagani]

:er:

Read through this website. Come back here when you have more questions.

Cambridge in Colour - Photography Tutorials & Learning Community

Also, I did notice that the shutter speed shows more blur or you can freeze it like it was never moving. I just dont remember if which one that was - a high or low setting. Its so much to think about.

 

[BJPhotography]

Most common beginner behaviour (yes, I went trough this.. i am not making fun of you):
1. Shoot wide open all the time
2. Think you will need some kind of filters to start taking good photos
3. Think you know how to PP but you are not even close

I say forget about filters for now. I have a cheap polarizer filter, star filter, UV filter and they are all sitting in my drawers not being used.

LOL. Ok. Basic it is! But, what does it mean to shoot wide open?

 

[OrionsByte]

Also, I did notice that the shutter speed shows more blur or you can freeze it like it was never moving. I just dont remember if which one that was - a high or low setting. Its so much to think about.

Shutter speed is expressed in fractions of a second. So a shutter speed of 200 is 1/200th of a second, and a speed of 1000 is 1/1000th of a second. 1/1000th is shorter than 1/200th, so larger numbers mean faster shutter speeds. Faster shutter speeds also means less light, so you need to compensate for the available light by opening up the aperture (smaller numbers) or increasing the ISO (larger numbers).

Please please please check out that link that was posted earlier - understanding aperture, shutter speed, and ISO is so foundational to photography that once you understand them, you'll be able to figure out your own settings and not have to ask.

 

[dxqcanada5]

I know you'd prefer to come back with some astonishing photos right away, but like anything else, photography is a learning process and you need to take your time and soak in what you learn.

OrionsByte is correct ... many photographers take years to get the understanding to be "automatic" in their heads.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Aperture... the smaller the number, the more open your aperture opening.

 

[DerekSalem]

Most common beginner behaviour (yes, I went trough this.. i am not making fun of you):
1. Shoot wide open all the time
2. Think you will need some kind of filters to start taking good photos
3. Think you know how to PP but you are not even close

I say forget about filters for now. I have a cheap polarizer filter, star filter, UV filter and they are all sitting in my drawers not being used.

This. Listen to this man. Learn how to use the equipment you have before spending money on things you won't need (or that will actually degrade your ability to control your shots by yourself).

 

[dxqcanada5]

LOL. Ok. Basic it is! But, what does it mean to shoot wide open?

It is referring to the Lens Aperture ... wide open means the Lens Aperture is at it's widest (smallest number) setting.

 

[BJPhotography]

Alrighty. I feel like Im heading out to battle. Im going to read the article and head out. LOL. Thanks for the advice. Im actually printed this out to take with me so I dont forget it. I'll be back to post my sucky pictures. LMAO!!

 

[BJPhotography]

he aperture is measured in F stops. When you see a number like f5.6, that is telling you the aperture. The smaller the number, the wider the aperture is, so f2.8 lets more light in than f5.6.

You'll also notice there is a pattern to the numbers: f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, f22. As you go to the next higher number, you are letting in half as much light. So, f5.6 lets in half the light that f4 does. This works in reverse: f8 lets in twice as much light as f11.

With everything Ive read on aperture settings, this makes the most sense to me. Totally. I think Ive had a revelation.

 

[dxqcanada5]

Correct.
Correct.

 

[DerekSalem]

ISO = The higher the number the more light that's let in, but the lower quality the end result. In digital photography the higher the ISO the more "noise" you end up with (usually most notable in the shadows).

Shutter = The faster the number (1/1000 is faster than 1/200) the less light that gets in. That's because the "shutter" (the area in front of the sensor) is open for less time, letting in less light. For reference: close your eyes. Open them for 2 seconds. Close them again. Now open them and close them as quickly as possible. You won't be able to see as many details because your eyes didn't get a chance to see as much light. That's what a faster shutter speed does. The bonus to having a faster shutter speed is that it can "freeze" motion. If someone's moving quickly 1/200 of a second usually isn't fast enough to freeze them in the final shot. 1/1000 almost certainly is.

Aperture = This is the "hole" in the lens. Think of f/1 (what really means 1/1, or plainly "1") as the entire width of the lens. That's not exactly how it works out, but for an analogy it works. Now if you know anything about fractions, as the fraction gets smaller, it becomes less and less than the whole. For instance: 1/2 (or f/2) would be much more than 1/4 (or f/4). The bigger the hole (the closer to 1/1, or f/1) the more light that gets in. The reason it's not always best to shoot "wide open" (or the largest fraction/closest to f/1) is because it also makes your "depth of field" smaller (meaning how much space closer and farther away than your subject that's in focus). On the top end prime lenses you could have a maximum aperture of f/1.2 (which, if you'll notice, is very close to 1/1). With a lens like that you could focus perfectly on someone's right eye...and have their nose be completely out of focus. It's a very "shallow" depth of field. Just so you know Aperture "fractions" aren't exactly as you'd expect them. What I mean is that f/2 does not let twice as much light in as f/4. It's actually a more complex formula to figure out the fraction...but for the analogy it works enough.


^^^ There are the basics in the simplest way I can think of to explain them. You should absolutely still visit the links Schwetty and everybody put up, but this will give you a good understanding of the different parts before you read them.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Do you understand the light meter, and how it works, or what it is metering for?

 

[RockstarPhotography]

my 2cents.....I would start in aperture priority mode. This will allow you to adjust the aperture and the camera will do the rest. Learn what different apertures do to your photos and pay attention to what the camera does for your shutter speed.

next do the same thing with shutter priority. again watch what the camera is doing with your aperture.

use each setting for about a week to gain a good grasp of it.

now for iso....you generally want to shoot in the lowest iso you can for what your shooting. start low and bump it up if you need to for whatever aperture and shutter speeds you choose. Just remember, the higher the iso, the more noise will be introduced into the photo. so if you adjust your aperture or your shutter speed to compensate instead of your iso I would do that first, but at some point in low light you have to start bumpin it up.

 

[BJPhotography]

Do you understand the light meter, and how it works, or what it is metering for?

Some. I think. I have two meters on my camera. One is mine and one is the one the camera recommends based on the light, etc?

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Do you understand the light meter, and how it works, or what it is metering for?

Some. I think. I have two meters on my camera. One is mine and one is the one the camera recommends based on the light, etc?

Basically, yes. The tricky part is that the camera wants whatever you meter, to come out as middle gray. The camera is always trying to get a a middle gray exposure.

The pic of your boys on the bed....one wearing black, and one wearing white...if you Spot Metered the black shirt, the camera would have told you to make a long exposure, to turn te black, gray. If you Spot Metered the white shirt the camera would have told you to make a short exposure, because the shirt is bright, to make it middle gray. YOU now have to decide what in the scene is the most important to capture it's details, and change the cameras reccomendation accordingly. Adjusting the exposure a stop or so, either way.