Manual Tutorial #7 {Wrapping Up}

If you have just stumbled across this Tutorial for the first time, it would be a good idea to start at the beginning here.

Manual Photography {Wrapping Up}

Now that we have covered all the different components of exposure and how to shoot in manual ~ it is time for you to use what you have learned.

I wanted to share with you a great tool to print or copy.  Photography Field Guide ~ This is super helpful and a cheat sheet of sorts to use while you are out with your camera (and not near books, wifi, or internet)

General Walkthrough of How I Typically Shoot

#1) First I think about my ISO...

• is it cloudy? (higher ISO)  
• is it sunny? (lower ISO)  
• am I shooting indoors? (much higher ISO)  
• will I need a tripod? (lower ISO but will cause a slower shutter as well)  
• do I care about grain (higher ISO)?

#2) Next I ask myself what is most important to my photograph?  Shutter Speed or Aperture?  Whichever is most important to your photograph, adjust that one first.

• If Shutter Speed
• Freezing Movement?  -> Fast shutter speed
• Blurring Movement?  -> Slow shutter speed

• If Aperture
• Blurred Background -> Large Aperture -> Small f/stop # (ex f/2.8)
• Crisp and Detailed Background -> Small Aperture -> Large f/stop # (ex f/16)

Example

I took this photo while I was having my morning coffee on my balcony.  This was the last morning I had in my Virginia home before the packers came and our move to Florida started.  The sun was rising behind the trees and I knew that if I used a small f/stop number (larger aperture) I would be able to create bokeh with the sunlight (blurred out of focus orbs of light that occur with a small f/stop number).  

It was still on the dark side, so I set my ISO to 200.  I then set my f/stop as low as it would go with the lens I was using (happened to be f/5.6).  From there I just adjusted my shutter speed until my cursor was at the "0" hash mark.  (Remember the light meter?)  

I especially like this photo because it captures the emotion of my last morning coffee.  I also loved that the bokeh looks like little sparkles coming out of my cup <3

ISO 200 ~ 53mm ~ f/5.6 ~ 1/400 sec

© Corrie M Avila

Can you understand the settings below my photo now?  Does it make sense?  The only thing we haven't gone over is the second number and that is your focal length.  Basically just the distance your lens is set to.  On a telephoto lens it will change, on a fixed lens, it will remain the same.  This is more of just documentation and does not have anything to do with shooting in manual.  Knowing that the lens was at 53mm, you would know that I was standing pretty close to the mug.

Some Final Tips and Reminders

* Don't forget that all three components (ISO, aperture, shutter speed) interact with each other.  When you adjust one, it affects the rest.  Remember the graph from early on in the tutorials?

* If you are having trouble knowing where to start, put your camera in "P" mode and see what the camera says the settings should be.  That is a good starting place until you get more comfortable finding your settings from scratch.  But don't forget to switch back over to Manual so that you have the control!

* When learning Manual Photography, go easy on yourself and practice on something that does not move ~ you will have a much easier time shooting and can just focus on the camera rather than the subject running away :)

* Finally, to avoid photos that are blurry from your hand shaking, do not go slower than 1/60 sec on your shutter speed without a tripod.  If your settings are telling you that you are slower than that, it is time to bump up your ISO a bit or lower your f/stop number (aperture).

I've already gotten some great feedback from this tutorial series and I'm excited to hear from you!!  Has this helped you?  Do you still have questions?  Please reply to this blog post with your questions/comments and I will put together a follow-up blog post answering them.  I know this is a hard concept to get and to wrap your head around, but I promise, keep working at it and you WILL begin to understand!

Capturing the Moment,

Corrie <3

Manual Tutorial #6 ~ The Light Meter

The Light Meter

There are two types of light meters.  The hand held kind and the internal type that is inside your camera.  I am going to talk about the internal light meter.  In Tutorials 3-5 we discussed ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed.  Now that you know what each of these components are and what they do, it is time to start applying what you have learned.

© Corrie M Avila

On my camera I have my screen set so that I can see my settings there.  Some may choose to have a live view of their lens, but I choose to keep it locked to showing my settings.  The arrow is pointing to the light meter.

I also have a view of my settings when I look through my viewfinder as pictured below.  The number 320 is my shutter speed and 3.5 is my aperture.  The middle is the light meter.  The number 400 is my ISO setting.    

© Corrie M Avila

If you look through your viewfinder and don't see anything, you may need to halfway press your shutter to make them appear.  This is convenient so that if you are taking photos, you can keep your camera to your eye and adjust settings at the same time.

Your goal is to put your hashmark right dead center on the "0."  There are situations and circumstances where you will purposefully want to have your hash +1 or -1 (for example), but for right now we will assume that keeping it on "0" is the sweet spot.

In this example, you can see the hash mark is just to the right of the "2"...  

© Corrie M Avila

I will increase my shutter speed from 1/6 to 1/30.  And now my light meter hash mark is at "0"~ right where I want it.

© Corrie M Avila

Homework for Tutorial 6

Put your camera in P mode and see what your settings are.  Write them down.  Now put your camera in M mode and replicate those settings.  Watch your hashmark and have your goal be to get right under the zero.  Now write those settings down.  Are they the same?  They may possibly be slightly different and that is okay, but they should be close.  Everything affects your light meter ~ from the direction you are pointing your camera, to a shadow passing, to the sun going behind a cloud.  Try to keep your external light situation the same while you are practicing this.

How is everyone feeling with this so far?  If there is an area you still need help with, please feel free to reread the tutorials, email, facebook, or comment below.  I am here on this journey with you <3

Finish the Series with {Wrapping Up}

Capturing the Moment,

Corrie <3

If you are just now joining us, make sure to start at the beginning with Tutorial 1!

Manual Tutorial 1

Manual Tutorial 2

Manual Tutorial 3

Manual Tutorial 4

Manual Tutorial 5

Manual Tutorial #5 ~ Aperture

As always, if you are just joining us, I'd recommend you start at the beginning with Tutorial #1.  Just scroll to the bottom of this post and you will find the links for the previous tutorials.

I've saved my favorite for last.  Aperture controls your depth of field, or how blurred or crisp your background is.  Since I am very into Macro photography, aperture is my best friend.  This is what creates that yummy blurred background.  It also is responsible for the beautiful bokeh that you see here.

The circles of light are referred to as "Bokeh"

ISO 100 ~ 60mm ~ f/2.8 ~ 1/10 sec

© Corrie M Avila

The circles or orbs of light you see are actually out of focus christmas lights.  By having a focal point (the teacup) in front of the lights, and by using a f/stop of 2.8 (large aperture, small f/stop #) I was able to create this look for my photograph.

Aperture can also create a crisp background so that you can see all the details such as in this NYC photograph taken from on top of the Empire State building.

Detailed View of New York City

ISO 100 ~ 50mm ~ f/16 ~ 1/200 sec

© Corrie M Avila

Basically your f-stop number is your aperture.  When you have a wide open aperture it is a small number. When you have a small aperture it is a bigger number.  This is tricky in concept because it goes against logic.

The aperture controls how much light is let in.  Lets think of your eye again.  If you step into a dark room, your pupil opens really wide and lets in a lot of light (small f/stop #).  When you step outside on a very bright day, your pupil is very small and lets in very little light (larger f/stop #).  While your shutter speed is how fast your shutter opens and closes, your aperture is how wide or small the opening to the shutter is (just like the pupil of your eye).

Okay, so how do we use this information?  Before you go to take a photograph, think about what your priority is.  If it is freezing or blurring movement, adjust your shutter speed first.  If it is controlling your depth of field (i.e. having a crisp or blurred background) adjust your aperture first.

In the following diagram I visually explain the difference between a wide open aperture (small f/stop # = blurred background) and a small aperture (large f/stop # = crisp background).

As you can see from this diagram your aperture or f/stop number can completely change the look of your photograph.  When you fully understand and embrace this component of photography, you will begin to see the multitude of creative opportunities available.

The range of f/stop numbers depends on your lens.  For the above example, I used my macro lens which happens to have a larger aperture (f/2.8) than my telephoto lens (f/3.5).  Regardless of the range of your lens, you always have the ability to change your aperture and in turn can determine your depth of field (blur vs crisp background).

Homework for Tutorial 5:

1) Locate where your aperture is on your camera.  Get comfortable with this setting so that you are able to adjust your aperture with ease.

2)  Put your camera in AV mode (This is Aperture Priority).  Again, do not get comfortable here.  This is just for now to allow your camera to figure our the other settings while you adjust your aperture.  Choose a still life object that won't move or run away from you :)  Also make sure that you have a subject and a background.  I used the apple as my subject and the tree as my background in the example above.  Put your aperture to the lowest number you can.  (Remember lower number means larger aperture = blurred background).  Make sure your focus is on your subject and then take the photo.  Write down the settings of your camera.  Next change your aperture to the highest number it will go.  (Remember higher number means smaller aperture = crisp background).  Make sure you are focusing on your subject again and take the photo.  Write down your settings once more.

3)  Now compare your photos.  Can you see a distinct difference in your background?  Did you ISO change at all?  If it did change, do you know why?

Now that we have completed the 3 components of Exposure, we will next work on the light meter and combining all you have learned together.  You are closer than you think to photographing in Manual Mode.  If there is an area you still need help with, please feel free to reread the tutorials, email, facebook, or comment below.  I am here on this journey with you <3

Continue forward to Light Metering

Capturing the Moment,

Corrie <3

Link to Manual Tutorial #1

Link to Manual Tutorial #2

Link to Manual Tutorial #3
Link to Manual Tutorial #4