PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS 101– CLASS NOTES #1. Aperture Priority.

CLASS NOTES/Lesson 1:

This is what we have learned so far.

September 28, 2010

A. REMOVE YOUR CAMERA LENS CAP.

Kidding. Sort of.

B. LOCATE YOUR CAMERA MANUAL

I am not kidding. You manual is one of the best resources for getting to know your camera and how it functions. I lost mine once. Let’s not go there right now.

C. READ YOUR CAMERA MANUAL

Seriously. Don’t let your significant other tell you that you don’t need to read the directions. Skim through it and familiarize yourself with the basic functions of your camera and where to find them in the manual. It will save you a lot of cursing in the long run. Not that I would know anything about that.

D. Aperture Priority

Aperture–as I understand it—and imagine it in my brain—is the camera’s eye—opening and closing (think pupil) determining both the amount of light entering the camera and the depth of field (how much will be in focus) that will be captured.

Aperture is indicated using f-stops. NOW PAY ATTENTION HERE.

The smaller the f/number:

• the LARGER the camera’s eye ball=

• more light=

• subject in focus=

• back round blurry=

• shallow depth of field

Example:

The meta-data on this photo indicates I kissed this frog using F5.6 (Low number. Big opening. Shallow depth of field)

F4.5 (Low number. BIG opening. Shallow depth of field.) Make a wish.

The larger the f-step:

• the smaller the camera’s eye ball=

• less light=

• wider depth of field=

• the sharper the entire picture.

This photo was taken using F10. (Large f/number. Small opening. Whole photo mostly sharp and in focus)

F11. (Large number. Small aperture. Most of photo sharp and in focus.)

If you are anything like me, you have been setting your camera on “AUTO” mode, pushing the button, and praying for a decent shot. 2,736 clicks later, you pull out 1 or 2 that you can photobucket the heck out and frame for the family room. Based on our class discussion, AUTO mode may take an acceptable photo, but gives you very little creative opportunity.

My teacher is encouraging us to use the Aperture Priority Setting which will provide us with more creative control while still maintaining some automation because the camera will still decide on the shutter speed for you. You simply select the aperture based on the type of photo you are aiming for ie: kissing frogs, or pool dancing. See photo’s above for examples.

So here is our assignment.

Locate your manual.

Pretend to read it.

Locate your aperture priority button–on my camera the dial is set to Av.

Find the dial that will enable you to select the aperture, and start experimenting with the different F/numbers.

A word of caution: My teacher assures me that we will learn more about the ISO, but in the meantime, while you are practicing in Aperture Priority mode, please make sure that you have your ISO set to around 400 for low lit indoor pictures and much lower for anything outdoors. ISO will control how quickly the light is delivered to your sensor. The higher the number, the more quickly the light will be sent. If you are outside—you will not need your ISO set to 1800—like some really silly people I know. Heh hum. My bad.

My brain is now mush. If I got any of that wrong, just holler—I am still learning. And I am dehydrated.

Will return soon for more class notes from Photography 101. Let me know how you are doing. Or send me some pics. Which ever.

WE CAN DO THIS, PEOPLE!

Hugs and frog kisses.

~The Grasshoppa

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