Most take pictures for social networks on smartphones, many take pictures with professional and semi-professional cameras - it has become an art, a fashion hobby and a daily practice. Modern high-quality shooting requires special knowledge and skills.
How to learn to shoot
The success of the shot depends on the photographer, not the high cost of the camera and related equipment. The path to the perfect shot lies through the search for an interesting subject, beautiful light, creativity, the ability to properly set up the camera and equipment.
Choice of technique: instruction
The first step on the way to quality work is choosing a camera. The world of megapixels, sensors, apertures, shutter speeds and lenses seems confusing and complex at first. A storm hits the newbie specifications in which it is difficult to navigate independently. What to pay attention to first of all? A short video about the types of cameras, the principles of operation and the advantages of models will help you to choose equipment consciously.
Manual shooting mode
Having decided to become a professional, it's time to go beyond automatic mode shooting and master the manual. An idea about the device of the camera and the processes of work helps to quickly understand the intricacies of manual settings. We offer a detailed lecture where, for clarity and memorization, the internal structure of the camera and its operation are compared with the human eye. No complicated terms at the intersection of anatomy and photography. The video shows examples of settings and the result.
Composition in pictures
The success of a shot is 80% dependent on the composition. Knowledge and application of special rules create depth, space and volume in photography. With the help of compositional techniques, the pros are able to manipulate the viewer's gaze, draw attention to the desired object and create a certain mood. Remember the law of linear perspective from the drawing course at school? The master class will complement school knowledge with two more types of perspectives: aerial and tonal, and will also demonstrate other ways to get a balanced shot.
Focus Masterclass
Knowledge of the basics of composition for a good composition of the frame is not enough. Due to camera and hand shake, incorrect focusing, the image is blurry. Masters prefer manual adjustment, the frame is as clear as possible. The lecturer notes more than fifty focus points. Which way to choose - everyone decides individually and experimentally.
Mistakes with light
Proper lighting guarantees bright shots. Before each click of the shutter, it is recommended to monitor the light sources and its quality. The results of errors with light are sharp shadows on the face, “dirty light”, greenish or faded skin color, “black holes” instead of body parts, smeared silhouettes. A lesson for beginners on the correct placement of light sources and objects in the frame will help to increase the level and quality of work.
How to use an external flash
The design of modern flashes and their functionality are quite complex and hardly amenable to intuitive mastery. In the master class, blog host Mark Rybak talks about flash control, modes and buttons, reflectors and light diffusers, ways to shoot "through the ceiling", "through the walls" and "head on". After watching the video, you will be able to adjust the flash depending on the lens width and focal length, the height and width of the room, and weather conditions. Learn how to avoid overexposure, eye flare, and other professional effects.
Studio work
When shooting in the studio, you can immediately see what the photographer really is: an amateur or a professional. A real specialist is well acquainted with studio equipment and knows how to use it competently. There are several lighting schemes with single and multiple light sources that help to get harmonious shots. The main thing is to place the light sources and reflectors at the right distance and point in the right direction. The result is diffused light and soft shadows. The tutorial video shows a set of lighting schemes for different types filming.
Shooting a portrait on the street
Natural light footage can look vibrant even without post-processing. A few minutes spent learning the secrets of street photography can save you hours of Photoshop work. The pro talks about the need to switch attention from place to light when choosing a location for shooting. How to learn to see the light? What hours are prohibited for outdoor work? How to position the model relative to the incident light? You will learn the answers from a short video with an example of a successful portrait picture taken on the street.
macro photography lesson
The genre of macro photography allows you to consider the invisible world of nature. Plants and insects enlarged many times seem fabulous, and the frame catches the eye for a long time. A master class on shooting the macro universe is given by master Ilya Gomyranov: he teaches how to create interesting color patterns and dynamics, shows equipment and necessary items for such a walk.
1. If possible, try to make the light fall on the subject at an angle. When the light is directed at a certain angle, it creates highlights and shadows, making images more spectacular than with "flat" lighting. 2. Make your image even more spectacular by shooting at a time when the shadows are long and deep. For a unique image, try photographing only the shadow of a person or object. 3. Shoot when the light is at its most colorful, just after sunrise or just before sunset. At this time, the sun is low on the horizon and gives a warm golden light that is so pleasing to the eye. Landscapes and portraits look great in this light. 4. In daylight, harsh shadows often appear in portraits. Soften those shadows by turning on the flash, which will brighten the dark areas a bit. Just go to the settings and specify that the flash should be on all the time. This method gives excellent results even in bright light. 5. To photograph someone at sunset, turn on the flash and turn the person you are photographing with their back to the setting sun. When the flash is on, the person will be illuminated. With the flash turned off, only his silhouette will be visible. 
6. Turn on the lights when taking pictures at home. With the help of lamps and overhead lighting, any shot taken indoors can be brightened up. The light will add depth to the image and often make the colors warmer. But most importantly - it will lighten the background. 7. When working with light, try to "place" it to the side or behind the subject. Angled light almost always produces very interesting effects, creating intricacies and patterns that never happen with direct lighting. 
8. If glare is formed in the lens when shooting against the sun, then fast way The solution to this problem is to ask a friend to cover the top of the camera with their hands to shade the front lens. You can immediately determine whether you have achieved the desired result. Just make sure that your hands are not in the frame when taking a photo. 9. Patience is a critical factor when taking a picture. If you find a scene you like, but think it would look better in different lighting, it's best to wait a bit. Or make a note and return to the same place at a different time of day or even a different time of year. 
10. Use a small flashlight to illuminate the scene. Position it behind or below your subject at night to create an interesting glow, or use it instead of a flash. Take long exposure shots using the flash as a light source. This will create interesting luminous areas in the photo. 11. When shooting at sunset, look around. What seemed like a boring day, miraculously comes to life from the touch of the last rays of the sun. Buildings, cars, anything that reflects light, take on special qualities at sunset. 
12. Most cameras with built-in flashes have a setting for red-eye reduction. When activated, the pre-flash fires several times before the main flash fires. If you don't take pictures of people, turn this feature off as it drains the battery quickly and doesn't help lighten the scene at all. 13. Light bounces off glass surfaces at a 90 degree angle to its source, so if you take a picture directly in front of glass (window, aquarium glass, etc.), there will be a large spot of light in the image. Move so that the subject is at a slight angle, then the chance of reflected light passing by the camera increases. 
14. Shooting against the light - this is shooting in conditions when the light source is behind the object and shines in the face of the photographer. This is tricky because you end up with only a silhouette of the subject instead of the subject in the image, and the background may be overexposed. However, if you shoot the subject up close, you can get a great shot. Measure exposure on the subject, not on the light behind it. 
15. When shooting against the light (when its brightest source is behind the subject), try using fill flash. Sometimes you need to take pictures directly in the direction of the sun, for example when shooting a beautiful sunset. Try turning on the flash or using a Speedlight to illuminate your subject. 16. When shooting an object located near a glass or mirror, be careful not to be perpendicular to the reflective surface, but shoot at an angle. This will prevent the reflected light from the flash from getting into the picture. 
17. Too bright sun can interfere with portraiture, creating harsh shadows and brightly lit areas on the subject. In this case, you should move the person to an open shady place and shoot in softer lighting. 18. Color sources have different color “temperatures”, so pictures taken in different conditions lights (under an incandescent lamp, fluorescent lamp, halogen lamp, sodium lamp, etc.) look different. This feature can be used to create interesting effects by choosing something else instead of automatic white balance. Experiment with different light sources to get different results. 19. Try turning off the flash at night to capture what is visible to the naked eye. Find the flash off icon (usually it looks like a lightning bolt with a line through it) and select it. Hold the camera firmly or use a tripod as the shutter speed can be very slow. 
20. When shooting landscapes at dusk or at night, use a tripod and shutter release cable or self-timer to increase shutter speed and get more light. This technique is used to create pictures where the car's headlights look like lines instead of dots. 
Photography is a wonderful opportunity to capture unique, inimitable moments of your life. Pause time, save what will never happen again! This explains the great popularity of photographic equipment and the growing number of amateur photographers every day. This is not playing the saxophone or blowing glass, often no special skills are needed here, you just need to have a camera at your disposal and the desire to shoot! Although, there are people who think otherwise: they save money for a long time for a chic expensive equipment, take courses for photographers, in the meantime, losing something more valuable - time.
But since you are reading this article, it means you are already shooting, and you are deeply interested in the quality of your photos. So, here are some tips and tricks that you will definitely need.
1. Be genuinely interested in what you shoot
Professional photographers believe that, as in any art, when taking a photo, a person must be inspired and completely captured by his work, otherwise he is unlikely to get really good pictures! Be truly interested in what you shoot and the results will exceed all expectations. And vice versa - as soon as you lose interest, the photos will become insipid and inconspicuous. Many blame technique for their failed shots, but I will tell you something else - it is not the technique that is important, but the one who holds it in his hands! And his imagination. After all, even Einstein wrote that “imagination is more precious than any knowledge!”. Some, due to the lack of “good” technology, never started filming (“That’s when I’ll take it for myself ...”). And you be smarter and don't let doubt steal your ability to create here and now. Forget about the technical side. Listen better to your feelings.
2. Maximum simplicity
“Less is more” is an ancient wisdom that can be easily applied to the art of photography. There should be nothing superfluous in the picture, a minimum of objects, more simplicity. Learn to see the frame. Perhaps you will need additional literature for this, or maybe a conversation with a more experienced master, photo exhibitions and training videos.
3. Follow only your vision
You will never achieve anything if you inherit someone. Be natural in your desires, and if you like to shoot paper baskets, chili peppers, laughing old people, footprints in the wet sand, small beads or fish in an aquarium - shoot! There are no restrictions, you are free to show everything you want.
5. Get the skills to "see" the frame
To do this, you will have to accumulate certain knowledge. About composition and chiaroscuro, for example. Light is the most important technical problem and a careful study of its features has never hurt anyone! Never shoot if the sun is directly on your lens! For such shots, special photo filters are needed. And then, not the fact that the photo will not be illuminated. When shooting a portrait, pay attention to the shadows that fall on the face, including the shadows that come from the hair and nose. A harsh light, hitting directly from above, on the top of the model, guarantees you funny shadows under the nose and very unfunny ones under the eyes. If possible, diffuse the light, make it as soft as possible (unless, of course, the idea of the photo requires the opposite).
As for the composition, here you need to follow one rule - golden ratio rules or the rule of thirds. It consists in the following - the image must be divided into nine equal parts (see the example of the "grid" below) and the joints of the sections should be selected for themselves - they are also called "knots" or visual centers (in the picture they are indicated by bold dots).
The base of your photo, that is, what you would like to highlight, must be placed either in the center of the work or at the intersections of the lines. Examples...
There is also the so-called when you shoot two objects and both of them are very important for the photo. In this case, it is better to breed them in different centers of the golden ratio, like fighters in the ring. Example…
There is another version of the "grid" of the golden ratio and it is called "Spiral of Archimedes"
Everything is even simpler here - where the spiral is twisted, the most important things should be placed there. Like in these pictures...
It is also very important to correctly position the horizon in the frame. Remember, it's bad manners to have a horizon exactly in the middle of the picture! It is better if it breaks the frame from below or from above.
6. Patience
Being able to control yourself and show patience is a huge plus for a photographer. For example, when you have to wait an hour for good light.
7. Feel free to filter out unwanted photos
A. Adams, the leading photographer of our time, said that if you get one really good picture a year, this is already a big plus and an achievement. Most of the footage has to be sifted and thrown into the "bin". This is fine. And very helpful. As a result, you keep only the best. Therefore, do not be lazy to systematically engage in such “screening”.
Most often, amateur photographers buy cameras so that they always have the opportunity to capture the most touching, most significant moments in their lives and the lives of their loved ones. When taking a picture of a person important point is the choice of pose, as well as the composition of the frame. We have already dealt with the composition, now let's talk about poses.
Even a model with ideal proportions can be “distorted” by the wrong pose so that all the captured frames go into the “bin”.
And vice versa, you can visually "stretch" the figure, mask the flaws and emphasize the merits.
When shooting a portrait, always focus on the eyes, when shooting full-length on what you want to emphasize - the arms, the shoulder, the curve of the waist ...
Examples-hints for "advantageous" female poses ...
And also a few "male" poses ...
Shooting indoors is not easy. Especially if you are a beginner. In this type of shooting, a lot depends on the technique. Light in the room, as a rule, is not enough. If it enters through a window or is emitted by lamps, then it falls at the wrong angle on the subjects, so you have to redirect it with reflectors or compensate with flashes. Without a good, bright lens, there is nothing to do indoors at all. Just having the technique is not enough to start making nice photos. You need to be able to use it and be able to use the environment.
How not to shoot indoors
Due to the small amount of light, you will have to use a flash. In order not to get a lot of noise in the picture, ISO is usually set to a minimum. What comes out of this. Most often, the picture looks like a white face on a dark background. The flash just doesn't light up the whole room.
Remember the background
The background in photography is as important as the subject itself. The background may be blurry or out of focus. but he must be present. It doesn't have to be black. In the picture you need to fit the foreground, middle ground and background. During training, it is not necessary to build an interesting background. First of all, you need to achieve a technically correct transfer of the background, and only then you can engage in artistic activities.
In a dark room, the first thing to do is to increase the shutter speed to the value at which the stir does not yet appear. There is a rule that says that in order to prevent blurry pictures when shooting handheld, the shutter speed should not exceed 1 / focal length of the lens. For example, if you are shooting focal length 28mm, then the shutter speed should not exceed 1/25 sec. If the focal length is 80mm, then the shutter speed should be 1/80 sec, etc.
Aperture will help to slightly increase the brightness of the scene, but if it is not enough, then only ISO remains to increase the brightness. By increasing the light sensitivity by 2 times, a gain in illumination by one step is obtained. This means that by increasing the ISO, you can reduce the shutter speed or cover the aperture. Modern cameras allow you to take pictures with virtually no noise up to ISO 1600. Full-frame models have a higher threshold. With old cameras, you can work with ISO 800-1000 without much quality loss.
A small amount of noise does not particularly harm the picture. It may not be visible to the naked eye. In addition, a small amount of noise can be hidden in Lightroom. You just need to shoot in RAW. In Lightroom Noise is controlled by the Color Noise and Light Noise sliders.
Use flash wisely
Indoors, the flash should not play the role of the main light source. It should only highlight the shadows, play the role of a fill light source, or slightly add a foreground highlight. Pointing the flash at the ceiling or walls is not the best the best option. The interior decoration of the room can be multi-colored, and the light reflected from green, blue, red, etc. the walls take on the appropriate shade. All photos will be multicolored, and white balance correction will be excruciatingly long.
The ideal reflector color is white. Therefore, it is worth striving to use this particular color on reflective surfaces. The most common flash mode for indoor shooting is rear-curtain firing. It's easy to explain. If the flash fires with the front curtain, blurring will be visible in some situations. The flash blazes for the first moment, and then the frame is exposed, during which a stir may occur, and it will be superimposed on top of our subject. If you use a rear-curtain flash, the exposure will first occur, at which shaking is possible, and then the flash will puff, which will fix a clear and bright object on top of the shaking.
Quite often indoors, you can do without a flash. Many wedding photographers in the registry office shoot this way.
When shooting, it is worth thinking about the temperature of the light. Only the flash gives a neutral light, close to natural daylight. All other lighting fixtures produce bluish, reddish, yellowish light. This inevitably affects the result.
If used different sources light in the same room, they will mix and create an incredible cocktail. An outbreak in such a situation can only do harm. If the ambient light has a greenish tone and you flash the foreground, then everything in the background will have a greenish tint, and objects that are a few meters from the lens will receive a natural white light.
Correcting lighting in Photoshop is a thankless task, especially if you have several hundred photos, so it's easier to take care of the light sources in advance. To ensure that different types of lighting do not mix, you need to have a set of color filters with you. Having taken a test shot, you need to evaluate what color the frame is painted with when natural light. Then you need to select a color filter for the flash with the same hue and install it. After that, the color temperature of the flash will not compete with the temperature of the light from the lighting fixtures in the room.
Choose the right means
"Indoor Photography" is a broad concept that includes many different styles and methods of shooting. You can be a reportage photographer at various events. If you are going to sell your photographs to various publications, then the photographs must be top quality. Otherwise, no one will buy them from you. For such work, an expensive camera and optics are needed. Wedding photographers are allowed to have less expensive equipment, since the pictures will only be collected in a family album, but if you want to gain respect from your clients. the photos must also be of the highest quality. You must be able to draw from your technique all its possibilities. If you are shooting for friendly parties and feasts, then there are usually no special requirements for photographs. For such shooting, the most important thing is to betray the atmosphere, to capture some events. No one will peer into the naturalness of the color rendering of sandwiches and salads on the table. For such shooting, the simplest DSLR or even an ordinary, but high-quality compact is suitable.
To make it easier to decide which camera to buy, you should read the recommendations for choosing a camera in the article How to choose a digital camera.
Professional cameras, which have price tags starting at $3,000, are not only accurate and fast. They have full-frame sensors that allow you to get several times less noise compared to crops. So acceptable (working) ISO values can be an order of magnitude higher than when working with crop cameras. Consequently, this makes it possible to take better pictures in low light conditions, which is exactly what professional reportage photographers need.
The flash will most often give a gain of about ½ or ⅓ stops. This is not much, but often this is not enough. In addition, thanks to the flash, shadows can be softened. The quality of work and functionality of the flash is directly proportional to its cost. It is worth choosing a flash based on the tasks that you are going to assign to it. You can talk about the outbreak for a very long time, so it is better to refer to our articles on this topic:
- Flash Basics
- On the advisability of using an external flash
- Flash errors
- Flash Photography: Best Practices for ISO Management
- fill flash
Professional lenses start at $1000. Expensive optics differ from cheap ones in higher sharpness and aperture ratio. These are very important parameters that affect the quality of the resulting photos. High-aperture optics allow you not only to get good shots thanks to a flawlessly built lens system, but also to use lower ISO values, which also has a positive effect on photo quality. To decide on the choice of lens, you can read our article on this topic: "Choosing a lens".
Professional equipment makes it possible to obtain better results in any conditions. But the price of such equipment can upset many, therefore, when choosing a camera and accessories for it, you need to figure out the tasks that it will perform and, based on the available budget, select exactly what you need.
Experiments
Everything you read in this article is just basic principles shooting indoors. For each type of survey, there is own rules and nuances. If you are overcome by the spirit of rebellion and you do not want to obey the rules, then it is still worth reading them to be aware of what exactly you are breaking.
Artem Kashkanov, 2019
The article you are reading has been in existence since 2008 and once every couple of years it is thoroughly edited in accordance with current trends and trends in the field of photography - amateur and professional. This is due to the fact that we now live in a critical era, when photography has turned from the lot of professionals and enthusiasts into a general hobby. And not even a hobby, but an integral part of everyday life.
On the one hand, this is very cool, but on the other hand... Photography ceases to be an art because of its mass nature. Every day, millions (or even billions) of the same type of photos with flowers, cats, plates of food, selfies are uploaded to the Internet, and oddly enough, all this finds its viewer - "Instagram stars" gain thousands of likes for unsharp photos like "me and mine cat". Just because their pictures are understandable and close to the majority. Photos of recognized masters have a much lower rating among the general public - they do not understand them. Their creations will be appreciated by true connoisseurs of art. This is about the same as comparing two areas of music - pop and, say, jazz.
Let's get back to the question - why do you want to learn photography? If you are doing this only because it is “fashionable”, “prestigious” or “friends advised” - do not bother. This "fashion to be a photographer" will pass sooner or later. If you really want to "rise above the hustle and bustle", this article is for you!
What is the best camera to buy for learning photography?
There is a choice of camera on the site, so here I will list only brief theses.
- If you really want to learn how to take pictures, you need a camera, not a smartphone. It is highly desirable that this camera be with interchangeable lenses. Smartphones are conceptually sharpened for shooting on the machine. Creativity requires manual mode.
- To learn photography, it is not necessary to purchase the most modern and expensive equipment. Now amateur technology has developed so much that it satisfies the requirements of not only amateurs, but also advanced photographers with a large margin.
- The main element in a modern camera is the lens. Buying a simpler carcass, but with a cool lens is a perfectly reasonable idea.
- The regular ("whale") lens is not as bad as they write and say about it. He gets to the camera almost for free and you should not refuse him. Read more about optics in.
- There is no point in chasing the most modern models. They are expensive and usually do not offer any significant advantages over the previous model cameras. Prices for new items are unreasonably high.
- Frank "junk" is also not worth buying, well, maybe used for a symbolic price.
Introduction to basic camera features
So, the camera is bought, now we need to get acquainted with its capabilities. To do this, it is advisable to be patient and study the instructions for the camera. Unfortunately, it is far from always written simply and clearly, however, this does not eliminate the need to study the location and purpose of the main controls.
As a rule, there are not so many controls - a mode dial, one or two dials for setting parameters, several function buttons, a zoom control, an autofocus and shutter button. It is also worth learning the main menu items in order to be able to configure things like . image style. All this comes with experience, but over time, you should not have a single incomprehensible item in the camera menu.
It's time to take the camera in hand and try to portray something with it. First, turn on the auto mode and try to take pictures in it. In most cases, the result will be quite normal, but sometimes photos turn out too light or, conversely, too dark for some reason. It's time get to know such a thing as exposure.
Exposure is the total light flux that the matrix caught during the shutter release. The higher the exposure level, the brighter the photo. Photos that are too bright are called overexposed, and photos that are too dark are called underexposed. It's very short. If you want more details, read on. If you know all this - click on the "skip the boring theory" link.
A bit of boring theory - shutter speed, aperture, ISO sensitivity, depth of field.
The picture is exposed when the shutter opens. If fast moving objects enter the frame, then during the time the shutter is opened, they have time to move and the photos turn out to be slightly blurry. The time for which the shutter opens is called endurance.
Shutter speed allows you to get the effect of "frozen motion" (example below), or, conversely, blur moving objects.
Short exposure photo
The shutter speed is displayed as a unit divided by some number, for example, 1/500 - this means that the shutter will open for 1/500 of a second. This is enough short exposure, at which driving cars and walking pedestrians will be clear in the photo. The faster the shutter speed, the faster the movement can be "frozen".
If you increase the shutter speed to, say, 1/125 second, the pedestrians will still be clear, but the cars will already be noticeably smeared. If the shutter speed is 1/50 or longer, the risk of getting blurry photos due to the shaking of the hands of the photographer increases and it is recommended to install the camera on a tripod , or use an image stabilizer (if available).
Night photos are taken with very long exposure in seconds or even minutes. Here it is already impossible to do without a tripod.
To be able to fix the shutter speed, the camera has a shutter priority mode. It is designated TV or S. In addition to a fixed shutter speed, it also allows you to use exposure compensation. Shutter speed has a direct effect on the level of exposure - the longer the shutter speed, the brighter the photo.
What is a diaphragm?
Another mode that can be useful is aperture priority mode.
Diaphragm- this is the "pupil" of the lens, a hole of variable diameter. The narrower this aperture, the more IPIG- the depth of the sharply depicted space. Aperture is indicated by a dimensionless number from the series 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, etc. In modern cameras, you can choose intermediate values, for example, 3.5, 7.1, 13, etc.
The larger the f-number, the greater the depth of field. Large depth of field is relevant for when you need everything to be sharp - both foreground and background. Landscapes are usually shot at apertures of 8 or more.
A typical example of a photograph with a large depth of field is the zone of sharpness from the grass under your feet to infinity.
The meaning of a small depth of field is to focus the viewer's attention on the subject, and blur all the background objects. This technique is commonly used in . To blur the background in a portrait, open the aperture to 2.8, 2, sometimes even up to 1.4. At this stage, we come to the understanding that the 18-55 mm kit lens limits our creative possibilities, since at a "portrait" focal length of 55 mm, the aperture cannot be opened wider than 5.6 - we begin to think about a fast aperture (for example, 50mm 1.4) in order to get a similar result:
Small depth of field is a great way to switch the viewer's attention from the colorful background to the main subject.
To control aperture, you need to switch the control dial to aperture priority mode (AV or A). At the same time, you tell the device what aperture you want to take pictures with, and it selects all the other parameters itself. Exposure compensation is also available in aperture priority mode.
Aperture has the opposite effect on the exposure level - the larger the f-number, the darker the picture is obtained (a pinched pupil lets in less light than an open one).
What is ISO sensitivity?
You have probably noticed that photos sometimes have ripples, grain, or, as it is also called, digital noise. Noise is especially pronounced in photographs taken in low light. For the presence / absence of ripples in the photographs, such a parameter is responsible as ISO sensitivity. This is the degree of susceptibility of the matrix to light. It is denoted by dimensionless units - 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, etc.
When shooting at the lowest sensitivity (for example, ISO 100), the picture quality is the best, but you have to shoot with a slower shutter speed. With good lighting, for example, during the day on the street, this is not a problem. But if we go into a room where there is much less light, then it will no longer be possible to shoot at the minimum sensitivity - the shutter speed will be, for example, 1/5 second and at the same time the risk is very high. shakers”, so called because of the trembling of the hands.
Here is an example of a photo taken at low ISO with a long exposure on a tripod:
Note that the swell on the river washed out in motion and gave the impression that the river was not ice. But there is almost no noise in the photo.
To avoid "shake" in low light, you need to either increase the ISO sensitivity in order to reduce the shutter speed to at least 1/50 second, or continue shooting at the minimum ISO and use. When shooting with a tripod at slow shutter speeds, moving objects are very blurred. This is especially noticeable when night shooting. ISO sensitivity has a direct effect on the exposure level. The higher the ISO number, the brighter the picture will be at a fixed shutter speed and aperture.
Below is an example of a shot taken outdoors at ISO6400 late in the evening without a tripod:
Even in web size, it is noticeable that the photo turned out to be quite noisy. On the other hand, the grain effect is often used as artistic technique, giving the photo a "film" look.
Relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO
So, as you may have guessed, there are three parameters that affect the level of exposure - shutter speed, aperture and ISO sensitivity. There is such a thing as “exposure step” or EV (Exposure Value). Each next step corresponds to an exposure 2 times greater than the previous one. These three parameters are interrelated.
- if we open the aperture by 1 stop, the shutter speed is reduced by 1 stop
- if we open the aperture by 1 stop, the sensitivity decreases by one stop
- if we reduce the shutter speed by 1 step, the ISO sensitivity increases by one step
Programmed exposure mode
Programmed exposure mode or “P mode” is the easiest creative mode. It combines the simplicity of auto mode and at the same time allows you to correct the operation of the machine - to make photos lighter and darker (exposure compensation), warmer or colder (white balance).
Exposure compensation is usually applied when either light or dark objects dominate the frame. Automation works in such a way that it tries to bring the average exposure level of the image to 18% gray tone (the so-called "gray card"). Please note that when we take more of the bright sky into the frame, the ground turns out to be darker in the photo. And vice versa, we take more land into the frame - the sky brightens, sometimes even whitens. The exposure compensation function helps to compensate for shadows and highlights that go beyond the boundaries of absolute black and absolute white.
Even in the program exposure mode, you can adjust the white balance, control the flash. This mode is convenient in that it requires a minimum of technical knowledge, but at the same time it is able to provide a much better result than full automatic.
Also in program exposure mode, you should be familiar with such a thing as bar chart. This is nothing more than a graph of the distribution of the brightness of the pixels in the picture.
The left side of the histogram corresponds to the shadows, the right side - to the highlights. If the histogram looks "cropped" on the left, then the image contains black areas with lost color. Accordingly, the "cropped" histogram on the right indicates the presence of light areas "knocked out" into whiteness.
Most modern cameras have a "live histogram" function - displaying a histogram over the image in the viewfinder in real time. When adjusting the exposure, the histogram will shift to the right or left, while the picture, respectively, brightens or darkens. Your task is to learn how to control the histogram and not let it crawl beyond its limits. In this case, the exposure of the picture will be correct.
Manual mode
In manual mode, the photographer has the ability to control everything. This is necessary when we need to rigidly fix the exposure level and prevent the camera from being "amateur". For example, darken or lighten the foreground when more or less sky enters the frame, respectively.
Manual mode is useful when shooting in the same conditions, such as when walking around the city on a sunny day. Once adjusted and in all the photos the same exposure level. The inconvenience in manual mode begins when you have to move between light and dark locations. If we go from the street, for example, to a cafe and shoot there at “street” settings, the photos will turn out to be too dark, since there is less light in the cafe.
Manual mode is indispensable when shooting panoramas and all thanks to the same property - maintain a constant exposure level. When using auto exposure, the exposure level will depend heavily on the amount of light and dark objects. We caught a large dark object in the frame - we got sky flare. And vice versa, if light objects predominate in the frame, the shadows have gone into blackness. To glue such a panorama then one torment! So, to avoid this mistake, shoot panoramas in M mode, setting the exposure in advance so that all fragments are correctly exposed.
The result - when merging, there will be no "steps" of brightness between frames, which are likely to appear when shooting in any other mode.
In general, many experienced photographers and photography educators recommend using manual mode as the main one. They are somewhat right - when shooting in manual mode, you completely control the shooting process. You can choose the most correct combination of settings for a given from hundreds of options. The main thing is to know what you are doing and why. If there is no clear understanding of the principles of work in manual mode, you can limit yourself to semi-automatic ones - 99.9% of viewers will not notice the difference :)
In reporting conditions, the manual mode is also not very convenient, since you need to constantly adapt to changing shooting conditions. Many do it tricky - in M mode, they fix the shutter speed and aperture, while "releasing" the ISO. Although the mode selector is M, the shooting is far from being in manual mode - the camera itself selects the ISO sensitivity and flash power, and can change these parameters over a wide range.
