Going Manual

From Auto to Manual Auto: Point the Car - Step on the Gas - easy. Not too enjoyable, but easy. Manual: Point the Car - Work the gas, work the clutch, work the shifter - complicated and easy to have bad results...but will be more fun in long run.

Exposure: histogram source:

Histogram

Histogram?

Manual A JUGGLING ACT ISO Shutter Speed (SS) F-stop

Exposure Triangle Aperture = F stop

Jargon Aperture F stop f/#.# Stop stopping down (reducing exposure) stopping up (increasing exposure)

The STOP! A Unit of Measurement: speed/length/weight light quantity: a STOP of light A STOP: Not a fixed unit like inch or pound Its defined in relative quantity: 1/2x or 2x

The STOP one half (1/2x) or two times (2x) relative 0 - Neutral Gray (16%) TRUST YOUR LIGHT METER it has super powers Amount of Light your camera sensor sees Creator Moment: Is Under/Over Exposed Bad?

F/stop full stop half as much light as 2 half as much light as 2.8 half as much light as 4 half as much light as 5.6 half as much light as 8 half as much light as 11

f/22 shutter speed: 1/30 s ISO:1600 f/2.8 shutter speed: 1/400 s ISO: 400

ISO film speed ISO measured in Stops, i.e. ISO400 is one stop greater than ISO200 which is one stop greater than ISO100; Digital Sensor Sensitivity to Light; Higher ISO, Less Light required for equivalent exposure; Higher ISO the more noise introduced to the image; Creator Moment: Is Noise Bad?

AV Mode You choose: ISO Aperture Camera chooses shutter speed to achieve neutral gray/average exposure.

TV Mode You choose: ISO Shutter Speed Camera chooses aperture to achieve neutral gray/average exposure.

P Mode You choose: ISO Camera chooses: aperture shutter speed

M Mode You choose: ISO Aperture Shutter Speed

Some Rules on SS Minimum Shutter Speed to hand hold: 1 / focal length, i.e. 24mm focal length can be hand held at 1/24th of a second. BUT at extremes rule fails: Ill hand hold ( when it matters ) no less than 1/50 with lens 70mm or less. 200mm and above: at least 1/200th

Some Rules on F/Stop Overall lens sharpness drops off at lens f/stop extremes; Every lens has its own unique sweet spot Need to figure that out over time Sometimes I break the rule Creator Moment: Does anything in the image have to be sharp?

Quiz What settings would you choose to get the SLOWEST shutter speed possible? What settings would you choose to get the FASTEST shutter speed possible?

What Image? COPYRIGHT 2008 ALEC JOHNSON, AC JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Resolution PPI Pixel 6x4 Resolution 1 PPI 16 or 8 bits

What Image? Bits: 16 vs 8 16 gives you more editing power, and eats more more memory (twice the file size). Resolution: 72 ppi is perfect for anything online or on screen display, little editing power; 300+ is appropriate for print, substantial editing power. COPYRIGHT 2008 ALEC JOHNSON, AC JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY

What Image? File Type Raw No compression in Camera Provides Maximum Flexibility Requires Raw Converter, results in.psd filetype COPYRIGHT 2008 ALEC JOHNSON, AC JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY

What Image? File Type Jpeg Compression in Camera occurs 8 bit by definition Physically large image, digitally small Low editing power COPYRIGHT 2008 ALEC JOHNSON, AC JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY